History of South Dakota

^° ML

978.3 ^' ^^

R56h

V.2

1142444 ,

OENEIALOGY COLLECTlOt^

XI

3 1833 01066 7225

HISTORY OF -^^^'^^^

SOUTH DAKOTA

BY

DOANE ROBINSON

TOGETHER WITH

PERSONAL MENTION OF CITIZENS OF SOUTH DAKOTA

ILLUSTRATED

VOL. II.

INDEX TO CHAPTER CIII~Continued.

1142-144

A

Aaseth, John 0 991

Abeel, Orlin A 1711

Abel. Edward L 1319

Abell, Gabriel W 1585

Abraham, Alfred 1453

Abt, Frank 974

Adams, Francis D 1461

Adams, F. J 1433

Adams, John E 1291

Adams, J. F 1432

Adams, John Q 1535

Aisenbrey, Christian 1221

Alder, Alfred 989

Aldrich, Alva N 1600

Alexander, Frank 1748

Alexander, Rudolph 1060

Allen, Charles F 1443

Allen, Charles H 1288

Amundson, Martin 1853

Anderson, C. J 1891

Anderson, Henry 0 1298

Anderson, John Q 1475

Andrews, Nels C 1334

Andrews, Wellington J 970

Andrus, Henry C 1232

Apiin, Frank P 1708

Archambean, Lizziam 1150

Arneson, A. L 1865

Arthur, John W 1791

Ash, B. C 1849

Ash, Henry C 1718

Atkinson, Samuel E 1415

Auld, Oliver P 1107

Austin, Horace J 1088

Austin, Mrs. Rachel M. R...1089

Avant. J. Franklin 1547

Ayres, George V 1313

Ayres, Thomas H 1421

B

Baade, Christian 1874

Babcock, Howard 1172

Babcock, Thornton N 1114

Bach, Christen J 1480

Baer. Burnace W 1756

Baggaley, John 1369

Bailey, Charles 0 1819

Bailey. Dana R 1371

Bailey, George M 1649

Bailey, Joseph M 1821

Baird. John C 1159

Baldridge, John 1597

Baldwin. D. D 1548

Bale, George B 1520

Barbier, Charles P 1102

Barkley, J. J 1842

Barlow, Edmund A 1509

Barnhart, M. B 1322

Barrett, C. Boyd 1282

Barrow, C. H 1902

Barth, Peter 1214

Bartlett, Clarence A 1399

Bartow, Julius D 1519

Basford, Orville S 1690

Baskerville, Marwood R 1120

Baskin. James H 1079

Bassett, John C 1479

Bayne, William H 1202

beach. John N 1722

Bean. John S 1003

Beatch, George 1163

Beatty. John J 1556

Beck. Elias S 1244

Beem, Isaac 1731

Beem, Joseph 1634

Beeman, Charles L 1015

Belding. John P 1293

Bell, John 1661

Bennett, David 0 1523

Bennett, Granville G 1484

Berdahl, Anfln J 972

B?re, Otto C 953

Bibelheimer. John 1790

Biddle, William P 1843

Biernatzki, Albert C 1096

Biggins, Matthew 1816

Billinghurst, Charles B 1446

Billion, Thomas J., M. D 1454

Bingham, George 1384

Bird, William 1406

Bischoff, Herman 1359

Black, Samuel C 1653

Blackstone, Richard 1023

Blair, James C 1795

Blair. Thomas C 1716

Blake, Charles A 1777

Bliss, George W.. M. D 1572

Bobb, Earl V., M. D 971

Bockler, John H 1203

Bolles, George 1453

Bonham, Willis H 1273

Bonner, John R 1785

Bonniwell. Phillip M 1723

Boorman, W. C 1890

Bottum, Joseph H 1804

Bottum, Roswell 1476

Boucher, Lyman T 1745

Boundey, J. E 1895

Bouska. Very Rev. Em-
manuel A 1213

Bowen. Wheeler S 1747

Bowler, John A 1188

Bowler, Michael F 1388

Bowman, Adelbert H., M. D.1361

Boyce, J. W 1900

Braatz, Carl 1717

Brakke, Nels J 990

Brandon, Henry 1231

Brandt. Claus 1240

Bras. Harry L 1171

Bratrud, Christen C 1192

Breed, George N 1437

Bridges, Henry 1842

Briggs, George C 1250

Briggs. Melvelle B 1763

Britzins. Jacob 1858

Brockman, N. J 1092

Brooks. John H 1589

Brown, Charles A., M. D 1001

Brown, Charles W 1635

Brown. Daniel 1354

INDEX TO CHAPTER CIII— Continued.

Brown, Hugh L

.1634

Chladek, Frank

.1832

Curtis, George W

...1270

Brown, John

.1846

Christensen, Lars C

.1048

Curtis, Hiram H

...1687

Brown, James M

.1785

Clagett, Moses H., M. D...

.1225

Cuthbert, Frederic T

...1013

Brown, Richard F., M. D.

.1235

Clark, Arthur E

.1779

Bruell, William F

.1562

Clark, James B

.1416

D

Bruner, Vincent

.1843

Clark, S, Wesley

.1744

Buck, Edwin E

.1567

Clark, William T

.1390

Dahlenburg, Frederick . .

...1346

Buckingham, George

.1643

Clarke, George A

.1405

Dale, William T

...1062

Buechler, C

.1222

Clarke, William R

.1228

Daley, Rev. Charles M. . .

...1494

Buffaloe, Alonzo J., M. D.
Bullock, James L

Dana, Ruel E

Darling, Andrew D., D. D

...1083
S.1141

.1692

Cleland, Peter C

.1255

Bunning, Rev. Bernard H

.1327

Clough, Alonzo E., M. D. .

.1861

Darling, Floyd C

...1266

Burch, Herbert C. M. D..

.1296

Clough, Solomon

.1103

Daugherty. John F

...1838

Burdick, Frederick A

.1815
.1339

Clyborne, Louis H

Cochrane, Wampler L

.1592
.1277

.. .1284

Burgess, Lyman

Davis, Park

...1350

Burke, Charles H

.1810

Coe, Albert W

.1362

Day, Everett H

...1681

Burleigh Walter A

969

Cole, Burnham W

Coleman, Edwin G

.lg65
.1542

Dean, Edgar

Decker, John J

...1013
...1226

Burnside, George W

.1424

Burt, George K

.1121

Cole, Jacob H

.1205

DeMalignon, Henry R. . .

...1791

Burton, Silas

.1051

Colgan, Arthur J

.1549

Dermody, Rev. Michael.

...1541

Bushell, Thomas J

.1146

Coller, Granville J., M. D.

.1799

Derr, ChalUley H

...1626

Bushfield, John A

.1796

Comstock, John F

.1009

Derr, Chalkley W

...1786

Bushnell, William F. T...

. 969

Conklin, Charles A

.1802

Dewell, Samuel G

...1732

Butterfleld, M. A

.1571

Conklin, Sylvester J

.1411

Dickerson, David

...1613

Butts, C. M

. 961

Connor, John

.1836

Dickey, J. B.. M. D

...1851

Conway, Daniel J

.1484

Dickinson, Stanley B., M.

D.1104

C

Conzett, James

.1864

Dickson, James H

...1074

Cook, Edmund

.1238

Dimock, Warren

...1222

Cabalka, Joseph

.1355

Coons, 0. J

.1860

Dirks, Peter B

...1425

Cahill, John C

.1208

Cooper, Henry T

.1022

Dobsoh, John H

...1320

Cahill, Pierce

Caldwell, Myron H

.1126
.1677

Cooper, Miles M

Cord, George D

.1302

...1763

.1000

Doering, Gotthilf

...1902

.1834
.1478

Cordes, Henry C

Corrigan, William F

.1639
.1510

Dokken, 0. C

Donald, William R

...1439

Campbell, Albert W

...1384

Campbell, B. P

.1138

Cosand, Samuel W

.1419

Donaldson, David W...

... 992

Campbell, Charles T

. 958

Cottle. Frank

.1312

Donnelly, James

... 996

Campbell, Dyer H

.1396

Cotton. Alonzo A.. M. D..

.1378

Doolittle, William T....

...1826

Campbell, James T

Campbell, Malcolm C

1999

...1267

.1365

Black Hills

.1123

Dott, Robert T., M. D. .

...1321

Campbell, Robert P

.1497

Cowdin, Lafayette

.1274

Dougan, Allen D

...1742

Carey, Allen W

.1553

Cowen, E. D., D. D

.1890

Dougherty, Michael J. . .

...1037

Carlin, Douglas

.1764

Coyle, Andrew L., M. D..

. 972

Douglass, James

...1887

Carpenter, Aaron

.1341

Craig, Frank H

.1161

Douglass, Wesley

...1095

Carrigan, Denis

Carroll, John H

1721

Craig, William D

Cramer, Isaac S

1511

Dow Wallace L

...1477

.1611

.1734

Doyle, J. M

...1044

Catlett, Joseph W

.1897

Crane, Col. Frank

.1316

Drake, Frank W

...1035

Cavalier, Louise

.1838

Crary, Charles C

.1724

Dratzman, Joseph

...1839

Cave, Rev. W. A

.1859

Cross, Eugene E

. 963

Dricken, Fred W

...1402

Chamberlain, Harry D

.1462

Cross, Fred J

.1715

Drips, J. V

...1214

Chamberlin. John

.1053

Cross, Philetus N

.1347

Driscoll, Robert H

... 985

Chandler, George T

.1107

Cruickshank, Gregor

.1301

DuFram, Philip

...1795

Chaney, Morris J

.1381

Cull, Loomis S

.1556

Duhamel, Peter

...1647

Chap, Frank

.1875

Cunningham, Michael

.1838

Dunlop, Richard

... 973

Chapman, H. N

..1850

Cunningham, Patrick

.1869

Dunn, Aaron

... 986

Chase, George J

..1242

Curran, Martin E

.1377

Dunn, Christopher G...

...1326

Chase, William H

..1304

Curtin, James

.1652

Dutcher, Paul

...1444

INDEX TO CHAPTER CIII— Continued.

Dwight, Theodore W 1824

Dwyer, James H 1380

E

Eakin, Charles L 1569

Earl, Duncan 1155

Eastman, David 1353

Easton, Carroll F 1344

Egeland, William 1204

Elder. William S 1363

Ellerman, John N 1787

Ellis. William T 1100

Elsom. Joseph 1768

Erlandson, C. A 996

Everhard, William H., M. D.1697

Everly. Louis 1716

Everson, Ole W 1254

Ewert, Adolph W 1498

Ewing, James 1209

Exon, James H 1084

F

Fagan. John 998

Fairbanks, David L 1736

Farley. Luman B 966

Fassett. Charles S 1899

Faust, Emil 978

Fee, James 1837

Feeney, Andrew 1787

Feeney, Michael 1892

Feige, E. W., M. D 1495

Feinler. Rev. Franz J 1681

Felker. M. C. M. D 1874.

Fenelon, John J 1758

Perry, Henry L 1342

Feyder, Charles 1567

Field, Fredell E., D. D. S...1517

Fierek, Rev. Edward M 1145

Finch. Nelson L 1201

Firey, John H 1623

Fish, Adrian L 1072

Fisk, Robert B 1872

Fitch, Seymour N 1725

Fitch, Thomas 1127

Fleeger, Lewis L 1685

Fleischer, Christian C, D.

D. S 1187

Flynn, Rt. Rev. Thomas A. .1580

Foglesong, George D 1494

Foley, Andrew P 959

Folkhard, John J 1305

Folkstad,, Charles L 1130

Poncanon. Charles B 1210

Forest, Samuel E 1379

Foss, L. William 1137

Fos?um. Albert W.. D. D. S. .1262

Fossum, Andrew C 1479

Fowler, Elijah P 1069

Fowler, James W 1318

Fowler, Oshea A 1233

Fox, Marion L 1574

Franklin. Harris 1184

Fraser. Charles H 1889

Frazee, John S., A. M., B. D.1528

Frease. Milton 1633

Freeman, John W 980

Freidel, Henry 1875

French, Rev. Calvin H., A.

M., D. D 1760

Frier, Herman 1333

Fry, Joel 1536

Fry, William C 1842

Fulford, George H.. M. D.. . .1196

Fuller, Howard G 1011

Fullerton, Thomas 1707

Fulton, Rutherford H 1217

Fylpaa, John A 1770

G

Gaff y, Loring E 1529

Gage, Luther E 1030

Gallagher, Joseph P 1565

Gamm, Edward C 1139

Gannon, Frank B 1469

Garey, Herman H 1356

Gardner Brothers 1033

Gardner, Milton D 1016

Garvey, Thomas 1870

Gerdes. Otto H.. M. D 1664

Getty, Daniel B 1464

Geyer, L M 1880

Giddings, Calvin M 1260

Giese, Augustus C 1115

Gifford, A. James, M. D 1179

Gifford. Oscar S 1010

Gilhertson, Olaf 1686

Girton, William W 1578

Goddard, Thomas M 1719

Goff, Joel W., A. M 1063

Goldsmith, Delmont 1031

Goodner, Ivan W 1766

Goodrich, Frank D 1532

Goodwin, James 1866

Gordon, David S 1164

Gordon, Robert 1163

Graber. Joseph P 1194

Graham, Rev. William 1..

D. D 1832

Grantz, Otto P. T 1291

Grattan, Orlando T 1607

Gray, John 1766,

Graybill, Washington C ISOs"

Green, Ansel T 1285

Gregory, Thomas 1025

Grier, Thomas J 1248

Griffee, Abraham D 1413

Griffin, Fred de K 1410

Griggs, Clifton C 1839

Gross, Cheney C, M. D 1808

Gross, Evan F 1806

Gross, John 1227

Gross, Philip A 1386

Grover, George 1491

Grue, Crist 1788

Guenthner, Christoph 1210

Gunderson, Carl J 1206

Gunkle, Fred W 1496

Guptill, Seymour A 1017

Gyllenhammar, Frithiop

N. H 1132

H

Haar. Frederick 1219

Hacesky, Joseph 1874

Hahn, H. W 1504

Haines. Moses 1275

Hall, James 1694

Hall, J. L 1610

Hall. Philo 1485

Hall, William H 1308

Halladay, J. F 1429

Halley, James 1643

Hamaker, J. E 1103

Hamilton, George J 1654

Hammerquist, Peter A 1641

Hanschka, Edward O 1660

Hansen, Niels E 1436

Hansen, Torkel 1538

Hanson, Olaus L 1156

Hanstein, H. H., M. D 9S0

Hanten. John B 955

Hare, Joseph 1398

Hare. Rt. Rev. William H. .1465

Harrington, Jerry T 1667

Harris, Charles N •. . . .1289

Harris, John L., M. D 1714

Harris, T. J 1198

Harris, Martin 1151

Harrison. Charles M 1666

Hart. John S 1259

Hart, Thomas B 1026

Hartgering, James 1024

Hartly, Hugh 1834

Hartmann, Christian 1337

INDEX TO CHAPTER CIII— Continued.

Harvey, Albert S 1351

Haskar, Henry 1052

Hatch, Ira A 1734

Haugen, Nels 1678

Hawkins, J. A 18G5

Hawkins, John R., M. D 1750

Hawkins, Robert C 1748

Hayward, Clarence E 1896

Hazel, C. J 1456

Hazeltine. Edward 1852 j

Headley. John S 1218 I

Healey, Patrick 1247

Heath. Henry H 1249

Hedger, Samuel C 1474

Hegeman Family 1398

Hegeman, Peter J 1489

Heidegger. Rev. James J 1708

Heintz. Paul 1160

Hejl, Joseph 1029

Helsted, Carl P 962

Hemingway, E. E 1622

Hemmlnger, Edward 1028

Heninger, Martin R 1283

Henneous, A. H 1678

Hepperle. Fred 1813

Herron, Frank G 1166

Herther, Philip H 1733

Hesnard, Theodore 1553

Heston, John W 1628

Hickox, Jay R 1701

Higgins, Rev. J. R 1887

Hinman, Delatus 1041

Hinseth, Stengrim 1332

Hill, Ira C 1172

Hill, Robert, M. D 1776

Hill, W. S 1093

Hoard. John G 1714

Hoattum, Henry 1865

Hoese, William 1325

Hoffman, George H 1771

Hokenstad, Ole 1837

Holbrook, Dwight G 1751

Holcomb, Fred 1638

Holcomb, Algernon L 1646

Holcomb, Eugene 1866

Holden, R. H 1434

Holleman, William 1021

Holman, John 1173 i

Holmes, Albe 1751 j

Holmes, Charles P 1470

Holmes, Conrad L 1817

Holmgren, H., M. D 1893

Holt, William H 1195

Holter, Jacob E 1034

Hoiter, Olaus i^ 1036

Hoover, Ben P 1514

Hopkins, George S 1702

Hopkins, James G 1397

Hopkins. Roy L 1807

Hoskin, Clinton D 1111

Hove, John 964

Howard, Charles A 1455

Howard. Charles K 1328

Howard, Samuel M 1712

Howell, Samuel P 1789

Hoy. Samuel A 1663

Huber. Joseph E 1050

Hudson, E. E 1855

Huff. Willard H 1241

Hughes, Richard B 1658

Hulseman. John F., Jr 1518

Hunt, Daniel N 1728

Hunt, John E 1644

Hunt. George C 1637

Hunt, Washington J 1674

Huntington, Eugene 1487

Huss. Frank 1882

Hutchinson, George S 1759

I

Ingalls, J. L 1860

Ingersoll. A. H 1128

Ingerson. Jesse B 1033

Inman, Darwin M 1693

Isaak, Salomon 1782

Irwin, Eugene F 1368

J

Jackson, Franklin T 1481

Jackson, George S 1668

Jackson, John H 1474

Jacobs, Fred 1165

Jancik, John 1039

Jarvis, George J 1756

Jennings, Rudolph D., M. D.1584

Jewett, Charles A 1483

Johnson, Alexander C 1489

Johnson, C. A 1878

Johnson, Charles E 1331

Johnson, George F 1662

Johnson, John 0 1527

Johnson, Martin H 1304

Johnson, P. S 1897

Johnson, Peter W 1877

Johnston, James M 1532

Johnston, James W 1802

Johnston. William H 1119

Jolley, John L 1371

Jolly, Joseph 1644

Jones, Byron P 1106

Jones, Daniel D 1253

Jones, Frederick A 1886

Jones, Harry E 1207

Jones, Henry M 1191

Jones, Rev. Hugh H 1774

Jones. James G 1108

Jones. Morgan E 1251

Jones. Richard R.. M. D 1590

Jones, Stephen V 1587

Jones, Thomas 1888

Jones, William 1885

Judson, Havilah C 1561

Jumper, Samuel H. 1467

K

Kaucher, Samuel 1870

Kean, John T 1840

Keeling, Charles M., M. D..1078

Kehm, Jacob L 1583

Keim, John 1783

Keith, Hosmer H 1177

Keith, I. A 1601

Keliher, Maurice 1642

Kelley, Charles A 1792

Kenaston, Hampton R.. M.

D 1783

Kennedy, Casper 1234

Kennedy, Charles B 1581

Kerr, Robert F 1620

Kiley, J. W 1854

King, Mrs. Atlanta H 1550

King, Charles C 1136

King, John H 1117

King, John H 1490

King, Patrick 1839

Kingsbery, Ira C 1671

Kingsbury, Edgar J 1826

Kingsbury, Rev. Lucius 1816

Kingsbury, Walter R 1518

Kirsch, Nick 1112

Kiser, James A 1665

Klindt, Henry 1215

Knickerbocker, George C...1608

Koch, Herman 1836

Koepsel, William 1054

Kohler, Alfred 1037

Korstad, Hans H 1445

Kozak, Frank 1869

Kreber, Emil 1243

Kribs, P. D 1201

Kroeger, Rev. William, M. D.1856

Krum, George W 1733

Kubler, Joseph 1723

Kutnewsky, John K., M. D. .1511
Kuhns. Albert J 1246

INDEX TO CHAPTER CIII— Continued.

L

Lund, John H

..1397

McLaughlin, James H....

,1624

Lundin, Andrew H

..1272

McLeod, Charles J

.1480

Lacey. Rev. Ulysses G...

..1199

Lundquist, D. E. A

.. 988

McMillan, Andrew P

.1632

LaCraft, Orator H

..1533

Lvatos, Frank

..1869

McNulty, Frank

.1137

LaDick, Edward

..1867

Lynum, Peter

..1569

McQuillen, James

.1271

Lamb, D. L. P

..1002

Lyon, Leander D

.. 960

McVay, John C

.1188

Lampert, J. George

..1405

Lyons, R. F

..1890

Meacham, H. T

.1805

I.andmann, Paul

..1079

Meier, John

.1045

Lane. Thomas W

..1574

M

Mentch, George W

.1615

Lane, Warren D

. .1278

Mentele, Louise M

.1857

Lange, Moritz A

..1374

Maeh, Veucel

..1867

Merager, Ole S., M. D

.1901

LaPlante, Louis

..1704

Madden. James

..1591

Merrill, Charles W., B. S.

. 982

Madill, Alexander

..1568

Mesick, Oliver E

.1414

Larson, Methias

..1877

Madsen, Truels

..1400

Metcalf, Homer A

.1138

Lashley. Emory C

..1268

Mallery, John E

..1375

Mettler, Chrlstoph

.1224

Lattin, George W

..1602

Mansheim, Henry

..1844

Meyer, William

.1299

Laughlin, John W

..1447

Mariner, Frank C

,.1653

Meyers, Solomon D

.1839

Laughlin, Lemuel B

..1512

March, Douglas W

..1502

Michaels, John

. 958

Laurin. Peter

..1298

Martin, Ebeu W

..1575

Milburn, J. A. M. D

.1863

Law, Thomas J

..1526

Martin, Ezra

..1657

Miles, Leroy D

.1828

Lawrence, Aubrey

..1435

Martin, John W

.. 976

Miller, George W

.1588

Lawson, James M

..1467

Martin, U H

..1891

Miller, James J

.1868

Lawver, J. C, M. D

..1101

Martin, Patrick

..1878

Miller, Joseph C

. 956

Leandreaux, Alexander , .

..1737

Martin, Samuel H

..1309

Millett, Charles L

.1430

Leaning, C. W

.. 998

Martin, William H

..1186

Milligan, Albert F

.1478

LeBlond, Horace W

..1038

Marvick, Andrew

..1131

Miner, Ephraim

.1903

LeCocq, Prank, Jr

..1710

Mason, Albert

..1706

Mitchell, Benjamin M....

.1406

LeCount, Wallace S

..1198

Mason, Walter F

..1290

mtchell, George T

.1121

LeMay, John H

..1060

Masters, George "E

..1097

Mitchell, Thomas 0

.1020

Lemmon, Thomas P

..1529

Mathews, Hubert B

..1613

Mitchell, W. S

.1848

Lennan. Charles E

..1735

Mathieson, Richard W. . . .

..1401

Mix, Frederic' A

.1684

Leonard, Joseph P

..1116

Mattison, Fay

..1876

Monfore, Elmer W

.1081

LePlante, Alexander

..1048

Maupin, Harry H

..1348

Monson, Ellas

,1129

Levlnger, Ludwig

..1505

Mawhiney, John J

..1843

Montgomery, W. L

.1900

Ijevinger, Moriz

..1884

May, Ernest

..1264

Moody, James C

.1364

Lewis, Martin J

..1018

Maytum, Wellington J., M.

D.1183

Moore, David

.1426

Liddle, Charles T

.,1598

McArthur, Charles A

..1477

Moore, Joseph B

.1499

..1599
..1818

Lien, Burre H

McCarthy, J. C

..1861

Moosdorf, Ernest A

.1814

Lien, Jonas H

..1822

McCaughey, John J

..1387

Morehouse, George

.1544

Lincoln, Isaac

..1216

McClure, Pattison F

..1500

Morgan, William H

.1261

Lindley, S. M

..1849

McCollum, Mrs. Phoebe L

..1502

Moriarty, Maurice

.1512

Lindquist, A. W

..1176

McCormack, Samuel

..1847

Morris, Frank A

.1774

Link, Rev. Lawrence

.. 992

McCoy, James H

..1276

Morris, Henry S

.1237

Linn, Arthur

..1422

McCrossan, Bernard C.,.

..1488

Morris, Silas E

.1560

Lilly, William J

..1410

McDonald, Charles W....

..1156

Morris, William A

.14.58

Locke, Clayton W., M. D.

.. 967

McDougall, John E

..1382

Morse, James W

.1814

Lockwood, Prank B

..1564

McDowell, Robert B

..1493

Moscrip, Edward

.1178

Long, T. B

..1887

McGaan, William

..1452

Mulcahy, M. Vincent, M. D

.1369

Longstaff, John

..1778

McGee, Levi

..1543

Muller, Henry A

.1901

Lord, L. K

..1379

McGillivray, Duncan A...

..1677

Munro, John A

. 968

Lostutter. L. L

..1605

Mcintosh, Robert L

..1878

Murdy, Robert L., M. D. .

.1200

Loveland, Thomas Q

..1630

McKeever, Patrick W,,..

..1145

Murphy, Edward J

.1205

Lowe, Wiley V

..1566

McKibben, Joseph A

..1896

Murphy, Francis M

.1280

Lum, Charles A

..1393

McKinney, Charles E

..1821

Murphy, Isaac

.1883

Lucas, Sherman P

..1800

McLane, J. E

.1861

Murphy, John F

.1404

INDEX TO CHAPTER CIII— Continued.

Murray, William 1 1892

Mussman, Henry C 1360

N

Nash. Newman C Kill

Natwick, Herman H 1230

Nedved, Joseph J 1030

Nelson, James C 1029

Newbanks, Noah 1648

Nichols, Rev. D. B 1046

Nichols, Ira L 1375

Nielsen, Ole 1347

Nikodin, Joseph I860

Nikodyn, Frank 1872

Noble, Henry 1267

Noble. H. B.. M. D I486

Noble, William 1 1537

Norby, A. J 1236

Norton, Charles L 1825

Notmeyer, William C 1373

Notson, Rev. Gary T 1486

Null, Thomas H 1698

O

Oakes, James A 1893

Oaks. Herbert D 1565

O'Brien, William S 1366

O'Flaherty, Rev. C. B 1695

O'Gorman. Rt. Rev. Thomas. 1133

Oldham, Charles T 1868

O'Leary, Daniel 1208

Oleson, Andrew H 1666

Oliver, Benjamin N 1561

Oliver, Stephen 1834

Olwin, Anthony H 1287

O'Neil, Patrick H 1803

Orstad, Henry 0 1864

Osbon, O. M 1354

Ostrander, George C 1113

O'Toole, Laurence J 1115

Overby, Samuel 0 1773

Oviatt, Samuel W 1899

Owens, Mrs. Delia H 1563

Owens, Matthew 1420

P

Packard, Harlan P 1563

Paine, George T 1551

Palmer, George W.\ 1502

Palmer, W. L 1349

Papik, Joseph 1875

Parker, Joel W 1392

Parker, William H 1354

Parliman, Edwin 1881

Parliman. Ralph W 1882

Parmley, Russell G 1463

Parr. George D., D. D. S 1769

Parrott, J. H 1848

Parrott. Richard G 1007

Paterson, David 1054

Pease, Addison H 1041

Pease, Lucius A 1676

Pederson, Rasmus 1039

Peek, Lewis V 1197

Peever, T. H 1140

Peirce, Henry A 1204

Pendar. Oliver S 1192

Perkins, Henry E 1294

Perley. George A 1157

Perry, DeLoss 1850

Perry, George S 1263

Person, Robert S 1180

Peterka, Joseph 1356

Peterson, Jans P 1870

Peterson, Nels H 1471

Peterson, Rasmus 1844

Peterson. Svenning 1835

Petterson, Edgar B 1875

Pettigrew. George A., M. D. .1019

Petrik, Joseph M 1216

Pfatlzgraff, Philip 1181

Phelps, Dudley C 1495

Phelps, Harry E 1382

Phelps, Henry E 1019

Phelps, John A 1675

Philip, James 1824

Phillips, David 1523

Phillips, Josiah L., M. D 1516

Phillips, Thomas B 1S2S

Philp. Peter 1118

Pickler, Mrs. Alice M. A 1618

Pickler, John A 1616

Pierce, Charles F 1833

Pierce, P. L 1879

Pierson, Josiah A 1835

Pilcher, Joseph E 1727

Pinsonnault, Charles P 1269

Piatt, James E 1531

Plunkett, Matt 1027

Pond, James H 1257

Ponsford. Joseph 1032

Pope, Nathaniel 1407

'Porter, Clement P 1134

Porter, John M 1863

Potter, John T 1403

Power, Charles 1352

Pratt, James L 1520

Price, John J 1061

Printup, David L 1385

Pryce, Orville U 1701

Pyle, John L 1672

Q

Quilty, Rev. William F 1135

Quinn, Michael 1645

R

Radway. Edwin M 1871

Ramsdell, William H 1535

Randall, Charles A 1273

Ransom. Albert W 1496

Rasmusson, Peter 0 1541

Read, Abram L 1270

Reddick. John E 1554

Reed. John Z 1894

Reed, Thomas 1603

Rees, John J 1391

Reilly. J. T 1835

Reinholt, Peter C 1841

Resner, Jacob P 1070

Rice. Benjamin H 1258

Rice, Harvey J 1775

Rice, William G 1670

Richards, Richard 0 1576

Rickert. J. A 1132

Riley, Fred J 1640

Riley, James 956

Ring. Eugene C 1757

Ringsrud, Amund 0 1691

Ripperda, Benjamin 1858

Ritter, Frederick 1165

Rix, Fred C 1047

Rix, George S 1040

Robb, John M 1762

Roberts, A. C 1894

Roberts, Robert D 1252

Robertson, David 1659

Robinson, A. P 1055

Robinson. DeLorme W., M.

D 1482

Robinson, Robert 0 1700

Robinson. William J 1168

Rock, H. J., M. D 1894

Rodabaugh, Elmer E 1439

Roddle, William H 1469

Roe, Orvin J 1780

Rosenkranz, Henry 1367

Roth, John 1281

Rounseville, R. A 1853

Rowlands. William J 1452

Royhe, Adam 1854

INDEX TO CHAPTER CIII— Continued.

Russell, John H

...1662

Slowey, Patrick

..1333

Sullivan, David P., M. D...

.1505

Russell. Samuel W

...1449

Smith, Albert

..1847

Sumner, Gaylord E

.1709

Ryan. Francis W

...1797

Smith, Carey W

..1619

Sutter, John B

.1307

Ryburn, William L

...1086

Smith, Daniel H

..1473

Swartz, Orlando P

.1049

Smith, Frank P., M. D...

..1011

Sweeney, Thomas

.1632

S

Smith, Ira J

..1018

Swenson, Die S

. 967

Smith, Richard L

..1149

Syverson, Emil A

.1525

Sanford, John H

...1073

Smythe, Homer S

. . 1530

Sawyer, John F

...1457

Snow, George W

..1793

T

Schaetzel, Jacob, Jr

...1147

Snyder, Charles W

..1059

Schatfer, Frank J

...1841

Solberg, Halvor C

..1649

Talsma, Rein

.1343

Schamber. Fred W

...1754

Solberg, James

..1594

Taubman, T. W

1867

Schamber, Philip

...1845

Solem, Berns J

..1896

Taylor, Morrison A., M. D.

.1099

Scherer, John

. . .124.3

Somers, Herbert W

..1647

Taylor, Thomas H

.1497

Schlachter, Nicholas J..

...1412

Somers, R. H

..1506

Teed, T. S

.1471

Schmidt, E. R

...1378

Soper. E. B., Jr

..1900

Tenneson. Alfred

.1206

Schmidt. Isaac

...1338

Spackman, Harry L

..1175

Thayer, Horace E

.1006

Schmierer, John, Jr

... 997

Spafford, Fred A., M. D. .

..1901

Thielman, Vale P

.1573

Schnaidt, Jacob

....995

Spargo, .John A

.. 983

Thomas, D. C

.1862

Schneider, Lewis V

...1094

Sparling, John E

..1418

Thompson, Charles K

.1153

Spaulding, Justin L

..1775

Thompson, Elisha K

.1162

Schoof, William

...1492

Spitler, Zechariah

..1481

Thompson, Frank P

.1262

Schoonmaker, Francis H.

Springer, Edward H

..1306

Thompson, John R., M. D.

.1656

D

...1596

Spurrell, George

..1167

Thompson, Orville W

.1427

Schultz, John W

...Ubo

Stainbrook, Isaac

...976

Thompson, T. J

.1862

Schwarzwald, Samuel . . .

...1269

Stanage, James

..1351

Thompson. Thomas W

.1310

Scollard, John

...1275

Stareher, Edwin M

..1417

Thornby, William J

.1357

Seaman. Fred A

...1776

Stearns, Royal B

..1056

Thorne, Albion

.1570

Searle. John K

...1265

Stearns. W. F

.. 999

Thorp, Gustavus C

.1389

Sears. Frank

...1552

Stecher, Thomas P.. D. D

..1549

Thorson, Andrew

.1476

Sears, Herman V

...1459
...1312

Steele Albert

984

1014

Secomb, Rev. Charles . . .

Steere, Alton E

..1534

Thronson, John A

.1525

Sedam. Robert T

...1256

Steftens, Albert H., M.

D.,

Throop, Albert E

.1441

Sedgwick, John W

...1711

D. D. S

..1224

Tidrick. Charles D

.1507

Seeley, Charles E

...1043

Stehly. Joseph J

..1765

Tiffany Brothers

.1266

Seymour, Arthur H

...1058

Stenger. Edward

..1726

Tiffany, Fred L

.1749

Shanafelt, Thomas M., D,

D.1482

Stephens, Charles A

..1886

Tiffany, 0. M

.1266

Shannon, Junius W

...1122

Stephens, James H

..1846

Tiffany, W. J

.1266

Sharp, William A

...1683

Stevens, E. P

..1893

Todd, Isaac J

.1323

Sheldon, Edward T

...1211

Stevens, Rev. S. H

..1777

Todd, John B. S

989

Sheldon. John H

...1823

Stevens, Thomas A

..1508

Tompkins, Walter P

.1538

Sheldon, Josiah

...1169

Stewart, James A

..1730

Torrence. Chester C

.1071

Shepard, James H

...1394

Stewart, James L., M. D.

..1335

Toy, Edward C

.1386

Sheridan, John S

...1240

Still, Alfred H

..1685

Tracy, Erwin J

.1193

Sherin, A

...1110

Stillwill, Charles H

..1144

Traverse, Barney

.1902

Shei-wood, Carl G

...1539

Stillwill, Charles M

..1142

Treon, Frederick, M. D. . .

.1513

Sherwood, Carter P

...1431

Stokes, D. G

..1593

Trimmer, George M

.1680

Shoun, Vest P

...1559

Stokes, William H

..1111

Truman, Philetus C

.1612

Shouse, Hiram C. M. D

...1376

Stoller, John

..1812

Trygstad, Cornelius

.1902

Sikmann, Bernart

...1349

Stoughton, John C

..1008

Tschetter, Jacob

.1669

Simmons, John C

...1625

Straks, Rev, Henry, A. M

..1448

Tubbs, Newton S

.1741

1738

..1555

Tucker. Henry C

.1005

Sinon, Martin G

...1885

Strunk. Henry

..1895

Turkopp, William H., M. D

.1176

Skilling, Irving R

...1895

Stuart. Thomas M

..1390

Turner. John L

.1076

Skillman Ernest D

993

1460

Turney, Charles F

Tuve. Anthony G

1 Qf.n

Slowey, Bernard

...1332

Sullivan. Boetious H....

..1605

.1451

INDEX TO CHAPTER CIII— Continued.

Tyler, F. D

...1892

Walker, Delbert T ....

... 953

Williams, Richard

..1655

Tyler, Lawrence S

...1329

Wallis, S. R., M. D

...1889

Williams, William H

..1817

Tyler, Levi S

...1190

Walpole, William

...1317

Williamson, George N

..1279

Tyson, Frederick

...1895

Waltner, Andrew J....

...1227

Williamson, John H

..1577

Walts, Cyrus

...1231

Williamson, Rev. John P.

. .1702

U

Wangsness, Marcus H . .

... 965

Willrodt, Lawrence H...

..1183

Wangsness, Thomas . . .

... 964

Willson, Mordecai, M. D. .

.. 997

Uecker, Carl

...1880

Ward, P. B

...1548

Wilmarth. Albert W

..1696

Ugofsky, Michael

...1236

Warren, C. P

...1898

Wilson, Edward H

..1324

Uhrich, John B

...1179

Warren, Rev. Henry K.,

M.

Wilson, E. S

..1889

Unruh. Rev. Heinrich P

...1336

A., LL.D

...1066

Wilson, John E. C

..1522

Watkins, Samuel P....

...1651

Wilson, James W

..1627

V

Wattson, Bert G

...1515

Wise, Wilson

..1528

Weaver, Archie

... 959

Wipf, Andreas A., M. D.

..1219

Valentine. William B...

...1065

Weaver, John R

...1757

Wipf, Joseph W

..1220

Van De Mark, Prank E.

...1674

Webb, Frank W

...1428

Witte, August C

..1558

Van Metre, Arthur C...

...1408

Weddell, Charles

...1239

Wixson, Eli B

..1720

Varnum, Rev. Joseph B.

...1798

Wolcott, W. B

..1679

Veneeek, John

...1876

Wegener, Joseph

...1876

Wood, Chauncey L

..1557

Vetter, Anton V

...1694

Welsh, Mahlon

...1635

Wood, George A

..1692

Vetter, John S

...1286

Wenke, John G

...1297

Wood, Lewis E

..1458

Vincent, Christopher S.,

M.

Wertherer, Joseph

...1880

Wood, Willis R. . .

..1194

£)

. .1689

West, John E

Westfall, John

...1257
...1851

Woods, James M

Woods, Richard J

..1636

Voll, William

...1844

..1830

Voorhees, Samuel T

...1295

1S8S

Wyman, F. D

Wheelock, E. D

...1152

W

Whitbeck, Almon C...
White, Norman D

...1462
...1042

Y

Wade, N. M., M. D

...1898

Whiting, Charles S....

...1595

Young, Sutton E

..1105

Wagner, Edward E

...1087

Wickheim, P. F

...1091

Wait, Levi D

...1081

Wickre, Hans 0

...1746

Z

Waldron, Charles W....

...1472

Wicks, Frederick D....

...1075

Waldron, George P....

...1440

Williams, Andrew G...

...1408

Zietlow, JohnL. W

..1752

Walker, Benjamin L. . .

...1148

Williams, Morris M....

...1762

Zitka. Joseph

..1143

CHAPTER Clll-CoNTiNUED.

PERSONAL AIEXTIOX OF CITIZENS OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

OTTO C. BERG, who is now serving his
second term as secretary of state of South Da-
kota, is one of the prominent and influential
citizens of the commonwealth and has here main-
tained his home for more than a score of years,
so that he is entitled to the distinction of being
classed among the pioneers of this favored sec-
tion of our great national domain. Mr. Berg
comes of stanch Norseland lineage and is him-
self a native of Norway, having been born in
Brottum, Ringsager, on the loth of September,
1849, and being a son of Christian T. and
Christence Berg, who are both now dead. The
subject secured his educational training in the
excellent national schools of his native land and
instituted his independent career by securing a
clerkship in a general store at Lillehammer, later
becoming bookkeeper in a wholesale establish-
ment at Drammen. In 1873 he came to America
and located in \\'isconsin, becoming one of the
prominent citizens of Norwalk, Monroe county,
where he served as postmaster and also held the
office of county clerk. In 1883 he came to what
is now the state of South Dakota and took up his
abode in Northville, Spink county, where he en-
gaged in the general merchandise business, build-
ing up a prosperous enterprise in the line. For
six years he served as clerk of the circuit and
county courts, manifesting an active concern in
public affairs and early becoming one of the lead-
ers in the ranks of the Republican party of the
state. In 1900 he was elected secretary of state
and was chosen as his own successor in 1902, so

that he is incumbent of this responsible and exact-
ing office at the time of this writing. He is a lead-
ing Republican and takes a deep interest in the
furtherance of the principles and policies of the
party. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran
church, while Mrs. Berg and family are devoted
members of the Congregational church. Fra-
ternally he is affiliated with Redfield Lodge, No.
34, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Red-
field ; Redfield Chapter, No. 20, Royal Arch Ma-
sons ; South Dakota Consistory, Ancient Ac-
cepted Scottish Rite Masons, in Aberdeen; and
Northville Lodge, No. 36. Ancient Order of
United Workmen, at Northville.

On the 1st of May, 1879, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Berg to ]\Iiss Edith O. Rowe,
who was born at Coldspring, Jefferson county,
Wisconsin, being a daughter of David R. Rowe,
an influential citizen of that place. Of this union
have been born three children, Edna Mathea, who
died January 8, 1904, at the age of twenty-three
years ; Christine, who died in infancy, and Paul
B., who is sixteen years of age at the time of
this writing, in 1904.

DELBERT T. WALKER, superintendent of
schools for Codington county and proprietor of
the Watertown Commercial College, is a native
of the Hawkeye state, having been born in Mount
Auburn, Benton county, Iowa, on the 25th of July,
1867, and being a son of George H. and Julia S.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

(Gillette) Walker, the former of whom was
born in England and the latter in the state of
Connecticut, while they were numbered among
the pioneers of Benton county. Iowa, where they
still maintain their home, the father of our sub-
ject having been formerly engaged in farming
and in mercantile pursuits, while for nearly a dec-
ade and a half he has served as postmaster at
Afount Auburn, being one of the honored and
influential citizens of the county. He came to
America in 1843, ''"d was a resident of Iowa at
the time of "the outbreak of the war of the Re-
hellion. He signalized his loyalty to the land of
his adoption, since, in 1862, he enlisted as a pri-
vate in Company G. Thirteenth Iowa Volunteer
Infantry, with which he was in active service
until the close of the war. when he received his
lionorable discharge. He participated in many
of the most notable battles of the great conflict,
having been a member of General Grant's forces
at Chattanooga and Vicksburg. while later he took
part in the Atlanta campaign and accompanied
Sherman on the ever memorable march to the
sea.

The subject, who is the only child of his ]iar-
ents. completed the curriculum of the public
schools of his native town, being graduated in the
Mount Auburn high school as a member of the
class of 1887, while later he completed courses
in the commercial and normal departments of
the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Business College, be-
ing graduated in each. He also was for a time
a student in the Iowa State University, at Iowa
City, but did not complete a course. Mr. Walker
began , teaching at the age of eighteen years,
and in i8go came to Watertown. to accept the
position of principal of tile commercial college
here, retaining the incumbency for a period of
five years.- after which he was for one year prin-
cipal of the Curtis Business College, in St. Paul,
^Minnesota. He then returned to his native town,
where he was principal of the public schools for
one and one-half years, when he resigned and
returned to Watertown, purchasing the Water-
town Commercial College, which he has since
conducted, having greatly amplified the functions
and usefulness of the institution and brought it

up to the highest standard of excellence in all
its departments. He was elected county super-
intendent of schools in 1900, and that his course
met with popular endorsement was shown in his
re-election, in 1902, without opposition. He is
enthusiastic in his work, a careful and conscien-
tious executive, and has done much to further
educational interests in tlie county. He is a mem-
ber of the board of trustees of the public library
of Watertown and took an active part in secur-
ing the donation for the new Carnegie library,
vv-hich is to be erected in the near future, at a cost

I of fifteen thousand dollars.

: Professor Walker is a stanch advocate of the

I principles and policies of the Republican party,
and fraternally is prominently identified with

' the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias.
In the former he has completed the round of the

! York Rite bodies, including the commandery of
Knights Templar, while he has served as wor-
shipful master of the blue lodge, and as recorder
of \\'atertown Commandery. Xo. 7. Knights
Templar, and keeper of records and seals of
Trishocotyn Lodge, No. 17, Knights of Pythias,
having held the latter office ever since he was
constituted a Knight of Pythias with the excep-
tion of an interval of six months, while in 1893

j he represented the local Masonic lodge in the
grand lodge of the state, at Deadwood, and has
thrice been a delegate to the grand lodge of the
Knights of Pythias in South Dakota.

On the 25th of July, 1892. Professor Walker
was united in marriage to Miss May A. Slat-

j tery, who was born in Ohio, being a daughter

I of David A. and Margaret (Jones) Slattery. the
former now deceased and the latter is now a resi-
dent of Watertown, South Dakota. She had

\ been a successful teacher in the public schools

I of South Dakota prior to her marriage. Profes-
sor and Mrs. Walker have two children, Blaine
E. and Hazel M.

Watertown Commercial College was estab-
lished in 1887. The school enrolls from one
hundred to one hundred and twenty-five pupils
per year and is adding from fifteen to twenty per
cent, increase each year. The courses are com-
mercial, shorthand and tyjiewriting, and normal.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

955

JOHN B. HAXTEN, an eminent attorney
of Watertown, Codington county, is a native
of Minnesota, having been born on a farm in
Scott county, January 20, 1859. He is a son of
Henry and Anna M. (Leas) Hanten, who were
born in Luxemburg. Germany. Henry Hanten
was a man -of erudition and sterling character,
and was for a number of years engaged in teach-
ing, in colleges and public schools, while finally
he engaged in agricultural pursuits in Minne-
sota, whence he came to Watertown, South Da-
kota, shortly prior to his death, wdiich here oc-
curred on the 28th of March. 1882. at which
time he was fifty-two years of age. He was
graduated in the institute at Luxemburg and
later completed a four years' course of study in
the university at Charles LeRoy, France. He
was a son of Jean and Susanna (Thobes) Hen-
ten, the former having been a prosperous farmer
in Luxemburg, Germany, where he passed his
entire life, his son, the father of the subject,
having come to America in 1854.

John B. Hanten accompanied his parents to
Germanv when seven years of age. and in the
excellent schools of that land received his early
education, having been graduated in the gym-
nasium at Larochette as a member of the class
of 1873. and thereafter taking a post-graduate
course in Luxemburg, Germany, where he re-
mained until 1874, when he returned to the
United States and in 1878 located at Kranz-
burg. Codington county. South Dakota, where
he was conducting a hotel until 1884. when he
engaged in the hardware business in that town.
In 1886 he was appointed clerk of the district
court, and thereupon disposed of his business in
Kranzbnrg and took up his residence in Water-
town. He held this incumbency for six years,
within which interval he had devoted much time
to the reading of law, and in the fall of 1892
he was admitted to the bar of the state, having
thoroughly grounded himself in the science of
jurisprudence. On the 23d of December, 1893,
Mr. Hanten was appointed receiver of the
Ignited States land office in Watertown, remain-
ing in tenure of this office until March 17, 1898.
when he resumed the practice of his profession.

in which he has met with distinctive success.
In the fall of the same year he was elected to
represent his district in the state senate, serv-
ing one term, while he was the candidate of his
party for a second term, in 1900, but met de-
feat which attended the party ticket in general
throughout the state. He has ever been a stal-
wart advocate of the principles of the Demo-
cratic party, in whose cause he has been an
active and effective worker. Mr. Hanten is at
the present time president of the Business Men's
Union, of Watertown, and likewise one of its
directors. He served four years as a member
of the National Guard of South Dakota, being
raised to the rank of sergeant, while later he was
assistant chief of supplies, with rank of major,
on the staf¥ of ex-Governor A. C. Mellette. He
is identified with the Catholic Order of Forest-
ers, in which he is state chief ranger at the time
of this writing, having held the office from the
time of the organization of the order in the
state, in 1900. He and his wife are communi-
cants of the Catholic church, being members of
Immaculate Conception church, in whose work
they take an active interest. Mr. Hanten was
one of the organizers of the Watertown State
Bank, of which he is president, and he ever
shows a deep interest in all that makes for the
progress and material prosperity of his home
city and state. In 1878 his father purchased a
large tract of railroad land in what is now
South Dakota, and several of his sons, including
the subject, came here to do their part in settling
and developing the country, encountering the
varied experiences and vicissitudes of pioneer
life on the plains.

At Kranzburg. this state, on the 25th of
January, 1881, Mr. Hanten was united in mar-
riage to Miss Margaret A. Kranz. daughter of
Matthew and Margaretha (Ludwig) Kranz,
both of whom were born and reared in Germany,
whence they emigrated to Minnesota, and then
to South Dakota, being numbered among the
first settlers of Codington county, while the town
of Kranzburg was named in honor of Mr.
Kranz. Mrs. Hanten was born at New Trier,
Dakota countv, Minnesota, on the 2d of Julv,

9S6

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1862. The subject and his wife are the parents
of nine children, namely: Henry M., assistant
cashier and bookkeeper in the State Bank ; Mar-
garet; Louisa; John H. ; Mary: Helen; ]\Iatthe\v
W. ; Eleonora and Raphael E.

JOSEPH C. MILLER, the pioneer lumber
dealer of the attractive city of Watertown, was
born in the province of Ontario, Canada, on the
22d of July, 1847, being a son of Frederick and
Catherine (Near) Miller, the former of whom
was born in Germany and the latter in the state
of Pennsylvania, his father having been a cler-
gyman of the Lutheran church and a man of ex-
alted character and marked ability. He died in
1 881 and his devoted wife passed into eternal
rest in 1845. The subject received his early ed-
ucation in the common schools of Wisconsin,
whither his father had removed in 1849. ^nd
he then supplemented this discipline by a course
of study in a business college in the city of Mil-
waukee, where he was graduated in 1865. There-
after he was employed as clerk in connection with
the great lumber industry in that state,
until 1867, when he removed to Minne-
sota, where he continued to be identified with
the lumber business until 1878, when he came to
Watertown, Dakota territory, where he opened
the first lumber yard in the village, which then
had a population of about twenty inhabitants.
He has shown distinctive energy and enterprise,
and the scope of his business has increased with
the growth and development of the city and
county, and has now reached large proportions,
his yards being well equipped with all kinds of
lumber and building material, while his trade
extends throughout a wide radius of country
tributary to the city of Watertown, which is now
a thriving town of five thousand population.

Mr. Miller has ever been found stanchly ar-
rayed in support of the principles and policies of
the Republican party, in whose work he has ta-
ken an active part. He was elected to repre-
sent his district in the state senate in 1893, ^'^d
made an excellent record in the general assem-
bly, serving for the regular term of two vears

and to the satisfaction of his constituents and
the public in general. He is at the present time
a member of the board of education of Water-
town. He and his wife are prominent and zealous
members of the Lutheran church, and he is at
the present time a member of its board of trus-
tees, in which capacity he has served for six
years.

On the 3d of September, 1873, at Winona,
Minnesota, Mr. Miller was united in marriage
to iliss Lena Kissling, who was born in that
state, being a daughter of Jacob Kissling. ]\Ir.
and Mrs. IMiller have six children, namely : Lot-
tie, Walter, Joseph, Lena. Ella and Flora.

JAMES RILEY, one of the leading business
men of Watertown and senior member of the
firm of Riley & Cook, manufacturers and dealers
in harness, saddlery, etc., is a native of Mon-
mouth county. New Jersey, and the son of Ber-
nard and Elsie (Keough) Riley, the father born
in Ireland, the mother in New York, the latter a
descendant of one of the old Dutch families of the
Empire state. James Riley was born August i,
1848, and at the age of six years was taken to
Missouri, where he lived until a youth of four-
teen, the meanwhile receiving a common-school
education, and on leaving home in 1862 entered
upon a three-years apprenticeship in Jefferson
City to learn harness-making. After serving his
time and becoming a skillful workman, he ac-
companied his parents to Omaha, Nebraska, and
there followed his chosen calling until 1868,
when he changed his location to Missouri Val-
ley, Iowa, at which place he remained with his
parents until their respective deaths. From
Iowa Mr. Riley, in 1875, went to Yankton, South
Dakota, and after working at his trade in that
city for two years, came to Codington county in
1877 and settled on government land a short dis-
tance north of the present site of Kampeska,
where he in addition to filing on a homestead
also took up a tree claim. In 1880 he engaged in
the manufacture and sale of harness at W'ater-
town. his establishment being the first of the kind
in the place. To this line of business he has since

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

devoteil his attention, althoug:h for a few years
he resided on a farm, of which he is still the pos-
sessor, using it of recent years more as a summer
resort than as a source of income. His business
career has been eminently prosperous, he having
secured an extensive patronage and his estab-
lishment is now one of the leading business
stands in the city.

When Mr. Riley filed on his first homestead
in Codington county the nearest town was Canby.
fifty miles away, and he was obliged to travel over
the modest distance of twenty-four miles to com-
municate with his closest neighbor, though C. C.
'\\'ilcy and O. S. Jewell (now deceased) accom-
panied him in May, 1877, and all took land on
Lake Kampeska. When the county was organ-
ized he was appointed sheriff, and it fell to him
to make the first arrest, which was of the man
who committed the first murder within his juris-
diction.

Mr. Riley has been actively irlcntified with
public affairs ever since the county's organiza-
tion and has done much to advertise the advan-
tages of his part of the state to the world and
induce a substantial and thrifty class of people i
to make it their permanent place of abode. In
addition to his large and steadily growing busi-
ness in Watertown he has extensive real-estate
interests in the county, owning four hundred
acres of fine farm and grazing land, much of
which is under cultivation, the rest being devoted
to live stock. He is a leading spirit in the Odd
Fellows fraternity at ^^^atertown, haying held
every ofiice within the power of the local lodge to
confer and in addition to the title of past noble
grand, which he now bears, he is also past chief
patriarch of the order. Fie is a Congregation-
alist in religion, being a zealous member of the
First church at ^^^atertown and a trustee of-the
same.

Mr. Riley was married at Owatonna, Minne-
sota, March 6, 1884, to :\Hss Helen Coggswell,
who was born in 1857. near Owatonna, when
Minnesota was still a territory. Mrs. Rilev is
the daughter of Amos and Harriet (Clark)
Coggswell and a descendant of old colonial
stock that figured in the early history of New

England and in the war of the Revolution. Her
father was born September 29, 1825, in New
Hampshire, was a lawyer by profession and for
a number of years acted as attorney for the gen-
eral land office at Washington, D. C. Subse-
quently he migrated to Minnesota, with the early
public affairs of which state he became prom-
inently identified, having been one of the lead-
ing members of the constitutional convention and
in i860 represented his county in the lower house
of the general assembly. He served a number
of years in that body, was speaker of the house
from 1872 to 1875 inclusive, and later was elected
to the senate, besides holding other offices, among
which was that of probate judge of Steele county.
He was a son of Francis Coggswell, also a law-
yer, and the father of the latter was Col. Amos
Coggswell. who held a commission in the Amer-
ican army during the war of the Revolution and
who at one time was presented with a beautiful
sword by General Washington, in recognition of
bis bravery in battle. This weapon is now in
possession of 'Sir. Rilev. who prizes it as a pre-
cious heirloom. Mrs. Rilev and her sister, Abby,
now the wife of M. T, McCrady, of Owatonna,
^Minnesota, located homesteads on the edge of
Kampeska Lake, ten miles north of Water-
town, in 1878, and livefl on their respective claims
for a period of five years and six months, prov-
ing up on the same and receiving patents from
the government. They experienced many vicis-
situdes and hardships during that time, suffered
much from cold in winter seasons, but, deter-
mined to hold their lands, they persevered in
their purpose until, as stated above, deeds for the
same were safely in their possession. Both ]\Ir.
and ]\Irs. Riley are descended from pioneer stock,
their respective ancestors from the Revolutionary
period to the present time having steadily moved
westward and figured in the frontier history of
many states and territories. They have had
three children, only one of whom, a daughter by
the name of Helen Irene, is living: the other two
were Amos C, who departed this life at the age
of six years, and James C, who died in infancy.
In politics Mr. Riley is a Republican and has
long been one of the party's leaders in Coding-

958

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ton county. While zealous in upholding his
principles and untiring in his efforts to promote
the success of the ticket, he is not a partisan in the
sense of seeking office, being too deeply absorbed
in his business affairs to devote much time to
his own political interests.

CHARLES T. CAMPBELL, born Cham-
bersburg, Pennsylvania, 1823. Served in Mexi-
can war and Rebellion ; was made brigadier gen-
eral by President Lincoln for bravery in action.
Came to Dakota in 1866. Prominent in Demo-
cratic politics. Lived at Scotland, and died in

JOHN l\nCHAELS. one of the prominent
citizens and honored pioneers of Codington
county, is a native of Mecklenburg. Germany,
where he was born on the 29th of Alarch, 1843,
being a son of John and ]\[innie (Schroeder)
Michaels, who passed their entire lives in the
fatherland, the former having been there
identified with agricultural pursuits during the
major portion of his life. The subject received
his educational training in the excellent schools
of his native land, and thereafter followed farm-
ing there until 1866, when he severed the ties
which bound him to home and fatherland and set
forth to seek his fortune in the new world. On
July 1st of that year he was united in marriage
to Miss Lena Dahl, who accompanied him to
America, and who has proved to him a devoted
wife and helpmeet. He located in Dodge county,
Wisconsin, becoming the owner of a good farm,
but meeting with such reverses during the
financial panic of 1873-4 that he was finally com-
pelled to dispose of his property at a great sac-
rifice. In 1 881, in the hope of recuperating his
resources, he came with his family to what is
now the state of South Dakota and located in
Codington county, where he purchased one
hundred and sixty acres of railroad land, twelve
miles north of Watertown, which was then a
mere hamlet of a few primitive houses. He was
verv successful in his efforts, in which he had the

assistance of his sons, and in time became the
owner of one and one-quarter sections of land,
while he made the best improvements on the
property and in time became one of the most
prosperous and influential farmers and stock
growers of the county in which he had settled as
a pioneer. He has retained in his possession
four hundred acres of his land, the remainder
being now in the possession of his sons. Mr.
Michaels continued to reside on his ranch until
1897 when he removed to AA'atertown, where he
has an attractive modern residence, at 220 Elm
street. L'pon coming to town he became as-
sociated in the clothing business, as previously
noted tuider the firm name of Nelson &
Michaels, and they have a finely equipped estab-
lishment at the corner of Kemp and ]\Iaple
streets, carrying a large and complete stock of
clothing, men's furnishing goods, etc., and cater-
ing to an extensive and appreciative trade. The
firm also have a branch store at Clark, in the
countv of the same name, and this also controls
an excellent business.

3,lr. ^lichaels is a man of sterling integrity,
marked individuality and much business acu-
men, and he has ever shown a lively interest in

I the welfare of the county and state of his adop-
tion. He served for six years as a member of the
board of county commissioners, being an un-
compromising Republican in his political pro-
clivities, and in 1894 he was elected to represent
Codington county in the state legislature, where
he made an excellent record, being chosen as
his own successor in 1896. Since that time he
has been practically retired from public affairs,
though he still manifests much interest in the
questions and issues of the hour. He and his
wife are prominent members of the German
Lutheran church and take an active part in the
various departments of its work.

Mr. and ]\Irs. Michaels are the parents of
five children, concerning whom we offer the
following brief data in conclusion of this sketch :
Herman is a member of the clothing firm of
Nelson & Michaels ; Anna is the wife of Henry
Stein, of Codington county: John R. ; ]\Iax C,

i who married Miss Ella Weber, is a clergyman

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of the Lutheran church and is pastor of the
cluirches at Henry, Grover and Carrollton;
Frank B. is superintendent of the branch store
maintained by the firm of Nelson & Michaels at
Clark.

ARCHIE WEAVER, one of the pioneer
merchants and highly esteemed citizens of
^^'aterto\vn, was born in Dayton, Ohio, on the
loth of December. 1853, being- a son of Jacob
and Louisa \\'eaver. The father died when the
subject was but two years of age, and the latter
secured his early educational training in the
common schools of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin.
He was early thrown on his own resources, so
that he stands as the architect of his own for-
tunes, having gained success by worthy means
and by close application and hard work. For
some time prior to coming to the territory of
Dakota he was engaged in general merchandis-
ing in the cit\' of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin. He
came thence to Watertown in 1879, becoming
one of the early settlers of the town, and here
he established a small general store, which
figured as the nucleus of his present large and
profitable business enterprise. He was one of
the first merchants of the town, and has at all
times shown a public-spirited interest in its
progress and material prosperity. In politics he
gives his support to the Democratic party, and
fraternally is identified with the local organiza-
tions of the Modern Woodmen of America and
the Ancient Order of L^nited Workmen. He has
an attractive residence in the eastern division of
the city, and is the owner of other real estate,
including his place of business, which is a two-
story structure of brick.

At twenty-five years of age ^Ir. Weaver was
united in marriage to Miss Clara M. Clark, who
was born in Iowa. Her father died when she
was but a child, and her mother subsequently
became the wife of D. C. Thomas, and now re-
sides in Watertown. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver be-
came the parents of three children : Guy died in
infancy, and Florence E. and Franklin L. stil!
remain at the parental home.

ANDREW P. FOLEY, one of the sterling
citizens and progressive business men of Water-
town, Codington county, comes of stanch Irish
lineage and is a native of the beautiful capital
city of Wisconsin, where he was born on the
13th of January. 1859, being a son of Matthew
and Mary (Gahen) Foley, both of whom were
born and reared in Dublin, Ireland. They came
to America about 1849, and the father of
Andrew P. Foley located in Dane county. Wis-
consin, where he became a farmer, while his
sterling characteristics made him one of the
popular and honored citizens of that section.
Both he and his wife died in Wisconsin, and
thev are survived bv their four sons and three
daughters.

Andrew P. Foley was reared to manhood in
his native state, and received his educational
discipline in the parochial and public schools.
At the age of sixteen years he entered upon an
apprenticeship at the blacksmith trade, becoming
a skilled workmen. He continued to follow the
work of his trade in Wisconsin and Minnesota
until 1880, when he came to South Dakota and
took up his residence in Watertown, which then
had a population of about one thousand persons.
Soon after his arrival he established a horse-
shoeing shop, which he conducted successfully
for several years. For the past three years he
has also done an excellent business in the han-
dling of agricultural implements and machinery,
carriages, buggies, wagons, etc. He is endowed
with the alert mentality and business acumen
so characteristic of the race, and has so effect-
ively ordered his affairs as to have attained a
position of independence, being one of the well-
to-do citizens of the county. He is the owner
of about two thousand acres of excellent farm-
ing land in Codington and Hamlin counties, and
derives good returns from his agricultural and
stock-raising interests, while he also has a con-
siderable amount of property in Watertown, in-
cluding his place of business and also his fine
residence, at the corner of Warner and Cotton-
wood streets.

In politics Mr. Foley is a stanch Democrat
and takes an active part in forwarding the cause

960

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of the party of his choice. In 1890 he was
elected sheriiif of Codington county, in which
capacity he served four years, giving a most able
administration and gaining unqualified popular
endorsement. In 1898 he was elected to repre-
sent his county in the lower house of the state
legislature, serving during the sixth general as-
sembly and doing all in his power to secure wise
and effective legislation. He and his wife are
communicants of the Catholic church, being
prominent members of Immaculate Conception
parish, and fraternally he is affiliated with the
Catholic Order of Foresters and the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks.

On the 1st of November, 1888, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Foley to Miss Dora
Rourk. who was born in Eden, Wisconsin, being
a daughter of John and Mary Rourk. Of this
union have been born seven children, namely:
Francis died on the i8th of May. 1902, at the
age of nine years: Thomas died January 19,
1904, aged nine years, and those surviving are
Andrew, John, Marie, Catherine and Willard.
Mrs. Foley also passed away on the 17th of
August, 190^, after a brief illness.

LEANDER D. LYOX. deceased, was a na-
tive of the state of ^Michigan, having been born in
Hudson, Lenawee county, on the Qth of No-
vember. 1847. and being a son of Lyman J. and
Amanda (Davenport) L}on. His father was a
soldier in the Mexican war and died when the
subject was a child, so that the latter was early
thrown upon his own resources, his educational
advantages having been those afforded in the
common schools of his native state. When but
twelve years of age he entered a newspaper of-
fice and finally completed a full apprenticeship
at the printing trade, becoming a very skilled
workman. He proved the truth of the statement
that the discipline of a newspaper office is equal
to a liberal education, and became a man of
broid information and distinctive intellectuality,
wliile he gained recognition as an able and force-
ful writer. He was for a time editor of a paper
in his native town, and later published a paper

in Fayette, Ohio, from which place he removed
to Circleville, Ohio, where he became editor and
publisher of the Union Herald. He was also
for some time identified with newspaper work
in Detroit, IMichigan, and Buffalo. New York.
In the former city he was awarded a diploma
for having executed the finest specimen of job
printing among a large number of contestants,
having been specially- capable in this line, while
throughout his life he ever aimed to -attain per-
fection in all that he undertook. In 1882 Mr.
Lyon left Circleville, Ohio, and came to the ter-
ritory of Dakota, locating in Watertown, where
he became associated with Messrs. C. G. Church
and F. A. Barr in the publishing and editing of
the Courier-News, which issued daily and weekly
editions. He eventually purchased the interests
of his two partners and continued the enterprise
individually for a number of years. He then
established here a paper to which he gave the
name of Public Opinion, and made the same a
powerful factor in the community. He was a
man of strong individuality and decided views,
and was fearless in the expression of his opin-
ions through his paper, and thus he naturallv
created some enmities in his efforts to promote
the best interests of the community and. though
antagonism was created, his views were finally
widely recognized and approved by the better
element in the community and state, his paper be-
coming one of the most valuable and successful
properties of Watertown. He finally sold the
plant and business of the Public Opinion to the
firm of Ransom & Corey, and shortly afterward
became superintendent of the \\'atertown ^^'ater.
Light and Power Company. At the time of his
assuming this office the affairs of the company
were in a deplorable condition and the service
was far from what it should have been. Though
new to the work, Mr. Lyon brought to bear his
excellent business judgment and dominating en-
ergv and soon the effects became evident in the
improvement of the system and in the placing
of the business upon a profitable basis. Of this
position he continued incumbent until his death.
He served in various offices of local order, and
in politics gave an uncompromising allegiance to

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

961

the Republican party. During the war of the Re-
belhon Mr. Lyon rendered vahant service in de-
fense of the Union, having been a member of a
regiment of Michigan \'olunteer Infantry, and
he ever afterward maintained a deep interest
in his old comrades in arms and was a prominent
member of the Grand Army of the RepubHc.
As his father was a soldier in the Mexican war,
he also became affiliated with the Sons of Veter-
ans, having served as colonel of the state organ-
ization of the same in South Dakota, while the
ramp of. the order at Blunt was named in his
honor. He was also affiliated with the ^lasonic
fraternity, in which he attained the Knight Tem-
plar degrees, while he was a charter member of
the lodge in Watertown. He was also a member
of various other fraternal and social organiza-
tions, while he was one of the organizers of the
A\'atertown Business Men's Union, of which he
was secretary for a number of years. While he
was publishing the Public Opinion his paper was
the first in the state to suggest the name of Ben-
jamin Harrison in connection with the nomina-
tion for President of the United States, and in
recognition of this fact he received a most gra-
cious and appreciative personal letter of thanks
from Mr. Harrison. He was one of the most in-
sistent advocates of the division of the territory
of Dakota and did most effective service in se-
curing the admission of South Dakota to the
Union. Mr. Lyon was summoned into eternal
rest on the 30th of January, 1903, after a brief
illness, and his death came as a personal bereave-
ment to the people of Watertown, while through-
out the state the press gave high tribute to his
memory and to the work which he had accom-
plished as a public-spirited and progressive citi-
zen and as a man of exalted integrity. His fu-
neral was one of the most notable ever held in
Watertown, business being practically suspended
nt the time, while many of the prominent citizens
f'-oni divers parts of the state came to pay a last
mark of respect to one whose life had been al-
together worthy.

In the city of Detroit, ^lichigan, on the 13th
of August, 1866, was solemnized the marriage
of Mr. Lvon to Miss Anna R. Baker, who was

born in Bufifalo, New York, whose death occurred
November 15, 1886. His second wife, who sui-
vives, was Miss Emma Anderson, of Janesville,
Wisconsin. His daughter, Mirriam, is now the
wife "of W, J, McMath, who is the local repre-
sentative of the New York Mutual Life Insur-
ance Company. They have three children.
Ralph, Dwight and Miriam. Frank W., the
younger of the two children, was born in Buf-
falo, New York, on the 13th of April, 1871, and is
now a jobber and retail dealer in crockery, stone-
ware, glassware, lamps, etc., in Watertown, be-
ing one of the progressive and successful busi-
ness men of the place. For five years he held the
office of sub-agent at the Standing Rock Indian
agency, in North Dakota, and for three years
had a similar incumbency at the Cheyenne
agency, in South Dakota. He had previously
been a traveling salesman for a leading whole-
sale crockery house in the city of ^Minneapolis.
In politics he is a Republican, and is the present
city treasurer.

On the 19th of November, 1895, Frank W.
Lyon was united in marriage to iMiss Imelda
.Marie McLaughlin, the daughter of Colonel
James McLaughlin, who was chief inspector in
the Indian service, having been appointed dur-
ing the administration of General Grant, Mrs.
Lyon passed away on the 14th of February,
1898, leaving one child, James R. S. On the
15th of April, 1901, at the Cheyenne River
agency, ]\Ir. Lyon married Miss Helen May
Crane, who was born in Titusville, Pennsyl-
vania, and who was at the time of her marriage
in the government service, having charge of the
hospital at the government agency mentioned,
her professional training having been secured in
one of the leading hospitals of the city of Cleve-
land, Ohio, Of this union were born two chil-
dren, Elizabeth, who died in infancy, and Ra-
mona Martha, born July 28, 1903.

C. M. BUTTS, son of Jacob S. and Alalinda
(Johnson) Butts, was born on a farm in Dela-
ware county. New York, April 15, 1843, his
parents also being natives of the Empire state.

962

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

In 1848 the family removed to Wisconsin, set-
tling in Waupaca county, and it was there that
the subject grew to maturity, spending the in-
tervening years as his father's assistant on the
farm and attending, as opportunities afforded,
the public schools near the homestead. While
thus engaged the great Civil war broke out and,
fired with patriotic zeal, he enlisted. May 19,
1861, in Company D, Third Wisconsin Infantry,
but by reason of being a minor was discharged
the following July. Two years later, however,
he was more fortunate in entering the sendee,
being accepted in July, 1863, by the same com-
pany and regiment in which he had previously
attempted to enlist, joining his command at the
front in time to participate in some of the
fiercest and most noted battles of the war. He
shared with his comrades the vicissitudes of the
Atlanta campaign, took part in several bloody
engagements in the vicinity of that city, and
later marched with General Sherman on the cele-
brated march to the sea. Mr. Butts served
bravely and gallantly until the downfall of the
rebellion, after which he returned home, and in
the fall of 1866 removed to Olmstead county,
Minnesota, where he purchased land and en-
gaged in the pursuit of agriculture upon his own
responsibility. After living in that countv until
1S78, he sold his farm and removed to the county
of Watonwan, in the same state, where he made
his home until i8gi, at which time he disposed
of his interests in Minnesota and changed his
residence to South Dakota, locating in Garret-
son, with the growth and prosperity of which
thriving city he has since been identified. For
some years following his arrival in Garretson
I\Ir. Butts was engaged in the drug business,
but in 1895 he sold his establishment and
turned his attention to real estate, in which he
soon acquired an extensive and lucrative patron-
age. Being energetic and knowing how to take
advantage of opportunities, he found himself in
due time on the high road to prosperity, his
business affairs having prospered and all of his
investments proving fortunate. In the sum-
mer of 1901 he erected the Grand hotel, the
largest and best patronized house of public en-

tertainment in Garretson, and in addition
thereto has put up other buildings from time to
time, thus adding very materially to the growth
and substantial improvement of the city,

Mr. Butts was married in Fillmore county,
Minnesota, May 5, 1866, to Miss Katie M.
Conan, a native of Canada, the union resulting
in the birth of two children, the older of whom,
Edith M., wife of Dr. C. W. Locke, died in the
month of August, 1891 ; Claude, the second
daughter, dying at the age of twelve years. ]\Ir.
Butts has served several terms as alderman, and
as a member of the council did much to advance
the interests of the municipality and promote the
city's development. He cast his first vote for
Abraham Lincoln, a fact of which he feels justly
proud, and ever since that time has been a
pronounced Republican, zealous as a party worker
and manager, and outspoken in the advocacy
and defense of his principles. He has never
been an office seeker, preferring to labor for the
advancement of his friends' political interest
rather than his own.

CARL P. HELSTED. who has already
passed life's meridian and is now living in hon-
orable retirement, is a sturdy son of Scandinavia,
liorn September 18, 1830, in the romantic and
historic country of Sweden. His father being a
farmer, he too was reared a tiller of the soil and
followed that time-honored calling in the land
of his nativitiy imtil 1868, in June of which vear
he took passage for America on the steamer
"Great Eastern," and after a voyage of sixteen
days' duration landed in the harbor of New York.
From that city he went to Chicago, Illinois,
thence, after a short time, to ^lichigan, where
he spent about three months at railroad work,
at the expiration of which time he transferred
his residence to Iowa, where he was similarlv
employed for a limited period. From the latter
state he went to Omaha, Nebraska, but after
spending some six months in the railroad shops
of that city, he removed to Plattsmouth, where
for about one year he kept a boarding house.
Mr. Helsted's next move was to Sioux Citv,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

963

Iowa, where he also opened a boarding house
and after conducting the same with encouraging
success until 1872, he disposed of the establish-
ment and came to Minnehaha county. South Da-
kota, locating a homestead in Branden town-
ship, which in due time he improved and con-
verted into a fine farm. Mr. Helsted made a
judicious selection of land, having been among
the early settlers of the county with excellent
opportunities for looking over the country and
comparing the relative merits of its different
parts. He put up substantial buildings and, de-
voting all of his energies to agriculture and stock
raising, succeeded in accumulating a competence
of sufficient magnitude to enable him, in the fall
of 1901, to retire from active life. He sold his
farm that year and, purchasing a beautiful home
in Garretson, moved to the same and since then
he has been enjoying the fruits of his many
years of toil and thrift in a life free from care
and anxiety.

]\Ir. Helsted was married in his native land,
and two of his five children were born and lie
buried near his old ancestral home. One child
died in Sioux City, Iowa, and the two surviving
are Louise, the wife of W. W. Cole, of Clay
county, and Frederick, who lives in Montana.
iMr. Halstead served as constable of Branden
township and, although a zealous and uncompro-
mising Republican, he has never been an office
seeker, having preferred the quiet life on the
farm, and the simple title of citizen to any pub-
lic honors within the power of his fellow men to
bestow. He was reared in the Lutheran faith,
and since an early age has been a faithful and
devoted member of the Swedish Lutheran church,
being at this time one of the pillars of the con-
gregation in Branden township and one of its
most liberal contributors. He was treasurer of
his church for three vears.

ELTQENE E. CROSS, of Garretson, presi-
dent of the Minnehaha State Bank, was born in
Juneau county, Wisconsin, August 13, 1859, and
at the early age of nine years was left practically
an orphan by the death of his father, Daniel P.

Cross, a farmer and stock raiser of that state
and an estimable citizen of the community in
which he resided. Shortly after the death of his
father, young Cross was taken by relatives to St.
Charles, Minnesota, but after spending a short
time at that place, he went to live with his
grandfather, near Iowa Falls, Iowa, in which
state he grew to maturity and received his edu-
cational training. Reared on a farm, he early
became accustomed to the varied duties of agri-
culture and, reaching manhood's estate, found
himself well qualified bv this training to face the
future and to enter upon a career which from
the beginning gave every promise of ultimate
success.

In December, 1S81, Mr. Cross came to South
Dakota and engaged in the grain trade at Lake
Preston, Kingsbury county, where he remained
for a period of six years, during which time he
built up a large and flourishing business, realiz-
ing from the same handsome financial profits.
Later he took up a homestead in Clark county,
but after living on his land about two years, re-
moved to Palisades, where for a period of one
year he operated the first hardware store in the
town. From Palisades he came to Garretson,
where he also engaged in the hardware business,
being the first to bring a special line of that
kind of merchandise to the city, and it was not
long until he forged to the front as one of the
most enterprising and public-spirited merchants
of the place. He devoted his attention ex-
clusively to hardware for a period of eleven
years, at the expiration of which time, in March,
1901, he disposed of his stock and the summer
following erected the handsome stone building
now occupied by the Minnehaha State Bank,
which institution he organized and in the man-
agement of which he has since been a leading
and influential factor.

Mr. Cross has been president of the bank
ever since its organization and under his able
management and judicious control it has become
one of the popular and reliable monetary estab-
lishments in the eastern part of the state, doing
an extensive business in all lines of banking, and
by its presence adding greatly to the high r<;pu-

964

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

tation Garretson enjoys among her sister cities
of South Dakota. ^Ir. Cross is not only an ac-
complished business man as the term is
generally implied, but having made a close and
comprehensive study of monetary questions, he
is especially well informed concerning the same,
and may be considered an authority on all mat-
ters relating to finance and banking. He has
been prominent in the public affairs of Gar-
retson ever since becoming a resident of the
same, has served with great acceptance as mayor
of the city, and for some time past has been a
member of the common council. Fraternally,
be is identified with the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, being a charter member of Lodge
No. 74, at Garretson, and at different times an
honored official of the organization.

Mr. Cross has been remarkably fortunate in
promoting his various business interests, being
the possessor of a fortune of no small magnitude,
including in addition to a number of valuable
city properties and private capital, a fine farm of
two hundred and forty acres, admirably situated
in one of the richest agricultural districts of
Clark county.

Mr. Cross was married at St. Charles. Min-
nesota, in the year iSgo. to r^Iiss Florence E.
r.lair, of that state, the union being without issue.

JOHX HO\'E. an enterprising business man
of Garretson. is a nati\'e of Fillmore countv, ]\Iin-
nesota, where his birth occurred on the 25th dav
of September, 1864. Reared on a farm he was
early taught the dignity of honest toil and. grow-
ing up with habits of industry deeply imbedded
in his nature, was well qualified at the proper
time to assume the stern duties of life. He en-
joyed the advantages of a common-school edu-
cation, and after remaining with his parents and
assisting with the labors of the farm until at-
taining his majority, he left the home circle and
in 1S85 came to Minnehaha county. South Da-
kota, where_ he followed agriculture for some
years as a renter. Later, in 1893. Mr. Hove
purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in
EiHson townshii?. which he reduced to cultiva-

tion, improved with good buildings and stocked
with cattle and other domestic animals, in due
time converting the land into a fine farm, on
which he made his home during the nine years
following. In the spring of 1902 he turned his
place over to other hands and changed his abode
to Garretson. where one year later he effected a
co-partnership in the hardware business with Mr.
Munson. which, under the firm name of Hove &
Munson, is now one of the leading mercantile
establishments in the city. By close attention to
business and by judiciously consulting the de-
mands of the trade, these gentlemen have secured
a large and lucrative patronage, and, although
but recently estalilisbed, their house has steadily
come to the front until, as stated in the preceding
paragraph, it is now one of the successful and
popular places of business in a city where com-
petition in all lines is lively and where only the
capable and far-seeing succeed. Mr. Hove served
five years as a member of the Edison township
official board and also filled the office of assessor,
in both of which capacities his course was credit-
able to himself and satisfactory to the public.

Mr. Hove has faith in the future of his city
and county, and to the extent of his ability is
applying his energies to the promotion of the
welfare of each, being interested in whatever
concerns the material prosperity of the commu-
nity and a willing supporter of all enterprises
having for their object the intellectual, social
and moral well-being of the same.

Mr. Hove was united in marriage, in Minne-
haha county. March 25. 1888. to Miss Lovisa
Munson. who. like himself., is a native of ]\Iinne-
sota. both having been born in the county of
Fillmore, that state.

THO^IAS WAXGSNESS. one of the en-
terprising and progressive business men of South
Dakota, having official connection with the Kad-
ing monetary institutions of Minnehaha coiintw
was born in Calmer. ^Vinneshiek county, Iowa,
on the 31st day of January, i860, the son of
Herman and Bertha ( Tviedt ) Wangsness, botli
parents, as the names indicate, being natives nf

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

965

Norway. The father, a farmer by occupation, i.s
still living, the mother having departed this life
in Worth county, Iowa, about the year 1900.

The subject of this review was a lad of
twelve years when his parents moved from Win-
neshiek to the county of Worth, and he grew to
young manhood in the latter county, his early
life including the experiences common to the
majority of boys born and reared amid the stir-
ring and invigorating discipline of the farm. At
intervals, during his minority, he attended the
public schools near his home, and in the summer
seasons assisted in cultivating the fields, harvest-
ing the crops and looking after the other in-
terests of agriculture with which country lads
early become familiar. At the age of nineteen
he severed home ties and, going to Winnebago
county, engaged in general merchandising, to
which line of business he devoted his attention
tluring the ensuing twelve years, meeting with
well-merited success the meanwhile. Disposing
of his stock at the expiration of the period noted,
Mr. Wangsness accepted the position of traveling
salesman with a harvester company, which he
represented on the road about three years, dur-
ing which time he traversed a large area of terri-
tory, built up an extensive trade, and established
an enviable reputation as a capable, far-seeing
and thoroughly reliable business man. Severing
his connections with the above concern, Mr.
Wangsness, in 1893, came to ^Minnehaha county,
South Dakota, locating at Garretson, where he
invested some of his means very judiciouslv,
erecting in due time the beautiful and imposing
business house now occupied by the State Bank,
of which he has been president ever since the
organization of the institution, the year follow-
ing his arrival. He was the leading spirit in es-
tablishing this bank and, under his executive
management, it rapidly grew in public favor, in
the course of a few years becoming not only the
leading establishment of the kind in IMinnehaha
county, but, as already stated, one of the most
successful and popular monetary institutions in
the eastern part of the state.

The Garretson State Bank, which is backed by
men of high character and large experience, has

a paid-up capital of ten thousand dollars, with
deposits many fold that amount, and in addition
to general banking does a large and growing
business in the matter of farm loans, also gives
especial attention to collections, besides repre-
senting a number of the leading insurance com-
panies of the United States and acting as an
agency for various steamship lines. Its patron-
age in the various departments is large and far-
reaching and its influence upon the material in-
terest of Garretson has done more than any other
agency to give the city the high reputation it
has long enjoyed as an important commercial and
'business center.

In addition to his connection with the bank.
Mr. Wangsness has been called at different times
to assume other responsible trusts, among which
was that of treasurer of the Garretson school
board, which position he held a number of years,
and he has also served several terms in the city
council. He has a beautiful home in Garretson,
over which a lady of refined tastes and varied
culture presides with gentle grace and womanly
dignity. Her name prior to her marriage was
Miss Belle Aker, a native of Norway, and she
is now the happy mother of two children, who
answer to the names of Paul and Benjamin.

MARCUS H. WANGSNESS, merchant and
leading citizen of Garretson, is a native of Nor-
way, the son of Herman and Bertha (Tviedt)
Wangsness, and dates his birth from September
8, 1846. When about eight years of age he was
brought to America by his parents and during
the ensuing two years lived in Dane county,
Wisconsin, at the expiration of that time remov-
ing with the family to Winneshiek county, Iowa,
and settling at the town of Calmer. After
spending about four years at the latter place, the'
family residence was transferred to Burr Oak
Springs, in the same county, and there the sub-
ject grew to maturity, the meanwhile receiving
a good practical education in the public schools,
also turning his hands to various kinds of em-
ployment. i\Ir. Wangsness spent about fifteen
years at Burr Oak Springs, and at the end of

966

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

that time removed to Worth county, where he
followed agricultural pursuits until 1870, in con-
nection with which vocation he also devoted con-
siderable attention to the handling of farm ma-
chinery, in the sale of which he met with en-
couraging success financially. In the above
year he left the parental roof and in the spring
of the same year united in marriage with Miss
Olena Olsen, a native of Chicago, but of Nor-
wegian descent, and immediately thereafter set-
tled at Northwood, Iowa, where during the ten
years following he did a flourishing business in
the handling of all kinds of agricultural imple-
ments and farm machinery. Discontinuing that
line of trade at the expiration of the timfe noted,
he resumed the pursuit of agriculture and fol-
lowed the same in Worth county until 1877,
when he came to South Dakota and took up a
homestead and timber claim in the county of
Moody, improving the former and living thereon
for a period of seven years. Returning to Iowa
in 1884, he became associated with his brother
Thomas in the mercantile business, the firm thus
constituted lasting about four years, at the end
of which time they sold their stock, the subject
shortly thereafter coming to South Dakota and
locating at Palisades, Minnehaha county, where
in due season he engaged in general merchandis-
ing. At the end of two years he removed his
stock to Garretson, where he has since con-
ducted a large and lucrative business, being at
this time one of the leading merchants of the
city with a patronage which is constantly grow-
ing in magnitude and importance.

Mr. Wangsness served a streasurer of Pali-
sades township and since moving to Garretson
has held the office of city treasurer, school
treasurer and for several years has been a mem-
ber of the board of education, in all of which
positions he exhibited marked devotion to dutv
and a high order of business talent. He has
been quite successful in the prosecution of his
various interests, owning, in addition to his store
and valuable city property, three hundred and
twenty acres of fine land in Moodv county, this
state, and a quarter section in Palisades town-
ship. Minnehaha countv.

Mr. and Mrs. Wangsness have eight children,
the following of whom are living : Bertha, Ole,
Helen, Ida, Perry and Milven ; the two deceased
are Ellen, who died in infancy, and another
daughter, also named Ellen, who departed this
life when a young lady of sixteen.

LUMAN B. FARLEY, proprietor of the
leading drug house in Garretson, South Dakota,
and a gentleman of high standing in social, as
well as in the commercial and professional cir-
cles, is a native of South Dakota, and has spent
all his life within its borders. His parents, L. T.
and Carrie A. (Warner) Farley, came to South
Dakota in 1868 from Rock county, Wisconsin,
and settled in Lincoln county, where, entering
land, the father engaged in farming and stock
raising.

Luman B. was born on the homestead in Lin-
coln county, August 19, 1870, and grew up in
close touch with nature, receiving his educational
training in the public schools. In 1885, when
a youth of fifteen, he took up the study of phar-
macy and in due time, by close application and
critical research, succeeded in mastering the pro-
fession, after which, in August, 1898, he engaged
in business at Garretson, where, as already
stated, he now owns a large and thoroughly
stocked establishment, with a patronage second
to that of no other drug store in the city. Mr.
Farley's business career has been eminently cred-
itable, prosecuting from the beginning a series
of advancements which demonstrate not only a
business ability of high order and superior pro-
fessional training, but also a personal worth that
has won him the confidence of the public.

Mr. Farley is a man of excellent habits, stands
well with all classes of people and, being public-
spirited and enterprising, gives his influence and,
when necessary, his material assistance to en-
courage the growth and development of the city
in which he resides. Fraternally he is a member
of the Masonic brotherhood, also belongs to the
Knights of Pythias, and in politics supports the
Republican party.

Mr. Farlev is a married man and the father

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

967

of two bright and interesting children, whose
names are Wava and Roy. Mrs. Farley, for-
merly Miss Laura Christiansen, a native of Iowa,
lived for some years in Canton, South Dakota,
at which place her marriage was solemnized.

CLAYTON W. LOCKE, M. D., of Garret-
son, South Dakota, was born January 24, 1862,
near the town of Brockport, New York, where
his father, Elisha Locke, also a native of the
Empire state, had long been engaged in agricul-
tural pursuits. The maiden name of the sub-
ject's mother was Sarah Way, a member of an
old and well-known family of New York, who
passed the greater part of her life on the home
farm, near the place referred to above. The
Doctor's childhood and youth, under the whole-
some discipline of the farm, were similar in most
respects to the experiences of the majority of
boys reared in close touch with nature in the
country, and he grew up strong in body and
resolute in purpose. He received a prettv thor-
ough mental training in the schools of his native
place and after assisting his father with the work
of the farm until his twentieth year, left home to
take uj) the study of medicine, which he began
in 1884. Subsequently he entered the Louisville
IMedical College, Louisville, Kentucky, from
which he was graduated in 1888, and immedi-
ately thereafter he came to South Dakota, in
search of a favorable opening, locating in due
time in Minnehaha county, where he practiced
with encouraging success until his removal in
1890 to Garretson. Since the latter year the Doc-
tor has risen rapidly in his profession and now
takes high rank among the leading physicians
and surgeons in the eastern part of the state, hav-
ing a large and flourishing practice.

Dr. Locke prepared himself for his life work
by rigid discipline and critical research, and dur-
ing his preliminary study and collegiate course
neglected no favorable opportunity to increase his
knowledge and fit himself for the practice. He
has never ceased being a student, and ever since
opening an ofifice of his own his leisure has been
devoted closely to study and original investiga-

tion, the result being a continued advancement in
all branches of the profession. While making
every other consideration subordinate to his
chosen calling. Dr. Locke has not been a passive
spectator of current events in his adopted state,
but with a commendable public spirit, he earlv
liccame an active participant in the same. As
an ardent Republican and leader of the party, he
has made his influence felt in a number of local,
district and state campaigns, and in recognition
of his services he was elected in 1901 to represent
Minnehaha county in the legislature of South
Dakota. His record as a member of that body
was eminently satisfactory to his constituents and
to the people of the state, but, not desiring further
honors in this line, his legislative experiences
ended with the one term for which he was chosen.
The Doctor served two terms as mayor of Gar-
retson, and for several years has been a member
of the city school board. By diligent attention to
his profession and by the exercise of the busi-
ness qualities for which he is also distinguished,
he has been fortunate in a financial way, owning
at this time in addition to his city property and the
respectable fortune at his command, over nine
hundred acres of fine land in South Dakota,
which is increasing in value with each succeed-
ing year.

Dr. Locke has been twice married, the first
time in the fall of 1889 to Miss Edith Butts, of
.St. James, Minnesota, a union terminated by the
death of the wife after a brief but happy wedded
experience of one and a half years' duration.
Subsequently, July 10, 1895, he contracted a mat-
rimonial alliance with Miss ]\Iary L. Conan, who
has borne him the following children: Edith,
Lillian. Clavton and Donald.

OLE S. SWENSON, the capable incumbent
of the ofifice of warden of the South Dakota state
penitentiary, in Sioux Falls, and one of the
highly honored citizens of the state, is a native
of Hallingdahl, Norway, where he was born on
the 9th of November, 1845, being a son of Swen
and Julia (Moen) Swenson, both of whom were
likewise native of Norway, though both families

968

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

were of Scotch extraction in the respective
paternal lines, both great-grandfathers of the
subject of this sketch having been Scotchmen
who emigrated from their native land to Nor-
\vay. The father of the subject was engaged in
farming in Norway until 1857, when he emi-
grated with his family to the United States, set-
tling in XicoUet county, Alinnesota, in which
state he passed the remainder of his life, becom-
ing a successful fanner. His death occurred in
1870, and the mother died in April, 1903. Of
their six children five are yet living.

Ole S. Swenson was reared to the age of
twelve years on the old home farm in Norway,
where he secured his early educational training,
and he then accomi>anied his parents on their
emigration to America, being reared to maturity
in ^Minnesota and there availing himself of the
advantages of the public schools of Nicollet
county. In 1863 he went to St. Peter, that state,
where he secured a position as clerk in a general
store. In 1876 he engaged in the hardware
business there, but one year later he removed his
stock to Grand Meadow, Minnesota, where he
was successfully engaged in business until 1880,
when he disposed of his interests there and came
to Sioux Falls, arriving here on the 15th of Sep-
tember of that year. In this city Mr. Swenson
established himself in the same line of enterprise,
in which he successfully continued until 1893,
when he sold out, soon afterward purchasing an
interest in the flour mill at Valley Springs, this
county, and with the operation of this plant he
was successful until 1902.

Mr. Swenson has given an unfaltering sup-
port to the Republican party from the time of
attaining his legal majority and has been an
active worker in its cause. In 1886 he was
elected treasurer of Minnehaha county, and was
chosen as his own successor in the election of
1888, thus serving four years and giving a most
faithful and able administration of the fiscal
affairs of this important county. From 1898 until
1902 he was chairman of the Republican central
committee of the county. He has attained a
position of distinction in the ]\Tasonic fraternity,
in which noble and time-honored institution he

has advanced to the thirty-second degree of the
Scottish Rite, being also identified with the
Mystic Shrine and enjoying marked popularity
in the fraternit)-. In May, 1901, Mr. Swenson,
upon the recommendation of Governor Herreid,
received from the state board of charities and
corrections the appointment of warden of the
state penitentiary, in which office he has ser\^ed
with most perfect efficiency, proving a strict
disciplinarian and able executive and showing-
that deep humanitarian spirit which is so
essential in dealing with those of criminal in-
stincts.

In 1870 yir. Swenson was united in marriage
to Miss Celia Thompson, of Nicollet county. Min-
nesota, who died in 1878. leaving two children.
Arthur Ward, now residing in Winnipeg.
Canada, and Josephine, who is at the present
time in Europe. On the 20th of August, 1880,
was solemnized the marriage of ]\Ir. Swenson
to Miss Eliza S. Ranney, of Grand Meadow,
Minnesota, and they are the parents of three
children, William L., Norma and Ernest Stuart.

JOHN A. :\IUNRO, president of the \\^i!-
mot Land and Loan Company, of Wilmot. was
born in Nova Scotia, October 18, 1853, the son
of Donald and Nancy Munro, the father a native
of Scotland and by occupation a stone-mason
and contractor. John A. attended the country
schools, and later pursued the higher branches
in the Pictou Academy and took up the study of
pharmacy under the direction of a druggist of
his native place. After becoming familiar with
the business, he went to Minnesota, where he
followed his chosen calling from 1878 to 1879.
and in the latter year came to South Dakota,
and established a drug house at Big Stone City,
which he conducted very profitably during the
six years following.

In 1883 Mr. Munro was appointed clerk of
court for Roberts county, which office he held
for four years. In 1885 he removed to Wilmot.
where he has resided ever since. During his
term as clerk of court he devoted his leisure time
to the study of law and was admitted to practice

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

969

in 1888, but did not engage very actively in the
practice, turning his attention rather to real es-
tate and banking, which he found more to his
taste and much more profitable. He is a direc-
tor of the First State Bank of Wilmot, and to
him is due the credit of organizing the Wilmot
Land and Loan Company, of Wilmot, of which
he IS president at present, and which, as much
as any other agency, has tended to the settlement
and material development of Roberts county and
other parts of eastern Dakota.

Mr. Munro ever since coming west has been
actively identified with the affairs of Wilmot
and Roberts cnunty. He was sergeant-at-arms
in the house of representatives during the legis-
lative session of 1885, was largely instrumental in
carrying his county and district that year for the
Republican party, and as a politician his influ-
ence has been strong and far-reaching. As a
citizen he is progressive and thoroughlv up to
date, lends his encouragement and material sup-
port to everything making for the public good
and having faith in the future of his adopted
state, is manfully doing his part to make it come
up to his high ideal of what a commonwealth
should be.

;\Ir. JMunro belongs to the ^ilasonic fraternity,
in which he now holds ofiice of junior warden,
and is also an active member of the Ancient Or-
der of L"nited Workmen and the Lidependent Or-
der of Odd Fellows, being at this time district
deputy of the last named organization. In the
month of December, 1892, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Munro and Miss Carrie E.
Phanso, of Pennsylvania, a union blessed with
five offspring, namely : Kenneth Donald, Gladys
Irene, Carroll Jean. Doris Ella and Alyrtle Lu-
cile.

WALTER A. BURLEIGH, second delegate
in congress, born in Waterville, Maine, October
2^, 1820. Was a physician and lawyer. Agent to
Yankton Indians, 1861-65. Delegate in con-
gress, 1865-69, several times member of ter-
ritorial legislature and state senator. Died at
Yankton, 1896.

WILLIAM FRANCIS TEEMAN BUSH-
NELL was born at Peru, Illinois, December 3,
1857. At fourteen years of age his parents re-
moved to Evanston and there he attended the
Northwestern University for two years. He
possessed great natural musical talent and much
attention was given to his musical education
both at Evanston and at home. At that period
he hoped to make music his life work. His
father was a government contractor in the con-
struction of lighthouses and life-saving stations
on the great lakes and at seventeen he was given
charge of workmen upon these structures and
for three years was so engaged upon his father's
undertakings. At the age of twenty he set out
upon his long cherished musical career, teach-
ing, composing and publishing his compositions
and giving concerts through Illinois, Iowa and
Dakota, whither he came in 1884 and established
himself at Huron. In his boyhood he had earned
his first money in a printing office and that class
of work still had some attractions for him and,
finding the Dakota Farmer struggling for an
existence, he took it up and soon became the
owner of the property and under his manage-
ment, though it required long years of untiring
effort and unremitting kidustry, he made a splen-
did success of it. He was most discriminating in
his efforts to secure for his journal a standing
in the confidence of his readers and was
tenacious in his purpose to exclude from it every-
thing of a questionable or misleading character.
Mr. Greeley relates a circumstance in point. It
was during one of the hard years in the reaction-
ary period following the boom. Times were
everywhere hard and cash for ordinary expenses
almost unobtainable. One morning Mr. Bush-
nell was opening his mail in Mr. Greeley's pres-
ence when a check for a large sum dropped from
a letter. It was from a commission house of
questionable standing enclosing an advertisement
which it desired run in the Farmer. Mr. Bush-
nell promptly refused the advertisement and re-
turned the check, although the advertisement of
that firm at the very time was found in all of the
leading farm papers of the country. He was
of an intense and enthusiastic temnerament and

970

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

most of the great farmers' enterprises owed their
promotion to his initiative. Among these are the
State Agricultural Society and the state fair, the
State Dairymen's and Buttermakers' Society,
the Woolgrowers' .\ssociation, the Farmers'
Alliance and kindred organizations.

From boyhood he was a consistent member
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and con-
tinued this relation throughout his life, ever
foremost in every movement requiring effort and
money. For twelve years he was superintendent
of the Sabbath school and his musical talent
made him an indispensable member of the choir
and a leader in all musical functions of the
church. He gave his time, money and energy
unreservedly to missionary work and his chari-
ties were only limited by his means. He was in-
tenselv interested in the promotion of the great
moral reforms, and especially in efforts looking
ti3 the suppression of the evils of the liquor
traffic. In the campaign for prohibition accom-
panying the adoption of the state constitution he
accepted the most burdensome position of sec-
retary and field manager, and, practically setting
aside his personal business, took hold with his
tireless vigor, directing the movement of the
speakers, the arrangements for meetings and all
of the tiresome details of the campaign and the
splendid victory at the polls was due in a large
measure to the energ}- and enthusiasm with
which he inspired the workers throughout the
state.

r\Ir. Bushnell was married at Huron, on June
2, 1886, to Miss Blanche Van Pelt, of Indiana,
who throughout the remaining years of his active
life was his sympathetic assistant and advisor.
To them three children were born, Paul, Fred-
erick and Helen.

On August 16, 1900, almost for the first time
in his persistent struggle to permanently establish
the Farmer, having called his brother-in-law,
N. E. Carnine, to assist him in the management
of the rapidly growing enterprise, Mr. Bushnell
felt that he was justified in leaving his post and
taking his family for a short vacation. They
stTrtcd for the mountains of Colorado. .\t
Omaha he was detained by an attack of ap- ,

pendicitis, but rallying after a few days went on
to Colorado Springs, where he was again taken
j ill and died after a day of intense suffering,
j which he bore with the courage and fortitude of
the true Christian. His remains repose in River-
side cemetery at Aberdeen. His memory will
long be held in reverence by the people of South
Dakota as a model of high Christian character
and true manhood.

WELLINGTON J. ANDREWS, one of the
well-known and honored citizens of Sioux Falls,
is a native of the dominion of Canada, having
been born near the city of Ottawa, on the 14th of
April. 1S65. and being a son of William H. and
Eliza Ann (Johnson) .Andrews, who were like-
wise born in Canada, where they continued to
maintain their home until 1874, when thev came
as pioneers to what is now the state of South
Dakota, locating near Scotland, Bon Homme
county, where the father took up government
land and developed a good farm, becoming one
of the representative citizens of that section of
the state.

The subject of this review received his rudi-
mentary education in the common schools of his
native county, and was nine years of age at the
time of his parents' removal to South Dakota.
Here he was reared to manhood under the sturdy
discipline of the pioneer farm, the while contin-
uing to attend the public schools until 1885,
when he entered the academy at Scotland, where
he was graduated as a member of the class of
1886. Thereafter he continued to assist in the
work and management of the home farm until
1886, when, at the age of twenty-one years, he
went to Parkston, Hutchinson county, where he
was engaged in the agricultural implement busi-
ness and dealing in live stock until 1893, when
he returned to Scotland, where he opened a gen-
eral merchandise store, liuilding up a successful
business and there continuing operations in the
line until 1898, when he sold out and came to
Sioux Falls, where he established himself in the
grocery business, in which he has ever since con-
tinued, catering to a large and representative

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

trade and having a finely equipped store. His es-
tablishment is modern in all its appointments,
and the stock carried is exceptionally comprehen-
sive and select, while he is recognized as an en-
ergetic' and progressive business man and as one
well worthy of the uniform confidence and es-
teem in which he is held. In politics Mr. An-
drews has ever given an uncompromising alle-
giance to the Democratic party, has taken an act-
ive part in the promotion of its cause, hav-
ing been a delegate to various state and county
conventions, and having been called to serve in a
number of minor ofiices, though he has never
sought personal preferment in the line. Frater-
nally he is identified with Unity Lodge, No. 130,
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; Scotland
Chapter, No. 31, Royal Arch Masons; Parkston
Lodge, No. 99, Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows ; and Sioux Falls Lodge, No. 262. Benevo-
lent and Protective Order of Elks.

On the 8th of February, 1890. Mr. Andrews
was united in mirriTge to Miss Persis U. Tyler,
who was born in Des Moines, Iowa, being a
dnup-hter of L. S. Tyler, who has been a resident
of Sioux Falls since 1892. Mr. and ^Irs. An-
drews have one daughter, Edith Alice.

EARL V. P.ORR, M. D.. was horn August
2. 1873, in Richland. Wisconsin, and is the son
of Alartin L. and Mary (Wailing) Bobb, the
father a native of Pennsylvania, the mother of
Wisconsin. Martin Bobb came to Dakota a num-
ber of years ago and settled in Davison county,
with the public affairs of which part of the state
he became quite actively identified ; he served six
years as clerk of the county court, took a prom-
inent part in advancing the material interests of
his community, and was a man of intelligence
and wide influence and withal a most excellent
and praiseworthy citizen. As a leader of the
Republican party he became prominent in state
as well as in local affairs and in the private walks
of life enjoyed the esteem of all classes. He died
in Davison corntv. in October, too.?, at the age
nf sixty years, leiving t'l iiinurn his loss a widow,
who is still living, and six cliilih-en. of whom the

subject of this review is the second in order of
birth. Dr. B. A. Bobb, the oldest of the sons of
Martin and Mary Bobb, is a distinguished physi-
cian of South Dakota, practicing his profession
in the city of Mitchell and at the present time
he is president of the State Medical Association.

Dr. Earl V. Bobb was about nine years old
when his parents moved from Wisconsin to
South Dakota and since 1882 his life has been
closely identified with the latter state. After
attending the public schools for some years, he
entered the University of South Dakota, where
JTe finished his literary education, and then be-
came a student of the Northwestern LTniversity
at Evanston, from the medical department of
which he was graduated with high honors in
1899. Preparatory to the general practice of his
profession, the Doctor did a large amount of
hospital work under the direction of some of the
most distinguished medical talent of the day,
after which he opened an oi^ce in Sisseton. South
Dakota, where he has since built up a very exten-
sive professional business, commanding at this
time a patronage second in magnitude and im-
portance to that of no other physician in the
city or county.

Dr. Robb prepared himself for his life work
bv careful study and critical research, and being a
close student, he keeps in touch with the trend of
modern professional thought, is familiar with the
latest investigations and discoveries in the pro-
fession and possesses the discernment and tact
to select what is most valuable of this knowledge
and use it in his practice.

In addition to his professional labors. Dr.
Robb. since coming west, has been actively iden-
tified with the public and business affairs of Sis-
seton and Roberts counties, and at the present time
is holding the office of coroner. He is stanchly
Republican in his political views, manifests a
deep and abiding interest in his party and has
contributed not a little to its success in the
county, district and state.

In the fall of 1902 Dr. Bo1il> purchased the
leading drug store in Sisseton and is now con-
ducting the same in connection with his prac-
tice and doing a verv lucrative business. He is

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

a member of the State Medical Society, the Aber-
deen District Medical Society, and other organi-
zations whose object is to promote a higher
standard of efficiency in the medical ranks of
South Dakota. He is also interested in secret
fraternal and benevolent work, belonging to the
?iIasonic lodge at Sisseton and the Knights of
Pythias, in both of which orders he is recognized
as an influential member and a zealous worker.

On September 25. 1900, Dr. Bobb and Miss
Elizabeth Morton, of Chicago, Illinois, daughter
of John Morton, of that city, were united in the
bonds of wedlock. Dr. and Mrs. Bobbs have a
beautiful and attractive home in Sisseton which
is well known to the best society circles of the
citv, and both are popular with the people and
have manv warm friends and admirers, here and
elsewliere.

ANFIN J. BERDAHL was born in Nor-
way, December 12, 1852, and when about four
vears old was brought by his parents to the
United States, from which time until i860 he
lived at the family home in Winneshiek county,
Iowa. In the latter year he was taken to Hous-
ton county, Minnesota, thence six years later to
Fillmore county, that state, where he remained
until 1873. the meantime receiving his educa-
tion in the common schools and his more prac-
tical training as an assistant on his father's
farm. Leaving the parental roof in 1873. ^^^
came to South Dakota and the following year
took up a homestead in Edison township, Min-
nehaha county, which he at once proceeded to
improve and reduce to cultivation, and upon
which he continued to reside until the fall of
7887. when he rented his farm and. returning to
^linnesota, engaged in the mercantile business
at the town of Pipestone. One year later Mr.
P.erdahl moved his stock to Jasper, in the same
state, where he conducted a successful trade until
the spring of i8go, at which time he returned
to his Dakota farm and during the ensuing two
vears devoted his attention to agriculture and
stock raising. Renting his land at the expiration
of the_time noted, he established a general mer-

cantile business in Garretson, where he has since
lived and prospered, building up a large and
lucrative trade the meanwhile and taking dis-
tinctive precedence among the leading merchants
of the city.

Mr. Berdahl's domestic experience dates
from 1878, on March loth of which year he
entered the marriage relation with Miss Caroline
Christianson, a native of Fillmore county, Min-
nesota, where her parents, both born in Norway,
settled in an early day. To ^Ir. and Mrs.
Berdahl five children have been born, one of
whom, a daughter by the name of Christiana,
died at the early age of four years ; those living
are Christian. Alfred, Clara and Elmer, who with
their parents constitute a family of eminent re-
spectability and high social standing.

Mr. Berdahl at different times has been
called upon to assume responsible official status,
having served as treasurer of Edison township,
being the second man elected to the office in that
jurisdiction, and he has also been identified for
a number of years with the educational inter-
ests of Garretson. being at this time president of
the city school board, besides holding the posi-
tion of alderman. In the conduct of his busi-
ness affairs Mr. Berdahl is prompt and method-
ical, not given to speculation, being satisfied with
gradual advancement and sure gains. As a citi-
zen he is enterprising to the extent of encour-
aging every laudable movement for the general
good, and his deep and abiding interest in the
social, educational and mo-al welfare of the com-
munity has resulted in substantial advancement
along these various lines.

ANDREW L. COYLE, M. D.— Among the
able exemplars of the nledical profession in the
state is Dr. Coyle, a young man of marked intel-
lectual ability, thoroughly informed in the sci-
ences of medicine and surgery, having had ex-
ceptional advantages in the prosecution of his
studies in technical lines, while he has been estab-
lished in the practice of his profession in Plankin-
ton, Aurora county, since 1003, securing a repre-
sentative support from the initiation of his labors

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

here, by reason of his professional ability and
genial and gracions personality.

The Doctor is a native of Jersey City, Xew
Jersey, where he was born on the 15th of Feb-
rnary, 1874, while he was thus reared imder met-
ropolitan surroundings and influences. After
completing the curriculum of the public schools
he was matriculated in Williams College, at Wil-
liamstown, Massachusetts, where he completed
the scientific course and was graduated as a
member of the class of 1894. He then entered
the medical department of the University of
^Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated
in i8q8, receiving his coveted degree of Doctor
of Medicine. Immediately after his graduation
he received the appointment of contract surgeon
in the United States army, serving in that capac-
ity for more than two years, when he resigned
and made a tour of Europe, visiting England,
France, Germany and other countries and availing
himself of the advantages offered for study and
investigation in the leading hospitals and col-
leges. After returning to the United States he
made a trip to South America, where he remained
about two years, at the expiration of which he
came to South Dakota and established himself in
practice in Plankinton, where he has since been
actively engaged in practice. He is an independ-
ent in politics, and has not yet assumed connu-
bial bonds. He is a member of the South Dakota
Medical Association and the Phi Beta Pi college
fraternitv.

RICHARD DUNLOP, one of the pioneer
mining men of the Black Hills, and now in
charge of the Mineral Point stamp mill, of the
Homestake Mining Company, at Central City, is
a native of the city of Belfast, Ireland, where he
was born on the 15th of February, 1855, being a
son of James and Mary (Clark) Dunlop, who
were likewise born and reared in that city, where
their marriage was solemnized. In 1857 they
came to America and after passing a short
period of time in the state of New York came
west to Iowa, locating in Scott county, where
Mr. Dunlop continued to be engaged in agri-

cultural pursuits until his death, which occurred
in 1877, while his devoted wife passed away
in 1892. They were folk of sterling character
and commanded unqualified regard in the com-
munity which was so long their home. Their
religious faith was that of the Presbyterian
church, and in politics Mr. Dunlop was a Re-
publican. Of the six children in the family all
are vet living, the subject of this review having
been the fifth in order of birth.

Richard Dunlop was reared on the homestead
farm in Iowa and received his educational dis-
cipline in the public schools of his locality. In
1872 he went to Colorado, where he remained
for a few years, devoting his attention princi-
pally to mining. In 1877 he came to the Black
Hills, being numbered among the venturesome
spirits who braved the dangers incidental to
making the trip to this section, then isolated from
civilization bv many leagues of plains, infested
bv the warlike and implacable Indians whose
originally was the domain. From Qieyenne,
Wyoming, he came through bv team to the Hills,
in company with a part\- of other men, and they
had little trouble with the Indians while enroute,
reaching their destination in Deadwood, in
March. There Mr. Dunlop engaged in placer
minine for the Whitewood Flume Company,
about five miles below Deadwood, a portion of
the time working for himself, and he was suc-
cessful in his efforts in both directions. In
1879 'le entered the employ of the Homestake
Mining Company, working as amalgamator and
in other positions of responsibility, and in 1887
he was given charge of the Father DeSmet mill,
owned bv the company and named in honor of
one of the heroic missionan^ priests of the
Catholic church in the pioneer days in the north-
west. He has since been the superintendent of
this mill, which is now known as the Mineral
Point, which is equipped with one hundred
stamps and which is running to its full capacity
since the completion of the auxiliarv cyanide
plant, in 1902. Since coming to the Hills Mr.
Dunlop has given more or less attention to
prospecting and has become interested in a num-
ber of promising properties. In 1892 he made

974

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

a trip through Central America for the purpose,
primarily, of looking over the mining properties
in that section, and he has in his possession some
fine specimens of gold-bearing quartz which he
secured there. In politics he gives his al-
legiance to the Republican party, and fraternally
he has attained the capitular degrees in the Ma-
sonic order and is identified with the Modern
Woodmen of America.

On the i8th of October. 1882, :\Ir. Dunlop
married Miss Jennie Baker, who was born and
reared in Michigan and who died in April,
1884, leaving one son, Richard F., who is now
attending St. John's Military Academy at Dela-
field, Wisconsin. On the 26th of Alarch, 1890,
I\Ir. Dunlop was united in marriage to Miss
Laura Davidson, who was bom in Johnson
county, Indiana, and who was a resident of
Lead City at the time of her marriage. No chil-
dren have been born of this union.

FRANK ABT was born in the kingdom of
Bavaria, Germany, on the 28th of August, 1838,
and is a son of Francis and Mary (Schneider)
Abt, both of whom were likewise native of Ba-
varia, where the father followed the vocation of
stone-mason until his death, the subject being a
child at the time. In the family were two chil-
dren, of whom he is the elder, his sister Katharine
being- deceased. Mr. Abt attended the excellent
national schools of his fatherland until he had
attained the age of fourteen years, and then en-
tered upon an apprenticeship at the shoemaker's
trade, becoming a skilled workman, while he also
served the required term in the Bavarian militia.
Each county furnishes its quota to the German
army, and the selection is made by drawing lots
from the various local military organizations. Mr.
Abt drew the second highest nuinber and thus
was not called into active service. He was offered
twelve hundred dollars for his chance, but re-
fused the same, as he desired to come to Amer-
ica. Had he thus disposed of his exemption priv-
ilege he would have been required to serve six
years in the army. In 1861 he bade adieu to
home and fatherland and set forth to seek his

fortunes in America, landing in New York and
thence coming westward to Davenport, Iowa,
where he was engaged in the work of his trade
for the ensuing four weeks, at the expiration of
which, on the 23d of June, 1861, in response to
President Lincoln's first call, he gave significant
evidence of his loyalty to the country of his re-
cent adoption, by enlisting in Company E, Sec-
ond Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, commanded by
Colonel Elliott. With his command he pro-
ceeded to St. Louis and there they remained in
Benton Barracks about four weeks, when they
started for the front, having an engagement with
the enemy near Paducah, at the mouth of the
Ohio river. Thence they came up the river to
Pittsburg Landing, where they remained some
time, participating in the engagement at that
place, after which they went on to Corinth, ]\Iis-
sissippi, where, under General Rosecrans. they
assisted in defending the city against the attacks
by the forces under General Price. Their next
engagement was at New Madrid, and at Tipton
the command succeeded in surrounding the en-
emy during the night and captured thirteen hun-
dred prisoners. Thence they proceeded to Nash-
ville, Tennessee, where our subject was incapac-
itated by illness, resulting primarily from a
wound received at Corinth, and he was sent to
the marine hospital at Evansville, Indiana, where
he received his honorable discharge in .\ugust,
1862. He then returned to Davenport, Iowa,
where he remained until February of the follow-
ing year, when he started for the newly discov-
ered gold fields of Colorado, where he remained
a brief interval and then started for Idaho, in
company with a party of about one hundred
men. They had a skirmish with the Indians
while en route but lost none of their number,
though a party three days ahead of them
lost three men. He engaged in prospecting for
gold in Idaho for several months and then came
eastward into Montana, stopping in Bannock,
the original capital of the territory, and thence
proceeding to the chief mining camp, Virginia
City, in Alder Gulch. The country was at the
time infested with border outlaws and other des-
perate characters who were a constant menace

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

975

to life and property, and it became necessary
for the better class of citizens to take drastic
measures for protection, resulting in the organ-
ization of the vigilantes, of which Mr. Abt became
a member. It is unnecessary to enter into de-
tails in regard to the action justly taken by these
bands of law-abiding citizens, who had recourse
to severe means of dealing with the offenders,
for all is a part of the written history of the lo-
cality and period, but it may be said that through
their efforts many desperate characters were
brought to expiate for their many crimes, Mr.
.\bt having personally witnessed the hanging of
thirty-three men of this type. Each of the ac-
cused was granted counsel and a fair trial, and
tlie vigilantes represented the very best element
in the coinmunity, as may be understood when
we state that in Virginia City their attorney was
Colonel Wilbur F. Sanders, who later became
United States senator and who still resides in
Helena, Montana, a venerable pioneer and dis-
tinguished citizen.

Mr. Abt bought a placer claim in Alder
Gulch, and worked the same at intervals during
the ensuing year, and then removed to Silver
r.ow. where he remained about a year, being
fairly successful in his mining venture there.
He then returned to Virginia City and purchased
a claim on German Flat, working the same until
May 12, 1866, when the diggings were washed
out bv a severe flood, resulting from a cloud-
burst. On the i6th of the same month he started
for Helena, where he engaged in the boot and
shoe business, doing a prosperous business and
there remaining until 1876. when he started for
the Black Hills, coming down the Missouri river
from Fort Benton to Bismarck, and thence pro-
ceeding overland with a party of more than one
hundred men, who made up a large wagon train.
The first night out they camped at Little Heart,
and at three o'clock in the morning were attacked
by Indians, who stampeded their horses, secur-
ing thirteen head. A party of fifty men started
in pursuit and captured all the horses with the
exception of two. returning at four o'clock in the
afternoon of the succeeding day. That night
they camped at Oak Hill, having a guard about

the camp, as did they each succeeding night, but
they had no further difficulty with the Indians
and finally reaching their destination. In July
Mr. Abt located at Gold Run, where he became
associated with John Roberts, Thomas Bell and
Frederick Istelhurst in the purchase of a placer
claim, below the present town of Lead, for a con-
sideration of three thousand dollars. They
worked the claim successfully during that season,
and thereafter the subject continued to give his
attention to placer mining, in various localities,
for the ensuing three years. He then located
some quartz claims, of which he finally disposed,
after which he engaged in the hotel business in
Lead, conducting what was known as the Abt
hotel, which was a popular resort in the early
days. In 1882 he retired from the hotel business
and resumed quartz mining, to which he devoted
his attention until 1886, when he was appointed
postmaster at Lead, serving four years, since
which time he has lived practically retired,
though he is still interested in a number of valu-
able quartz-mining properties.

Mr. Abt early became prominent in local- af-
fairs of a public nature, and has been called upon
to serve in various positions of trust. He is a
stanch Democrat in politics, and in i8go he was
elected a member of the village council, serving
four years, while in 1900 he was chosen mayor of
Lead, of which office he was incumbent two
years, giving a progressive and business-like ad-
ministration of the municipal government. Un-
der his administration the city sewerage system
was installed and the work of paving the streets
initiated. Mr. Abt is a member of a number of
fraternal organizations, having been the first
grand vice-chancellor of the Knights of Pythias
in the state ; being at the present time senior sag-
amore of his camp of the Improved Order of Red
Men, and also commander of E. M. Stanton
Post, Po. 81, Grand Army of the Republic, while
he is also affiliated with the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks and the Ancient Order
of United Workmen.

On the 4th of :\Iarch. 1867, Mr. Abt was
united in marriage to ]\Iiss Mary Distel, who
was born in Germany and who came to jMontana

976

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

with her brother. She proved a true and devoted
wife and helpmeet during the long period of
thirty years, having been summoned into eternal
rest on the lOth of March. 1899. only a few
days before the thirtieth anniversary of their
marriage. Of the children of this union we enter
the following brief record : John is engaged in
mining in Butte, Montana ; Frank resides in
Chicago ; ^^''illiam is a civil engineer, with head-
quarters in Seattle : Annie, who became the wife
of R. H. Purcell. died November 18. 1900. and
Mary remains with her father in the pleasant
home in Lead.

JOHN W. MARTIN, one of the representa-
tive citizens of Watertown. was born at Scales
Mound, Jo Daviess county, Illinois, on the 9th of
October, 1856, being a son of Henry and Ketu-
rah (Thomas) Martin, both of whom were bnrn
and reared in England, whence they emigrated
to the United States at the age of thirty and
twenty-four years respectively, he becoming one
of the prosperous and influential farmers of the
state of Illinois. Henry Martin died at Scales
Mound, Illinois, February 15, iqoo, while Mrs.
]\Iartin died April 30, 1894.

After completing the curriculum of the pub-
lic schools of his native country the subject of
this review continued his studies in the German-
English College at Galena, Illinois, and later en-
tered the State Normal School at Plattville, Wis-
consin, where he ably prepared himself for the
pedagogic profession, to which he thereafter de-
voted himself, as a teacher in the public schools
of Illinois, until August. 1885, when he came to
what is now the state of South Dakota, locating
in Watertown and becoming identified with the
rea:l-estate and banking business. He was one
of the organizers and directors of the Dakota
Loan and Trust Company, of Watertown, and
of the Watertown National Bank. In 1889 he
was elected cashier of the Watertown Nationa
Bank, in which" capacity he served four years
at the expiration of which he individually en-
gaged in the real-estate business in Watertown
with which important line of enterprise he has

since been prominently identified, his transactions
having reached a wide scope, while upon his
books are at all times represented the most de-
sirable investments, including farm lands in vari-
ous sections of the state, and also improved and
unimproved town and city ])roperty.

From the time of attaining his legal majority
Mr. ^lartin has been an uncompromising advo-
cate and supporter of the principles and policies
of the Democratic party, and he has labored zeal-
ously for the promotion of its cause in South Da-
kota. He served for two years, 1891-92, as mayor
of Watertown, giving a most able and busi-
ness-like administration of the municipal gov-
ernment, and in 1900 he was one of the presi-
dential electors of this state on the Democratic
ticket. In 1902 he was honored by his party with
the nomination for governor of the state, but in
the ensuing election met defeat, in common with
the ].art\- ■L:^;k^:t in general throughout the com-
monwealth. Since 1900 he has been president
of the South Dakota Business Men's Association.
a strong organization and one which exercises
most beneficent functions in furthering the best
interests of the great state. Fraternally he is
identified with Kampeska Lodge, No. 13. Free
and Accepted Masons ; Watertown Chapter. No.
12. Royal Arch Masons: Watertown Command-
ery. No. 7, Knights Templar; Tryschocoton
Lodge, No. 17. Knights of Pythias; Watertown
Lodge, No. 24. Ancient Order of United Work-
men ; Kampeska Camp, No. 2031, Modern Wood-
men of America, and Lodge No. 838, Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks.

ISAAC STAINBROOK. — Conspicuous
among the leading farmers and prominent citi-
zens of Hutchinson county. South Dakota, is
Isaac Stainbrook. than whom few men in this
part of the state are as well known or as highly
esteemed. His father was John Stainbrook, a
native of Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, and
his mother, who bore the maiden name of Susan
Keiser, was born in Westmoreland county, the
same state. John Stainbrook was a farmer and
millwrisrht. in addition to which vocations he

J(_)HN W. MARTIN.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

also manufactured spinning-wheels, made boots
and shoes, worked at stone and brick masonry, —
in fact was a mechanical genius who could turn
his hand to almost an_y kind of skillful work-
manship. He left his native state in 1845 for
the west, migrating to Dane county, Wisconsin,
where he purchased land from the government,
developed a good farm and spent the remainder
of his life on the same, dying in the year 1872.
His widow subsequently came to South Dakota,
where her death occurred, in March, 1880. Mr.
Stainbrook was a man of considerable promi-
nence in his various places of residence, and he
was honored at different times with official posi-
tions, among which were those of justice of the
]icTce, township treasurer and others. He was,
with his excellent wife, a faithful, devoted and
lilieral member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. The family of John and Susan Stain-
lirook originally consisted of ten children, four j
of whom are living at the present time, the sub- \
ject of this sketch being the oldest of the sur-
vivors; the others are John, of Hutchinson
cnuntv; Solomon, a resident of Hanson county,
this state ; and Samuel, whose home is in Clay
county. South Dakota. jLll4S'3:4.'i 1

Tsnac Stainbrook was born in ]Meade town-
ship, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, on the 4th 1
day of February, 1831, and there spent the first
fourteen years of his life, removing with his |
parents to Wisconsin in 1845. His early educa- !
tional advantages were limited and by reason of
his time being required at home he had few op-
portunities to become acquainted with books.
Reared ' to agricultural pursuits, he naturally
turned his attention to the same after leaving I
home and l)eginning life for himself, and he con-
tinued t(T till the soil in Wisconsin until his re- i
niovrd In Ti )\va in 1875. After spending one year
in .\(luir county, that state, he changed his abode
to the count\' of Buchanan where he lived three
years, at the expiration of which time he
moved to Hutchinson county, South Dakota,
and settled on the place where he has since re-
sided and where he now owns a beautiful and
well-improved farm of four hundred and forty
acres, which has been brought to its present 1

high state of cultivation principall\' 1\\- the labor
of his own hands.

When ]\Ir. Stainbrook came to Hutchinson
county the country was comparatively wild, there
being no roads, while the settlers were few and
far between. He worked diligently to get a
start, experienced the vicissitudes and hard-
ships peculiar to pioneer life in the west, gradu-
ally reduced his land to cultivation, and at in-
tervals made improvements as his means would
admit until in due season he found himself the
owner of a beautiful and well-tilled farm and a
fine home, which in point of location and attract-
iveness is now considered one of the most desir-
able country residences in the county. His suc-
cess in material things has. resulted i-n a fortune
sufficiently ample to place him in independent
circumstances and insure a competence for the
future, while his high standing among his neigh-
bors and fellow citizens gives him a place in
their confidence and esteem, such as few of his
contemiioraries enjoy. l\Tr. Stainbrook is a
Democrat in politics, and as such was elected a
member of the board of county commissioners,
in -which capacity he served very effectively for
a period of three years, and in addition to this
responsible position he also spent a number of
venrs on the school board of his township. In
religion he is a Methodist, in which church he
was born and reared and the teachings of which
have had a little to do in fonning his character
and shaping his life and destiny.

In the year 1854 the subject contracted a
marriage with Miss Elizabeth Middleton, of
Elkhart, Iowa, the union terminating in 1897.
The fruits of this union were ten "children whose
names are as follows : ]\Iahala, married and liv-
ing in Hutchinson county; Rohenna, also mar-
ried; Malvina, now Mrs. Carl Braatz, of this
county; George W., who married Frances Klatz
and is engaged in farming and stock raising in
the same part of the state ; Albert, also a fanner
of Hutchinson countv and a married man, his
wife having formerlv been Miss Anna Klatz;
Harriett, wife of William Adams ; Elizabeth,
who married Charles Thompson ; Emma, now
the wife of Charles Michaelson, lives in Hutch-

978

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

inson county, as do also Andrew J. and John
E., both of whom are married and the heads of
famihes. the former choosing for a wife Mabel
Harrington, the latter entering the bonds of
wedlock with Miss Lorinda Biers.

EMIL FAUST, of Lead, is a scion of illus-
trious German stock, and is a native of Hessen
Cassel, German3^ where he was born on the nth
of December, 1838, being a son of George and
Lucia (Rodman) Faust, who were likewise
born in the province mentioned, the maternal
grandfather of the subject having been an
eminent physician and surgeon in that section
of the great empire. The paternal grandfather.
Faust, was colonel of the Twenty-first Hessian
Regiment, and served under Napoleon in Russia,
while under General Blucher he participated in
the historic battle of Waterloo, having received
honorable mention for distinguished service under
the great French emperor, the first Napoleon. The
father of the subject was a man of prominence in
his native province, having there served as state
treasurer for the long period of fifty-two years
and .having wielded marked influence in public
and civic affairs. He resigned the office men-
tioned during the revolution of 1848. but when
the government again gained control he was re-
appointed to the position. During the revolu-
tion he succeeded in concealing a large amount
of government funds, which he returned upon the
re-establishment of the stable government. Of
the six children m the family the subject of this
review was the second in order of birth, and of
the number four are yet living.

Mr. Faust received his early education in
the theological seminary at Fulda, which he at-
tended from the age of ten years to that of four-
teen, the work being that of a preparatory nature
for the priesthood of the Catholic church, of
which his parents were devoted communicants.
He decided, however, that he had no inclination
for the ecclesiastical life, and accordingly left
school and went to Bremen, where he shipped on
a sailing vessel bound for Melbourne, .\ustralia,
and in due time touched the ports of Hong Kong,

Yokohama, Honolulu, San Francisco, and thence
passed around Cape Horn to South America,
from which point the vessel came to New Or-
leans, Louisiana, where he took "French leave,"
deserting the ship. He remained in the Crescent
City until the outbreak of the Civil war, when,
in February, 1861, he enlisted in Company K,
Eighth Louisiana Infantry, commanded by
Colonel Nicholson. He proceeded with his com-
mand to the Confederate capital, the city of Rich-
mond, Virginia, and there the regiment was as-
signed to the army commanded by General
(Stonewall) Jackson. Mr. Faust thus took part
in the various battles in which that intrepid offi-
cer led his forces, including the battle of Fred-
ericksburg, the seven days' battle about Rich-
mond, and was present at Chancellorsville, where
Jackson met his death, having been in the imme-
diate proximity when the body of the valiant com-
mander was brought in. General Ewell then
assumed command, and the subject had by this
time been made first lieutenant of his company,
which he commanded in the battle of Gettysburg,
the company entering this historic and sanguinary
battle with a complement of one hundred and ten
men, and forty lost their lives in this conflict,,
while thirtv-two, including our subject, were
there taken prisoners on the 3d of July, 1863.
Mr. Faust had entered the Confederate service
more in a spirit of adventure than one of convic-
tion of the righteousness of the ciusc, and after
being captured he manifested no rrluctance in
taking the oath of allegiance to the I'nion, and
he then proceeded north to the city of Chicago,
where, in October, 1863, he enlisted as a private
in Company B, Twelfth Illinois Volunteer Cav-
alry, commanded by Colonel Davis, being finally
promoted sergeant of his company. He contin-
ued in the service, in Tennessee, Louisiana and
Texas, until the close of the war, taking part in
no large battles within the interval, and received
his honorable discharge in July, 1865. being in
Texas at the time. He then joined a volunteer
regiment under Colonel Williams, who is now a
resident of Chicago, and was made captain oF
Company A. The command marched into Mex-
ico and there joined the forces of General Diaz

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

979

and engaged in bushwhacking service until Max-
imilian was taken prisoner, in 1867, when thev
were mustered out and returned to the United
States. i\Ir. Faust came up the ^Mississippi river
to St. Louis, and thence went to Oil City, Penn-
.sylvania, where the oil excitement was at its
height, but remained but a short time, going then
to Omaha, Nebraska, and becoming one of the
pioneers of that city. He located there in the
fall of 1868, and was there engaged in the bak-
ery business until 1872, meeting with marked
success. He then disposed of his interests there
and removed to Fremont, Nebraska, where he
erected a flouring mill, at a cost of twenty-five
thousand dollars. Shortly after its completion
the Elkhorn river flooded its banks and took the
mill down stream, entailing a total loss. Mr.
Faust then moved to Evanston, Wyoming, and
in 1875 was among the first of the bold and ed-
venturous spirits who made their way to the
Black Hills. He started from Cheyenne in No-
vember of that year, and his party, comprising
a mule train of about a dozen wagons, came
through without trouble with the Indians, reach-
ing Custer on the 24th of December, and there
'finding the "city" represented by a population
of about twenty persons. Mr. Faust had
brought supplies and there opened a general mer-
chandise store, while he also planted ten acres of
potatoes, which grew well and proved excellent
provender for the grasshoppers, after whose vis-
itation no trace of tfie growing vines was to be
found. He also turned his attention to mining,
locating some quartz claims, but being unsuccess-
ful in the development of his properties. In the
spring of 1877 he removed to Lead, where he had
secured property early in the preceding year, and
here he has ever since maintained his home, con-
tributing to .the upbuilding and progress of the
town to a greater degree than has probably any
other one man, and being one of the most public-
spirited and enterprising of its citizens. After
locating in Lead Mr. Faust established himself
in the general merchandise business, building up
a large trade and continuing the enterprise until
1896, when he sold out. From the start he also
interested himself in mining in this locality. On

the 24th of April, 1876, he located the JMam-
motli Tunnel, going in four hundred feet and be-
ing then compelled to abandon operations by
reason of lack of funds. This is now one of the
rich properties controlled by the Homestake Min-
ing Company. He also located the Old Abe ex-
tension, which likewise went by default, as he
was not able to continue its development, and the
same now constitutes the richest ground owned
by the Homestake Company. While a resident
of Custer, in March, 1876, Mr. Faust took out
the first shipment of gold to Cheyenne, amount-
ing to about five thousand dollars. D. G. Tallent
and James Allen were of the party, with their
freighting outfits, and our subject also had a team
and wagon. They were snow-bound for five days
on Hat Creek, but finally reached their destina-
tion in safety. On the return trip, however, the
party, comprising about forty men, were attacked
by the Indians at Indian Creek, the band of sav-
ages numbering fully two hundred. In the con-
flict the party lost one man killed, and succeeded
in holding the Indians at bay until Captain Egan
came to the relief with troops from Fort Lara-
mie, when the savages fled. Mr. Faust's army
experience proved of great value to him and his
companions in warding oflf the attacks of the In-
dians on this occasion. Mr. Faust located thirty-
seven claims in Garden City, in 1894, and later
sold them to the Penobscot Company, having ap-
plied to them the title of the Realization claims.
He owns and is operating the Esmeralda group of
claims in the Black Tail Gulch. In 1897 he
erected the Faust block, a large and substantial
brick structure, on Main street, and also the
block known as the Dickerson corner, these be-
ing among the most modern and attractive
buildings in the business section, and in 1902 he
erected a fine modern block at the corner of Main
and Seavers streets, the same being fifty by one
hundred feet in dimensions and three stories in
height. He has otherwise shown his public spirit
in a way which has conserved the best interests
of the community, and is always ready to lend
his influence in the furtherance of worthy objects
for the general good.

In politics, though never an aspirant for of-

98o

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

fice, Mr. Faust is stanchly arrayed in support of >
the Republican party, and fraternally he is iden- j
tificd with Stanton Post, No. 8i, Grand Army
of the Republic ; is a charter member of Samari-
tan Lodge, No. 158, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons, at Chadron, Nebraska, and is also a
charter member of Chadron Lodge, No. 140, In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, of the same
place, of which he is past grand master; and
Dakota Lodge, No. 6, Knights of P}i;hias, at
Lead City, of which he is past chancellor.

On the 4th of July, 1868, ^Mr. Faust was i
united in marriage to Miss Minnie Statler, who
was born ancl reared in Pennsylvania, where the |
family was founded shortly after the war of the I
Revolution, the original American progenitor
having been a soldier in the Hessian army during
the struggle for independence. j\Ir. and Mrs.
Faust have two children, William L.. engaged in
the drug business in Deadwood, and ]Maud, at
home.

H. H. HANSTEIN, M. D.. of Lead, is a
native of Illinois, and the son of Herman and
Emily Hanstein, the father born in Germany, the
mother in St. Louis, Missouri. Herman Han-
stein enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education
in the land of his nativity, and when a young
man spent eight years in various technical insti-
tutions in Paris, where he became a skilled arti-
san and achieved distinction as a maker of astro-
nomical and various other kinds of scientific in-
struments. He came to the United States in 1875
and since that time has been superintendent of
drawing in the high school. Chicago, standing
high as an artist and having almost a national
reputation as an instructor.

Dr. H. H. Hanstein was born in Chicago,
August 26, 1877, and received his educational
training in that city, graduating from the high
school when a youth in his teens. He then began
the study of medicine and, entering Rush Med-
ical College, prosecuted his professional research
until May 25. 1898, when he received his diploma,
after which he served the usual term of hospital
]iractice, under the direction of Dr. A. T. Ochner,

one of Chicago's most distinguished surgeons.
With a mind well disciplined by profession.-^!
training and practical experience. Dr. Hanstein
opened an office at Kenosha, Wisconsin, but after
spending about one year in that city, he con-
tracted with the Lead Hospital at Lead, South
Dakota, and during the year and a half following
was on the medical staft' of that institution. Re-
signing his position at the end of the time noted,
he opened an office in the Feiler Curnow block,
and engaged in the general practice, which he
has since prosecuted with most gratifying profes-
sional and financial success, commanding, in ad-
dition to a large city patronage, an extensive busi-
ness in Lead City, besides being regularly em-
ployed .by a number of mining camps in si'r-
rounding country. Few physicians of his age
have achieved the prestige in medical circles
which Dr. Hanstein enjoys, his career from the
beginning presenting a succession of advance-
ments that demonstrate a profound knowledge
of the profession with the ability to apply the
same to practice.

The Doctor is a close, critical student, seek-
ing by every means at his command to increase
his knowledge and usefulness, and the high es-
teem in which he is held attests the firm and abid-
ing hold he has on the confidence of the public.

JOHN WILLIAAI FREEMAN, surgeon of
the Homestake Mining Company, and one of the
distinguished men of his profession in South
Dakota, is a native of Macoupin county, Illinois,
born on the 13th day of December, 1853, in the
town of A'irden. Peter S. Freeman, the Doctor's
father, was born and reared in the state of New
Jersev, but in an early day moved to Macoupin
count}-, Illinois, where he followed agricultural
pursuits until his death, which occurred in the
year 1874. Elizabeth Freeman, the mother, was
a native of Kentucky and, like her husband, went
to Illinois when that state was new, and there
spent the remainder of her days, departing this
life in the above county in 1886.

Reared under the wholesome but somewhat
rigorous discipline of the farm, the early life of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Dr. Freeman was spent amid a ceaseless round
of toil in the summer time, varied of winter sea-
sons by attendance at the public schools. Sub-
sequently he pursued his studies in the \'irden
higli school and after completing the course of
that institution he spent one year as a student
in Blackburn University, in the city of Carlin-
ville. The Doctor remained at home until his
twenty-second year, assisting with the work of the
farm, and in 1875 went to Jacksonville, where
he began the study of medicine in the office of Dr.
D. Prince, one of the leading physicians of that
city, under whose direction he continued until en-
tering the ]\Iiami Medical College, at Cincinnati.
After attending that institution two ye'-rs, he fur-
ther prosecuted his studies and research in the
medical department of the University of New
York City, where he was graduated in 1879, after
which he became assistant to Dr. David Prince,
phvsician in charge of the Jacksonville Sanita-
rium. ]n September, t88i, Dr. Freeman severed
his connection with the sanitarium to accept a
position as assistant surgeon in the United States
army, being sent to Fort Meade, South Dakota,
where he remained in the active discharge of his
professional duties until 1883. In June of that
year he left the army service for the purpose of
accepting the more lucrative post of surgeon of
the Homestake Mining Company at Lead City,
to which he was appointed on the ist day of Jan-
uary following.

Dr. Freeman has looked after the medical
interests of the above company for nearly twenty
years, during which time he has discharged his
duties in an eminently able and satisfactory man-
ner, his career presenting a series of successes,
which have added greatly to his reputation as a
capable physician and skilled surgeon and given
him much more than local repute in the line of
his profession. During this period, he has ex-
ercised personal supervision over the Homestake
Hospital, which under his able management has
liecome one of the leading institutions of the kind
in the state, and in addition to the pressing claims
of his position with the company he also com-
mands a private practice of no small magnitude.
Dr. Freeman belongs to the most advanced

school of his profession and has spared neither
pains nor expense in preparing himself thorough-
ly for his exacting duties, taking advantage of
every opportunity to increase his knowledge and
Ijy critical study, original investigation and re-
search, keeping in close touch with modern med-
ical thought. He served as superintendent of
the Lawrence county board of health under the
territorial government, having been elected to the
position in 1885, and he also held the office a
number of years after the admission of South
Dakota to statehood. In 1887 he was elected
president of the Black Flills Medical Society,
and in 1890 was further honored by being ele-
vated to the presidency of the Medical Society of
South Dakota, the highest position within the
power of the profession in this state to bestow.
He is also a member of the state board of medical
examiners and is a member of the American
Medical Association and the National Associa-
tion of Railway Surgeons, in both of which he
has come into -close contact with the eminent
men of his profession in this country, among
whom he is held in high esteem. In addition to
the above relations, the Doctor has been and is
still identified with enterprises outside his pro-
fession, having served for eight years as a mem-
ber of the school board of Lead City, of which
body he is now president, besides being a director
of the First National Bank of this city, also a
stockholder in the same.

Dr. Freeman, in common with the majority of
enterprising men of all professions and occupa-
tions, is identified with the time-honored Ma-
sonic brotherhood, in which he has risen to a high
rank, being past master of Central City Lodge,
No. 22, Free and Accepted Masons ; past high
priest of Dakota Chapter, No. 3, Ro3'al Arch
Masons ; past eminent commander of Dakota
Commandery, No. i. Knights Templar; eminent
commander of Lead Commandery, and past po-
tentate of Naja Temple, Ancient Arabic Order
of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Politically
he supports the Republican party, and while
widely read and deeply informed relative to all
great questions and issues of the day, national,
international and foreign, the cjaims of his pro-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

fession are such as to leave him httle time or in-
cHnation to enter the domain of partisan pohtics.
Dr. Freeman was married at Lead City, Sep-
tember lo, 1885, to Miss Hattie Dickinson, who
has borne him four children, namely: Carrie
Erceldene, Marion E., John D. and Howard
Freeman.

CHARLES W. MERRILL, B. S., of Lead,'
Lawrence county, was born in Concord, New
Hampshire, on the 21st of December, 1869, and
is a son of Sylvester and Clara L. (French) Mer-
rill, the former of whom was born in Massachu-
setts and the latter in New Hampshire, while
they now maintain their home in San Francisco,
California. The paternal grandfather of our
subject was a pioneer hat manufacturer in Me-
thuen, Massachusetts, while grandfather French
was prominently identified with the installation
of stage lines in New Hampshire in early days,
and also interested in the construction of the first
lailroad line in that state. In 1870 the parents
of our subject removed to California, where the
father established himself in the furniture busi-
ness and where he and his wife still reside.

JMr. Merrill completed the curriculum of the
public schools in San Francisco and then entered
the University of California, where he was grad-
uated as a member of the class of 1891, with the
degree of Bachelor of Science. After leaving
the university Mr. Merrill passed four years' in
practical work with the United States geograph-
ical survey and with one of the leading metallur-
gical engineers of the world, whose specialty
was the amalgamation of gold and silver ores by
chemical processes. In 1895 Mr. Merrill in-
stalled his first cyanide plant, for the Standard
Mining Company, at Bodie, Mono county, Cali-
fornia, this being the first plant of the sort in
that district. That the project proved a source
of profit and the plant a significant success is evi-
denced in the fact that it paid for itself in six
■^vecks nfter the plant was put in operation. Since
that time a number of other plants have been
erected in the same district and by the improved
process it has bepn found profitable to re-open

a number of previously abandoned mines, which
are now yielding good returns. In 1896 Mr.
Merrill erected a large plant at Harqua Hala,
Yuma county, Arizona, this likewise being a pio-
neer cyanide plant, and it has netted the operating
company a profit of ten thousand dollars a month
on an investment of thirty thousand dollars. In
1897 the subject found his services in requisition
in connection with the erection and equipping
of the pioneer cyanide plant for the Montana
Mining Company, Limited, at Marysville, Mon-
t^.na, the same having a capacity of four hundred
tons per day and having been erected at a cost
of one hundred thousand dollars. LTp to the
present time it has paid a full half million dollars
in profits.

In the autumn of 1898 Mr. Merrill began a
series of individual experiments 'in comiection
with treating the tailings from the mines of the
Homestake Mining Company, at Lead, South
Dakota, said tailings practically representing in
valuation about half those with which he had

i previously experimented and had successfullly
treated. The attraction of such a low-grade
proposition was due to the great ore reserves
and large daily tonnage. However, the problem
was one of exceptional interest and importance,
and Mr. Merrill has not only added materially

j to his personal reputation through the success
which he has gained in the connection, but has
gained an economic and scientific victory as bear-
ing upon the great mining industry of this sec-
tion and other localities where similar conditions
exist. The difficulties encountered were, first, to
make a successful separation of the leachable
portion of the tailings, owing to the fact that
the battery process produces a very slimy prod-
uct ; and, second, to overcome the adverse condi-
tion involved in the fact that the ore carried a
very high per centage of pyrrhotite, a very objec-
tionable mineral element in connection with cy-
aniding, by reason of its marked affinity for oxy-
gen, and its tendency to decompose considerable
quantities of cyanide. The problem was finally
solved on a profitable basis, and the economic
treatment of the tailings on a large scale began
with the completion, in April. 1901, of what is

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

983

known as tlie No. i plant, at Lead, at a cost of
three hundred thousand dollars, the plant having
a capacity for treating, approximately, fourteen
hundred and fifty tons a day, which makes it the
largest of the sort in the world. It is earning,
approximately, from thirty to forty thousand dol-
lars a month, and the tailings treated are those
secured from the great mills containing five
hundred and forty stamps at Lead. In the year
igo2 Mr. Merrill installed for the company its
second plant, at Gayville, and this has a capacity
for the treating of an average of eight hnnd-ed
tons a day. This No. 2 cyanide plant treats the
leachable sands from what are known as the
North End mills, the Deadwood, Terra, the eld
Caledonia and the old Father De Smet, repre-
senting three hundred and sixty stamps. The
tailings from these mills are materially lower
in grade than those at Lead, though practically
the metallurgical processes employed in the two
cyanide plants are identical. The second plant is
running at a fair profit, taking into consideration
the low grade of material treated, maintaining
a profit of from seven to ten thousand dollars a
month.

In politics Mr. Merrill gives his allegiance
to the Republican party, but has never desired
official preferment, preferring to give his entire
attention to his profession, of which he is an en-
thusiastic devotee. He is a member of the Amer-
ican Institute of Mining Engineers, the Institu-
tion of Mining and Metallurgy, of London, and
the Chemical, Metallurgical and Mining Society
of South Africa.

On the 9th of February. i8g8 :Mr. ^lerrill
was united in marriage to Miss Clara Robinson,
of .-\lameda, California, she being a daughter of
Dr. William H. Robinson, a prominent dental sur-
geon and practitioner of that state, and of this
union has been born a daughter, Beatrice, and a
son, John.

JOHN .\. SPARGO. master mechanic of the
grent Homestake T\Iining Company, was born in
Polk county, Tennessee, on the 12th of October,
1853. and is a son of James and Mary (I\Iay)

Spargo, both of whom were born in England.
James Spargo, Sr., grandfather of the subject,
was likewise a native of England, and there
passed the closing years of his life, though he
had spent a number of years as a resident of
Cuba. In 1842 the father of the subject came to
America to accept the position of mechanical en-
gineer for a copper-mining company in eastern
Tennessee, bringing machinery with him to com-
plete the equipment of the plant. He remained
in the employ of one concern for the period of
thirty years and is now living retired, in com-
pany with his devoted wife, in Polk county, Ten-
nessee, having attained the venerable age of
eighty years. During the Civil war the mines
with which he was connected were confiscated and
worked by the Confederate government, and he
continued in the same position until the original
owners again assumed control.

John A. Spargo, the eldest of the three chil-
dren, all of whom are living, secured his early
educational training in private schools and there-
after continued his studies in the Henry Clay
School, in Lexington, Kentucky, after which he
took up the study and practical work of mechan-
ical engineering under the able direction of his
honored father. Later he served an apprentice-
ship of four years in the Corliss Engine Works,
at Hamilton, Ohio, thereafter remaining there
employed until 1873, when he was offered and
accepted a position with the Silver Islet
Mining Companv on the north shore of
Lake Superior, where he remained until
1878, when he came to the Black Hills.
In November of that year he entered the
employ of the Homestake Mining Compiny,
working for a time as machinist and being pro-
moted from time to time to positions of greater
trust, until, in 1882, he was finally advanced to
his present important office of master mechanic.
Since that time he has had the supervision of all
machinery in the mines and stamp mills and shops
of the company, as well as of all construction
work, ^^^hen he entered the service of the com-
].iany the mill was equipped with eighty stamps,
mid this has been increased to nine hundred,
making it one of the largest and most complete

984

HISTORY' OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

stamp mills in the Union, while in the shops are
made practically all machines and tools demanded
in connection with the great industry'. Mr.
Spargo is interested in promising mining prop-
erties and is known as an able engineer and exec-
utive. In politics he renders allegiance to the
Republican party, and fraternally is affiliated
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order
of United Workmen.

On the 1st of April. 1885, was solemnized the
n:arriage of Mr. Spargo to Miss Ida Martin, who
■was born and reared in Wisconsin. She was
summoned into eternal rest on the loth of Au-
gust, 1896, and is held in loving memory by all
who came within the sphere of her gracious in-
fluence. She is survived bv three children, ]\[a-
rion Clvde, Ellen ]\Iay and Roger D.

ALBERT STEELE, who holds the responsi-
ble and exacting position of day foreman of the
great stamp mills of the Homestake INIining Com-
pany, at Lead, is of Scottish extraction in the
paternal line, though the name, in the form of
Stahl, has been identified with the annals of Nor-
way since the fourteenth century, when the orig-
inal representatives in the far Xorsehnd immi-
grated thither from Scotland. The subject was
born in Trondhjem, Norwa}-, on the 6th of April,
1838, being- a son of Roald and Kjersten Olsen.
After coming to the United States the subject re-
verted to the English spelling of the name and
the one which was undoubtedly the original or-
thography in Scotland. His father passed his en-
tire life in Norway, engaged in agricultural pi\r-
suits, and our subject was thus reared as a farmer
lad. At the age of fifteen years he accompanied
a Lutheran clergyman to the northern part of
Norway, where he passed four years, and he
then penetrated still farther north, making three
trips to Spitsbergen with Captain Carlson, whose
stanch little vessel went forth for the hunting of
walruses, seals and polar bears. Later Mr. Steele
made a trip in a brig to Hammerfest, the most
northerlv civilized town in the world, and thence
returned with a load of fish to Gothenburg.

Sweden, where the vessel was laden with
lumber and proceeded to Hull, England,
where our subject left the ship and went on a
Russian brig, bound for Riga, Russia, and loaded
with flaxseed for the market at Belfast, Ireland.
The vessel was wrecked on the west coast of
Scotland, and the members of the crew were
picked up and brought into Glasgow, whence Mr.
Steele shipped on the American vessel "Corne-
lia," of Portland, Maine, the same being bound
for Brazil. When three weeks out from Glas-
gow the vessel was wrecked and went to the
bottom of the sea, the crew and passengers tak-
ing to the boats and being picked up within
twenty-four hours by a Welsh brig, and they were
landed on Silly Island, whence Mr. Steele em-
barked on a steamboat for Penzance, Cornwall,
England, thence to Red Ruth and finally to Fal-
mouth, where he and his companions appealed
to the American consul, who sent them on to
Liverpool, via Dublin, where they were looked
after by the same consul. There the subject
sailed finally on a shijj named "Henr_\ Brigham."
bound for San Francisco, and the voyage was an
exceedingly rough one, necessitating the throw-
ing overboard of one hundred tons of the cargo,
while the vessel was greatly disabled, but finally
dropped anchor in San Francisco in September,
1861. The vessel was here seized by the govern-
ment, as it was owned in the south, then in re-,
hellion against the Union. After being identi-
fied with the coasting trade for one year ]\Ir.
Steele went on the stampede of goldseekers to
Alaska, but he immediately returned to San
Francisco, where he remained until 1864, when
he came to Idaho, where he was engaged in
quartz mining for the ensuing three years. He
then returned to California where he followed
the same vocation until 1878, when he set forth
for the Black Hills, arriving in February. On
the 2d of the following month he entered the
employ of the Homestake Mining Company as
a miner, and was soon afterward made foreman
of the Highland mine, retaining this position
two years, at the expiration of which the company
gave further evidence of appreciation of his abil-
itv and fidelity by promoting him to the present

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

office as foreman of the stamp mills, the capacity
of the mills having been increased from three
hundred and sixty to six hundred and forty
stamps since he assumed his position as foreman.
He has a pleasant home in Lead and is held in
high esteem in the community. In politics Mr.
Steele gives his support to the Republican party,
and fraternally he is identified with the lodge,
chapter and commandery of the ;\Iasonic order,
and also with the auxiliary organization, the
( )rder of the Eastern Star.

In January, 1880. i\Ir. Steele was united in
marriage to JMiss Theresa Hienish, who was born
in Germany, and who died in 1881, leaving one
child, Theresa Marie, who is now a stenographer
in the state auditor's office, at Lincoln, Nebraska.
In February, 1884, i\Ir. Steele wedded Miss Mary
.A.nn Leonard, who was born and reared in
Pennsylvania, and they became the parents of
six children, namely : Ellen, Caroline, Albert J.,
Agnes Catherine, John Leonard and Mary Ce-
celia. While out hunting September 5, 1903,
Albert J. was accidentally shot by one of his
companions and died a few hours later. He was
a bright boy sixteen years old.

ROBERT H. DRISCOLL, who occupies the
responsible position of cashier of the First Na-
tional Bank of Lead, Lawrence county, was born
in the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, on the ist
of July, 1857, and is a son of Cornelius and
Catherine (Costello) Driscoll, the former of
whom was born in Ireland and the latter in the
city of Boston, Massachusetts. The father of the
subject was a child at the time of his parents'
immigration to the United States, the family set-
tling in Massachusetts, where he was reared and
educated. He was for a number of years en-
gaged in hat manufacturing in the city of Low-
ell, and he and his wife now maintain their home
in the historic old town of Salem, that state. Of
their seven children four are living.

Robert H. Driscoll was about five years of
age at the time of his parents' removal from
Lowell to Salem, and in the latter city he secured
his preliminary educational discipline in the pub-

lic schools, being graduated in the high school
as a member of the class of 1877. In the autumn
of the same year (1877) he was matriculated in
Harvard University, where he completed the clas-
sical course, being graduated in 1881, with the
degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then accepted
the position of instructor in Latin and Greek in
a private academy at Pittsfield, Massachusetts,
retaining this incumbency one year, at the expi-
ration of which he located in Spencer, Iowa,
where he taught in the public schools for one
year. He then, in August, 1883, came to Lead,
South Dakota, and here passed the ensuing three
years as principal of the public schools, in which
connection he made an excellent record by
greatly advancing the interests of the cause of
education in his field of labor, -systematizing the
work and inaugurating methods which have con-
tinued in use ever since. In 1887 he was ap-
pointed the first auditor of Lawrence county,
under Republican administration, and in the fol-
lowing year was duly elected to the office by
popular vote. In 1889 he was appointed clerk
of the county and circuit courts, these appoint-
ments throughout the territory having been made
by the President of the LTnited States, who se-
lected all court officials during the territorial
regime. The subject was incumbent of the office
at the time South Dakota was admitted to the
Union, and with other presidential court appoin-
tees, claimed the right to hold the position until
the next general election, the clerks appointed by
the county officials taking issue. Mr. Driscoll
made a deterniined stand, and was the first to get
his decision before the supreme court, said de-
cision being favorable to him and thus settling
similar contentions throughout the state. In 1890,
the first regular election, he was chosen to fill
the office, and in 1892 was re-elected, and that
without opposition. In 1894 he resigned his of-
fice and accepted that of cashier of the First
National Bank, of which he has since continued
incumbent, having practically the executive
charge of the affairs of the bank and having
proved himself an able and discriminating finan-
cier. He is a member of the directorate of the
Black Hills Mining Men's Association and also

986

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of that of the Lead Commercial Chib, while he
is also a member of the American Mining Con-
gress and a life member of the Harvard Union,
an organization of the alumni of his alma mater.
Mr. Driscoll is intrinsically progressive and pub-
lic-spirited and takes an active interest in all
that makes for the advancement of the state of his
adoption, being a loyal citizen and one who places
true valuations on men and things. He is a
stockholder and official in several mining com-
panies. In politics he gives a stanch allegiance
to the Republican party.

On the i6th of September, 1886, was solem-
nized the marriage of IMr. Driscoll to Miss Cath-
erine Barry, who was born in Houghton, Michi-
gan, being a daughter of Thomas and Ellen
Barry. Mr. and Mrs. Driscoll have two chil-
dren, Robert E. and James Lowell.

AARON DUNN, one of the pioneers of the
northwest and a prominent and honored citizen
of Deadwood, is a n^vtive of the province of On-
tario, Canada, having been born on the banks
of the St. Clair river, a few miles from the city
of Detroit, Michigan, on the i6th of February,
1 85 1. . His father, Aaron Dunn, was a native of
England, and as a young man, in the thirties,
came to America and took up his residence in
New York, later going to Canada, where he was
engaged in the lumber business until 1856, when
he moved to Minnesota, becoming a pioneer of
Mower county, that state, where he was engaged
in lumbering and farming until 1870, when he
repeated his pioneer experiences to a certain ex-
tent bv coming to what is now the state of South
Dakota, locating in the city of Sioux Falls, where
he passed the remainder of his life, his death
occurring in 1885. His wife, whose maiden
name was Isabella Carnathan, was born in the
north of Ireland, and her death occurred in 1870.
Thev became the parents of twelve children, of
whom three are living, the subject of this sketch
having been the fourth in order of birth.

.\aron Dunn, whose name initiates this re-
view, passed his boyhood days under the condi-
tions of the pioneer epoch in Minnesota, and his

early educational advantages were perforce some-
what limited, while he started forth for himself
when but ten years of age. At that time he
started for the Red river district of Minnesota,
but the Indians were a source of constant men-
ace at the time and the adventurous lad decided
it better not to attempt to personally annihilate
the savages, and accordingly turned about and
went to the southern states, this being in 1862,
in which year occurred the memorable Minnesota
massacre, the Indians having gone forth on the
warpath. The subject's brother, James C,
was at the time a member of Company B, Fifth
Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and at the first
outbreak of the Indians at Redwood Ferry, for-
tv-eight of his company engaged in the conflict
with the savages, and of the number only twenty
returned, seven of them being wounded, while
twenty-seven were killed, the other to complete
the number engaged being the captain of the
company, who was drowned while crossing the
Minnesota river. Dtiring the war of the Rebel-
lion the subject was in various southern states,
from Missouri to Tennessee. He was too young
to enlist in the ITnion service, but as a boy per-
formed his part in forwarding the cause. He
drove an ambulance for some time, carried dis-
patches and was employed in the sutler's depart-
ment, and thus witnessed a number of engage-
ments. In 1863 he was at Cape Girardeau, Mis-
souri, at the time of the battle there, and he con-
tinued in the south until . the end of the war,
when he returned to the north and remained
for a few months, when he went to Colorado,
where he was employed for a time, thence going
to New Mexico. In 1866 he made his war to
jNIontana, making the trip via the Bozeman Cut-
off and Forts Kearney and Smith. At Brown's
Springs, on the dry fork of the Cheyenne river,
the party of which he was a member had a con-
flict with the Indians, losing seven men, while
afterward the party had several other conflicts
with the savages, another member being killed.
Thev arrived in Bozemin in the latter o^rt of
September, and thence ?ilr. Dunn proceeded to
\'irginia Citv, where he passed the winter. In
the spring of 1867 he started forth on a prospect-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ing tour, making his way into the now famous
Coeur d'Alene district of Idaho and there meeting
with fair success. He then went to PhilHpsburg,
Montana, where he took charge of tlie mill of the
Imperial Silver Mining Company, which he
l)laced under successful operation, while it had
]ireviously proved a failure. While under his
charge eight and one-half tons of silver repre-
sented the product of the mill. He remained
with this concern for a period of eighteen months
and then removed to Rochester, Madison county-
Montana, where he leased mines and operated
the same for the ensuing two years, with good
success. He then went to Trapper City, where
he operated the Trapper mine for one winter,
after which he went to the city of Butte, where
he was offered a quarter interest and a salary
of ten dollars a day to sink a shaft to a depth of
one hundred feet in the Hattie Harvey mine. He
accepted the proposition, sunk the shaft to the
stipulated depth and then ran a level from the
bottom a distance of one hundred feet, when he
struck an immense body of ore running twenty-
eight per cent, copper, but as thirty per cent,
was the lowest that would at that time justify
working, owing to the enormous charges for
freight, the development did not proceed till
some time later. It should be stated that this mine
is now one of the most valuable portions of the
great property of the Boston & Montana Mining
Company, Limited. Leaving Butte, Mr. Dunn
started for the Black Hills, in the summer of
T876. LIpon reaching Fort Benton, then the
head of navigation on the Missouri river, he
found that he had arrived a few hours too late
to secure the last boat for the season, and in
company with one companion he purchased a
skiff, in which they floated four hundred and
fifty miles down the river, traveling most at night
and seeing Indians almost daily, this being
shortly after the great Custer massacre. At Car-
roll, Montana, they found a steamboat, on which
they took passage to Bismarck, from which point
the subject and his party came through with ox-
tenms to the Black Hills, arriving in Deadwood
in ( )ctober, 1876, and having managed to avoid
attack from the Indians while cnroute. He

passed a month in mining in Deadwood Gulch
and then joined the stampede to Wolf Mountain,
but the prospects there turned out a failure and he
returned in a few weeks to Deadwood. In Jan-
uary, 1877, Mr. Dunn secured employment in
the first stamp mill erected and placed in opera-
tion in the Black Hills, the same being owned
by M. E. Pinney and Robert Lawton, and being
located on two cement claims, called the Alpha
and Omega. This mill was started in operation
the last day of December, 1876, and though there
has been no little dispute as to the matter of the
first mill to be put in operation, Mr. Dtmn
gives the assurance that this one is unmistakably
entitled to the distinction. The Bald pulverizer
had been started previously and run a short time,
but was not a stamp mill. Mr. Dunn did the
amalgamating in the stamp mill mentioned for the
ensuing seven months, and he then engaged in
prospecting and in speculating in mining prop-
erties, while for a time he ran the Standby mill,
at Rochford, and was also identified with the
operation of several other mills, at varying inter-
vals. Since 1877 he has been interested in min-
ing properties in Spruce Gulch, about two and
one-half miles distant, by road, from Deadwood,
and is there the principal owner in nineteen full
claims. Up to the time of this writing about
fortv thousand dollars have been expended in
the improvement and developing of these prop-
erties, while about three thousand tons of ore
have been shipped to the smelter, the returns
being from eight to twenty-three dollars a ton,
while the ground is acknowledged to be rich. He
also has interests in properties near Custer, where
he has passed some time in prospecting within
the past two years, and there he has found a belt
five miles long and three wide, carrymg all classes
of silvanite and teluride ore hitherto practically
unknown, while he predicts that the same district
will equal the famous Cripple Creek district, in
Colorado, in which latter he also has some inter-
ests. Mr. Dunn has made a careful study of
mining, milling, etc., and is known as one of the
best amalgamators in the Black Hills. In 1885
he looked over mining properties in Nova Scotia,
Vermont and South Carolina for Boston capital-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ists and in 1890-91 performed for them a similar
service in Colorado and Idaho. He now devotes
practicall)- his entire attention to the developing
of his several properties, and is one of the prom-
inent and popular mining men of the state. In
1902 Mr. Dunn made a trip to his old home in
Minnesota, this being his first visit there in forty-
one years. In politics he gives allegiance to the
Republican party.

D. E. A. LUNDOUIST, the first settler of
the thriving town of Irene, South Dakota, and in
point of continuous residence its oldest inhabi-
tant, is a native of Sweden, where his birth oc-
curred on the 22d day of February, 1858. His
father, A. G. Lundquist, a well-to-do merchant
and landowner, also interested for a number of
years in factories and various other industrial
enterprises, departed this life in l,iis native land in
the summer of 1888. The mother, whose maiden
name' was Eva Wennerstrom, also born and
reared in Sweden, is still living in that country,
as are other members of the family, the subject
and two brothers who reside "in New York city
being the only representatives in the United
States.

^Ir. Lundquist received a liberal education
in the schools of his native place and after fin-
ishing the same, in the summer of 1872, took up
the study of telegraphy, which in due time he
mastered. For six years he had charge of a rail-
way station in Norway, during which time he
creditably filled the positions of operator, ticket
agent and bookkeeper. At the expiration of the
time noted he resigned his position and on De-
cember 4, 1879,. left Norway for America, bound
for Minnesota, reaching Delavan, that state, twen-
ty-three days after bidding farewell to the shores
of his native land. The winter following his
arrival he attended a country school and after
spending the next summer herding cattle, he ac-
cepted, in the fall of 1880, a clerkship in a gen-
eral store in the town of Easton. During the en-
suing five years he served as clerk and book-
keeper for different mercantile establishments in

Faribault county, ^Minnesota, and in the fall of
1885 went to La Crosse, Wisconsin, as book-
keeper for a construction company which was
building a branch line of the Chicago, Burling-
ton & Ouincy Railroad to that cit}-.

Severing his connection with this company,
i\Ir. Lundquist subsequently returned to Minne-
sota and for some time thereafter held the posi-
tion of bookkeeper and cashier in the bank at
Wells, Faribault county, which place he resigned
in the summer of 1887 and went to Sioux Falls,
South Dakota, to enter upon his duties as book-
keeper for a contractor who was constructing
into that city a section of the Illinois Central
Railroad. When this work was done, he con-
cluded to remain at Sioux Falls, and after spend-
ing five years there as bookkeeper in a wholesale
house, he again turned his attention to railroad-
ing, engaging in the winter of 1892 with the
Great Northern, which at that time was being
constructed between the cities of Sioux Falls
and Yankton. Since the completion of this work,
in the fall of 1893, Mr. Lundquist has lived at
Irene, with the history of which town he has been
very closely identified ever since the place was
located. Mr. Lundquist came to Irene before
the town was laid out, locating on the present site
April 15, 1893, shortly after severing his con-
nections with the Great Northern Railroad. When
the tov.m was, in the summer of the above year,
surveyed and platted, and the proprietor, Jacob
Schaetzel, Jr., of Sioux Falls, placed the lots on
the market, ilr. Lundquist was appointed agent
and continued as such until the fall of 1894, dur-
ing which time he disposed of the greater num-
ber of lots, besides using his influence to adver-
tise the advantages of the place to the world and
induce a substantial class of people to locate in
the new and rapidly growing town. He not only
erected the first building in Irene and became
the first permanent resident, but is also the fa-
ther of the first child born in the town, besides
being the first merchant, served on the first school
hoard, was the first justice of the peace, and the
first man in the place to be commissioned notary
public. Shortly after locating at Irene yir.
Lundquist opened a general store, which he has

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

989

since conducted with a large and steadily grow-
ing patronage.

Mr. Lundquist is a member of the ^^lasonic
brotherhood, belonging to Lodge Xo. 5. Sioux
Falls, having joined the order at Blue Earth City,
Minnesota, in 1885 ; he is also a charter member
of Camp No. 2323, Modern Woodmen of Amer-
ica, with which society he united in June, 1894,
and in addition to these fraternities, he has been
identified since November, 1899, with Council
No. 24, Ancient Order of Pyramids, besides be-
longing to the order of Home Guardians, Temple
Lodge No. I, at Canton, South Dakota, joining
the last named organization in November, 1902.

On September 20, 1890, at Spirit Lake, Iowa,
was solemnized the ceremony which united Mr.
Lundquist and Miss Etta Capitolia Cassidy in the
holy bonds of wedlock. Mrs. Lundquist was
born August 4, 1869, in Missouri, and slic has
presented her husband with five children, whose
names and dates of birth are as follows : Viva
Rose, January i, 1892; Vera Maud, September
19. 1893; Elsie Ruth, November 4, 1894; Esther
May, June 9, 1896, and Eva Grace, April 20,
1899, all living, and all born in Irene except the
oldest, who first saw the light of day in the city
of Sioux Falls.

JOHN BLAIR S?.IITH TODD, first dele-
gate in congress from Dakota, was a native of
Kentucky, born April, 1814. Educated at West
Point and entered regular army and served in
Florida war, war with Mexico and the Rebellion.
Delegate in congress four years. 1861-1865. Died
at Yankton, Tanuarv, 1872.

ALFRED ALDER, one of the leading citi-
zens and most progressive and highly esteemed
business men of Volin, Y^ankton county, claims
the Empire state of the Union as the place of his
nativity, having been born in the city of Buflfalo,
New York, on the 29th of August, 1846, a son
of John and Mary A. (Rosenbach) Alder, of
whose seven children five are living at the pres-
ent time, namely : John, who is chief clerk in the

Indian school at Lawrence, Kansas ; Eugene, who
resides in Eastman, Minnesota ; Louisa, who is
the wife of James A. Dickson, of Oklahoma, who
was for many years superintendent of schools of
Yankton county ; Jennie, who is the wife of
Charles Campbell, of Eastman, Minnesota ; and
Alfred, who is the immediate subject of this
sketch.

The father of the subject was born in the city
of Berwick, on the Tweed, in England, in 1817,
and was there reared to maturity, having learned
the trade of .millwright and become an expert in
the line, while he also served seven years in the
English army. In 1843 he came to the United
States and immediately enlisted in the army, in
which he served one year. He then returned to
BufTalo, where he was engaged in the work of his
trade until 1857, when he came to the west, lo-
cating in Crawford county, Wisconsin, where
he continued to be actively engaged in the work
of his trade until his death, which occurred in
1880, while in 1871 he became the owner of a
grist mill at Eastman, that state, continuing to
operate the same successfully until he was called
from the scene of life's endeavors, in the fulness
of years and well earned honors. His wife was
born in Germany, in the year 181 1, and also is
now deceased.

Alfred Alder, whose name introduces this
sketch, secured his early educational discipline in
the public schools of Buflfalo, New York, being
about ten years of age at the time when his par-
ents removed thence to Wisconsin, where he was
reared to manhood, learning the trade of mill-
wright under the effective direction of his father
and devoting his attention to that vocation until
1 87 1, when he assumed a position in the mill
owned by his father in Eastman. He continued
to reside in Wisconsin until 1880, when he re-
moved to Middle Branch, Nebraska, where he
erected a flouring mill, successfully operating the
same until 1886, when he disposed of the prop-
erty and came to the city of Yankton, South Da-
kota, where he established himself in the mer-
cantile business, carrying a general stock of
goods. About two years later he came to Volin,
and here he continued in the same line of enter-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

prise until May, 1892. building up a large and
prosperous business and being known as one of
the most enterprising and reliable merchants in
the county. In the month mentioned he sold out
his mercantile interests and in the autumn of the
same year he instituted the erection of the Volin
flouring mill, which was completed the follow-
ing summer, the same having proved of inesti-
mable benefit to the people of this section, afford-
ing facilities for which there had been a recog-
nized demand.

In politics Mr. Alder is a stalwart Republi-
can, and it was his privilege to cast his first
presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, while
serving in the Union army and before he had at-
tained his legal majority, since he was but eigh-
teen years of age at the time. In ^larch, 1864,
he enlisted as a private in Company K, First
Illinois Light Artillery, with which he served un-
til August of the following year, when he re-
ceived his honorable discharge, victory having
crowned the L'nion arms and the rebellion been
suppressed. Flis father also served with gal-
lantry as a Union soldier, having enlisted, at
the age of forty-seven years, in Company I, Fifth
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which he
served for three years and four months,
while his son John W. served for three years
as a member of Company I, Third Wis-
consin A'olunteer Cavaln,-. The subject is
at the time of this writing incumbent of
the office of treasurer of the village of Volin, but
he has never been ambitious for public office,
though ever ready to do his part in forwarding
the civic and general interests of his home town
and county, to which he is signally loyal. Fra-
ternally he is identified with St. John's Lodge,
Xo. I, Free and Accepted Masons, of Yankton.

On the 2-th of November, 1873, Mr. Alder
was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Fin-
ney, of Eastman. Wisconsin, and of their ten chil-
dren nine are still living, namely: John, who is
employed in his father's mill, being an able young
brsiness man : Eunice, who remains at the pa- |
rental home ; Bertha, who is a teacher in the
public schools at Esthcrvillc. Iowa: Ephraim. ;
who is engaged in farming in Yankton county ;

Winifred, who is a teacher in the district schools
of the county; and Alfred, Jr., Herbert, Bessie
and Charles, who remain beneath the home
roof.

NEL.S J. BRAKKE, who is now living re-
tired in the village of \'olin. Yankton county,
where he holds precedence as president of the
board of village trustees, was born in Norway on
the 4th of July, 1844, and was there reared and
educated. At the age of twenty-one years he
emigrated to Ainerica and settled in Vernon
county, Wisconsin, where he found employ-
ment during the ensuing summer, and in the
autumn of the same year (i"866) he came to
Y^ankton county, Dakota, becoming one of the
pioneers of the territory. He pre-empted one
hundred and sixty acres of land four miles west
of the present village of Volin, and some time
later took a homestead claim five miles north-
west of the town. He set himself earnestly to
the task of iinproving his land and bringing it
under effective cultivation, and he continued to
reside on his homestead claim until 1901, when
he removed to the village of Volin, where he
has since lived retired from active business,
though he maintains a general supervision of
his fine farming property, which represents the
results of his many years of earnest toil and
endeavor. He came to America as a poor young
man, having had but one silver dollar as the sum
total of his financial resources at the time of his
arrival in South Dakota, and it can not be other
than gratifying to note the position which he
today occupies as one of the highly esteemed and
well-to-do citizens of our fine commonwealth.
He was married in 1868, but has no children.
In politics he gives an unwavering support to
the Republican party and has been an active
worker in its local ranks. He served three years
as a member of the board of county commis-
sioners. He is a member of the Lutheran
church, is a man of inflexible integrity and is
honored for his sterling character and for the
ability which he has shown in winning his wav
to a position of independence. In irpi he was

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

elected president of the board of trustees of the
village of Volin and is incumbent of the office
at the time of this writing, having proved a most
discriminating and faithful executive.

JOHN O. AASETH comes of sturdy Norse-
land lineage, and was born in Norway, on the 3d
of July, 1850, being- a son of Ole Rise and Kare
(Hestehagen) Aaseth, of whose seven children
he is the youngest of the three survivors, the
other two being Anna, who is the wife of Lars
Hanson, of Yankton county, and Agnethe, who
is the wife of Ole Gulbranson, who still resides in
Norway. Both parents are now deceased, the
father having been engaged in agricultural pur-
suits in his native land, where he passed his en-
tire life. Tlie subject of this sketch was reared
on the homestead farm and his early educa-
tional discipline was such as was afforded in the
schools of his native land, where he remained
until he had attained the age of nearly twenty-
two years. In the spring of 1872 he severed the
home ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in
America, whither he came as a stranger in a
strange land and dependent upon his own exer-
tions for a livelihood, since he had no capital as
a basis of operations and was further handicapped
in that he was not familiar with the language of
the country. After landing in New York city
?\[r. ,\riseth came forthwith to South Dakota,
whose development was at that time in the initial
stages, and located in Yankton county. His first
emplo3'ment was in rafting tics down the Mis-
souri river for use bv the Dakota Southern Rail-
road, which was then in process of construction.
He was thus engaged during the first summer
and upon demanding his salarv, amounting to
about one hundred and twenty dollars, he was
unable to collect the same, having never yet re-
ceived payment for his arduous labors in the
connection. During the ensuing winter he found
emplovment in cutting wood and during the sum-
mer of 1873 he was an employe on the steamboat
"Western," plying between Yankton and Fort
Benton. Montana, while during the harvest sea-
son he worked in the wheat fields. In the au-

tumn of that year he secured a position as clerk
in a general store in the village of Gayville, the
enterprise being conducted by Iver Bagstad, and
in due time he became thoroughly familiar with
all details of the business, gaining the implicit
confidence of his employer, as is evident when
we revert to the fact that at the expiration of
about five years he was admitted to partnership,
while he has ever since been identified with the
enterprise, which has grown from one of most
modest order until it now represents one of the
largest and most important mercantile concerns
in Yankton county. In 1892 the business was in-
corporated under the laws of the state and at this
time the title of the company was changed to its
present form, that of Bagstad & Aaseth Company,
while Mr. Aaseth was made treasurer of the
concern, in which executive position he has since
continued. The building utilized has received ad-
ditions at various times, as the demands of the
business required more ample accommodations,
and an extensive space is now used for the ac-
commodation of the large and varied stock, the
trade of the company extending over a wide ra-
dius of country.

In politics Mr. Aaseth is stanchly arrayed
in support of the Republican party, and has been
an active and effective worker in its cause. He
was for several years a member of the board of
countv commissioners, and in i88g he was elected
a member of the first legislature of the state of
South Dakota, in which capacity he rendered
efficient service to the state and was an able rep- .
resentative of the interests of his constituency.
He takes an active interest in educational matters
and for the past ten years has been a valued mem-
ber of the school board of Gayville. He and his '
wife are prominent members of the Lutheran
church, in whose work they take an active part.
Mr. Aaseth received the appointment of post-
master of Gayville in 1902, and is still incumbent
of this position, in which he is giving a capable
and acceptable administration. He is well known
throughout the county and is honored as one of
its representative citizens and business man.

On the 14th of March, 1879. Mr. Aaseth was
united in marriage to Miss Christina Welson, of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Gayville, she likewise being a native of Norway,
and of this union have been born eight children,
• all of whom still remain at the parental home,
their names being here entered in order of birth :
Oliver, Elmer, Carl, Julian, Lewis, Alma, Clara
and Myrtle. The two next eldest sons are em-
ployed in the store with which their father has
so long been identified and the family home is a
center of hospitality and refinement.

REV. LAWRENCE LINK is a native of
Germany, having been born in the province of
Wurtemberg on the 5th of August, 1869. He
received his preliminary educational discipline in
the fatherland and at the age of fourteen years
he came to America and passed two years with
his relatives in Pennsylvania, and then came to
Yankton, South Dakota, where he was under
the instruction and episcopal guidance of Bishop
Mart}' for one year, at the expiration of which
he entered St. Thomas' College, at Marriam
Park,» St. Paul, where he completed his theo-
logical course, being ordained to the priesthood
on the 2d of July, 1894, at Sioux Falls. His
first charge comprised the towns of Hartford,
Huntimer, Wellington and Garretson, this state,
while he maintained his residence in Sioux Falls.
Tn September of the same year Father Link was
transferred to Tyndall, where he remained for a
brief interval, at the expiration of which he was
called to Yankton to assume charge of Sacred
Heart church during the absence of the regular
pastoral incumbent, Father Edward Jones, who
was absent on a vacation. After the return of
Father Jones the subject remained as his assist-
ant until ^larch i. 1895, when the former was
transferred to another charge and Father Link
succeeded him in the pastoral charge of this
parish, where he has since labored.

DAATD W. DONALDSON, an old and re-
spected farmer and ])ublic-spirited citizen now
living in honorable retirement in section 14.
Spirit Lake township, Kingsbury county, was
born April i. 1826, in Orange county. New

York, the son of James and ?^Iary (Waugh)
Donaldson, natives of Ireland. These parents
came to America in an early day and after living
in the state of New York until about 1829. they
removed to New York city, where their son
David ^^^ spent the greater part of his early
life and received his education. He is the fourth
of six children, only one besides himself living
at the present time, a sister, Mrs. Emile Clem-
ents,, whose home is in Illinois. At the age of
twenty-two, David W. went to ^Michigan ; thence
to Wisconsin and from the latter state to Iowa,
locating at Dubuque, where he worked for some
time as a miner. Leaving that city, he purchased
a half section of fine Iowa land which he culti-
vated for eight years, and at the expiration of
that time, in 1855. moved to Minnesota, where
he continued to till the soil until the second year
of the Civil war. On May 7, 1862, he enlisted
in Company C, Twelfth L^nited States Infantry,
with which he served three years, during which
time he participated in a number of sanguinary
battles and minor engagements, including, among
others, the second battle of Bull Run. Antietam.
Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg. Mine Run, and
the bloody actions in the Wilderness. At
.Antietam .the drum of his right ear was ruptured
by the concussion of heavy artillery, causing par-
tial deafness from which he has never recovered,
and for years he has been obliged to use an ear
trumpet to assist his sense of hearing. IMr.
Donaldson was honorablv discharged in 1865
with the rank of corporal, after which he re-
turned to his Minnesota home and there car-
ried on fanning very successfully until 1882,
when he disposed of his interests in that state
and came to King.sbury county. South Dakota,
taking up a homestead in section 14, Spirit Lake
township. He soon reduced his land to a high
state of tillage ; erected a fine residence and made
many other substantial improvements, until his
farm is now considered one of the best in the
county of Kingsbury. He followed agriculture
and stock raising very profitably until a few
years ago when, by reason of the comfortable
competence in his possession and the infirmities
incident to advancing age, he rented his land and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

has since lived a retired life. Mr. Donaldson has
always been a great reader, and takes much
pleasure in liis books and periodicals, his ac-
quaintance with literature and his information
relative to current, public and political questions
being general and profound. He has always been
a stanch Republican, remained true to his party
when Populism threatened its disruption and has
contributed greatly to its success in his town-
ship and county. He served a number of years
as school treasurer, resigning the office in 1902,
and was for six years clerk of the school board
in the township of his residence. He is a charter
member of the Grand Army of the Republic
post at DeSmet, takes an active interest in al!
of its deliberations and has filled various official
positions in the same from time to time.

Mr. Donaldson, in 184S, was united in mar-
rias'e to IMiss Mary Clark, who was born in
Allegany county. New York, December 3, 1832,
being the daughter of Joseph and Sarah
(Bable) Clark, of that state- Mr. and Mrs.
Donaldson have been married fiftv-five years and
are still hale, hearty and happy and seem to enjoy
life much more than the majority of people.
Their home is noted for its hospitality and all
who .know the excellent old couple esteem them
for their many amiable qualities and sterling
worth. They have nine children, whose names
and dates of birth are as follows : Clara I.. May
6. 1850; James, June 29, 1852: Elizabeth, Feb-
ruary 3, 1855; Sarah J., February 6, 1857;
Emily, April 11, 1859; Mary, Januan- 23, 1861 ;
Frances E., January 16, 1863; Ella, August 24,
1866, and George E., who was born June 23,
1870, all living but Clara and Frances, the for-
mer dying May 4, 1875, the latter on Septem-
ber 22, 1863.

I ERNEST DUMONT SKILLMAN. cashier

* of the State Bank of Irene, Clay county, was born
in Macon, Lenawee county, Michigan, on the nth
of June, 1867, and thence his parents removed to
South Bend, Indiana, in 1868. and from the lat-
ter place to Bethlehem, Albany county. New

York, in 1872. In a country district school in
the last mentioned locality the subject received
his early educational discipline, while later he
was there under private instruction at home. In
1883 the family came to the territory of Dakota,
and the subject's education was here completed
in the Sioux Falls University, where, with his
brother, Willett R,, now of New York city, he 1:)C-
longed to the upper classes in 1883-4.

Rev. William Jones Skillman, father of him
whose name initiates this sketch, was born in
New Jersey, in the year 1835, and was gradu-
ated in Rutgers College in i860, while three years
later he was graduated in the theological semi-
nary of the Dutch Reformed church, at New
Brunswick, New Jersey. He forthwith entered
the ministry of his ancestral church, and he has
been pastor of churches of that denomination as
follows: Macon, Michigan, from 1863 to 1868;
South Bend, Indiana, from 1868 to 1872 ; First
Bethlehem church, on the Hudson fiver, near Al-
bany, New York, from 1872 until 1883. In the
last mentioned year he came with his family to
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as before mentioned.
Here he organized the Presbyterian church, while
later he served the Presbyterian churches of Dell
Rapids and Flandreau,-this state, the family in
the meanwhile continuing to reside in Sioux
Falls. Later Mr. Skillman held for a short time
the position of professor of Greek in the North-
western Academy at Orange City, Iowa, and
finally, in 1886, he assumed pastoral charge of the
Livingston Reformed church, of Sioux Falls,
while he was also editor and proprietor of the
Sioux Falls Journal. In 1894 he removed to the
city of Philadelphia, where he was for a time
pastor of the Talmage Memorial church, being
now pastor of the South church (Reformed),
of that city. Until 1902 he was also there asso-
ciate editor of the "City and State." His wife,
whose maiden name was Susie Eleanor Gilliland,
was born in New York city, in 1841, and was
reared and educated in the national metropolis,
earlv becoming a teacher and later vice-principal
o.f the leading public school of New Brunswick,
New Jersey. The parents of the subject are both
living and are hale and vigorous, worthy types of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

stanch ancestral stock and of noble manhood and
womanhood. !

The Skillman family is one of the oldest in j
America. All of the name in the United States
descend from Captain Thomas Skillman, who was
an English soldier and a member of the Duke of
York's expedition, under command of Colonel
(afterward Governor) Nicolls, to whom New
Amsterdam surrendered in 1664, becoming known
thereafter as New York. The subject of this
sketch is of the eighth generation in direct line
of descent from Captain Thomas Skillman. The
family, however, is more Dutch (Holland) and
Huguenot (French) than it is English, having a
record, both direct and through inter-marriage,
which shows such characteristic names as Petit.
Aten, Van Alse. Quick, Runyon, Longstreet, Per-
rine. etc. It includes at least three families all
the members of which bearing the name respect-
ively spring from a common ancestor — the Skill-
mans, as noted, the Scudders and the Runyons.
The same also may be said of all the rest except
the first, though the lineage has not been worked
out so closely and clearly as in the case of the
three mentioned. The paternal grandmother of
the subject bore the maiden name of Mary Scud-
der, she being the seventh by descent from
Thomas Scudder, of Plymouth, Massachusetts,
and later, in 1635, of historic old Salem. One of
the great-grandparents of the subject was Cath-
arine Runyon, the fifth by descent from Vincent
Rongnion, who was born in Poitou, France, in
1640, and who was one of the Huguenots who
fled their native land to escape the persecution
incident to the revocation of the edict of Nantes.
The Perrines, on the maternal side, were also
Huguenots, and the maternal grandfather of the
subject's mother was by birth a Spaniard, being
an early resident of New York city. The Gilli-
lands were Scotch-Irish and earlv became set-
tlers of New Jersey, the mother of i\'Ir. Skillman
being of the fourth generation from John Gilli-
land, of the Spottswood neighborhood. His son
David married Eleanor Perrine Willett. repre-
senting another of the oldest, most numerous aivi
best known families of New York. There is
English. Dutch, French, Scotch and Scotch-

Irish, Welsh and Spanish blood in the Skillman
family as represented in the subject of this sketch,
and so far as known, with a single exception, that
of the Spanish great-grandfather on the mother's
side, not one of the families thus interrelated has
been in America for less than two centuries, while
some, as the Scudders and others, have been es-
tablished on American soil for nearly three cen-
turies. Soldiers in the war for independence,
both privates and officers, are found among the
ancestors of the family in nearly all its compo-
nent households.

Ernest D. Skillman accompanied his parents
to South Dakota in 1883. and for the first four
years after his arrival in the state he devoted his
attention to farming, being associated with his
brother, \Vil!ett R., in improving and cultivating
his father's farm, about one and one-half miles
northwest of Sioux Falls, the two brothers main-
taining bachelor's hall during this interval. In
January, 1887, ]\Ir. Skillman secured a position
as collection clerk for the Sioux Falls National
Bank, in which he was eventually promoted to the
officer of teller, retaining this incumbency until
the 1st of November, 1893, when he resigned, to
accept a position in the office of the treasurer of
Minnehaha county, where he remained until the
following June, when he resigned the office to
accept that of cashier and manager of the State
Bank of Irene, at Irene, Clay couiity, said institu-
tion having been organized in May, 1894, by Ja-
cob Schaetzel, Jr., William A. Schaetzel and 'Sir.
Skillman, who still remain the interested princi-
pals, while the subject has further continued to
hold the chief executive office from the time of
the organization to the present.

In politics Mr. Skillman gives his allegiance
to the Republican party, and he was chairman of
the board of trustees of the town of Irene for one
year, his term expiring on the ist of June, 1902,
while for three years he was treasurer of the
Irene school district, his term expiring June i,
1903. He is clerk of Irene Camp, No. 2323, Mod-
ern Woodmen of America, having held this office
for several years, while he has been correspond-
ent of the Tri-County Homestead, No. 647. at
Irene, since the time of it? organization, in 1901.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

995

His religious faith is that of the Dutch Reformed
church, in which he was reared.

On the 4th of October, 1892, was solemnized
the marriage of ^Ir. Skillman to Miss Mary E.
Schaetzel, of Sioux Falls, she being the only
daug^hter of Jacob Schaetzel. Jr. She was born
in Freeport, Illinois, on the 8th of January, 1872,
and was but three years of age at the time of her
parents' removal to Sioux Falls, where she was
reared and educated. She was the first, gradu-
ate in music in All Saints' school, in this city.
Both her father and mother were born in Wis-
consin, the maiden name of the latter having been
Catherine Brenner, and all of her grandparents
were native of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Skill-
man have two children, Roy Jacob, who was born
at Sioux Falls, Augaist 14, 1893, and Katherine
Anna, who was born in Irene, February 10, 1895.

JACOB SCHNAIDT, one of the prominent
business men of Menno, Hutchinson county, is
a native of southern Russia, where he was born
November 10, 1S47, ^ son of Frederick W. and
Salomea (Herr) Schnaidt, to whom were born
two children, Frederick having died at the age of
one year. The parents of the subject passed their
lives in southern Russia, the father having- there
been engaged in agricultural pursuits during his
active life, being a man of prominence and in-
fluence in the community, and having held for
several years the office of mayor of the town of
Cassel, in which he maintained his home. His
father. Frederick W. Schnaidt, was born in Ger-
manv, whence he emigrated to Russia in 1807,
and he likewise was mayor of Cassel for a num-
ber of years and wielded marked influence in
public affairs of local nature. The subject of this
sketch passed his youthful days on the homestead
farm and secured such educational advantages as
were afforded in the schools of the locality. Upon
attaining maturity he continued his identification
with agriculture, while in his native place he was
married, in 1868, to Miss Catherine Mehlhaf.
In 1873 they set forth to seek their fortunes in
America, arriving in due time in New York
city and thence coming to what is now South

Dakota. Mr. Schnaidt forthwith took up a pre-
emption claim in Bon Homme county, but a
year later he removed to Yankton, where he se-
cured employment as a salesman in the hardware
establishment of the firm of Dudley & Hawley,
with whom he remained about five years, at
the expiration of which he engaged in the same
line of business upon his own responsibility.
Yankton being then the capital of the ter-
ritory. In 1 88 1 he sold his business and came
to jMenno, where he opened a hardware store,
successfully conducting the same until 1887,
when he disposed of the enterprise and engaged
in the lumber business, this undertaking like-
wise prospering under his able supervision. In
1898 IMr. Schnaidt sold his lumber yard and
purchased the hardware store and business which
he had previously owned, and to the same he has
since given his attention, controlling a trade
which extends throughout the wide area of coun-
try naturally tributary to the town and being
known as one of the county's most progressive
and reliable business men. He is the owner of
four hundred and eighty acres of valuable land
in the county, and the same is well improved.

In politics Mr. Schnaidt gives an unfaltering
allegiance to the Republican party, in whose
councils he is a prominent figure in the state. In
1882 he was elected county commissioner, serv-
ing two terms, while- he was a member of the
territorial legislature in 1887, serving one term.
In 1890 he was elected to represent his district
in the state senate, serving through the general
assembly of the ensuing year and still farther
proving his loyalty to and interest in the state
with whose interests he has so long been
identified. In igoi he was appointed a member
of the state board of charities and corrections
and is incumbent of this office at the time of this
writing. He and his wife are prominent mem-
bers of the German Reformed church. They are
the parents of thirteen children, namely : Jacob,
Jr., who is engaged in the real-estate, loan and
insurance business in Menno ; Christoph, who
is now a resident of Lodi, California; Emil, who
is with his father in the store; Henry, who is a
druggist in Groton, this state; Edward, who is

996

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

preparing- himself for the profession of dentistry ;
and Magdalena, William, Lydia, Helmuth,
Martha, Herbert, Gideon and Theodore, all of
Avhom remain at the parental home.

C. A. ERLANDSOX, senior member of the
firm of Erlandson & Johnson, general merchants,
of Milbank, is another of the sons of the North-
land who have contribnted so materially to the
industrial, business and civic development and
progress of South Dakota. "Sir. Erlandson was
born in Sweden, on the 20th of August, 1847,
and is the son of parents wlio passed their entire
lives in their native land. The subject was edu-
cated in the excellent schools of Sweden and
Avhcn but scarcely attained to manhood he set
forth to seek his fortune in America. After sev-
eral years he came to South Dakota and located
in the newly founded village of Milbank, with
whose upbuilding and business interests he has
been identified, while he lias attained a high de-
gree of prosperity and is known as one of the
reliable and straightforward business men and
valuable citizens of the town and county in which
he has made his home for nearly a quarter of a
centurv.

JA:\IES DONNELLY, one of the leading
farmers and stock raisers of Bon Homme county,
was born April 19. 185 1. at Black Earth, Dane
county, Wisconsin, and is the oldest of a family
of six children, whose parents, Frank and Nancy
(Reegan) Donnelly, were natives of Ireland.
Shortly after their marriage Frank Donnelly and
wife came to America and settled in Dane county,
Wisconsin, where they continued to reside from
1850 to 1 86 1. In the latter year, with several
other families, they started west and in due time
reached Niobrara, Nebraska, where they made
settlement and purchased government land, being
among the first pioneers in that part of the state.
Mr. Donnelly improved his land and lived on the
same for a period of five years, at the end of
Mdiich time he sold out and moved to Bon Homme
county. South Dakota, locating in Ruiming Wa-

ter township, where he and his wife spent the
remainder of their <la\s. Ijoth dying in the year
1902, she in April .-ind he in the month of Octo-
ber. By occupation Mr. Donnelly was a black-
smith, w hich trade he followed exclusively in his
native country, but after coming to the United
States the greater part of his attention was de-
voted to agricultural pursuits. As stated above,
the subject of this review is the oldest of the
children born to Frank and Nancy Donnelly, the
others being Mary, widow of Michael O'Shea :
Hannah, wife of William Rogers, of Bon
Homme county ; Margaret, who married James
McKenna and lives in Yankton county ; Frank
E. dives in Nebraska, and John, whose home is
in Alberta, Canada.

James Donnelly was ten years old when he ac-
companied his parents on their removal to Ne-
braska and he retains vivid recollections of the
long and somewhat wearisome journey by ox-
team to their new home in the west. He came
with the family to South Dakota and at the age
of twenty-two left the parental roof and entered
one hundred and sixty acres in section 15. Run-
ning Water township, in addition to which he also
took up the same amount of land in section 14,
both of which tracts he at once proceeded to
improve. After residing on his original purchase
until 1885, he bought the quarter section where
he now lives, but since then he has added to its
area until the farm now includes four hundred
and eighty acres of fine land, admirablv situated
in one of the richest agricultural districts of Bon
Homme county.

Mr. Donnelly has brought his place to a high
state of tillage, besides making a number of valu-
able improvements thereon, his elegant and com-
modious modern dwelling, erected in 1899, be-
ing one of the finest and most attractive country
residences in the township of Running Water.
While enjoying marked prestige as an enterpris-
ing agriculturist, he makes stock raising his
principal business and since the year 1880 his at-
tention has been largely devoted to this impor-
tant industry. He breeds and raises a fine grade
of Durham cattle, pays considerable attention to
hogs and for some years past has made a spe-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ciallv of Percheron and coach horses, of which
he keeps a large number and for which there is
ahvays a lively demand at good prices.

;\Ir. Donnelly is a man of progressive ideas
and tendencies and to him as much as to any
other individual is due the advancement of Run-
ning Water township along material lines and
the prosperity of its people. In politics he has
been a stanch supporter of the Democratic party
ever since old enough to cast a ballot, but his
inclination has never led him to seek office or as-
pire to leadership. Religiously he was born and
reared in the Catholic church and still adheres
loyally to that faith, belonging with his family
to the congregation at Running Water.

In Tnne, 1873, was solemnized the marriage of
^Ir. Donnelly and Miss Kate Milligan. the httcr
a native of County Roscommon, Ireland, and the
daughter of James and Alary Milligan. Mrs.
Donnelly came to this country in 1S70,
her parents remaining in Ireland the re-
mainder of their lives, the mother dying

186(^1, the father in the vcar

^73-

Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly are the parents of nine
children : Frank, formerly a teacher in the pub-
lic schools, but now his father's assistant on the
farm ; James E.. also at home : Winnie, wife of
Lawrence Wilson, of Running Water : Annie,
'vho taught for five years in the county schools,
but at this time runs a dressmaking establish-
ment in the city of Yankton ; Mary, Maggie,
Katie, Zoie and Laura, the last five, with an
adopted daughter by the name of Lillie Moore,
a popular teacher of six years' experience, but
now married to James Gayner. of Springfield,
Bon Homme county. South Dakota, being mem-
bers of the home circle.

JOHX SCH:\1TERER, Jr.. cashier of the
German American Bank at Parkston. Hutchin-
son county, and recognized as one of the able
young business men of this section of the state,
was born in the soutbpastern part of Russia, be-
ing a son of John and Elizabeth (Becker) Schmi-
erer. emigrating with his family to the Ignited
States, locating in Scotland, Bon Homme

county. South Dakota, the state being at that
time still a portion of the great undivided ter-
ritory of Dakota. He established himself in the
hardware and fann-implement business and there
continued to be successfully engaged in business
for several years. Subsequently he purchased
the Parkston State Bank and reorganized the
same, of which he has ever since been president,
while the subject of this sketch was made cashier
at the time of reorganization, the bank being one
of the solid and popular monetary institutions of
this section, while it is incorporated under the
title of the German American Bank.

The suljject of this sketch was still an infant
at the time of his parents' emigration to America,
and he has thus passed practically his entire life
in South Dakota. After completing the curricu-
lum of the public schools he continued his stud-
ies in the State Lhiiversity. and supplemented this
bv a course in the Bryant & Stratton Business
College at Chicago, Illinois. After completing his
work in that institution he was employed for one
y-ear bv a business firm of that city, and was then
compelled to resign his position by reason of a
severe attack of illness. He then returned to his
home in South Dakota, and for a while was em-
ployed in the Bank of Scotland, after which he
was' made cashier of the German American Bank
of Parkston, of which position he has ever since
been incumbent.

IMORDECAI WILLSON, M. D.— The suc-
cess achieved by this scholarly and enterprising
physician and surgeon has won him recognition
among the leading men of his profession, not
only in the city of his residence, but throughout
this section of the state, he being regarded as
one of the most skilled surgeons in the north-
west, while his success in the treatment of dis-
eases peculiar to the female sex has gained him
a prestige such as few attain.

Dr. Willson was born in New Y^ork state ami
spent his early years there, entering, as soon as
old enough, the ptiblic schools, after which he
prosecuted his studies for some years in an
academy. Still later he entered an educational

998

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

institution in Vermont, and there applied him-
self very closely to study, the meanwhile receiv-
ing special training on the violin, an instrument
for which he early manifested a fondness. Leav-
ing the above institution he continued his musical
studies under the direction of competent in-
structors, making rapid advancement and be-
coming an accomplished violinist. He taught
music and also played in a number of high-class
concerts both in Canada and the United States.

During the latter year of his concert work
Dr. Willson studied medicine and later entered
the Detroit Medical College, from which he was
graduated. Prior to his becoming a student of
the above institution, he was united in marriage
with Miss Helen Volser, and after his graduation
removed to Kansas, where he practiced his pro-
fession very successfully during the following
several years. He then located in Nebraska,
where he did a large professional business, also
erecting and maintaining a hospital.

Disposing of his interests in Nebraska. Dr.
Willson came to Yankton, South Dakota, where
he has since been actively engaged in the practice
of his profession, devoting special attention to
surgery and female diseases, in both of which
lines his success has been such as to gain him
much more than local repute. As a surgeon he
ranks with the ablest in the state, halving per-
formed many difficult operations.

JOHN FAGAN.— The well-improved and
valuable ranch of the subject is eligibly located,
in Potter county, ten miles southeast of the thriv-
ing town of Gettysburg, and he is known as one
of the energetic and successful farmers and stock
growers of this section of the state.

Mr. Fagan is a native of Iowa, and his father
emigrated from the fair Emerald Isle to America,
first locating in the city of Philadelphia, and
later becoming a pioneer of Iowa.

Mr. Fagan passed his youthful years in Iowa
and Illinois, and his educational advantages were
those afiforded by the public schools. He came to
South Dakota in 1884, and in the following
spring he took up government land ten miles

southeast of Forest City, Potter county, and there
devoted his attention to farming and stock rais-
ing until 1900, when he disposed of his property
in that location and purchased his present finv^
estate, which is one of the valuable places of this
portion of the state, the same being equipped with
substantial buildings and having excellent fa-
cilities for the raising of stock as well as for the
raising of large crops of farm products best
adapted to the soil and climate.

C. W. LEANING, a representative of the
agricultural interests of South Dakota and one
of the leading farmers of Yankton county, was
born in Otsego county. New York, in 1853, and
is a son of William and Phoebe A. (Thom)
Leaning. The father was born in Lincolnshire,
England, April 16, 1825, and in 1851 was
brought to America. He became a resident of
New York, settling near Cooperstown, and there,
when he arrived at years of maturity, he wedded
IMiss Thorn. In the year 1867 he came with his
family to South Dakota, making his way to Deni-
son, Iowa, on the train, thence to Sioux City ho-
stage and from there coming up the river on the
boat "Paragon" to Yankton, thus becoming
identified with pioneer interests in this section of
the state. There they resided in a house with five
other families for three weeks. On coming to
Yankton, Mr. Leaning secured one hundred and
sixty acres of land, which he entered from the
government and upon which he built a log house
and began the development of a farm. ]\Iany
perils and difficulties were to be borne by the I
early settlers. Not only did they fear Indian I
attacks, but their crops were destroyed by grass-
hoppers and all the inconveniences and difficulties
of pioneer life were to be met. Mr. Leaning. 1
however, persevered in his work until he at- I
tained success, becoming the owner of a valu- '
able property here. At the time of the Civil
war he strongly advocated the Union cause and
joined the army. In 1863, while in his tent, he
was wounded and lost one of his fingers. He
was a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and a genial gentleman of sterling worth.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

999

having the warm regard of many friends, tak-
ing pride not only in the progress of his own
affairs but did everything in his power to aid in
the development and upbuilding of his country.
He died in February, 1903, while his wife passed
awav in November, 1902, and thus the country
lost two of its most honored pioneers and valued
citizens. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Leaning were bom
four children : Elsie A., Mary., C. W-, and Alice,
Imt the last named is now deceased. The daugh-
ter Elsie became the wife of George W. Owens
and unto them have been born three children, of
whom one died in infancy, while the son,
Chauncv, and the daughter, ]\Iary Alice, are yet
under the parental roof. Their son loyally es-
poused the cause of his countn,- in the Spanish-
American war and became a member of Company
C, First Regiment South Dakota \'olunteers. He
went as far as San Francisco and was there
taken ill, after which he was sent home. He
joined the army in May and returned in Sep-
tember. He was sergeant of his company and
was popular with his comrades. An enterpris-
ing young business man of Yankton county, he
is now engaged extensively and successfull_y in
the poultry business, making a specialty of rais-
ing and breeding Plymouth Rock poultry.

C. W. Leaning spent his boyhood and youth
in the Empire state and acquired his education
in the public schools there, \^'ith the family he
came to the west and has since carried on general
farming in this portion of the country, becom-
ing one of the successful and leading agricultur-
ists of the community. He is now the owner of
forty acres of good land, all of which is under
cultivation and returns to him very desirable
crops because of the care and labor he bestows
on it. He has lived here since the days when
antelopes were seen on the prairie and when there
were many wolves and wild game.

On the 23d of May, 1892, Mr. Leaning was
united in marriage to Aliss Minnie E. Batchellor,
a daughter of Watson and Elizabeth Batchellor,
natives of Illinois. The father was a farmer and
carpenter. Unto ]\Ir. and Mrs. Leaning were
born four children, a little boy, Mary A., Byron
C. and Phebe. of whom all but the youngest

died in infancy. Mrs. Leaning died in Septem-
ber, 1899, and Phebe, a girl of seven, is now
with her father and aunt, Mrs. Owens, at the old
home.

In his political \-iews Mr. Leaning is an earn-
est Republican, keeping well informed on the
issues of the day and giving his earnest support
to his party. He belongs to the Congregational
church, with which he has been identified since
his removal to the west. Mr. Leaning also be-
longs to Modern Woodman Camp Xo. 1557, and
in matters of citizenship is public-spirited and
progressive, taking an active interest in every-
thing pertaining to the upbuilding of his com-
munity.

W. F. STEARXS. treasurer of Douglas
county, was born on a farm in Seneca county,
Ohio, on the 15th of September, 1850. being the
eldest of the four surviving children of John B.
and Adaline H. (Kelly) Stearns. His brother
Alden W. is a broker of mining stock, residing
in Garden Grove, Iowa ; Clara is the wife of J.
D. Bartow, of Plankinton, South Dakota: and
Grace is the wife of J. E. Vail, of Garden Grove,
Iowa. The father of the subject was born in the
state of X^ew York, and when he was five vears
of age his parents emigrated thence to Ohio,
becoming pioneers of that commonwealth, and
there he was reared to maturity on a farm, secur-
ing a common-school education. He continued
to be engaged in agricultural pursuits in Seneca
county until 1883. when he rented his fine farm,
comprising three himdred and sixtv acres, and
came west, taking up a homestead claim in what
is Beadle county. South Dakota. After proving
up on his claim he returned to Ohio, where he
remained one year, at the expiration of which he
returned to South Dakota and located in the
village of Plankinton, where he became promi-
nently identified with the grain and live-stock
business, continuing operations in the line until
his death, which there occurred in 1890, at which
time he was sixty-six years of age. He was a
stanch Republican in politics, and though he
never sought office he was an important factor in

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the councils of his party while a resident of Ohio,
having been a close personal friend of ex-Gover-
nor Charles Foster, whose home was in Seneca
county, and having been one of his able lieu-
tenants in various campaigns. He was a mem-
ber of the Methodist church and was a man of
marked business acumen and sterling character,
commanding the respect of all who knew him.
His wife, who was likewise born in Ohio, is now
living at Garden Grove, Iowa.

W. F. Stearns was reared on the homestead
farm and secured his educational discipline in
the public schools of his native county. Upon at-
taining maturity he assumed charge of the home
farm, to whose management he continued to
give his attention until 1877, when he came to the
west, locating in ^^'iIson county, Kansas, where
he secured a tract of land and was engaged in
farming about eight years. In the spring of 1885
he came to what is now the state of South Da-
kota and located in Plankinton, where he was
engaged in the buying and shipping of grain un-
til 1893, having built up a large and profitable
enterprise in the line. In the year mentioned he
removed to Armour, where he has since main-
tained his home. Here he established a general
mercantile business, becoming one of the pioneer
business men of the town and one of its leading
citizens, and he continued this business until the
autumn of 1902, when he disposed of the same,
since which time he has given his entire attention
to his official duties and to the supervision of his
private interests.

j\Ir. Stearns is one of the wheelhorses of the
Democratic party in this section, having been an
efficient worker in its cause. In July. i8g8, he
was appointed to the office of county treasurer, to
fill the vacancy caused by the death of the regular
incumbent, the late J. F. James, and in the elec-
tion of November, 1900, he was returned to the
office by popular vote, giving so able an adminis-
tration as to lead to his re-election as his own
successor in the autumn of 1902, so that he is
now serving his third consecutive term as county
treasurer. He was for a number of years a mem-
Ijer of the board of education and at all times
manifests a livelv interest in all that concerns the

welfare and advancement of his home town and
county. Fraternally he is identified with Arcania
Lodge, No. 18, Free and Accepted Masons ; with
Armour Tent, No. 18, Knights of the !\Iacca-
bees, and with Plankinton Lodge, No. '/J, Ancient
Order of L'nited Workmen.

On the 2ist of October, 1875, was solemnized
the marriage of ]\Ir. Stearns to Miss Alice C.
Her. who was born and reared in Seneca county,
Ohio, being a daughter of Conrad and Julia Her,
and the subject and his wife are the parents of
four children: Pearl H.. Lloyd A.. Grace and
Walter, all of whom remain beneath the parental
rooftree.

GEORGE D. CORD, one of the founders
and builders of the attractive and thriving town of
Delmont. Douglas county, and the president of
the Security .State Bank of Delmont, was born
in Kaukauna. Outagamie county, Wisconsin, on
the 8th of September, 1866, being a son of
Charles and Mary (Knapp) Cord, of whose five
children we enter the following brief record :
Catherine A. is the wife of William Dyke, of
Effingham, Illinois ; Mary died IMarch 24, 1904.
and was the wife of Howard Parmelee, of Lin-
coln, Nebraska;, Dr. Charles E. is a practicing
physician at Chicago Heights, Illinois ; Mark D.
is a resident of Danbury, Iowa, having been
engaged in the real-estate business, but being now
retired : and George D. is the immediate subject
of this sketch. The honored father was born in
Lincolnshire. England, about the year 1835, and
was there reared and educated, learning the trade
of millwright. In 1854 he came to the United
States, locating in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where
he was employed as a miller for a number of
years, in different mills. Later he became the
owner of a mill at Barton, that state, operating
the same for several years, and while there resid-
ing his marriage was solemnized. He finally re-
moved to Kaukauna, where he built a flouring
mill, operating the same about five years, this be-
ing at the time of the Civil war. He had a large
stock of flour on hand and at the time of Lee's
surrender there was so great a depreciation in the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

value of this commodity that he met with great
financial loss, being forced into bankruptcy. He
then removed to Madison, Wisconsin, where he
secured employment in the mills, continuing to be
thus engaged until he had to a degree recouped
his financial resources. He then removed to An-
amosa, Iowa, where he erected mills, and in 1881
he located in Oakland, Nebraska, where he op-
erated a mill about four years, and there he met
his death as the result of an accident. He was
preparing to clean a revolver, and in taking the
same from a trunk the lid fell in such a way as to
discharge the weapon, the shot causing his death
within ten minutes. He was at the time prepar-
ing to come to the Black Hills district of Dakota,
to take charge of milling properties. He was a
man of excellent business ability and sterling
character, was a Republican in politics, a com-
municant of the Protestant Episcopal church and
a member of the Masonic fraternity. His widow,
who was born in the state of New York, now
resides in the home of her elder daughter, in Ef-
fingham, Illinois, she likewise being a devoted
communicant of the Episcopal church.

George D. Cord, the immediate subject of
this sketch, was reared under the grateful influ-
ences of a refined and cultured home, and secured
his educational discipline in the public schools,
completing his studies in the high school at Ana-
mosa, Iowa. At the age of sixteen years he se-
cured a position in a job-printing office in Mil-
waukee, Wisconsin, where he remained one year.
gaining an excellent knowledge of the "art pre-
servative." He then entered the service of the
Chicago. St. Paul, i\Iinneapolis & Omaha Rail-
road, in the capacity of station agent, remaining
in the employ of this company for a period of
about sixteen years, within which was located at
various points on the line of the system, having
been for thirteen years the agent at Coleridge,
Nebraska. In 1899, at which time he was agent
at Harrington, Nebraska, he resigned his position
and forthwith came to South Dakota, locating in
Delmont, Douglas county, the town having at the
time a population of only eighty persons, and here
he engaged in the real-estate business, bringing
to bear in his operations the characteristic push

and energy with which he is so eminently en-
dowed. Mr. Cord has bought and sold much of
the village property and also the major portion
of the land for miles around, having been largely
instrumental in bringing here a desirable class
of settlers, who have developed rich and pro-
ductive farms and have been signally prospered.
It may be safely said that to him more than to
any other one man is due this gratifying devel-
opment of this section, while he has so ordered
his course as to gain and retain the highest confi-
dence and esteem of all. In January, 1903, he
effected the organization of the Security State
Bank, in which he owns the controlling stock,
and he is president of this institution, which is
ably conducted and which is accorded an appre-
ciative support in the community. In politics he
is a stalwart advocate of the principles and poli-
cies of the Republican party, in whose cause he
has been an active and valued worker, and during
the campaign of 1902 he was a member of the
state executive committee of his party, while at
the time of this writing he is a member of the
county executive committee. His religious faith
is that of the Episcopal church, and fraternally
he is prominently identified with the Masonic
order, being affiliated with Arcania Lodge, No.
97, Free and Accepted Masons, at Armour;
Scotland Qiapter, No. 31, Royal Arch Masons,
at Scotland; St. Bernard Commandery, No. 11,
Knights Templar, at Mitchell ; Oriental Consist-
ory, No. I, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite,
at Yankton, and El Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic
Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at
Sioux Falls.

On the 20th of January, 1886, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Cord to Miss Carrie F.
Jones, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and thev have
two sons. Charles B. and Arthur E.

CHARLES A. BROWN, M. D., who is suc-
cessfully engaged in the practice of his profes-
sion at Armour, Douglas county, was born on a
farm in Tama county, Iowa, on the 22d of Janu-
ary, 1868, and is a son of George and Sarah
(Phillips) Brown, both of whom were born and.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

reared in the state of Pennsylvania, where they
were married. Soon afterward they removed to
Iowa, locating in Iowa City, and later removing
to Tama county, where Mr. Brown took up a
homestead claim, to whose improvement and
cultivation he continued to devote his attention
until the earlv "eighties, when he retired from
active labor, taking up his residence in Waterloo,
that state, where he now maintains his home,
giving a general supervision to his landed and
capitalistic interests. He is a Republican in
politics but is a stanch advocate of the prohibition
of the liquor traffic, which result he believes must
be accomplished through the interposition of one
of the dominating political parties. He and his
wife are zealous members of the Baptist church.
Dr. Brown was reared on the homestead fanri
and after attending the district schools he enteied
the high scliool in Waterloo, where he was gradu-
ated. While still a student in the high school he
began teaching, having been thus engaged three
winter terms, and he simultaneously prosecuted
his medical studies, under the preceptorship of
Dr. A. L. Martin, of Clinton, Iowa, under who.sc
direction he later continued to prosecute his
technical study during his college vacations. In
the autumn of 1888 the subject was matriculated
in the medical department of the Iowa State
University, at Iowa Citv. where he was gradu-
ated in the spring of 1891, receiving his coveted
degree of Doctor of Medicine. For a few
month-s after his graduation the Doctor was as-
sociated in practice with Dr. William Woodburn,
of Spencer, Iowa, and he then established him-
self in practice at Lamont, that state, where he
built up an excellent practice, remaining for a
number of years. In January, 1898, he sold his
practice in Spencer and came to Armour, South
Dakota, and here he has gained prestige as one
of the thoroughly skilled and discriminating
members of his profession in the state. He is a
stanch Republican in his political proclivities, and
he is at the present time incumbent of the office
of superintendent of the Douglas countv board
of health, according no nominal service but mak-
i"g it a pnint to insure the best possible sanitary
conditions throutrhout his jurisdiction. He is a

member of Arcania Lodge. No. 91, Free and
Accepted ]\[asons; Armour Lodge, No. 25,
Knights of Pythias, in whose affairs he takes a
particularlv active interest; Armour Camp, No.
2475, Modem \A'oodmen of .America, and Ar-
mour Tent, No. 18, Knights of the Maccabees.
He is medical examiner for the two lodges last
mentioned and also for several of the old-line in-
surance companies having local representation.

On the T<)th of August, 1893, Dr. Brown was
united in marriage to ^liss Helen M. Stewart, of
Lamont, Iowa, and they have four sons, George
L., Charles E., Otho S. and Leland.

D. L. P. LAMB.— Judge Lamb is now serv-
ing his third term as countv judge in Charles
Mix countv, maintaining his residence in the
town of Geddes, and merits consideration as one
of the able members of the bar of the state. He
is a native of the Wolverine state, having been
born in Hillsdale county, Michigan, on the 15th
of June, 1852, and being a son of John and \^ir-
ginia (Newkirk) Lamb, of whose nine children
all save one are still living. The father of the
subject was born in Pennsylvania, where lie was
reared and educated, having grown np under the
sturdy discipline of the farm. His p-in nts came
to the L^nited States from Holland and located in
the old Keystone state, where they passed the
remainder of their lives. As a young man John
Lamb removed to Ohio, settling near Lancaster,
Fairfield county, where his marriage occurred,
his wife having been a native of Westmoreland
countv. West \'irginia, where her father was a
wealthy manufacturer and slaveholder, while
eventually she and several of her brothers became
residents of Ohio. John Lamb was engaged in
farming in Fairfield county, Ohio, until about
1850, when he removed to Michigan and settled
in Hillsdale county, where he continued in agri-
cultural pursuits, becoming one of the substantial
farmers and honored citizens of that countv. in
which he passed the residue of his life, his dc-Uh
occurring in 1881. at which time he was seventv-
two years of age, while his devoted wife passed
av.^ay in 1903, at the age of eighty-four years.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1003

both having been consistent members of the Ger-
man Reformed church, while he was a Democrat
in his political adherency.

Judge Lamb was reared on the homestead
farm and his early educational advantages were'
such as were afforded in the public schools of his
native county. In 1875 he came west to the
western part of Nebraska, where he spent about
a year on the ranch of his uncle, returning home
in 1876, while he continued to devote his atten-
tion to study as opportunity presented, having
gained much through his well-directed applica-
tion. In 1880 he came to Fort Randall, Dakota,
where he secured employment in a trader's store
and also secured contracts for supplying wood.
In 1882 he came to Charles Mix county and en-
tered timber and pre-emption claims, in Jack-
son township, proving up on the same in due
time, and in the spring of 1885 he located in the
village of Wheeler, this count), where he was
soon afterward appointed deputy sheriff, serving
one year in this capacity, and at the expiration
of that period, in July, 1886, he was appointed
to the office of clerk, of the district court by Judge
Bartlett Tripp, retaining this incumbency until
the admission of South Dakota to the Union, re-
tiring from the office in November, 1890. In the
meanwhile he had continued his study of the law,
and was admitted to the bar of the territory in
June, 1889, since which time he has been en-
gaged in the practice of his profession to a
greater or less extent. The winter after his re-
tirement from the office of clerk Judge Lamb
engaged in the abstract business, in partnership
with Frank Adams, whose interest in the enter-
prise he purchased in 1892, and he still conducts
an abstract business in Wheeler. In 1894 he was
elected to the office of state's attorney, on the
Democratic ticket, serving two years, and in 1896
the financial policy of the Democracy failed to
meet his approval and he transferred his alle-
giance to the Republican party, being an active
worker in the presidential campaign of that year.
In 1896 he was the candidate of his party for
the office of county judge and was elected by a
gratifying majority, but in the election of 1898
he was defeated for the same office, while in 1900

he was again elected to the bench and was chosen
as his own successor in 1902, being now on his
third term and having proved a most impartial
and fair-minded member of the judiciary of the
state. After the town of Geddes was platted
and its settlement was instituted, in 1900, Judge
Lamb removed from Wheeler to the new and
enterprising town, with whose phenomenal prog-
ress and growth he has been thus identified from
the start. He was appointed United States com-
missioner in January, 1902, and is still incuinbent
of this office, being one of the most prominent
and influential citizens of the county in which
he has so long maintained his home and in whose
welfare he has an abiding interest. While a resi-
dent of Wheeler he served as postmaster during
both administrations of President Cleveland,
while for several years he has held the office of
notary public. He and his wife are members of
the Congregational church, and fraternally the
Judge is identified with Geddes Lodge. No. 135,
Free and Accepted Masons, and Mitchell Chap-
ter, No. 16, Royal Arch Masons.

On the 6th of May, 1890, Judge Lamb was
united in marriage to Miss Caroline McLain,
of this county, and they are the parents of four
children, Charles E., Fred. Daniel L. P., Jr., and
Iril C.

HON. JOHN S. BEAN is a native of the
old Granite state, having been born in Warner,
Merrimac county. New Hampshire, on the i6th
of Februan', 1839, a son of James and Marinda
(Stewart) Bean, and the old homestead in which
he first saw the light of day was likewise the
birthplace of his honored father, who there passed
his entire life, which was devoted to agricultural
pursuits. He lived to attain the venerable age
of eighty-two years and traced his lineage back
to one of two brothers, John and David Bean,
who were born in Scotland, whence they went
to England, from which "tight little isle" they
emigrated to America in 1668, settling near his-
toric old Plymouth, in the colony of Massachu-
setts, whence their descendants later scattered
through various parts of New England. The

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

mother of the subject was Hkewise born in New
Hampshire, whither her parental grandparents
came from Ireland. She died at the age of
thirty years, and of her three children the sub-
ject is the only one living at the present time.
James Bean became a member of the Know-
nothing party at the time of its organization and
later became a radical Republican, and while he
never sought official preferment he was called
upon to serve on the town board for many years
and also held other offices of local trust.

John S. Bean was reared to the sturdy dis-
cipline of the New England farm and his early
educational training was secured in the com-
mon schools, and supplemented by a two-years
course in the New Hampton Academy. It was
his desire to be graduated in this institution^ but
his financial resources reached so low an ebb that
he was compelled to withdraw at the end of two
years, and he then, at the age of nineteen, be-
gan teaching in the schools of his native state,
devoting his attention to the pedagogic profes-
sion for three winters. In March, 1861, he left
the ancestral home and set forth upon his in-
dependent career, being dependent upon his own
resources in facing the battle of life. He came
west to Wisconsin, where he called upon his
uncle, C. K. Stewart, whom he found confined to
his bed with an illness which promised to be pro-
tracted, and under these conditions he was
pressed into service and took charge of his uncle's
farm. The Civil war commenced in April of that
year and the subject was most anxious to at once
tender his services in defense of the Union, but
he was not able to leave his uncle until the 22d
of October, 1862, when he enlisted as a private
in Company D, Sixteenth Wisconsin A'olunteer
Infantry, with which he proceeded to the front,
the regiment being assigned to the Army of the
Tennessee. The regiment was in Prentice's di-
vision at the memorable battle of Shiloh, and this
division was captured by the enemy, our subject
having escaped this fate by reason of the fact
that he had been wounded on the morning of the
same day and thus incapacitated for service. He
was in the hospital at Savannah. Georgia, and
Mount \'ernon, Indiana, about three months.

after which he returned to Wisconsin and was
detailed to recruiting service, being located in
turn at Columbus, Beaver Dam and Madison. In
February, 1863, Mr. Bean rejoined his regiment,
at Lake Providence, Louisiana, but the effects of
the wound in his arm were such that he could not
handle a gun, and he was thus detailed as clerk
of courts martial and the quartermaster's de-
partment, serving in this capacity for three
months, at the expiration of which the court was
disbanded and he was then detailed to the quar-
termaster's department alone. He was finally
made chief clerk under the contriband bureau.
After serving three months he went with his
regiment to A'icksburg, but did not take part in
the engagement there, and the winter was passed
in Redbone, Mississippi, whence they returned to
A'icksburg in the spring, Mr. Bean's company at
this time reorganized and Mr. Bean was com-
missioned as second lieutenant in a colored com-
pany, with which he later took part in the ten-
days siege before Blakely and the fourteen-days
siege of Mobile. Still later the regiment em-
barked on a transport for Selma, Alabama, and
while enroute learned of Lee's surrender. The
subject was thereafter on provost duty for sev-
eral months, and the command was finally sent
to Baton Rouge, where they received honorable
discharge on the 4th of January. 1866. Before
this he had been promoted to first lieutenant. Mr.
Bean then visited his old home in New Hamp-
shire, and shortly afterward went again to Wis-
consin. ■ At the time of his discharge he was
importuned to remain in the south as a member
of a regiment which there continued in service
two years after the close of the war, and though
he was offered a commission as captain he did
not deem it expedient to accept the overtures.

After his return to Wisconsin Mr. Bean en-
gaged in farming, in Dodge county, becoming
the owner of a good property, and there he re-
mained until Mav, 1882, when he came to
Douglas county, South Dakota, taking up a pre-
emption claim four miles northeast of the present
village of Armour, the county seat, where he con-
tinued to devote his attention to the improvement
and cultivation of his farm until the autumn of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

i8qo, when he took up his residence in Armour.
Tn November of the same year he was elected a
member of the state senate, serving; one term,
and in the fall election of 1892 he was chosen to
represent b.is district in the lower house of the
Ico-islature, in which he likewise served one term.
He then engaged in the real-estate and insurance
business in Armour and later also became
identified with the undertaking business here,
having nn\\;^ retired from the two former enter-
Tirises. He served one year as township treasurer
.•md three years as township clerk, while his was
the distinction of having been elected the first
county clerk and register of deeds after the re-
organization of the countv. He was incumbent
of the office of justice of the peace for several
\-cars and since 1895 he has held the office of
weighmaster at Armour. At the present time he 1
is a member of the board of county commis- I
sioners. His religious faith is that of the Free-
will Baptist church, but as there is no organiza-
tion of this denomination in Armour he attends
the services of the Baptist church. He is a
charter member of Arcania Lodge, No. 97, Free
and Accepted Masons, of which he was the first
worshipful master, serving three years, and he
is an honored member of O. P. Morton Post,
No. 51, Grand Armv of the Republic, of which
he is now serving for tiie sixth consecutive 3'ear
as commander.

On the 26th of October, 1864, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Bean to Miss Ellen C. East-
man, of Warner, New Hampshire, who proved
to him a devoted wife and helpmeet until she
was summoned into eternal rest, on the 19th ,of
August, 1899. They became the parents of two
children. Mabel died at the age of twenty-two
years, and Jennie, the wife of George E. Sanders,
of Armour, with whom the subject now makes
his home.

HENRY C. TUCKER, of Geddes, editor
and publisher of the Qiarles Mix County News,
\\-as born in New York, on the 30th of October,
18.S-!. being a son of Samuel and Martha
( Crumb "i Tucker, of whose seven children four

are yet living. The father of the subject was
born in Madison county, New York, whither his
father removed from Massachusetts, while the
father of the latter was a soldier under General.
Putnam in the war of the Revolution. In one of
the battles in which he took part his hat was
almost shot to pieces, and General Putnam pre-
sented him with a new hat, recognizing the
braverv which he had displa)-cd in thus becom-
ing a mark for so many bullets. Upon attain-
ing manhood the father of our subject engaged
in farming and hop growing in his native county,
having planted the first field of hops in that sec-
tion of the state, and in connection with this line
of enterprise he became very successful, being
one of the substantial fanners and honored citi-
zens of Madison county at the time of his death,
which occurred in 1S88, at which time he was
sixtv vears of age. His widow still survives him
and resides on the old homestead farm. He was
a Democrat in politics and ever took a deep in-
terest in public affairs, though he never sought
official preferment.

Henry C. Tucker was reared on the home-
stead farm and early began to lend his aid in
connection with its cultivation. x\fter attending
the public schools of the locality he continued
his studies in the DeRuyter Institute and the
New York Central Conference Seminary, an in-
stitution conducted under the auspices of the
Methodist Episcopal church. In 1875 he came
to the west and located in Shelby county, Iowa,
v/here he bought a tract of land and engaged in
agricultural pursuits, while he also invested in a
ditching machine, which he operated throughout
that locality for several years, being one of the
pioneers in the locality and finding his machine
in much demand. In 1883 he disposed of his
interests in Iowa and came to Charles Mix
county. South Dakota, being numbered among
the first settlers in the county. He filed on a
claim in Jackson township, but after one year
sold his relinquishment to the same, and in July,
1884, in company with Qiarles W. Pratt, he
purchased the Oiarles Mix County News, a
weekly paper, which was at that time published
in the village of Darlington, its founding dating

[Oo6

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

back only to the ])receding November. In Oc-
tober, 1884, they removed the plant to Edgerton
and shortly afterward our subject purchased his
partner's interest in the enterprise and thereafter
continued the publication of the paper in
Darlington until I goo, when he removed his
plant to the new town of Geddes, his office build-
ing having been the third building erected in the
town and his paper the first to be published in
the town. The office of the News is well
equipped with modern machinery and other ac-
cessories, the old hand presses originally utilized
having been replaced by those of modern design,
while the paper has an excellent circulation
through the county. Mr. Tucker is one of the
town's most enthusiastic and loyal citizens and
is at the present time president of the village
council, and while a resident of Edgerton he
acted as postmaster of the place. He is a stanch
Republican in his political adherency and has
made his paper an effective exponent of the party
cause. Fraternally, he is identified with Geddes
Eodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and Signal
Camp, No. 444, Modern Woodmen of America,
of which latter he is venerable consul.

Mr. Tucker was united in marriage to Miss
"\"ictoria Ashby, of Shelby county, Iowa, and
thev are the parents of four children, Maud, who
is the wife of William Fowler, who is engaged in
the liunber business in Geddes ; Roy, who is in
the office with his father; Bert, who remains at
the parental home, and Ella, who is the wife of
Charles Zink, of this countv.

HORACE EUGENE THAYER, mayor of
Canton, Lincoln county, was born at Blissfield,
Uenawee county, Michigan, on the 28th of Feb-
ruary, 1859, being a son of Andrew J. and
Phoebe A. (Hill) Thayer. His father is of the
ninth generation of the family in America, being
a lineal descendant of Thomas Thayer, who set-
tled in Braintree, ]\Iassachusetts, in 1630, as one
of its original colonists, having come to the new
world from Braintree, Essex county, England.
Andrew J. Thayer was born in Cameron, Steu-
ben countv, New '^"ork, on the 12th of February,

1829, and his vocation in life has been that of
farming. He is a veteran of the war of the
Rebellion, having enlisted on the 27th of Febru-
ary, 1863, as a member of Company K, Eleventh
Michigan Volunteer Infantry, which was at-
tached to the Second Brigade of the First
Division of the Fourteenth Army Corps, and he
served until the close of the war, when he re-
ceived his honorable discharge. He is now a
resident of Hampton, Iowa, and his cherished
and devoted wife is also living. She wa§ born
on the 8th of April, 1839, at Petersburg, Lenawee
county, Michigan, her parents having been num-
bered among the earliest settlers of that county,
whither they emigrated from Vermont, in the
year 1830, nearly a decade before ^Michigan was
admitted to statehood.

Horace E. Thayer received his early educa-
tional training in the public schools of Allamakee
county, Iowa, and when seventeen years of age
he began teaching in that county, being thus
successfully employed for eight terms. He then
entered the telegraph office of the Iowa Central
Railroad at Mason City, Iowa, in 1883, and there
he devoted a period of six months to learning the
art of telegraphy. In August of thit year his
marriage was solemnized, and immediately there-
after he removed to Mason City, Iowa, where
he was given the position of night operator in
the station of the Iowa Central Railroad, retain-
ing this incumbency until the autumn of the fol-
lowing year, when he received promotion from
the hands of the company, being made rail-
way billing clerk at Hampton, Iowa. This
office he filled until the autumn of 18S6, when
he resigned from the employ of the Iowa
Central Company and returned to Mason City,
where for six months he held the position of
night agent in the general offices of the Chicago,
INIihvaukee & St. Paul Railroad, being then pro-
moted to the position of billing agent and two
weeks later to that of cashier, in tenure of which
responsible office he there continued for the en-
suing five years, at the expiration of which, in
1891, he received the promotion, over several
older employes, to the position of agent for the
company at Canton, South Dakota, where he en-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

tcred upon his executive duties on the 2d of
July of that year. He retained this position for
the long period of eight years, his service being
most acceptable to the company and gaining him
still further commendation, but his health had in
the meanwhile become somewhat impaired and
this fact, coupled with a desire for a change of
ocxupation, led him to resign his position on the
1st of May, 1899. ^I^ '^h^" entered into part-
nership vvith his brother-in-law, Thomas S. Stin-
son, and engaged in the general merchandise busi-
ness in Canton, the firm securing most eligible
and attractive quarters in the two-story stone
building known as the Postoffice block, while to
the new store was given the name of the Enter-
])rise, a designation which is most consistently
applied. The concern has taken a foremost po-
sition by reason of the progressive ideas and
correct methods brought to bear, and the busi-
ness controlled at the present time is second to
none of similar character in the county, while
both of the interested principals command the un-
qualified confidence and regard of all who know
them. The entire business and stock of the
Enterprise was purchased, Eebruary 8, 190J.. by
Horace E. Thayer, the enterprise being now con-
ducted under the firm n^nie of Horace E.
Thayer.

In politics Mr. Thayer has ever given a stanch
allegiance to the principles of the Republican
party and he has shown a deep interest in all that
concerns the welfare and progress of his home
city and county. He has served three terms as
a member of the board of aldermen of Canton,
having been first elected in i8q.^. while he was
chosen as his own successor in the following vear,
being again elected to the office in 1900. In 1902
he was elected to the mayoraltv of the city, for
a term of two years, and he has given a most able
and business-like administration of the municipal
government and has gained unequivocal endorse-
ment as a progressive and public-spirited ex-
ecutive. Fraternally, he is identified with the
Knights of Pythias and the Masonic order. He
became affiliated with the lodge of the former in
Mason City. Iowa, in 1890, and in 1892 trans-
ferred his membership to Canton Lodge, No. 52,

in Canton, of which he is past chancellor com-
mander. In June, 1902, he was initiated as entered
apprentice in Silver Star Lodge. No. 4, Free and
Accepted Masons, in which he was duly raised to
the master's degree.

At Eldora, Iowa, on the 8th of August, 1883,
Mr. Thayer was united in marriage to Miss Min-
nie Bell Young, of Ackley, that state, she being
a daughter of Joseph H. Young, who was a
valiant soldier in the Civil war, in which he
served as a member of Company H, One Hun-
dred and Eighty-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteer
Infantry, enlisting in 1863 and receiving an
honorable discharge at the close of the great
conflict which determined the integrity of the
Union. Mr. and Mrs. Thayer have three daugh-
ters : Neva P.ell, who was bom in Mason City,
Iowa, on the 1st of April, 1884; Vera Luella,
who was born in Canton, South Dakota, Jul\- 31.
1894, and Nila May, who was born in Canton.
Mav 26, 1897.

RICHARD G. PARROTT, postmaster of the
thriving town of Pollock, Campbell county, is a
native of the city of Chicago, where he was born
on the 22d of November, 1864, being a son of
John and Sarah P'arrott. He was reared to ma-
turity in the great western metropolis, receiving
his early educational training in the public schools
and learning the trade of moulder in his youth.
In 1883, at the age of nineteen years, Mr. Par-
rott. in company with his widowed mother, his
five brothers and two sisters, came to what is
now Campbell county. South Dakota, this being
nearly a decade before the admission of the state
to the Union, and after a few months he returned
to Chicago, where he remained until the spring
of the following year,_ when he came once more
to Campbell county, and shortly afterward entered
claim to a tract of government land near the pres-
ent village of Pollock. He began the improving
of this property and also conducted farming and
stock growing. When the line of the Sioux Rail-
road was built through Pollock, in the autumn of
1 901. he located in this village. In January of
the following year the postoffice was here estab-

ioo8

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

lished, replacing those at Flint and Lagrace, and
he was made postmaster in the new town. Alem-
bers of the family have served as postmaster in
each of the towns mentioned, as well as at Rusk,
and all have been discontinued since the establish-
ment of the office at Pollock, from which point
also is served the former postoffice of Vander-
bilt. His religious faith is that of the Presby-
terian church, of which his wife likewise is a
member, and fraternally he is affiliated with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen, being a
member of the lodge at Herrick, South Dakota.
He still retains possession of his farm of three
hundred twenty acres, and he has contributed his
quota to the development and upbuilding of this
section of the state.

On the 23d of November, 1891, Mr. Parrott
was united in marriage to Miss Florence Benk-
art, who was born in Iowa, whence her father,
John C. Benkart, came to South Dakota in 1883,
becoming one of the pioneers of Campbell county,
but being now a resident of Carthage, Missouri.
Air. and Mrs. Parrott have three children. Bertha,
Robert and !\Iabcl.

JOHX C. STOUGHTON, the popular post-
master of the thriving little village of Geddes,
was born in Ionia county, Michigan, on the 13th
of July, 1844, and is a scion of a family which
has been identified with the history of the United
States from the time of the Revolutionary epoch.
His parents, Samuel E. and Emily H. fPark)
Stoughton, were both born in the state of New
York, and of their ten children only two survive,
the subject of this sketch and his brother, Charles
J., who is a resident of Howard City, Michigan.
The father of the subject was born on the 17th
of April. 1814. and his devoted wife was born
on the 20th of February, 1816, and both were
children at the time when their respective parents
removed from the old Empire state and became
pioneers of Michigan, settling in the vicinitv of
the present beautiful city of Detroit, and in that
state both were reared to maturity, their marriage
being solemnized May 21, 1835. After he had
attained manhood Samuel E. Stoughton pur-

chased a tract of government land in Ionia
county, Michigan, where he developed a farm
from the virgin forest, becoming one of the sub-
stantial citizens of that section and ever retaining
the high regard of all who knew him. On the
old homestead farm which he had reclaimed for
the wilderness he continued to reside until his
death, which occurred in 1872. while his wife
passed away in 1883. Mr. Stoughton identified
himself with the Republican party at the time of
its organization and ever afterward remained a
stanch advocate of its principles, and while he
was never ambitious for political preferment he
M-as called upon to serve in various offices of local
trust. His father, Dellucine Stoughton, was a
veteran of the war of 1812, and his grandchildren
recall that in his later years he found pleasure in
entertaining them by singing the old army songs.
He was a son of Amaziah Stoughton, who came
with his parents from England to the United
States about the time of the Revolution, the fam-
ily settling in the state of New York, with whose
annals the name has long been identified, and thus
the subject of this sketch is of the fifth generation
of the family in America.

John C. Stoughton, whose name initiates this
review, was reared to the discipline of the old
homestead farm in Ionia county, Michigan, and
after availing himself of the advantages of the
common schools he entered, in 1865, Kalamazoo
College, in Kalamazoo, that state, where he con-
tinued his studies for two years. His financial
resources then reached a low ebb, and he accord-
ingly left college and devoted the following year
to teaching in the schools of his native state. He
then removed to Kansas, where he continued his
pedagogic labors, in Atchison and Leavenworth
counties, for the ensuing four years. His father's
death occurred in 1872, as before noted, and he
was appointed administrator of the estate, return-
ing home to settle up the afl^airs of the same. He
was married the following year and decided to
remain in ?ilichigan, where for a number of years
he devoted his attention to teaching during the
winter terms, while farming constituted his vo-
cation during the remaining months of the year.
In 1883, in company with four others, Mr.

JOHN ('. STOI'GHTON.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Stoughton came on a prospecting trip to South
Dakota, with a view of selecting a permanent
place of residence. The party came by railroad
as far as Plankinton, where they pftrchased a
mule-team and wagon and set forth to look over
the country to the west of that point, and three
of the number, of whom our subject was one.
finally filed claims to a quarter section each of
land in Charles Mix_ county, Mr. Stoughton se-
curing an excellent claim seven miles northwest
of the present village of Geddes, whose site was
immarked by any habitation at that time. He set-
tled on his claim and in September of the fol-
lowing year his wife joined him in the new home.
He later purchased an adjoining quarter section,
and during the intervening years he has brought
his fine farm of three hundred and twenty acres
under most effective cultivation, has made excel-
lent improvements on the same and has been suc-
cessful in his efforts. In the spring of 1900 Mr.
Stoughton was appointed postmaster of the new
town of Geddes, to which he forthwith removed
with his family, taking charge of the office in
June of that year, and having since remained in-
cumbent. He is a stalwart advocate of the prin-
ciples of the Republican party and has taken a
lively interest in the promotion of its cause. In
the autumn of 1883 he was elected a member
of the board of county commissioners, in which
capacity he gave most efficient service, retaining
the office three years. It may be said that the
postoffice at Geddes was established in June,
igoo. in which month our subject assumed con-
trol, and further data in the connection will indi-
cate the rapid upbuilding and substantial increase
in population of the town. In April, 1902, only
one year and nine months after the establishing
of the oifice, it was placed on the list of presiden-
tial offices, the salary of the postmaster being at
the time raised to eleven hundred dollars a year,
while three months later it was raised to twelve
hundred, in accordance with the increase of busi-
ness, while in July of the present year (1903) a
further increase to fourteen hundred dollars was
made. ]\Tr. and Mrs. Stoughton are members of
the Congregational church, and he was one of
those prominently concerned in effecting the erec-

tion of the church of this denomination in the vil-
lage of Jasper, the property being later sold to
the Methodist Episcopal society, who now own
and occupy the edifice. Mr. Stoughton was initia-
ted in the Masonic fraternity in 1869 and has
been a charter member of two lodges in Charles
Mix county, this state, being now affiliated with
Geddes Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons.

On the 4th of March, 1873, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Stoughton to Miss Selena
V. Bovee, of Greenville, Michigan. Sh^ was born
in Lenawee county, Michigan, being a daughter
of M. and JuHa Bovee, and of her marriage has
been born one son, Elmer B., who was assistant
postmaster at Geddes. He was born in Green-
ville, Michigan, on the 14th of April, 1879, and
after attending the public schools entered Ward
Academy, in Charles Mix county, where he was
graduated as a member of the class of 1898, after
which he was for one term a student in Yank-
ton College, having later been engaged in teach-
ing for a short time. He has recently (1904)
resigned his position in the postoffice and has
removed to Lyman county, South Dakota, where
he has taken up a homestead, on'which he expects
to make his future home.

JOHN F. COMSTOCK. now holding the re-
sponsible position of government farmer on the
Chevenne Indian reservation, maintaining his
headquarters at Whitehorse Station, is a native
of the state of Wisconsin, having been born in
Columbia county, on the 13th of October, 1861.
and being a son of George W. and Teresa Com-
.'■tock, natives of the state of New York. When
the subject was about ten years of age. in 1871,
his parents removed to Benton county, Iowa,
where they remained until the spring of 18S5,
when thev came to South Dakota and took up
their abode near Highmore, Hyde county, where
the father has since been actively engaged in ag-
ricultural pursuits. All of the five children in
the family are living at the present time, the sub-
ject of this sketch having been the third in order
of birth.

J. F. Comstock secured his earlv educational

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

training in tlie public schools of Iowa, and ac-
companied his parents on their removal to South
Dakota, being independently engaged in farming
in H3-de county for a number of years. In 1892
he removed to Pierre and was there engaged in
teaming until 1894, when he was elected county
auditor of Stanley county, in which office he
served two years. In 1898 he was appointed to
his present position as government farmer on the
Qieyenne reservation. He is impressed with the
fact that the Indians will not attain any great
degree of success as farmers here, partially owing
to the condition of the reservation land, much of
which is not available for cultivation. The Indi-
ans have show-n a greater aptitude and predilec-
tion for stock raising and many of them have
been prospered in connection with this industry,
some of them having more than one hundred
head of cattle. In politics the subject is a stanch
advocate of the principles of the Republican
party.

On the 6th of October. 1885. :\Ir. Comstock
was united in marriage to Aliss Laura ]\[oore,
daughter of David Moore, a well-known resi-
dent of Fort Pierre and the subject of an indi-
vidual sketch on another page of this work.
Mr. and l\Irs. Comstock have one child. George,
who was born on the 4th of August, 1886.

OSCAR SHERMAX GIFFORD, superin-
tendent of the Hiawatha Insane Asylum, at Can-
ton, South Dakota, was born October 20. 1842,
at Watertown, Xew "S'ork. While }-et young he
accompanied his parents upon their removal to
Rock county, Wisconsin, but subsequently lived
with his maternal grandfather. David Resseguie,
in the Adirondack mountains in New York. In
1853 he removed with his parents to Boone
county, Illinois, and in October. 1871, he settled
in Lincoln county, Dakota, where he has since
resided.

Mr. Gifford received a common school educa-
tion, which was supplemented by attendance at
the Beloit (Wisconsin) Academy. During the
war of the Rebellion the subject evinced his pa-
triotism liy c-nU-rinLr the service of his countrv.

serving one and a half years in the engineer corps
and one year in the Elgin Battery, Illinois Light
Artillery. After his discharge from military
service, Mr. Gifford entered upon the study of
law and in 1871 he was admitted to the bar. In
1874 he was elected county judge of Lincoln
county, but declined to serve, and in June of the
following year he formed a law partnership with
Mark W. Bailey, since which time he has con-
tinuously been actively engaged in the practice
of his profession.

Mr. Gififord has several times been engaged
in public service and has always acquitted him-
self creditably. He was a member of the consti-
tutional convention which convened at Sioux
Falls in September, 1883, and had been mayor of
the city of Canton during 1881 and 1882. In
November, 1884, he was elected a delegate to con-
gress from Dakota territory, being re-elected a
delegate in November, 1886, and in 1889 he was
elected a member of congress from South Dakota,
serving in the forty-ninth, fiftieth and fifty-first
congresses as a Republican. While a member of
that body "Sir. Gifford served as a member of the
committees on agriculture, Indian affairs and
public buildings, which committees had charge of
the more important matters in which the people
of Dakota were interested. It was largely
through the subject's eft'orts that the Crow, Sisse-
ton, Sioux and Wahpeton Indian reservations
were opened for settlement and Indian industrial
schools were estabHshed at Pierre and Flandreau
and a large number of day schools opened in the
Indian country. The question concerning the di-
vision of Dakota and the admission of North
Dakota and South Dakota as states was the most
important measure before congress while Mr.
Gifford was a member thereof and it was largely
through his efforts, aided by the sentiments of
his constituents, that Dakota was divided and two
states formed from the immense territory. The
measures known as the "omnibus bill," by which
North and South Dakota, Montana and \\'asliing-
ton became states, was approved by the President
and became a law February 22, 1889, and, as be-
fore stated, at the first election thereafter, in Octo-
ber, 1889, ]Mr. Gift'ord was elected a representa-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

live from this state. Mr. Gifford reported to the
house and had full charge of the measure for the
construction of a public building in Sioux Falls.
In November, 1901, Mr. Gifford received the ap-
pointment as superintendent of the Hiawatha
Asylum, at Canton, a United States Indian insane
asylum. He entered upon the discharge of his
duties with an intelligent appreciation of its re-
sponsibilities and has discharged the same to the
full satisfaction of every one.

In May. 1874, the subject was united in mar-
riage with Miss Phoebe M. Fuller. Fraternally,
'Sir. Gifford has long been actively and promi-
nently identified with the time-honored order of
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He was
initiated, passed and raised as a Alaster Mason
in 1877, and in 1879 he was elected worshipful
master of Silver Star Lodge at Canton. He was
elected grand treasurer of the grand lodge of
Dakota in 1881, was elected grand master of the
grand lodge in June. 1882, and was re-elected to
that position in June, 1883. In politics he has
always been an earnest and active Republican.

HOWARD G. FULLER, judge of supreme
court, born at Glenns Falls, New York. Educated
himself, studied law in a lawyer's office and for
several vears devoted himself to educational
work as teacher and county superintendent.
Came to Dakota in 1886 and elected judge of
sixth circuit in i88q. On supreme bench since
1894.

FRANK P. SMITH, M. D., one of the
prominent and honored members of the medical
profession in Canton. Lincoln county, was born
at Rouse Point, Clinton county. New York, on
the 2d of November. 1832, his father being a
fanner by vocation. The Doctor was thus reared
on the old homestead, and received his early edu-
cational discipline in the common schools of his
native countv. while later he prosecuted his
studies in the high school at Burlington. Ver-
mont, where he was graduated as a member of
the class of 1872. He then returned to his home

in New York and assisted in the work and man-
agement of the farm until he had attained the
age of twenty-four years, having in the mean-
while detemiined to prepare himself for the medi-
cal profession. For a time he was a student in
the Albany Medical College, in the capital city
of the Empire state, and then was matriculated
in the celebrated Bellevue Hospital Medical Col-
lege, in the city of New York, in which he was
graduated in 1877. receiving his coveted degree
of Doctor of Medicine and coming forth well
fortified for the practical work of his chosen vo-
cation. He at once entered upon the practice of
his profession in his old home town of Rouse
Point, where he remained two years, at the ex-
piration of which, in 1879, ^'"^ came to the ter-
ritory of Dakota and located in Canton, where
he has ever since been successfully engaged in
the practice of his profession, being one of the
leading physicians and surgeons of this section
of the state and being known to practically every
person in the county. He was the first super-
intendent of the board of health of the county,
retaining this incumbency many years, while he
also served long and faithfully as county physi-
cian and as local surgeon of the Chicago, Mil-
waukee. & St. Paid Railroad. For sixteen years
he was a member of the board of pension ex-
amining surgeons for Lincoln county, and has
been secretary of its board since 1886. He is a
Democrat in politics, and has ever shown a deep
interest in the industrial, civic and political prog-
ress of his adopted city, county and state.

On the 4th of October, 1893. Dr. Smith was
united iri marriage to ]\Iiss Helen ?\Iiller, who
was born in the state of Wisconsin, being a
daus-hter nf William H. Miller, Sr.

NEWMAN C. NASPI. well known as the
editor and publisher of the Sioux \'alley News.
at Canton, is a native of the old Empire state,
having been born in Orleans couqty. New York,
on the 15th of February. 1848, and being a son of
Francis and Catherine V. (Curtis) Nash. His
father was born in Genesee county. New Y'ork.
of English and Holland Dutch descent, and was

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

by vocation a farmer. The mother of our sub-
ject was born in Berkshire county, Massachusetts,
and in the agnatic hne was of Holland Dutch
descent, while her mother was a representative
of families established in New England in the
colonial epoch of our national history. Francis
and Catherine V. Nash became the parents of
nine children, of whom the subject of this review
was the eldest son, while of the number seven
are living at the present time.

Newman C. Nash passed his early childhood
days on the homestead farm in Orleans county.
New York, and was seven years of age at the time
of his parents' removal to Rock county, Wiscon-
sin, where his father became a pioneer farmer,
and there the parents passed the remainder of
their lives, honored by all who knew them. The
subject was reared to the sturdy discipline of the
home farm, duly availing himself of the advan-
tages afforded by the common schools of the lo-
cality and period, and he was still a member of
the parental household at the time when the dark
cloud of civil war obscured the national horizon.
When but seventeen years of age he enlisted as a
private in Company A, Thirteenth Wisconsin
Volunteer Infantry, with which he continued in
active service for four years and three months,
participating in all of the many engagements in
which his command was involved, so tliat the
history of his regiment is practically the history
of his faithful and valiant career as a soldier of
the republic. He received his honorable dis-
charge on the 28th of December, 1865.

As soon as he was mustered out Mr. Nash re-
turned to Rock county, Wisconsin, and was there-
after engaged in agricultural pursuits near the
city of Janesville, that county, until 1871, when
he came as a pioneer to the territory of Dakota.
He arrived in Lincoln county in February of that
year and in Canton township took up a homestead
claim of one hundred and sixty acres, perfecting
his title in due course of time and forthwith in-
stituting the improvement and cultivation of his
land. He continued to reside on this ranch until
the autumn of 1876, when he removed to the city
of Canton, which was then a small frontier vil-
lage, and in January of the following vcar he

initiated his career in connection with the "art
preservative of all arts," by purchasing a half
interest in the plant and business of the Sioux
Valley News, of which he became the sole pro-
prietor in the following April. This was one of
the first papers published in the territory, and
he has presided over its destinies consecutively
from the time noted. The paper is a model in the
matter of letter press, discrimination is displayed
in the news columns and those devoted to mis-
cellaneous reading, while even a cursory glance
establishes the fact that the editorial department
is under the control of a man who keeps himself
well informed regarding matters of public mo-
ment and who writes forcibly and with directness
in expressing his opinions. The News has a cir-
culation of fourteen hundred copies and is a wel-
come visitor in the majority of the homes in this
section of the state. Mr. Nash is a valued and
influential member of the South Dakota Press As-
sociation, of which he was president for two
vears, and politically he is a stanch adherent of
the Republican party, whose principles he sup-
ports by his franchise and personal influence. He
is an appreciative and most popular member of
the Grand Amiy of the Republic, being affiliated
with General Lyon Post, No. 11, while from June,
1893, to June, 1894, he held the office of com-
mander of the order for the department of South
Dakota. He is also past grand master of the
grand lodge of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows in the state, and is affiliated with the
Masonic fraternity and the Modern Woodmen
of America. He and his wife are zealous mem-
bers of the Congregational church in their home
city, and he has served as a member of its board
of trustees for more than a decade and a half.
He was a member of the board of education for
.several years, and has also rendered effective
service in other local offices of public trust, in-
cluding that of postmaster, of which he was in-
cumbent from April, 1890, to June, 1894.

On the 26th of June. 1865, Mr. Nash was
united in marriage to Miss Jennie E. Williston,
who was born and reared in Janesville, Wiscon-
sin, and of their five children we incorporate the
following brief record : Nina M. is the director

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1013

of the model school in the Aberdeen Normal ;
George W. is state superintendent of schools for
South Dakota; Clara W., a graduate of Yankton
College, is married ; Marion is deceased ; and
Francis F. is also a graduate of Yankton College,
and is junior member of the firm of N. C. Nash
& Son. publishers of the Sioux Valley News, of
Canton, and the Harrisburg News, of Harris-
burg.

FRFDFRIC T. CUTHBERT, of Canton,
tlie present incumbent of the office of county
judge of Lincoln county, was born in Whiting,
Alonona county, Iowa, on the 2d of April, 1876,
being a son of Rev. Thomas and Emily J. (Den-
ham) Cuthbert, the former being a clergyman of
the Methodist Episcopal church. While the sub-
ject was a mere child his parents removed to
^ilapleton, Iowa, where they resided a number
of years, thence removing to Rolfe, that state,
and there remaining about two years. When
Frederic was fifteen years of age he accom-
panied his parents to England, their native land,
and the family continued to abide in the "tight
little isle" about four years, during the major por-
tion of which time our subject continued his edu-
cational discipline in a private school. In 1883
the family home was established in Sioux Falls.
South Dakota, and the father soon afterward
located on a farm near this city, our subject at-
tending the public schools here until the re-
moval to England, as noted. The subject re-
turned to the United States in 1895 '"i"'' located
in Canton, South Dakota.

In 1895 Mr. Cuthbert took up the study of
law in the office of A. R. Brown, of Canton, and
he was admitted to the bar of the state on the
13th of May, 1897. Pie forthwith established
himself in practice in this place, entering into
partnership with M. E. Rudolph. A few months
later he formed a professional alliance with L. J.
Jones, with whom he was associated until May,
1901, in the meanwhile gaining a reputation as
an able advocate and counsellor. Upon the dis-
solution of this partnership Air. Cuthbert formed
a partnership with A. B. Carlson, under the firm

name of Cuthbert & Carlson, and this association
has since obtained, the firm controlling a repre-
sentative business.

Judge Cuthbert has always been a stanch ad-
vocate of the principles and policies of the Re
publican party, and he took a particularly active
part in the campaign of 1896, doing effective
work in the i^arty cause, as has he also done in
subsequent campaigns. In 1900 he delivered
more than twent}- speeches in advocacy of the
Republican principles, and he is known as one
of the most able young public speakers in the
state. In the spring of 1898 he was elected
justice of the peace in Canton, retaining this in-
cumbency one year, and in 1900 he was elected
city attorney, serving one term. In the autumn
of that year still more distinguished preferment
came to him in his election to the office of county
judge, in which judicial capacity his services met
with so marked popular approval that he was
chosen as his own successor in the election of
1902, being thus in tenure of the office at the time
of this writing. Fraternally. Judge Cuthbert is
identified with Silver Star Lodge, No. 4, Free
and Accepted Masons, Siroc Chapter, No. 4,
Royal Arch ^Masons, and with Canton Lodge,
No. 52, Knights of Pythias, all of Canton;

EDGAR DEAN, one of the best known citi-
zens of Lincoln count}'. South Dakota, was born
May 26, 185 1,. in Sullivan county. New York,
where he lived until he was eight years old, at
which time his ]iarents moved to L'lster county,
that state, where they remained until he was
about sixteen years old, when they again moved,
this time locating in Dekalb county, Illinois. Mr.
Dean attended the common schools of the neigh-
borhoods in which he resided, afterwards at-
tending the high school at Sycamore, Illinois.
In May, 1874, he came to Dakota territory, lo-
cating in Lincoln county, taking up as a home-
stead a quarter section of land in Norway town-
ship and also an eighty-acre tree claim. He re-
mained on this tract until 1887, improving it as
the years went by. until he became the possessor
of a model farm. In the fall of 1887 :\Ir. Dean

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

was elected treasurer of Lincoln county and in
consequence moved to Canton that he might give
his entire attention to the duties of the office. He
served in this office for four years, faithfully dis-
charging the duties of the same and winning for
himself the confidence and esteem of the people.
Prior to his service as county treasurer he
had served for four years as a member
of the board of county commissioners, and
also served on the Canton board of education for
four years, so that his experience in public af-
fairs was varied and of sufficient length to either
condemn or commend him to the public. That
the people viewed his record with favor is shown
by the fact that in 1891 he was chosen state sen-
ator from Lincoln county, and at the subsequent
session ably represented his constituents in the
legislature. He has given his best efforts to the
people and to the county which has honored him
with these respective positions of trust and honor
and has been active in all movements looking to
the advancement of his county and city. He now
owns a half section of land in Norway and Pleas-
ant townships, Lincoln county. In 1891 he en-
gaged in the lumber business at Canton, acting as
secretary and manager of the Farmers' Lumber
Companv, and is conducting this business at the
present time, the enterprise meeting with splendid
success.

In 1871 Mr. Dean was united in marriage
with Miss Lavina Parker, of Kingston, Illinois,
but who was born in Perry county. Indiana, and
to them have been born six children, namely:
Ralph, George, Effie, Edna, Ella and Edgar ?^I.,
all of whom are now living. Fraternalh-, ^Ir.
Dean is a member of the Masonic order and also
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

THOMAS THORSOX, one of the leading
citizens of Canton, Lincoln county, where he is
engaged in the real-estate business and where he
holds the office of president of the First National
Bank, was born in Norway, on the 14th of No-
vember, 1S48, and was there reared to the age
of six years, when, in 1854. he accomijaniel his
parents on their inimigralion to the I'nitcd

States, the family settling in northeastern Iowa,
where his father became numbered among the
pioneer farmers, taking up government land near
the town of McGregor. There our subject
availed himself of the advantages of the public
schools, continuing to assist his father in the
work and management of the home farm until
i86g, when he secured a position as clerk in a
hardware establishment in Sioux City, Iowa. In
1 87 1 he removed to Beloit, Lyon count}-, that
state, where he opened the first store in the
county, building up a successful general-merchan-
dise business and becoming one of the influential
citizens of that section. In the autimin of 1871
he was elected the first recorder of file county,
and in 1874 was elected county auditor. After
the expiration of his term in this office, in 1873,
he accepted a position as traveling representative
of the Siou.x City Journal, and continued in this
line of work for the ensuing six years, at the
expiration of which, in 1881, he located in Can-
ton, South Dakota, and here engaged in the real-
estate business, doing much to further the devel-
opment and settlement of this section and having
ever since continued to be here prominently iden-
tified with this important line of enterprise, in
which connection he has become the owner of
much valuable city realty and farming and graz-
ing land. He at once identified himself intimately
and helpfully with public affairs, and he served
two terms as mayor of Canton, while he was
elected to represent his county in the provisional
legislature of 1885. He has been at all times an
uncompromising advocate of the principles of the
Republican party and an active worker in its
cause, and in 1892 he was shown further distinc-
tion at the hands of his party and the voters of
the state in being chosen secretary of state, giv-
ing an able administration and being chosen as
his own successor in 1894, on which occasion he
received the largest plurality ever given to any
candidate on the state ticket — a significant evi-
dence of popular confidence and esteem. After
his retirement from office he again turned his
attention to his real-estate business, which he has
continued with marked success. He became one
of the stockholders of the First National Bank of

HISTORv' OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1015

Canton at the time of its organization, was a
member of its directorate for many years and in
Tanuary, 1903, was elected to the presidency of
the institution, which is one of the sohd and pros-
perous banks of the state.

On July 12, 1882, IMr. Thorson married Miss
Jessie Hunt, of Dodge county. ;\Iinnesota. Fra-
ternally, he is a Knight of Pythias and in the
Masonic order he has attained all the degrees of
tile York and Scottish rites, up to and including
the thirty-second, and is also affiliated with the
Mystic Shrine. His religious connection is with
the Lutheran church.

CHARLES L. BEE;\L\N is a native of
r.radford county, Pennsylvania, where his birth
took place on the nth day of January. 1832,
being the son of Joseph H. and TV-tsy ( Huck)
lleeman, both parents born and reared in the
Keystone state. The Beemans and Bucks were
pmong the early settlers of Bradford county and
both families appear to have been widely known
and liiglily esteemed. Joseph H. Beeman, the
subject's father, was a farmer and in connection
with agriculture worked for a number of years
at the carpenter's trade, having been an efficient
mechanic as well as an enterprising and prosper-
ous tiller of the soil. Of his eight children, three
survive, namely : Charles L., who is the second
in order of birth ; Julia, living in Iowa, and
Amos, who is still a resident of Bradford county.
The following are the names of those deceased ;
Denton, who was the oldest of the family. ?iIinor.
Eliza and Henry, the third, fourth and fifth, re-
spectively. Henr}' was a soldier in the Union
army during the late Civil war, rendered valu-
able service for his country and died a miserable
death in the ]irison pen at Andersonville.

Charles L. Beeman was reared on the home
farm in Pennsylvania and owing to unfavorable
circumstances was enabled to acquire only a lim-
ited education. Being the oldest of the living
children, nnich of the labor of the fann naturally
fell to him, but with true filial regard he cheer-
fulh' assumed the responsibilitv and discharged
his (hities faithfullv and well, remaining with his

parents and looking to their interests and the in-
terests of the rest of the family until long after
the age when the majority of young men are ac-
customed to begin life for themselves. In 1864
he left home and went to Jones county, Iowa,
where he purchased forty acres of land and en-
gaged in farming. He succeeded fairly well and
continued to live where he originally located until
1883, when he sold his place and came to Bon
Homme county, Dakota, purchasing a quarter
section of land in the township of Bon Homme,
which he soon reduced to cultivation and otlfer-
wise improved. Accustomed to hard work from
his youth and possessing a determined will, Mr.
Beeman made substantial progress as a farmer
and in the course of a few years was accounted
one of the most successful men of the community
in which he resided. In the year 1900 he bought
his present place and since that time has brought
it to a high state of tillage, besides making a
number of substantial improvements, including a
neat and comfortable dwelling, good barns and
other outbuildings, and he now owns one of the
most beautiful and desiraljlc homes in the town-
ship. ]\lr. Beeman has devoted his life to agri-
culture and is familiar with every phase of his
chosen calling. He employs modem methods in
the tilling of the soil, raises abundant crops of
grain, vegetables and other products peculiar to
.South Dakota, besides paying considerable at-
tention to live stock, in the breeding and raising
of which l;e has met with encouraging success.
Mr. Beeman is a man of domestic tastes, a great
lover of his home and has never had any desire
for public office, although a staunch Republican
in politics and an active supporter of his party.
In religion he is a Baptist, having united with
the church a number of years ago. and his life
ever since been in harmony with the principles
and teachings of the faith which he professes.
Mr. Beeman was married in his native county
and state, in 1852, to Miss Caroline E. Titus,
who was born and reared in the same neighbor-
hood in which he spent his youth and early man-
hood. They have three children, the oldest being
Rosie. wlio is now the wife of Alexander Kane,
a farmer, of Kno.x countv, Nebraska : Estella, the

ioi6

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

second daughter, married Homer Beeman, a
farmer and stock raiser of Bon Homme town-
ship, and the youngest of the family, a son by the
name of Frank, lives at home and helps his father
run the farm. Mrs. Beeman is also a Baptist in
her religious belief and a consistent and highly
esteemed member of the local church.

^IILTOX D. GARDNER, one of the lead-
ing farmers and stock raisers of Bon Homme
county, is a native of Oneida county, Xew York,
and dates his birth from April 30, 1837. His
grandfather, Benjamin Gardner, moved to that
county in an early day from Rhode Island and
\vas one of the leading citizens of the community
in which he spent the remainder of his life. He
was a farmer by occupation, took an active part
in the afifairs of Oneida county and died there
many years ago, leaving a family of six children,
viz: Daniel, Frederick, David, Mary, Harriet
and Narcissus, all deceased except Harriet, who
still lives in the state of New York.

Frederick Gardner, the second son, was born
September 23, 1811, married Sarah Wiggin,
\vhose birth occurred in the year 1816, and de-
parted this life in Oneida county, January 16,
1870. his wife dying seven years after that date.
Mr. Gardner followed tilling the soil for a live-
lihood and was a man of sterling worth. He was
a Democrat in politics, a Baptist in his religious
belief and as a neighbor and citizen bore an ex-
cellent reputation. Frederick and Sarah Gardner
reared a family of seven children, whose names
are as follows: Joanna, bom January 10, 1835,
married Alexander Bowers, and died in Du-
buque, Iowa, October 10, 1900; Milton D., the
subject of this review, is the second in order of
birth: Anna Eliza was born June 28, 1839: Har-
riet, wife of William Bowers, was born February
24, 1842, and died in 1898; George W,, whose
birth occurred on the 17th of September, 1846,
died in childhood: Henry J., born March 23.
1849, is living a retired life with the subject : A.
W. was born ^March 22, 1835, and makes his
home in Maquoketa, Iowa.

]\liltnn D. Gardner was educated in the pnl>lic

schools of his native county, grew to manhood on
the farm and remained with his parents until
twenty-seven years of age. In 1864 he severed
home ties and went to Minneapolis, Minnesota,
but after spending a short time at that place
changed his abode to Waseca, in the same state,
wh.ere he clerked for two years in a mercantile
house. Resigning his position at the end of that
time he became bookkeeper for a fimi in Dubuque,
Iowa, where he remained until 1873, the mean-
while becoming familiar with business and well
qualified to enter upon the duties of the active
career which awaited him in the west. In the
above year Mr. Gardner came to South Dakota
and with his brother engaged in the implement
business at Yankton, where the two conducted a
large establishment tmtil 1883, building up a
lucrative trade during that time and becoming
widely and favorably known in commercial cir-
cles. Disposing of his interest at the time noted,
the subject came to Bon Homme county and pur-
chased his present farm of one hundred and
sixty acres in the township of Bon Homme,
wdiich he at once began to improve and which he
has since converted into one of the best farms as
well as one of the most beautiful and attractive
country homes in this part of the state. Since
moving to this place he has devoted his atten-
tion to agriculture and stock raising and that his
success has been most flattering is attested by his
steady advancem.ent in material afifairs, being at
this time the owner of eleven hundred acres of
valuable land in Bon Homme county, four hun-
dred of which are in cultivation and otherwise
highly improved. He devotes especial attention
to com, millet, alfalfa and hay, which he raises in
abundance and feeds to his live stock. Mr. Gard-
ner has achieved enviable repute as a raiser of
fine blooded cattle and has on his farm at this
time thirty-five registered shorthorns, also a large
herd of other superior breeds, besides owning two
hundred Poland-Qiina hogs, and a number of
fine horses, for both draft and road purposes. He
exhibits his live stock and the products of his
farms have taken a number of premiums awarded
bv the state fairs, all of which he attends and in
the deliberations of which he takes an active in-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

terest and prominent part. In addition to his
o^eneral agricultural and large live-stock interests,
Mr. Gardner has a wide reputation as a grower
of fine varieties of corn. So great has been the
demand for this product of his farm that in the
\car 1903 he shipped more than a thousand
bushels to different parts of the state and yet was
unable to fill all orders that came to him. He has
given close and critical study to corn culture and
his efforts have resulted in the improvement of
standard varieties and the development of new
and highly productive kinds, for all of which he
receives fancy prices.

Fraternally, Mr. Gardner is a Mason, belong-
ing to the blue lodge at Tyndall and the chapter
at Scotland and he is also identified with the
P\-thian order, holding membership with the
lodge which meets at Springfield. While not a
politician in the strict sense of the word, he keeps
well informed on the leading public questions of
the day. and gives his support to the Democratic
party, though in local affairs frequently voting
for the best qualified candidate, regardless of
political ties.

Mr. Gardner, on May i, 1861, was united in
marriage with Miss Ophelia Brewer, of Oneida
county, New York, the union resulting in the
birth of three children, the oldest of whom, Asa,
was bom on May 8, 1866. This son is now a
prosperous stock dealer and lives at New Eng-
land, North Dakota, where he has a family of
five children, his wife having formerly been Miss
Emma Harrison, of Bon Homme county; Isa-
bella S., the second of the subject's children, was
born ^ I arch 12, 1868, and married Herbert Sil-
verwood, a farmer of Bon Homme county, this
state: the youngest of the family, a son by the
name of Clarence E., was born on May 24, 1879,
and is his father's able assistant on the farm.

SEYMOUR A. GUPTILL, one of the larg-
est land owners and successful farmers of Bon
Homme county, is the son of John B. and Emily
(Warren) Guptill, and was born in Winnebago
county, Illinois, on the 7th day of January, 1859.
His father, a native of Maine, came west in 1845

and settled in Illinois, where he purchased a farm
on which he made his home until 1886, when he
disposed of his interests in that state and moved
his family to Canton, South Dakota. Buying
land near the latter place, he improved a farm
and continued to cultivate the same as long as he
lived. He was a good man and an influential citi-
zen, took an active interest in public affairs and at
different times was honored with official posi-
tions, in all of which he discharged his duties
ably and acceptably. Mrs. Guptill, who was born
in New York, survives her husband and at the
present time lives in the state of Illinois. The
following are the names of the children born to
this couple : Charles, of Bon Homme county ;
Mrs. Lona Goldy, who lives in Illinois ; Seymour
A., of this review, and Lillie, who departed this
life at the age of eleven years.

Seymour A. Guptill received a limited edu-
cation in the public schools and remained with
his parents until his twenty-second year, the
meanwhile assisting with the labors of the farm.
In 1882 he came to South Dakota and settled in
Lincoln county, where he became one of the lead-
ing farmers. While there he accumulated con-
siderable property, both real- estate and personal,
but in 1 901 he sold out and came to Bon Homme
county, where he invested his means in land,
purchasing a fine farm of five hundred and
twenty acres, which he still owns and which un-
der his energetic labors and efffcient management
has become one of the finest and most productive
farms of the township in which it is situated.
Mr. Guptill has added greatly to his realty from
time to time until he now owns eleven hundred
and sixty acres, all valuable and the greater part
under cultivation and well improved. He farms
the home place and rents the rest of his land,
and as an agriculturist and stock raiser he ranks
with the leading men of his part of the state, who
are thus engaged. A Populist in sentiment and
a zealous supporter of the party of that name,
Mr. Guptill has kept aloof from partisan politics
and persistently refused to accept office or any
kind of public position. He has no ambition fur-
ther than to be a successful farmer and business
man and to dignify his standing as a citizen whose

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

interests are not wholly circumscribed within
narrow, selfish limits, but tend largely to pro-
mote the welfare of his fellow men.

In 1880 Mr. Guptill contracted a marriage
with Miss Nettie Hoyt, of Rock county, Wiscon-
sin, and he is now the head of an interesting
family of four children, viz: Clyde, Walter S.,
Lorna and Sidney, the youngest, a son by the
name of Rolland, being deceased.

AIARTIX J. LEWIS, born Orleans county,
New York, 1843. son of Governor Lewis, of Wis-
consin. Located at Vermillion 1869. Engaged
in banking with Messrs. Inman and Thompson :
prominent Baptist and leader in philanthropic en-
terprises. Died about 1893.

IRA J. SMITH, of Springfield, Bon Homme
county, is a native of Steuben county. New York,
where his birth occurred on April 25, 1846, and
is an honorable representative of one of the old-
est and best-known families of that part of the
Empire state. His father, Solomon C. Smith,
settled in the above county as early as 1830,
cleared and improved a good farm and afterward
moved onto a farm in Tioga county, Pennsyl-
vania, and lived on the same until his death, at
the age of seventy-nine years. He was of Ger-
man descent and when a young man married
Miss Lucretia Hurd, who departed this life when
fifty-seven years old, after bearing him nine chil-
dren, whose names are as follows: Joshua €.,
of Steuben county. New York: Rebecca lives in
Boston, IMassachusetts ; Freelove, of Fredonia,
New York; Daniel, who lives in Portland. Ore-
gon : Betsey, deceased ; Tra J., whose name intro-
duces this sketch; Mary J-, deceased; Adaline,
of Olean, New York, and Lovisa, whose home is
in the state of Washington.

Tra J. Smith was reared to agricultural pur-
suits, received a common-school education and
remained with his parents until twentv-thr'-e
years old. Leaving home, he came west in 1870.
arriving at Yankton, Dakota, on March 27th of
that year. After spending a short time at that

place the subject settled in Springfield, which
had but recently been laid out, and, taking up a
quarter section of land in the vicinity of the town,
turned his attention to agriculture. While prov-
ing up on his land he worked in different places
and after obtaining a patent from the govern-
ment, entered an adjoining quarter section, for
which he received a deed in due time.

Mr. Smith served four years as clerk in the
United States land office at Springfield, during
which time he lived in the town, but at the expi-
ration of his term he returned to his farm and
has continued its cultivation ever since. In addi-
tion to agriculture he is largely interested in live
stock, being one of the leading cattle raisers .in
Spring-field township, and he also devotes consid-
erable attention to horses and hogs, making the
fine breeds a specialty. Mr. Smith is one of the
substantial business men of his community and
as a farmer and stock raiser occupies a place in
the front rank of those who follow these voca-
tions. He is a self-made man and his success
since coming west has been almost phenomenal.
He reached South Dakota with sixty cents as the
sum total of his capital and at this time he owns
one of the most valuable farms in the county and
a fine moclern residence in Springfield, besides
the wealth represented by his live stock and other
personal property, all of which has been accumu-
lated by his own industry, thrift and efficient
management. He moved to his beautiful and
attractive home in the town in 1002, but still
gives attention to his farming and live-stock in-
terests. Mr. Smith is a potent factor in the af-
fairs of his township and county and one of the
leading Republicans in his part of the country.
He served three years on the board of county
commissioners and could have almost any local
office within the gift of the people, were it not
for the fact that he has always been averse to ac-
cepting public position. In religion he is a Con-
gregationalist ; he assisted to organize the church
at Springfield and has been one of its leading
members and most liberal supporters ever since,
being at tliis time a member of its board of trus-
tees.

The domestic life of Mr. Smith dates from

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1019

1873, in which year he contracted a matrimonial
alliance with Miss Hattie Bell, of Beloit. Wis-
consin, who has borne him five children, Maude
L. ; Ward E. died when two and a half years
old ; W. Berton, one of the promoters and own-
ers of the Springfield Telephone Company ;
Mabel C. and Rena A.

HEXRY E. PHELPS is a native of Ford
county, Illinois, and was born in August, 1863,
being the son of Jasper and Mary Ann (Davis)
Phelps, both of whom died in the year 1864, leav-
ing their son to be brought up in the family of a
friend by the name of John Wood. As this
gentleman and his good wife cared for their
young protege and sustained toward him almost
parental relations, it is proper in this connection
to present a brief outline of the benefactor to
whom the subject is so greatly indebted and
whose memory he so fondly cherishes. Mr.
W'cind was born in Dutchess county. New York,
M;i\- 6, 1824. and at the age of eighteen went to
Xorwalk, Ohio, between which place and Mt.
\'ernon he drove stage for a number of years. In
1846 he married Sarah J. Lyons, of Beaver
county, Pennsylvania, and in 1858 moved to
Huntington county, Indiana, locating at the town
of Andrews, where, in partnership with a Mr.
King, he operated a sawmill for a period of three
years, changing his residence at the expiration
of that time to Woodford county, Illinois. After
farming about two years in that part of the state,
Mr. Wood moved his family to Livingstone
county, thence, in 1872, came to Lincoln county.
South Dakota, and entered land in Dayton town-
ship, which he improved and on which he spent
the remainder of his days, dying on November
30, i803-

H. E. Phelps spent his early life in the home
of Mr. Wood and was reared to agricultural pur-
suits. He accompanied his foster parents to
South Dakota in 1872 and from that time until
1889 had charge of the Wood farm in Lincoln
county, but purchased forty acres of his own two
years previous to the latter date. On March 13.
1889. he was united in marriage with Miss Flor-

ence Lyon, of Andrews, Indiana, daughter of
John J. and Ruth (Ik-auchamp) Lyon, and im-
mediatelv thereafter set up a domestic establish-
ment of his own, purchasing an additional eighty
acres of land the same year, which he has since
improved and reduced to a successful state of
cultivation. Mr. Phelps has one of the finest
farms in Lincoln county, from which he derives
every year a handsome income. He devotes his
attention to general agriculture, raises abundant
crops of grain, especially corn, and feeds con-
siderable live stock, being among the most suc-
cessful raisers of hogs and horses in his neigh-
borhood. Since coming west he has applied him-
self closely to his chosen calling, with the result
that he is now in comfortable circumstances, with
ample competence against possible adversity, and
has long occupied a conspicuous place among the
representative citizens of the community in which
he resides.

In 1895 Mr. and Mrs. Phelps made a trip to
Indiana on account of the latter's health, and
from there went to Fitzgerald, Georgia, where he
operated a meat market for a short time with his
brother-in-law, H. L. Beauchamp. Later he,
with his wife, visited Tampa, Florida. He was
absent on this sojourn the greater part of two
years, returning home in 1897, since which time
he has carried on farming and stock raising, with
the success already indicated. In politics Mr.
PheliJS votes the Populist ticket and in religion
belongs, with his wife, to the Methodist Episco-
pal church, both being faithful and consistent
members and active workers in the local congre-
gation with which thev are identified. Mr. and
Mrs. Phelps have no children of their own, but
some years ago they opened their hearts and
home to an adopted daughter, upon whom they
have lavished the same love and affection as if
she had been their own flesh and blood.

GEORGE ATWOOD PETTIGREW, M.
D., was born in Ludlow, Vermont, April 6, 185S,
the son of Josiah Walker and Susan Ann ( At-
wood ) Pettigrew, natives of Ludlow and Lon-
donderry, Vermont, respectively. He was edu-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

cated at the Black River Academy, of Ludlow,
Vermont, the Colby Academy, of New London,
New Hampshire, and was graduated from the
medical department of Dartmouth College, at
Hanover, New Hampshire, with the class of
1882. He began the practice of his profession
at Flandreau, South Dakota, February 2, 1883,
and in June, 1884, entered into a professional
partnership with Dr. F. A. Spafford, which lasted
until February, 1891, when he retired from the
active practice and engaged in the real-estate, loan
and banking business. He was surgeon of the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad for
eight years ; government physician to the Indi-
ans for eight years ; surgeon of the Second Regi-
ment of Territorial Guards, and their successors,
from 1885 to 1893; surgeon-general of South
Dakota under Governor Sheldon, for two terms :
member of the board of United States pension
examiners from 1884 to 1901, with the exception
of one year ; surgeon of the First and Second
Regiments of South Dakota National Guard from
organization to their departure for the Philip-
pines.

yir. Pettigrew assisted in organizing the Flan-
dreau State Bank in May, 1891, and was its
president until July, 1903, when he resigned and
moved to Sioux Falls, September 3d, following.
He is president of the Union Savings Association
of Sioux Falls. He served as coroner of Moody
county for many years, and was the first to or-
ganize the real-estate move to advance the inter-
ests of Flandreau and Moody county. He lo-
cated hundreds of now prosperous farmers in this
countv and the price of farm lands has advanced
from eight dollars an acre in 1891 to fift\' and
sixty dollars an acre at the present time.

The subject is a Mason and has attained the
thirty-third degree, Ancient Accepted Scottish
Rite and the Royal Order of Scotland. He served
as grand secretary of the grand chapter of Royal
Arch Masons of the state since 1889 ; in 1895 was
elected grand secretary of the grand lodge of
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; in 1894
grand recorder of the grand commandery of
Knights Templar and in 1896 grand recorder of
the grand high priesthood, and now holds these

offices. He is a member of the chapter of the
Eastern Star and was grand patron for 1891,
1892 and 1893. He is a member of the Odd Fel-
lows, Modern Woodmen of America and the As-
sociation of Military Surgeons of America.

At Troy, New York, October 19, 1887, Dr.
Pettigrew was married to Eudora Zulette Stearns,
who was born at Felchville, Vermont, July 28,
1858. This union has been blessed by the birth
of one child, Adelie Stearns, born September 7,
1890.

THOMAS O. MITCHELL, of the well-
known firm of Mitchell & Thompson, dealers in
grain, flour, hay, live stock, etc., Whitewood,
South Dakota, was born in Adamsville, Ohio,
on the 15th day of December, 1852. He spent
his early years in his native state, enjoyed the
advantages of a common-school education and
until twenty-one years of age remained with .his
parents, assisting in the cultivation of the home
farm. On attaining his majority he went to ]\lc-
Lcan county, Illinois, where he followed agri-
cultural pursuits from 1873 to 1877, and in the
spring of the latter year went to Grand Island,
Nebraska, thence to Sidney, South Dakota, from
which place he afterwards came with a train
of freighters to the Black Hills. The summer
following his arrival Mr. Mitchell devoted to
prospecting on Battle and Rapid creeks, and in
the fall returned to Nebraska and accepted a
clerkship in his brother's general store at Alda,
continuing in the latter capacity until the Spring
of 1881, when he again came to Dakota and en-
gaged in business at Dead wood. He began his
career in that city, buying and shipping grain,
and in due time built up a profitable trade, but
in 1891 sold out there and established himself
in the grain and hay business at Whitewood,
which place has been the scene of his operations
ever since. In 1892 Mr. Mitchell associated
himself with T. W. Thompson, the firm thus
constituted erected the same year the elevator at
^^'hitewood, and from that time to the present
they have conducted a large and lucrative grain
business, also buy and ship live stock on a ver\-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

extensive scale, being one of the most success-
ful firms of the kind in the western part of the
state. In 1894 these gentlemen buih a gristmill
at Whitewood, which has since been operated in
connection with the grain and live-stock business,
the enterprise proving as remunerative as the
other interests, there being a constantly growing
demand for the high-grade flour made by the
firm. In addition to the lines of business re-
ferred to, Messrs. Mitchell and Thompson pay
considerable attention to the raising of blooded
cattle, principally Herefords, pasturing a large
number of these and other fine animals on their
extensive ranch lands in the vicinity of White-
wood and elsewhere in Lawrence county.

^Ir. INIitchell is decidedly a self-made man
and his present high standing in commercial and
industrial circles has been reached without aid
from the outside sources or the prestige of in-
fluential friends. His business qualifications are
of a superior order, his integrity and honor have
always been unquestioned and his fair dealings
and upright conduct have borne legitimate fruit-
age in the success which has made his name
popular among the representative men of the city
and county honored by his citizenship. Mr.
Mitchell is a Democrat in politics and one of
the active and influential party workers in his
part of the country, having served as chaimian
of the town board for a number of years, be-
sides filling other positions of honor and trust.

Mr. Mitchell was married on March 6. 1894,
to Miss Angle Robinson, a native of Iowa, but
who was brought to South Dakota when a child,
and has spent nearly all of her life in this state ;
two children have resulted from this union, a
son, Oron, and a daughter bv the name of Alice.

WILLIAM HOLLEMAN, one of the en-
terprising citizens of Bon Homme county, was
born in Holland on May 12, 1832, being the son
of Peter and Gertrude (Donkersloot) Holleman,
both parents natives of the Netherlands. Peter
Holleman and family came to America in 1855
and settled in Ottawa county, ^Michigan, where
he purchased land and cleared a farm, upon

which he and his good wife spent the remainder
of their lives. Mr. Holleman was twice married,
the subject of this review being the only child of
the first union. His second wife, whose maiden
name was Mary Pruisen, bore him four children,
namely : Johanna, Leentje, Anna and Arie. all
of whom live in Ottawa county, Michigan, where
the family originally settled.

William Holleman was reared and educated
in the land of his birth and at the age of twenty-
three accompanied his parents to America, locat-
ing with them in the state of Michigan. He be-
gan farming for himself in Ottawa county and
in due time became the possessor of one hundred
and ninety acres of land, which he improved and
on which he lived and prospered until the year
1885, when he sold out and moved to Bon
Homme county. South Dakota. On coming
west, Mr. Holleman purchased three hundred and
twenty acres of land, which he has since con-
verted into one of the finest farms in tliat part
of the county, and he has also added to his
realty from time to time until he now owns,
with his sons, one thousand four hundred acres,
five hundred and seventy of which are under
cultivation and otherwise well improved.

As a farmer Mr. Holleman stands in the
front rank, as prosperity has continuously at-
tended him, and he is today one of the leading
agriculturists in his part of the state. In ad-
dition to the large crops of corn, wheat, oats and
hay which his place produces, he is quite ex-
tensively interested in live stock, devoting his
attention to fine shorthorn and Durham cattle,
Poland-China hogs and several breeds of horses,
in the raising of which he has achieved a repu-
tation much more than local. He is a great ad-
mirer of his adopted country and its free in-
stitutions, manifests a lively interest in national
and state questions as well as local affairs and
in politics votes the Republican ticket. In mat-
ters religious he has strong faith and well-defined
opinions, being a worthy and consistent member
of the Dutch Reformed church, in the faith of
which he was bom and reared and with which the
majority of his familv are also identified.

i\Ir. Holleman was married November 22,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1859, to Miss Clara Ulburg, a native of Holland,
who bore him thirteen children and departed
this life on April 21, 1902. Mrs. Holleman was
a zealous member of the church to which her
husband belongs, and a lady of beautiful Chris-
tian character and of many excellent qualities.
She reared her children to industrious habits,
early instilled into their minds and hearts a
love of truth and rio;ht and by example as well as
precept, taught them to live lives of usefulness
and honor. The following are the names of the
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Holleman : Peter,
a graduate of a literary institution in Holland
and of the University of Michigan, now a physi-
cian, practicing his profession at Roseland, Iowa ;
John, a prosperous farmer and stock raiser of
Bon Homme count\' ; Garrett, who is engaged
in agricultural pursuits near Jamestown, Michi-
gan : Edward, of Bon Homme county and a
farmer by occupation, as is also Leonard, the
fifth in order of birth ; James, Timothy, Henn,',
David, William, Clarence, Ida and Gertrude are
still with their father on the homestead.

HEXRY T. COOPER, cashier of the White-
wood Bank, and ex-treasurer of Lawrence
countv, also state senator for two consecutive
terms, is a native of ^^'arwickshire, England,
where his birth occurred on the 22d day of June,
1850. He grew to manhood's estate and received
his education in the country of his birth and
after reaching his majority accepted the position
of traveling salesman with a wholesale firm which
he represented in various parts of England until
1879. Severing his connections with his house
that year, he came to the Lhiited States and, pro-
ceeding direct to St. Paul, Minnesota, entered
the employ of the Northwestern Transportation
Company, which at that time was operating lines
of stage coaches through various western states
and territories. Shortly after engaging with this
company, Mr. Cooper was placed in charge of
the business at Bismarck, South Dakota, thence,
in 1880, was transferred to Pierre, where he
looked after the company's interests during the

five years following. In 1885 he took charge of
the ofifice at Chadron, but when the railroad was
finished to that town the transportation company
moved its office to Rapid City, thence a little later
to Sturgis, and finally, in the fall of 1887, to
Whitewood, which place sprang into existence
that year. Mr. Cooper continued with the com-
pany at the latter place until 1890, when its busi-
ness was wound up by reason of the completion
of the railroad to Deadwood. For some time
thereafter he was engaged in various enterprises,
among which was the running of transportation
lines to a number of smaller towns beyond the
reach of railway facilities, and later he con-
structed the water-works system at Whitewood,
which for several months was operated under his
personal management. In 1894 Mr. Cooper was
elected treasurer of Lawrence county, and served
as such for a period of two years, discharging
his official functions in an able and satisfactory
manner and proving not only a capable but a
very obliging and popular public servant. He
early manifested a strong predilection for politics
and, espousing the principles of the Republican
party, in due time became one of its ardent ad-
vocates and active workers in the Black Hills
country. As a further recognition of his valu-
able services he was honored in 1898 by being
elected a member of the state senate, in which
capacity he served his district two terms, having
been re-elected in the year 1900.

Mr. Cooper, in 1898, became associated with
the Whitewood Banking Company, and since
that date he has been cashier of the bank, also one
of its largest stockholders. He is a skillful ac-
countant, capable and painstaking in the dis-
charge of the duties of his position and has made
a special study of financial questions, on all of
which he is not only well informed, but is con-
sidered an authority. In addition to banking,
he has large mining interests in different parts
of the country, and as an all-round, wide-awake,
enterprising business man, he occupies a promi-
nent place among the leading men of the Black
Hills. He still owns the water works at White-
wood and, with his other sources of income, has
become quite well to do, being at this time classed

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1023

with the financially solid and responsible men of
his part of the stale.

Mr. Cooper is a married man and the father
of two children, Henry and Albert; his wife,
formerly Miss Kate Grimshaw. is a native of
Minnesota and her name was changed to the
one she now bears on April 11, 1888.

RICHARD BLACKSTONE, one of the
representative citizens of the Black Hills district,
maintaining his home in Lead, Lawrence county,
was born on a farm near Connellsville, Fayette
county, Pennsylvania, and is a scion of one of
the old and honored families of the Keystone
state. The date of his birth was October 16,
1843, and he is a son of James and Nancy C.
(Johnston) Blackstone, both of whom were like-
wise natives of that county. The parents of the
subject passed their entire lives in the vicinity of
Connellsville, where the father followed the vo-
cation of farming, being a successful and in-
fluential citizen and one who commanded un-
equivocal* confidence and esteem. ( )f his four-
teen children, eight are yet living.

Richard Blackstone was reared on the home
farm and secured his early education in the
schools of Connellsville and in a private school.
On the 20th of July, 1861, when somewhat less
than eighteen years of age, he enlisted in Com-
pany C, Thirty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry,
commanded by Colonel Thomas B. Ford, who
had served as governor of the Buckeye state. He
enlisted at ]\Iansfield, Ohio, and thence accom-
panied his command to West Virginia, where
they passed the winter. In the spring they ad-
vanced to the east toward Staunton, Virginia,
under General Milroy, and took part in the bat-
tle of Bull Mountain, after which they marched
by way of Franklin over into the Shenandoah
valley, where they joined General Fremont's
forces and followed Stonewall Jackson on his
retreat up the valley to Harrison. They then re-
turned to Winchester and fortified the city, and
when Lee crossed into ^laryland they abandoned
Winchester and retreated to Harper's Ferry, tak-
ing part in the battle of Marylantl Heights, where

they were taken prisoners and paroled. During
the battle of Antietam they could hear the firing
but were not able to take part, as they were held
in captivity at the time. The regiment was moved
on to Baltimore and thence to Camp Douglas, in
Oiicago, and in the fall were sent to Columbus,
Ohio, where their exchange was effected. In
the spring of 1863 the regiment was again made
ready for duty and proceeded via Mississippi to
Memphis, where it became a part of the Army
of the Tennessee, under General Grant, being
assigned to the Third Division of the Seventeenth
Army Corps. After lying in camp at Milliken's
Bend for a time the command crossed the Mis-
sissippi river, below Vicksburg, and started on
the march to the rear of Vicksburg, engaging in
battle with Raymond's forces on the 8th of May,
and then proceeding as far as Jackson, Mis-
sissippi, from which point they returned toward
Vicksburg, participating in the battle of Cham-
pion Hills, on the i6th of May. In the charge
they captured two entire regiments, from Ala-
bama. Then advancing upon A'icksburg they be-
sieged that city until the 4th of July, under Gen-
eral Logan, and after the capitulation of the city
the regiment was engaged in provost duty during
the summer, and in the fall Mr. Blackstone was
made first sergeant of his company. At that time
he re-enlisted, although his temi would not have
expired until nearly a year later. He received a
thirty days' veteran furlough and passed the same
at his old home, after which he returned to Vicks-
burg and was detailed on recruiting service. The
regiment in the meanwhile came northward, and
he rejoined the command at Cairo, Illinois, from
which they proceeded up the Tennessee river to
Athens, Georgia, our subject being about this
time commissioned second lieutenant. They
marched onward and joined Sherman's army
at Big Shanty, Georgia, where they began their
services in connection with the Atlanta cam-
paign, advancing against General Johnston, who
made a somewhat stubborn stand at Kenesaw
Mountain, while they had numerous skirmishes
enroute, reaching Atlanta in July, and being in
the thickest of the fray on the 22d of that
month, when General [McPherson was killed.

1024

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Sherman continued his march and the Thirty-
second Ohio was present at the battle of Jones-
borough, but did not take part in the same. Re-
turning to Atlanta, they there encamped until
late in September, when General Hood started
for the north. The federal troops were put on
cars and went as far as Dalton, the intention
being to head off Hood. Sherman then began
the destruction of the railroad and shortly after-
ward our subject's regiment arrived at Atlanta
and joined in the memorable march to the sea,
thence proceeding northward through the
Carolinas and being present at the surrender of
Johnston, after which they marched to Washing-
ton, where, as a part of Sherman's army, they
participated in the grand review. From the
national capital the regiment was sent to Louis-
ville, Kentucky, where they were assigned to
provost duty, Mr. Blackstone there receiving his
honorable discharge in July, 1865, as captain of
his company, while on the 27th of the same
month' he was mustered qut of the service.

After the close of his long and arduous mili-
tary service Captain Blackstone retuhied to his
home, in Pennsylvania, and for a number of
months was a student in the Pennsylvania Mili-
tary Academy, at Chester, after which he took a
two-years course in the Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute at Troy, New York, where he gave his
attention to the study of engineering. In 1868
he came west to Colorado, making the trip from
Oieyenne to Denver by stage, and he engaged in
placer mining on the site of the present town of
Breckenridge, also prospecting in other localities.
In 1870 he returned to Denver, where he se-
cured a position in the office of the United States
surveyor general, as draughtsman. One year
later he removed to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where
he was employed in the office of the surveyor
general until 1878, in March of which year he
started for the Black Hills, arriving in Deadwood
on the last day of tlie month. He came here in
the interest of Cheyenne men who had some
mining properties on Whitewod creek, and he
acted as superintendent about two months, when
he found that the venture was not a profitable
one, and he accordingly engaged in the work of

his profession as an engineer, to which he de-
voted his attention for the ensuing two years. In
1 88 1 he entered the employ of the Homestake
Mining Company as engineer, and began the con-
struction of the Black Hills & Fort Pierre Rail-
road, continuing to make extensions to the same
at intervals until 1890, when the line was com-
pleted to Piedmont. In connection with his
other official duties he was superintendent of this
railroad until it was sold to the Giicago, Bur-
lington & Ouincy Railroad Company, in 1901.
He has been chief engineer for the Homestake
Company from the start, and has maintained his
home in Central City since 1888. April i, 1903,
he was made assistant superintendent of the
company. He also served as assistant superin-
tendent of the Father DeSmet, Deadwood. Terra
and Caledonia mines, owned by the Homestake
Company. In politics the Captain is a stanch
adherent of the Republican party, and fraternally
he is affiliated with the Ohio Commandei^.' of the
Loyal Legion and with E. M. Stanton Post, No.
8, Grand Army of the Republic, at Lead.

On the 28th of December, 1871, was solem-
nized the marriage of Captain Blackstone to
Miss ]\Iabel R. Noble, who was born and reared
in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, being a daughter of
William and Louisa (Findley) Noble. Of this
union have been born three children, namely :
Alexander J., who is in the emplo}' of the Home-
stake Mining Company ; Mary L., who is the wife
of D. C. Regan, of Lead ; and Florence, who re-
mains at the parental home. The family at-
tend the Episcopal church.

JA:MES HARTGERIXG. of Rapid City, a
miningrand mechanical engineer, with offices also
at Deadwood, was born on September 22, 1853,
in Ottawa county, Michigan, and is the son of
Alexander and Josephine Hartgering, natives of
Ohio. The father was a man of intellectual pur-
suits and engaged in teaching school during the
greater part of his mature life. When a young
man he served in the Mexican war, and after the
close of that memorable contest followed farm-
ing for a time in Michigan, where he died. The

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

son, James, was reared and educated in his na-
tive county, and in tlie spring of 1877 came to
the Black Hills, arriving in this new Eldorado
on the first day of April, and at once went to
prospecting and mining, following these alluring
hut often disappointing occupations for a number
of vears in various places throughout the Hills
country. He also learned his trade as a mill-
wright and worked at that considerably. In 1885
he pursued a speciat course of study in the State
School of Mines at Rapid City, the school having
then been recently organized. After the com-
pletion of his course there he entered on the prac-
tice of his profession as a mining and mechanical
engineer, and to this he has steadfastly adhered
over since. His home has been at Rapid City
from i8gi, with offices at Deadwood also. His
professional work has had a wide scope and is of
considerable magnitude, he being generally rec-
ognized as one of its leading practitioners in this
part of the country. He has been prominent in
designing and building mills and cyanide plants
on contract. The growth and development of the
section has enlisted his warmest and most in-
telligent interest, and to this he has devoted the
greater part of his time and energy. In addi-
tion he has taken an active part in public afifairs,
although not an earnest partisan in political work.
From 1886 he served as United States deputy
surveyor and as United States deputy mineral
surveyor, and was countv surveyor of Custer
county for one term. In fraternal relations he is
connected with the Masonic order, and has
climbed the mystic stairway to the thirty-second
degree of the Scottish Rite, being also a noble of
the ]\Tystic Shrine, belonging to the blue lodge at
Rapid City and the other bodies of the order at
Deadwood. He also belongs to the camp of the
Modern Woodmen of .Ajnerica at Rapid City,
and is a valued member of the Society for the
Advancement of Science, whose headquarters are
at Washington, D. C.

On March 21, 1883, ^^ Chicago, Illinois, the
subject was married to Miss Jennie M. McRae,
a native of Ontario. They have five children,
Constance M., James F., Genevieve. John M. and
Francis B.

THOMAS GREGORY, who is incumbent
of the responsible position of state mining in-
spector, is a native of Devonshire, England,
where he was born on the 24th of July, 1862,
being a son of John and Jane Ann (Sergeant)
Gregory, the former of whom was born in
Devonshire and the latter in Cornwall, while
the paternal grandfather of the subject, William
Gregory, was likewise a native of Devonshire,
where the family has resided for many gener-
ations, the name being closely identified with the
mining industry in that section of the "right little,
tight little isle." The father of the subject was
in his younger days engaged in farming, but later
became concerned in mining, being in the em-
ploy of the Devongrate Consols Mining Com-
pany, a large and important concern, engaged in
the mining of copper, and with the same he con-
tinued until his death, by accident in the mine, in
1888, while his devoted wife passed away in 1870.
They became the parents of eight children, of
whom five are living at the present time.

Thomas Gregory passed his boyhood days in
his native county, where he secured his educa-
tion in the coinmon schools, and while a boy he
entered the copper mines, in which he advanced
through various grades of promotion until he
held responsible positions. He was employed
in the mines of Devonshire and Cornwall for
varying intervals until March, 1884, when he
came to America. He first went to California,
and after passing about fifteen months in gold
mining at Plymouth, Amador county, he came
thence to the Black Hills. Here he entered the
employ of the Deadwood Terra Mining Com-
pany, at Terraville, whose properties were later
purchased by the Flomestake Mining Company,
which still controls the same. He was thus en-
gaged until 1893, having in the meanwhile been
successful in various contracting enterprises
which he undertook in an incidental way. In
the year mentioned the mine was closed down
and Mr. Gregory then made a visit to his old
home in Devonshire, England, where he remained
eight months, after which he returned to the
Black Hills and again entered the employ of the
Deadwood Terra Alining Company, and about

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

four months later entered the employ of the
Homestake Mining Company, in whose service
he continued, a valued and trusted employe, until
April I, 1901, when he was appointed state min-
ing inspector, with headquarters at Lead. He
gave most able and satisfactory service and was
appointed as his own successor on the ist of
April, 1903, being the first incumbent of the
office to thus receive appointment for a second
term in this state, — a fact which is duly
significant without further testimony or endorse-
ment. In politics Mr. Gregory gives his al-
legiance to the Republican party, and fraternally
he is identified with the Knights of Pythias and
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Shortly after his arrival in the Hills Mr. Gre-
gory organized a cornet band at Terraville, and
the headquarters of the same were transferred to
Lead at the time of his removal to this point.
He has been the leader and instructor of the
band from the start and it has now attained a
high degree of proficiency, having about twenty
pieces represented in its instrumentation, while
it has the distinction of being the official band of
the Second Regiment of the Uniformed Rank of
the Knights of Pythias, in which connection its
seryices have been in requisition in the most
diverse sections of the state.

Mr. Gregory has been twice married, first in
1884. A son, John, was born of this union, who
at present resides in Plymouth, England, and is
apprenticed to the brass fitter's trade. The sec-
ond marriage of Mr. Gregory occurred in 1900.

THO^IAS E. HART, one of the highly
esteemed citizens of Central City, Lawrence
county, is a native of the province of Quebec,
Canada, where he was born on the 4th of June,
1843, being a son of William and Elizabeth
(Brown) Hart, who were likewise born in the
province of Quebec. The paternal grandfather
of the subject was Thomas Hart, who was born
in County Sligo, Ireland, and who. was a captain
ill the British army, in which connection he was
sent to the dnniinion of Canada with his regi-

ment, which was stationed in the city of Quebec.
After retiring from the military service he pur-
chased a farm fifteen miles out from the city, and
there passed the remainder of his long and use-
ful life, having served for more than twenty
years in the English army and having partici-
pated in a number of wars in which his country
was involved. The father of our subject con-
tinued to reside in his native province until 1859,
when he removed with his family to Cleveland,
Ohio, where he engaged in the fur business, and
there he and his devoted wife passed the
residue of their lives, honored by all who knew
them. They had four sons and three daughters,
of whom three of the former and all of the latter
are living at the time of this writing.

Thomas B. Hart, the immediate subject of
this review,* secured his educational discipline in
the excellent schools of his home province, and
was about sixteen years of age at the time of
the family removal to Ohio. There he secured a
position in car shops in the city of Cleveland,
where he developed much mechanical skill, and
thereafter he assisted in the putting in of trestle
work for the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad,
while later he entered the employ of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Company, with which great cor-
poration he continued until iS/'i, in }vlarch of
which year he set forth to seek his fortunes in
the Black Hills. From Cheyenne, Wyoming, he
came by team to his destination, in company with
others, arriving in Deadwood on the 22d of May.
They encountered no trouble with the Indians,
though two days previously to their crossing Hat
creek two men had been killed by the savages at
that point. Mr. Hart at once turned his attention
tr prospecting in the vicinity of Deadwood, but
his success was of a negative character and after
three months he entered the employ of the owners
of the Keach mine, at Central Citw A few
months later he went to work on the Father De-
Sniet property, and there continued imtil the
mine was sold to a California company, in Decem-
ber, 1877, when he secured service with the
new owners and remained with them until 1881,
when the Homestake Mining Company pur-
chased the property, which tlic\' still own and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

continue to develop. With this weU-known com-
pany Mr. Hart was employed until May lo,
1886. when he engaged in contracting at the car-
bonate camps, being fairly successful. A few
months later he again turned his attention to
prosjiecting. in company with Eli T. Forrester.
They relocated the Bingham mine, one mile west
of Central City, and forthwith instituted the work
of development, running tunnels and openings up
the ledge, which is now one hundred and eighty-
four feet in width. They sunk a shaft to the depth
of one hundred feet and placed the property in
good working condition. In 1 901 they sold the
property to the firm of Mayhem & Stevenson, and
it is now known as the Hidden Fortune. In com-
pany with Florence McCarthy, in the Golden
Rule properties, in Rudebaker Gulch, one mile
directly west of the town of Lead, Mr. Hart ran
three tunnels, one of sixty-five feet, another of
one hundred and twenty feet and the third of
seventy-five feet, after which they made a cross-
cut of the lead. In iqoi thev sold this property
to the Pennsylvania Mining Company and the
pro]ierty is now being worked by that company.
In the handling of these properties Mr. Hart has
been very successful and he is known as one of
the reliable and progressive mining men of the
section and as one of the representative citizens
of Central City, where he owns an attractive
residence. In politics he is arrayed with the
Democratic party.

On the 14th of January, 1867, Mr. Hart was
married to ]\Iiss Margaret jMulreedy, who was
born in Ireland, whence she accompanied her
parents on their emigration to America when a
child, the family locating in Mansfield, Ohio,
where she was reared and educated. Of this
union have been born five children, concerning
whom we incorporate the following brief record :
James, who married Miss Earl Brown, is a
resident of Butte, Montana ; Thomas is in the
employ of the Homestake Mining Company, and
resides in Lead City ; John, who married Miss
Louise Lj'ons, is a resident of the city of Port-
land, Oregon ; William is in Nome, Alaska : and
Eugene is a student in the Gertrude House in
the city of Chicago.

M.\TT PLl'NKETT, who has been
identified with the mining industry in the Black
Hills for more than a quarter of a century, and
now maintains his home in Central City,' Law-
rence county, was born in the parish of St. Syl-
vester, province of Quebec, Canada, twenty-
eight miles southeast of the city of Quebec, on
the nth of November, 1850, and comes of stanch
old Irish stock. His parents, James and Mary
( McKelvie ) Plunkett. were born and reared in
the north of Ireland, while their marriage was
solemnized in Canada. .\s a comparatively
young man James Plunkett came with his
widowed mother to America and settled in the
parish of St. Sylvester, where he engaged in
farming until about 1865, when he disposed of
his interests there and removed to the city of
Alpena, Michigan, on the shore of Lake Huron,
where both he and his wife passed the remainder
of their lives. He was well advanced in years at
the time of this removal and lived practically re-
tired thereafter until his life's labors were
ended. He and his wife were members of the
Catholic church and were folk of sterling char-
acter. Of their nine children eight are living
at the time of this writing.

?ilatt Plunkett passed his school days in his
native parish and after the removal of the family
to Michigan he identified himself with the great
lumbering industry in that state, while later he
was similarly employed in W'isconsin. In 1877
he came to the Black Hills, by the way of Bis-
marck, having no trouble with the Indians while
enroute, and he arrived and settled in Golden
Gate, adjoining Central City, in December. He
devoted the first year to prospecting, and has lo-
cated a number of valuable properties, some of
which are now yielding large returns. At the
head of Nevada Gulch, in July, 1878, in partner-
ship with John McVain and Dave Arno, he
located the .Signet and Black Moon lodes, which
they to a certain extent developed. Our sub-
ject retained an interest in this property until
1902, when it was sold to the Horseshoe ]\Iining
Company, the lodes being a low-grade ore and
well ada]rted to reclamation by the cyanide pro-
cess. In 1896 Mr. Plunkett and his partner.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Charles F. Abbott, located the Metallic Streak
( I to 6, inclusive), on which they did consider-
able development, having some of the ore treated,
and in- 1890 they sold the property to the Spear-
fish Mining & Milling Company, who are now
working the same very successfully. Mr.
riunkett has at the j)rescnt time a number of
interests in patented and unpatented mining
lands, and some of these properties are promis-
ing prospects. In 1896 Mr. Plunkett was elected
sherifif of Lawrence county, on the Fusion ticket,
and was re-elected in 1898. He had all the stir-
ring experiences which usually come to a sheriff
in a mining district, but his administration was
characterized by directness of action, alertness
nnd vigilance and by great personal courage and
self-reliance, so that he gained a high reputation
as a capable and discriminating officer. He now
devotes his attention principally to mining. In
politics he is a Bryan Democrat and he has been
a member of the Miners' Union of Central City
since 1878, and has held an office in the same at
various times.

At Central City, on the ist of August, 1882,
Mr. Plunkett was united in marriage to Miss
^Margaret Cunningham, who was born in County
Sligo, Ireland, whence she came with relatives
to America in 1880, while she came to the Black
Hills with her sister, Mrs. Herman Carroll. Of
this union have been born five children, namely :
James Joseph, who remains at the parental home
and who is working in the DeSmet Mill ; Mary
Ellen, who is attending the public schools ;
]\Iatthew J., who is attending school; William,
who died at the age of one month, and ]\Iargaret
Pearl, a winsome little lass of nine vears (1904).

EDWARD HEMMINGER, one of the rep-
resentative citizens of Oiarles Mix county, con-
ducting a successful mercantile business in the
village of Jasper, was born in Somerset county,
Pennsylvania, on the 9th of November, 1855,
Lieing a son of Jonas and Susan (Shawley) Hem-
minger, of whose thirteen children ten are living
at the present time, the parents having likewise
lieen natives of the old Keystone state, where

they passed their entire lives, the father having
been a farmer by vocation and a man of
prominence and sterling character.

The subject of this sketch received his edu-
cational training in the public schools, continu-
ing his studies until he had attained the age of
eighteen years and in the meanwhile assisting in
the work of the home farm. After leaving school
he came west to Iowa, where he was for a time
employed as a farm hand, eventually becoming
the owner of a farm in Crawford county, that
state, where he was quite successful in his opera-
tions. He remained in Iowa about eleven years,
I at the expiration of which, in 1883, he came to
what is now the state of South Dakota and took
[ up a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty
j acres, in Giarles Mix county, where he also se-
j cured three hundred and twenty acres by pre-
emption, the land being located near the present
village of Jasper. He continued to be actively
engaged in farming and stock growing until
1899, when he took up his residence in Jasper and
here established himself in the general merchan-
dise business, in which he has since successfully
continued, being known as an enterprising and
reliable business man and gaining a represent-
ative patronage. He was appointed postmaster
at Jasper and has remained consecutively in
tenure of this position, the office being located in
his well-equipped store.

In politics he gives a stanch support to the
Republican party and is one of its wheelhorses in
his community, while both he and his wife are
members of the jMethodist Episcopal church. He
has served for a number of years as treasurer of
the 'school board and manifests a lively interest
in all that makes for the well-being of the com-
munity. He still retains possession of his fine
farm of six hundred acres, which he rents, the
land being now worth from twenty-five to forty
dollars an acre, while at the time of his arrival
in the county it could be purchased for a few
dollars an acre, — in fact was subject to home-
stead and pre-emption entry. In the summer of
1903 Mr. Hemminger and his family, in com-
pany with John E. C. ^^'ilson and family, made
an extended tour through the Yellowstone Na-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA,

tional Park and other portions of the northwest,
as well as of California, the outinj^ proving- a
most enjoyable one.

On the 30th of January. 1879. I\Ir. Hem-
minger was united in marriage to Miss Minerva
Ellen Scott, who was born in Illinois, while their
marriage was solemnized in Indianola. Iowa, of
which state she was a resident at the time. Of
this union were born five children, of whom only
one is living, — Edith, who will complete her edu-
cation in Alitchell University and who still re-
mains at the parental home, being one of the
popular young ladies of the town and county.

JAMES C. NELSOX, of Yankton county,
was born in Denmark, August 30, 1868, and is
a son of Nels and Julia (Anderson) Olsen, who
came to this country when their son James was
only about five years of age. On the 4th of July,
twenty-nine years ago, they arrived in Yankton
county and the father purchased one hundred and
sixty acres of land near Tabor, investing the
money which he had brought with him from his
native country. In the family were nine children,
namely : Ola. John, Dora, Qiristina. Cecelia,
Fred, James, Andrew and Helena. Of this
number Andrew is now deceased. The parents
are both living, their home being now in Yank-
ton. Mr. Olsen has now retired from active
business and enjoys the fruits of his former toil.
He has reached the age of seventy-five and his
wife is now seventy-one years of age. Thev
celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in
the summer of 1903, and although now well ad-
vanced in years both are enjoying good health..

In the public schools of South Dakota James
C. Nelson was educated, therein continuing his
studies until he reached the age of sixteen. He
afterward, however, became a student in Yankton
College, where he remained for two years and
thus with a liberal mental discipline he was well
pre]iared for the active afifairs of life. Upon
leaving college he turned his attention to farming
in connection with his brother Andrew, who is
now deceased.

In October, 1897, Mr. Nelson was united in

marriage to Miss Jennie Burton and they have
become the parents of three children : Bessie,
Robert and Edith, all of whom are at home. The
farm property of the subject comprises three
hundred and sixty acres of land, a part of which
is under cultivation, while the remainder is used
for pasturage purposes. He raises considerable
stock, having now one hundred head of cattle
ready for the Chicago market. In his business
afifairs he is active and honorable and whatever
he undertakes he carries forward to successful
completion. About eight years ago he planted a
number of apple trees and now has a good orch-
ard. In public afifairs he is energetic and his
labors have been of marked benefit along many
line of progress. He has been a member of the
school board for three terms of six vears and
has been assessor for seven or eight years. In
politics he is a Republican, recognized as one of
the active workers for the success of his partv.
yet he has never been an aspirant for office nor
sought official preferment as a reward for his
party fealty.

JOSEPH HEJL is a native of Bohemia, born
in the year 1847. He spent his youth in that
country and then sought a home in America, be-
lieving that he might find better opportunities in
this country. Accordinglv, he left his native land
in 1868 and when the ocean voyage was com-
pleted he proceeded across the country to Ohio,
where he spent one year. He then went to Iowa,
where he engaged in farming for a year.

In 1873 ^^^i"- Hejl was united in marriage to
Miss Katherine Petrick and unto them have been
born nine children, six daughters and three sons :
Mary, Annie, Frances, Josephine, Katie. Stella,
Joe, Frank and Mattie. The family circle yet
remains unbroken by the hand of death and tlie
children are still with their parents. Thev have
been educated in the English schools and have
thus been well equipped for meeting the respon-
sible duties of life.

In 1871 3.1r. Hejl arrived in Yankton county
and has since carried on general farming here.
He not only cultivates his fields, but also is

I030

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

engaged in the raising of cattle of good grades.
As the years have gone by he has prospered in
his work because he has labored earnestly from
early morning until evening, throughout the busy
season of the year. He has also manifested
sound judgment in the control of his business
affairs and because of his industry and persever-
ance he has won success, being today the owner
of six hundred acres of very valuable land. He
has set up all of the trees upon his place and in
fact has made all of the improvements. He lived
here during the time of the grasshopper scourge,
when the insects descended in such numbers upon
his farm that they ate every particle of vegetation
there. Other discouragements have had to be
met and difficulties have had to be borne, but
with characteristic energy ]\lr. Hejl has worked
on year after year and is now one of the prosper-
ous farmers of this community. In 1890 he
erected a good brick residence upon his place and
has made other substantial and modern improve-
ments,— in fact, his fine farm is a monument to
his life of industry and thrift. He deserves great
credit for what he has accomplished and his life
should inspire and encourage others who hive to
begin as he did, without capital.

JOSEPH J. NED\:ED, of Yankton county,
was born in Bohemia on the 3d of January, 1849,
and is the eldest son of Frank and Veronica
{ .Stadnik) Nedved. At the usual age he entered
the public schools of his native country and
therein continued his studies until he reached the
age of fourteen. He afterward worked upon his
father's farm until he was sixteen years of age,
when he began an apprenticeship at the butcher's
trade, following that calling for two years. When
he was a young man of eighteen years his father
decided to sell the property in Bohemia and took
up his abode in the land of freedom. Accord-
ingly the subject came with the family and lived
first in Cleveland. Ohio, where he was employed
for three years. During a part of that time he
worked as a railroad hand and the remainder of
the period was devoted by him to the mastery of
the cooper's trade. When twenty-one years of

age he came to Yankton county. South Dakota,
and assisted his father in the development and
improvement of the home farm for about three
years.

It was on the 25th of March, 1872, when
twenty-three years of age. that Joseph J. Nedved
was united in marriage to Miss Mary Peterka,
who was born in Bohemia and came to Dakota
with her parents. Five children graced this
marriage : Annie, who is now the wife of Frank
Bartos, a resident farmer and miller of Tabor,
Bon Homme county ; Charles, who is now twenty-
eight years of age and assists in the operation
and management of the home farm ; Mattie, who
has departed this life: and Joseph and Frank,
who are yet under the parental roof.

About 1 87 1 Mr. Nedved pre-empted one hun-
dred and sixty acres of land, which he afterward
traded for a homestead and suljsequently he
bought one hundred and twenty acres, adjoining
his second property. He now owns four hun-
dred and forty acres, but intends to give a quarter
section of this to his son Qiarles. Since coming
to Dakota he has been identified with agricultural
interests, which is the chief source of wealth to
the state, the broad prairies of this locality fur-
nishing splendid opportunity to the farmer and
stock raiser. ]\fuch of l\Ir. Nedved's land is
under cultivation and the fields produce good
crops. He is, however, also extensively engaged
in the raising of stock and finds this department
of his business a profitable source of income. In-
dependent in political views, he votes for the can-
didates whom he thinks will prove most capable
and efficient officials. He has served as school
director for three years and as school clerk for
about one year. Socially he is connected with
the Z. C. B. J., a Bohemian society. He has ever
discharged his duties with marked ability and
fairness, for he is a most loyal, public-spirited
citizen.

LUTHER E. GAGE, a representative citizen
and business man of McCook county and vice-
president of the Security .State Bank of Mont-
rose, was born in New York on the 27th of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

103 1

July, 1861, and is a son of Eng^ene S. and Elvira
(Hazelton) Gage, representatives of old and
honored families of the Empire state, where they
were both born and reared. They now reside
in Montrose, South Dakota, where they have
made their home since 1880. The father of the
suliject was for many years engaged actively in
farming and stock raising, but is now living prac-
tically retired. Of the eight children in the
famil)- all are living except one. the names, in
order of birth, being as follows : Ellen, Luther
E.. Frank, Matilda, Gertrude, Earl. Orin and
Smith, the last named being deceased. When the
subject was yet a youth, his parents came to the
west and located in Grundy county, Iowa, where
his father .was engaged in farming until his re-
n:oval to South Dakota. The subject secured his
educational discipline in the public schools of
Iowa, and after leaving school he continued to
gi\e his attention to the great basic art of agri-
cidture, to which he has ever since given his al-
legiance, appreciating the fact that it is a proud
distinction to be termed a successful farmer. In
the spring of. 1879, at the age of eighteen years,
]\Ir. Gage came to what is now the state of
South Dakota and settled in Clear Lake township,
^Hnnehaha county, where he entered claim to
one hundred and sixty acres of government land,
perfecting his title in due time and there con-
tinuing to reside until 1892, when he came to
r\IcCook county, where he engaged in farming
and stock raising, eventually "becoming the owner
of a finely improved, landed estate of four hun-
dred and eighty acres, which he still retains in his
possession and to whose operations he still gives
a general supervision. He has given special at-
tention to the raising of high-grade cattle, and
upon his ranch are usually to be found about five
hundred head. In 1893, ^^^- Gage engaged in
the general merchandise business in Montrose,
conducting this enterprise in addition to his
ranching business, and he continued the same
successfully for a period of two years, at the
expiration of which he disposed of his interests
in the line.

In ]\Iarch, 1897. Mr. Gage became associated
with P. Ci. Williams, a leading business man of

Montrose, in the conducting of an agricultural
implement and real-estate business until the
spring of 1902, when the Security State Bank
was organized and opened for business on the
9th day of March of that year. They own the
controlling stock in the bank, and the reputation
which they bear in this section stands as ample
voucher for the reliability and solidity of the in-
stitution and gives assurance of a representative
popular support. Mr. Williams is president of
the bank and the subject is vice-president, while
L. S. Lillibridge is in active charge of the count-
ing room in the capacity of cashier. Mr. Gage
is, in politics, a stanch supporter of the principles
of the Republican party, but has never sought or
held public office of any description. His wife
is a Baptist. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the
Masonic order, in which he has passed the de-
grees of the blue lodge, and is also affiliated with
the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

On the 23d of May, 1881, Mr. Gage was
united in marriage to Miss Ana Williams, of
this county. She was born and reared in Wis-
consin and is a daughter of William and Mary
Williams, who are now residents of Minnehaha
county, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Gage have
six children, namely: Roy, Nona, Allen. William.
Irene and Clyde. Roy and Allen are students in
the high school at Sioux Falls at the time of
this writing, the former being a graduate of the
class of 1903 and the latter will graduate with
the class of 1904.

DEL:M0NT GOLDSMITH, who was the
founder of the Commercial State Bank of Salem,
McCook county, and who has been president of
the institution from the time of its inception,
was born in Webster City, Hamilton county,
Iowa, on the 30th of August, 1871, and is a son
of Qiarles D. and Delia (Borland) Goldsmith,
the former of whom is still living, the mother
having died in 1882. The father of the subject
was a prominent and honored member of the
bar of the Hawkeye state, where he was activelv
engaged in the practice of his profession for
many \-ears, while for four vears he served as

I032

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

district judge, making a most enviable record on
the bench.

When the subject was ten years of age his
parents removed to Sac City, Sac county, Iowa,
and in the public schools of that place he secured
his early educational training, after which he was
for one year a student in the Rohbaugh Commer-
cial College, in the city of Omaha, Nebraska,
where he completed a thorough business course
and ably equipped himself for the active duties of
life. After leaving school he became assistant
cashier of the First National Bank of Sac City,
retaining this position three years and tlien com-
ing to McCook county. South Dakota, in 1893.
Shortly after his arrival he effected the organiza-
tion of the Commercial State Bank of Salem,
over whose affairs he has since presided as chief
executive, while under his management the in-
stitution 'has been ably conducted and signally
prospered, having ample capitalistic reinforce-
ment and being one of the solid banking houses
of the state. The bank was opened for business
on the 1st of July, 1893, and the attractive and
substantial bank building, of modern design and
equipment, was erected by Mr. Goldsmith for the
purpose to which it is now applied. In politics
Mr. Goldsmith is an uncompromising adherent
of the Democratic party, and fraternally lie is
identified with the blue lodge and chapter of the
?\lasonic fraternity.

On the 23d of October, 1895, Mr. Goldsmith
was united in marriage to Miss Lucile Schneider,
of Salem, South Dakota, she being a sister of
L. \\. J. F. and H. W. Schneider, leading
merchants of Salem. J^Irs. Goldsmith was born
in Huston county, Minnesota, being a daughter
of Joseph and Frances Schiifider, and she was
reared and educated in Salem, South Dakota.

JOSEPH rOXSFC^RD, who is the owner
of an extensive and valuable landed estate in
Buffalo and Jerauld counties, comes of stanch
English lineage and is a native of the beautiful
old city of St. John, province of New Bruns-
wick, Canada, where he was born on the 19th
of January, 1840, being a son of \^'alter F. and

Elizabeth (Henderson) Ponsford, both of whom
died there, the father having been a shipbuilder
b}' vocation. They became the parents of five
children, of whom three are living. The subject
of this sketch attended the excellent schools of
his native city until he had attained the age of
sixteen years, when he set forth to face the stern
battle of life on his own responsibility. He lo-
cated in Racine, Wisconsin, where he remained
two years, engaged in work at the carpenter
trade, and becoming a skilled artisan in the line.
At the expiration of the period noted he removed
to Waterloo, Iowa, where he followed the voca-
tion of contracting and building until 1883. It
should be noted that after the close of the war of
the Rebellion Mr. Ponsford enlisted for service,
serving in the quartermaster's department from
1865 to 1867, within which time he was in
Dakota, with, the forces under command of Gen-
eral Sully.

In April, 1883, Mr. Ponsford came to Jerauld
county. South Dakota, where he took up three
hundred and twenty acres of government land,
in Crow township, and forthwith instituted the
reclamation and improvement of the property.
As success attended his energetic and well-di-
rected efforts he manifested his faith in the value
of South Dakota property by adding to the area
of his landed estate, which now comprises four-
teen hundred and forty acres of exceptionally fine
agricultural and grazing land. He is engaged in
the raising of cattle and other live stock upon an
extensive scale and is one of the most substantial
ranchmen of this favored spction of the state.
He came to Dakota a poor man, and it is gratify-
ing to note the fact that by energetic and well-
directed endeavor in connection with the de-
velopment of the magnificent natural resources
of the state he has attained a most unqualified
success in temporal affairs, his estate being now
valued at about fifty thousand dollars.

He was prominently identified with the or-
ganization of Jerauld county and has ever mani-
fested an insistent and helpful public spirit. He
is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies
of the Republican party, and though he has been
urged to accept nomination for various county

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

offices he has invariably refused to permit the
use of his name in such connection. Fraternally,
he is identified with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows. Mrs. Ponsford is a communicant
of the Protestant Episcopal church, and in this
faith, the subject also was reared.

On the 2d of May, 1867, Mr. Ponsford was
united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Dunham, of
St. John, New Brunswick, who was born and
reared in St. John, being a daughter of Joseph
O. and Elizabeth Dunham.

JESSE B. INGERSON, the present able
and popular incumbent of the office of county
auditor of Buffalo county, was born in St. Law-
rence, New York, on the 13th of June, 1864, and
is a son of Lewis and Maria (Baraclough) Inger-
son, the former of whom is still living, while the
mother is dead. They became the parents of five
children, of whom the subject was the third in
order of birth, while four of the number are
living at the time of this writing. The father of
the subject was a farmer by vocation and both
he and his wife were represeutatlves of families
long and honorably identified with the annals of
American history. Jesse B. Tngerson was ten-
dered such educational advantages as were af-
forded by the public schools of his native state
and was reared under the invigorating discipline
of the homestead farm. At the age of sixteen
years he left the parental roof to become depend-
ent upon his own resources. He was principally
engaged in farming in New York state until
1883. when, at the age of nineteen years, he
came to South Dakota, which was then a portion
of the great integral territory of Dakota, and
settled in Buffalo county, where he took up gov-
ernment land and set himself vigorously to the
work of reclaiming and improving the same.
That he has been successful is best shown in the
fact that he is now the owner of a fine landed
estate of about one thousand acres, a consider-
able portion of which is devoted to the raising
of grain, while the balance is utilized in connec-
tion with the raising of live stock, to which in-
dustry he has given special attention, carrying on

the enterprise upon an extensive scale and also
being a successful dealer in and shipper of
.stock.

Mr. Ingerson is a stalwart Republican in his
political proclivities, and in the fall of 1902 he
was elected county auditor, assuming his official
duties on the 6th of March, 1903, and having
thus taken up his residence in Gann Valley, the
attractive county seat. He still gives a general
supervision to his ranch, but the county is for-
tunate in having secured his services in an office
for which he is so distinctively eligible. Frater-
nally, he is identified with the Modem Woodmen
of America.

On the 17th of September, i8go, Mr. Inger-
son led to the hymeneal altar Miss Anna Miller,
who was born and reared in South Dakota, being
a daughter of A. W. Miller, a prominent and
honored resident of Buffalo county, this state.
jNIr. and Mrs. Ingerson have five children, all of
whom remain beneath the home roof, namely :
Mvrtle, Laura, Pearl.. Jesse and Flaurence.

THE GARDNER BROTHERS are num-
bered among the representative business men of
Hand county, where they have resided since the
pioneer epoch in its history, and they are now
prominently engaged in the general merchandise
business in the attractive village of Ree Heights.

F. R. Gardner was born in Licking county,
Ohio, on the 9th of May, 1856, and W. T.
Gardner, the junior member of the firm, was born
in La Salle county, Illinois, on the 8th of June,
1S58. They are sons of Gilson and Margaret
(Humphrey) Gardner, five of whose children are
living at the present time. The father of the
subject devoted the major portion of his active
life to agricultural pursuits, and his wife died in
the state of Iowa in 1892. F. R. Gardner re-
ceived his early educational training in the public
schools of Iowa, and later continued his studies
in the Iowa State Normal School at Cedar Falls,
where he was graduated as a member of the class
of 1880. He had previously completed a course
in the high school, and thereafter was for three
years successfully engaged in teaching in the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

public schools of Chickasaw and Boone counties,
Iowa. In 1884 he came to Hand county. South
Dakota, where his brother W. T. had previously
located, and since that time they have been
closely associated in their business enterprises.
They here engaged in the ranch and live-stock
business, to which they continued to give their
attention until 1892, when they established their
present general merchandise business in Ree
Heights, where they have built up a large and
prosperous trade, which is drawn from the wide
radius of country normally tributary to the town.
They carry a large and complete stock in each of
the several departments and by their correct busi-
ness methods and manifest integrity of pur-
pose have gained and retained the unqualified
confidence and esteem of the community. The
firm is also associated with another brother, New-
man A., in the ownership of the Orient State
Bank, of Orient, South Dakota, which was
opened for business in September, 1903, and
which has met with a most gratifying popular
support from the time of its inception. The
brothers are the owners of about fourteen hun-
dred acres of land in the county and have here
attained a high degree of success through their
well-directed endeavors. They are uncompromis-
ing Republicans in their political proclivities, and
their religious faith is that of the Congregational
church.

On the 2d of December, 1886, was solemnized
the marriage of F. R. Gardner to Miss Kate M.
Wetherell, of Janesville, Iowa, and they have
three children, Charles W., Hugh H. and Mar-
ger}-. Fraternally Mr. Gardner is a member of
the Modern Woodmen of America.

W. T. Gardner, like his brother, was reared
to the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the
farm, and after completing the curriculum of
the public schools he continued to be identified
with agricultural pursuits in Black Hawk county,
Iowa, until 1881, when he came as a pioneer to
what is now the state of S^uth Dakota. He
settled first in Aurora county, where he took up
land and remained thereon for two years, at the
expiration of which he came to Hand county and
cvcntualh- became extensively engaged in the

ranching and stock-raising business with his
brother, as has already been noted in this sketch.
He first secured in this county a tract of one
hundred and sixty acres of land, in Spring Hills
township, vidiile the extensive holdings of the
brothers in this section now aggregate, as noted,
nearly fourteen hundred acres. The property is
well improved and figures as an asset which is
constantly appreciated in value.

On the 15th of April, 1895, ^^^ T. Gardner
was united in marriage to Miss Anna \Miarton,
who was born in Iowa and reared in Hand
coimty. South Dakota, and of this union has been
born one son, Henrv.

JACOB ENGEBRETSEN HOLTER. num-
bered among the prosperous farmers of Lincoln
county, is a native of Norway, where he was
born on the 24th of June, 1837, and having been
reared and educated in the fair land of his na-
tivity, where his father was for many years en-
gaged in a lumber business, making extensive
shipments to foreign ports and being a man of
sterling worth. Both he and his wife passed
their entire lives in Norway, and of their children
five are living at the present time, while of the
number four are residents of the United States.

The subject of this sketch remained in his na-
tive land until he had attained the age of twenty-
eight years, having received excellent educa-
tional advantages, going through Den Norske
.\rtillery Brigade's Underofficers' Skole, and hav-
ing rendered effective service in the Norwegian
army for a period of seven years. In 1865 he
came to America, landing in Quebec, and thence
making his way westward to Chicago, his finan-
cial resources upon his arrival in the future west-
ern metropolis being represented in a twenty-
dollar gold piece, which he exchanged for green-
backs, receiving one and one-half dollars for each
dollar of gold. He was variously employed until
1868, when he came to the great territory of
T)akota as a pioneer, locating in what is now
Lincoln county and taking up a homestead claim
of one hundred and sixty acres, in the immediate
vicinity of the i)resent thriving city of Canton.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1035

He was one of the earliest settlers in this locality,
and in the pioneer days had to endure the hard-
ships and vicissitudes incidental to establishing
a home on the frontier, neighbors being few and
far removed from one another, while the hostile
Indians were a constant menace to life and prop-
erty. He erected his rude and primitive dwelling
and earnestly set himself to the task of subduing
the virgin prairie to cultivation, and though he
met with misfortunes, through the scourge of
grasshoppers and by reason of unfavorable sea-
sons, he maintained a sturdy courage and in-
domitable perseverance, and has not been denied
his just rewards, since he is now- the owner of
a finely improved and valuable farm of three
hundred and sixty acres, the greater portion of
w hich is under effective cultivation. On his farm
he set out the fine trees and orchard which now
adorn the place, while all the permanent im-
provements are of excellent type and have been
made by himself, he being a carpentej- as well as
farmer. He devotes his attention to diversified
agriculture and stock growing and is one of the
influential and highly honored pioneers of the
county. In politics he gives his support to the
Populist party, and has been active in the pro-
motion of its cause, while the esteem in which he
is held in the community is shown in the fact that
lie has been called upon to serve in various offices
of local trust. He has almost constantly been a
member of the school board of his district, is now
serving his sixth term as treasurer of Canton
township, and was incumbent of the office of
county commissioner from 1870 to 1872, in-
clusive. In 1869 he erected the first frame house
in Canton for J. O. Fitzgerald and at all times
he has shown that progressive spirit which has
typified the sterling pioneers of the state, whose
advancement and great prosperity have been ad-
vanced through their efforts. In religion he is
very liberal. He admits the supremacy of natural
law and rejects orthodoxy. He is a strong mor-
alist and a member of the Norwegian Lutheran
church.

On the 23d of December. 1872, Mr. Holter
was united in marriage to Miss Helga Thor-
steinson, who was born in Xorwav and who was

a resident of Lincoln county, this state, at the
time of her marriage. Of this union have been
born eight children, five of whom are living,
namelv : Engebret, Thorstein, Carl, Emma and
Clara.

FRANK W. DRAKE, one of the prosperous
and honored farmers of Moody county, claims
the old Granite state as -the place of his nativity,
since he was born in Merrimack county, New
Hampshire, on the 30th of December, 1841. He
is a son of W. H. and Betsy (Glines) Drake,
both of whom were born and reared in New
Hampshire, where the father was a prosperous
farmer. In his family were eleven children, and
nine of the number are still living. He died in
1892, when well advanced in years, and his wife
is still living, both having been zealous and active
members of the Methodist Episcopal church,
while in politics he was originally a Whig and
later a Republican.

In 1856, at the age of fifteen years, the sub-
ject of this sketch accompanied his parents on
their removal to the state of Iowa, the family thus
becoming numbered with the pioneers of that
commonwealth, where he was reared to maturity
under the sturdy discipline of the home farm,
while his educational advantages were those
afforded by the common schools. On the i6th
of August, 1862, 'Sir. Drake tendered his services
in defense of the LInion, enlisting as a private in
Company K, Twenty-seventh Iowa Volunteer
Infantry, with which he rendered valiant and
faithful service until the, close of the war, when
he received his honorable discharge. His com-
mand became a part of the Army of the West and
he thus was an active participant in the battles
of Nashville, Mobile and Pleasant Hill, besides
others of importance, and also took part in the
Red river campaign under General Banks.

After the close of his military service Mr.
Drake returned to his home in Mitchell county,
Iowa, where he continued to be actively engaged
in agricultural pursuits until 1880. when he dis-
posed of his interests there and came to Moody
county. South Dakota, where he filed on home-

1036

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

stead and timber claims and forthwith inaugu-
rated the improvement and cultivation of the land,
which had never been furrowed by the plowshare
at the time he secured the property from the gov-
ernment. He now has a fine estate of three
hundred and twenty acres, two-thirds of which
are under a high state of cultivation and pro-
ductivity, while the improvements are such as
indicate the progressive ideas and good judg-
ment of the owner. In addition to diversified
agriculture, in the propagation of the various
cereals best adapted to the soil and climate, Mr.
Drake also gives not a little attention to the rais-
ing of an excellent grade of live stock. His po-
litical allegiance is given to the Republican party,
and he has been called upon to fill various offices
of local trust, having served for six years as
justice of the peace and for twelve years as an
officer of his school district.

On the 30th of December, 1873, Mr. Drake
was united in marriage to }iliss Sarah ]\Ionhol-
land, who was born and reared in Wisconsin,
being a daughter of John and Lucind (Burring-
ton) Monholland. Her father was a painter by
trade and vocation and was employed in this line
in Wisconsin and later in California, where both
he and his wife died. Mr. and Mrs. Drake have
four children : Carrie is the wife of Frederick
Bergstresser, of Wentworth, Lake county, this
state; Jennie is the wife of Grant Dockstader, a
farmer near Dell Rapids ; Hilord H. has the gen-
eral charge of the homestead farm ; and Fair also
remains beneath the parental roof, the children
having been given good educational advantages.

OLAUS E. HOLTER, one of the well-
known and prosperous farmers of Lincoln
county, is a native of Norway, where he was
born on the 29th of March, 1840, and he is a son
of Engebret and Carrie (Olson) Holter, both of
whom passed their entire lives in Norway, where
the father was long and prominently identified
with the lumber business. The subject of this
sketch was reared and educated in his native
land, and after he attained years of maturity he
there devoted his attention to lumber work until

his emigration to America. Prior to this radical
change he was married, in 1864, to Aliss Maren
Axelson, a native of the same locality, and she
has proved to him a true helpmeet and ma-
terially aided him in the winning of independ-
ence and definite success. It may be stated at
this point that they have six children, and in the
connection we are pleased to enter a brief record
concerning them : Lizzie, who has been success-
fully engaged in teaching school for the past
ten years, is now residing in that state of Wash-
ington; Annie is the wife of Lauritz Olson, a
successful farmer of Lyman county. South Da-
kota; Martin is associated with his father in the
work of the home farm; Laura has taken up a
claim of land in Lyman county and is residing
on the same, in order to secure title to the prop-
erty : Otto remains at home and assists in the
work of the farm ; and Cora also remains be-
neath the parental roof.

In April, 1869, Mr. Holter left his native land
and came with his wife to America, landing in
New York and forthwith making his way west-
ward to the great territory of Dakota. He set-
tled in what is now Lincoln county, being among
the first to take up a permanent residence here,
while only a few dugouts marked the habitations
of the pioneer settlers, the most of these being
located along the course of the Sioux river. ^Ir.
Holter took up a tract 'of government land in
what is now Canton township, and on the same
constructed one of the rude and primitive dug-
outs, in which he placed his few household ef-
fects, and he then left his devoted wife with two
little babies in charge of the place and went to
Sioux City to secure work, being variously em-
ployed for some time and in the meanwhile car-
rying forward the development and improvement
of his farm. The passing years have not only
shown the result of his labors but have brought
him a full measure of prosperity. He is now
the owner of two hundred and forty acres of
very productive land, and nearly all is under cul-
tivation, while he has embellished the same with
hardy trees and good fences and buildings, his
fine large barn having been erected in 1896. He
gives his attention to diversified farming and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

also raises live stock of high grade. In politics
Mr. Holter is an independent voter, and he has
served as a school officer of his district.

ALFRED KOHLER, one of the progressive
and successfnl farmers of Moody county, is a
native of the state of Iowa, having been born on
the homestead farm, in Fayette county, on the
i6th of March, 1866. He is a son of Nicholas
and Ivlary (Lang) Kohler, both born and reared
in Switzerland. The father of the subject con-
tinued to reside in his beloved fatherland until
i8;4, when he 'severed the home ties and immi-
grated to America. Soon after his arrival in
the new world he made his way westward to
Iowa and became one of the pioneers of Plymouth
countv, where he has since resided, devoting his
attention to the great basic art of agriculture and
having gained prominence and prosperity as a
business man and valued citizen. His devoted
wife is still living, as are also eight of their ten
children, the other two having died in early
childhood. The father of our subject was a car-
penter in his early life, having followed this
vocation in his native land. In politics he is a
Democrat and both he and his wife are sincere
and consistent members of the Lutheran church.
He is one of the wealthy farmers of Iowa, own-
ing a valuable estate of four hundred acres.

The subject of this sketch was reared to ma-
turity on the homestead farm which was the
place of his birth, and his early educational
training was received in the excellent public
schools for which Iowa has long been celebrated.
He continued to assist in the work and manage-
ment of the home farm until he had attained
the age of twenty-four years, when he initiated
his independent career. In 1893 he came to
South Dakota and located in Moody county,
where he is now the owner of nine hundred and
sixty acres of most arable land, as has been pre-
viously noted, and the entire tract is under ef-
fective cultivation. Mr. Kohler is a man of ad-
vanced ideas, and brings to bear scientific prin-
ciples in his farm work, while he has the busi-
ness thoroughly systematized, realizing that this

is as essential to success in farming as in any
other line of industrial or commercial enterprise.
He has equipped his farm with substantial and
attractive buildings and the place may well be
looked upon as a model. In addition to diversified
agriculture he also gives no little attention to the
raising of an excellent grade of live stock. In
politics Mr. Kohler maintains an independent at-
titude, and he has been called upon to serve as
township trustee and as an officer of the school
district.

On the loth of March, 1S89, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Kohler to Miss Matilda
Miller, who was born and reared in Fayette
count,v, Iowa, being a daughter of Benedict and
Elizabeth (Islay) Miller. Mr. and :\Irs. Kohler
have six children, namely : Otto, Pearl, Vina,
Lester, Lvnn and Lloid.

MICHAEL J. DOUGHERTY, one of the
enterprising and popular young business men of
Alount Vernon, Davison county, was bom in
Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of
June, 1868, and was there reared to the age of
eight years, when, in 1876, he accompanied his
parents on their removal to Wisconsin, the family
locating in Waukesha county, where he received
his educational training in the public schools, his
father being there engaged in farming until 1880,
when he came to what is now the state of South
Dakota and took up his residence in Davison
county, being the first to enter claim to govern-
ment land in this county and being the first set-
tler in the present thriving village of Mount
Vernon. He and his wife still reside here, hon-
ored pioneers, and he is sixty-six years of age at
the time of this writing. The subject is a son of
Michael and Mary (Flannagan) Dougherty, the
former of whom was born in Pennsylvania and
the latter in Ireland, and they are the parents of
five children. They are members of the Catholic
church, and in politics Mr. Dougherty is a stanch
advocate of the principles of the Democratic
party.

Michael J. Dougherty, the immediate subject
of this sketch, was about twelve years of age at

I038

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the time of his parents' immigration to South
Dakota, in the spring of 1880, and here he con-
tinued his studies in the public schools, while he
assisted in the development of the homestead
fami, being identified with the great basic art of
agriculture until 1899, when he established him-
self in the hardware business in ]\Iount Vernon,
where he has built up an excellent trade and is
honored as one of the progressive and represent-
ative citizens of the town. In politics he gives his
allegiance to the Democratic party, and his re-
ligious faith is that of the Catholic church, while
fraternally he is identified with the Brotherhood
of American Yeomen and the Ancient Order of
United Workmen. In 1901, as candidate on the
Citizens' ticket, he was elected village clerk of
Mount A'ernon, in which capacity he ser\-cd three
years.

On the 1st of November, 1899, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Dougherty to Miss
Nellie Pollard, of Alt. A'ernon, a daughter of
Joseph Pollard, and of this union has been born
one son, Eugene.

HORACE W. LeBLOND, a pioneer drug-
gist of Chamberlain, South Dakota, and in point
of continuous residence one of the town's oldest
business men as well as one of the leading citizens
of Brule county, was born June 28, 1854, in
Celina, Ohio, and when a child of three years was
taken by his parents on their removal to Min-
nesota, in which state he spent his childhood and
youth and in the public schools of which he re-
ceived his elementary education. The discipline
thus acquired was later supplemented by a three-
years course in the University of ]Minnesota,
after which he took up the study of pharmacy
and pursued the same until becoming proficient
in every detail of the profession.

In 1881 Mr. LeBlond came to South Dakota
on a prospecting tour for a location, and being
pleased with the new town of Chamberlain and
the advantages it afforded to young men of spirit
and enterprise, he decided to make it his perma-
nent place of abode. In due time he secured a
business room and. stocking the same with a full

line of drugs and a complete assortment of such
other articles and sundries as are usually found
in first-class establishments of the kind, opened
his doors and announced himself in readiness to
wait upon his customers. Being the only busi-
ness house of the kind in the place, he soon com-
manded a large and lucrative patronage and his
career from that time to the present day, covering
a period of over twenty-two years, presents a
series of continued advancements, which now
place him in the front ranks of the enterprising
and successful men of affairs in this part of the
state. Air. LeBlond has added largely to his
stock in order to keep abreast of the steadily
growing demands of the trade, and being, as al-
ready indicated, a master of his profession and
at the same time a most courteous and obliging
business man whose relations wiih the public
have always been of a pleasant and agreeable
character, it is not at all surprising that he has
won a warm and permanent place in the con-
fidence and esteem of the people.

Since locating in Chamberlain, Air. LeBlond
has been an influefitial factor in the growth and
development of the place and a conspicuous figure
in its political and public affairs. Although
a strong adherent of the Democratic party,
he was elected in the early days of the
town to the ofiice of city clerk, making
the race on the Peoiiles' ticket and de-
feating a well-known and popular competitor
by a ver>' decisive majority. After serving one
term with credit to himself and to the satisfaction
of the i)ublic, he was re-elected his own successor
on the citizens' ticket, his successful manage-
ment of the office being his greatest recommenda-
tion to the suffrage of the people regardless of
party or political affiliation, his second temi fully
justifying the support given him and adding to
his reputation as an able and judicious and popu-
lar public servant.

Air. LeBlond has a beautiful and attractive
home in Chamberlain which is presided over with
dignity and grace by a lady of intelligence and
varied culture who, since 1893, has worthily and
honorably borne his name, shared his fortunes
and successes, co-operated with him in his en-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1039

deavors and sympathized and assisted him in all
of his aspirations. Mrs. LeBlond before her
marriag;e was Miss Lizzie Bridgeman and she
was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and moved to
South Dakota in 1880. In his business and so-
cial relations Mr. LeBlond has been actuated by
the highest motives of honor and his record is
that of a man of wide intelligence and broad
generous sympathies, whose integrity has never
been questioned and whose character has always
lieen above reproach. He is a Mason of the Royal
Arch degree, an influential member of the blue
lodge in Chamberlain and at various times has
been honored with high official stations in the
different branches of the order with which he is
identified.

JOHN TANCIK, a prosperous agriculturist
of Yankton county, who is living near Lesterville,
was born in Bohemia in 1848, a son of Frank
Anthony Jancik. There was no event of special
importance in his early youth to vary the routine
of life for him, but after he had attained his ma-
jority he was married, in 1870, to Miss Tracy
Xikodyn. Three years passed and in 1873 they
bade adieu to friends and native land and sailed
for the new world. They hoped to find in the
land of freedom the business opporttmities rwhich
were not so easily secured in the old country nor
has Mr. Jancik been disappointed in this hope.
Coming to South Dakota, he homesteaded two
hundred acres and he still owns this property, all
of which he himself fanns. He lived here at the
time when the grasshoppers descended upon the
country in such great numbers, when they seemed
in the air like an immense cloud. Settling upon
the fields, they destroyed in a few hours the crops
which it had taken months of labor and care to
ripen. Other hardships and trials have been met
by Mr. Jancik, but he has with courageous spirit
borne all these difficulties and at length has
triumphed over the obstacles in his path to suc-
cess so that he is now a prosperous farmer of his
community. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Jancik were
born ten children : Louise, who is at home: .\nnie
and Amelia, also under the parental roof; Rosie,

the wife of Joe Rankin, a resident farmer of
Yankton county ; Sophia, who is employed in the
city of Yankton ; Tina, Mary, Minnie, Emil and
Tillic, who are also at home.

Becoming a naturalized American citizen,
Mr. Jancik, after informing himself concerning
the political conditions of the country and the
belief of the parties, allied his interests with the
Re]nibHcan party and has since supjiorted its men
and measures. He is a member of the
Evangelical church and is a man of considerable
force of character, having depended entirely
upon his own exertions since an earlv age. While
in Bohemia he mastered the tailor's trade and
followed it there, but since coming to the new
world he has carried on agricultural pursuits and
his farming interests are now valuable. His life
history proves how excellent are the business ad-
vantages afforded in the United States to young
men of energy, whose labors are not hampered
bv social or caste conditions. ,

RASMUS BEDERSON was born in Nor-
way on the 26th of August, 1861, being a son of
Jorgen and Christence Pederson, who emigrated
from the fair Norseland to America in 1867,
locating first in Wisconsin, where they remained
until the following year, when they came to the
wilds of the great territory of Dakota and cast
in their lot with the pioneers of Yankton county.
The father of the subject took up a homestead
claim eight miles northeast of the city of Yank-
ton, on the James river, and here passed the re-
mainder of his long and useful life. He de-
veloped a fine farm and the place is now one of
the best improved and most productive in this
section, its area being now three hundred and
twenty acres. He continued to reside on the
homestead until his death, which occurred in
Jime, 1900, and his widow is still living on the
old farm, which has been her home for more than
thirty-five years, her son Rasmus, subject of this
sketch, having had charge of the farm since the
deatli of his father. In the family of this worthy
couple were four children, of whom two are liv-
ing, Rasmus and Ole.

1 040

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Rasmus Pederson grew up under the sturdy
discipline of the homestead farm and under the
influences of the pioneer epoch in a section which
he has seen develop into one of the most attractive
in the great state of South Dakota. His edu-
cational advantages were "such as were afforded
in the district schools, and he has lived on the
home farm consecutively except for a period of
about five years, — from 1883 to 1888, — during
which he was engaged in business in the city of
Yankton. He is an energetic and progressive
farmer and has been successful in his efforts,
while he holds the esteem of the community in
which he has passed nearly his entire life. He
gives his support to the Republican party and he
and his wife are members of the Lutheran
church, while fraternally he is identified with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Mod-
ern Woodmen of America.

On the 23d of October, 1888, Mr. Pederson
was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Jane
Emerson, who was bom in Fayette county, Penn-
sylvania, on the 23d of March, 1866, being a
daughter of Aquila and Ellen Emerson, who
came to Dakota in 1884. :Mr. and Mrs. Pederson
have three children, namely: Rena E. Christina,
Amanda Johanna and Ralph Emorv.

GEORGE S. RIX, the present city attorney
of Milbank, Grant county, is a native of the state
of Minnesota, having been born in Spring Val-
ley, Fillmore county, on January 26, i86g,
and is a son of Porter N. and Emma (Winters)
Rix, the former of whom was born in Canada,
and the latter in England. Porter N. accom-
panied his parents on their removal to Wisconsin
when a small boy, and he was reared to manhood
in that state, whence, about i860, he removed to
Fillmore county, Minnesota, where he became
a prominent and successful farmer and stock-
grower, devoting special attention to the raising
of fine horses and high-grade cattle. He was one
of a large family of boys, and nearly all of them
have been more or less prominent in politics and
other affairs of a public nature.

George S. Rix was graduated in the high

school of Spring Valley as valedictorian of the
class of 1889. He was then matriculated in the
law department of the University of Wisconsin,
from which celebrated institution he was gradu-
ated in 1891, with the degree of Bachelor of
Laws, while he was simultaneously admitted to
the bar. Upon the opening; <if t1ic Sisseton-Wah-
peton Indian reservation, in Aiiril. 1892. he took
up his residence on a claim near Brown's Valley,
Minnesota, where he remained about one year,
until the ist of January, 1893, when he came
to Milbank. where he entered into professional
partnership with the late John W. Bell, under
the firm name of Bell & Rix. They were associ-
ated in practice about one and one-half years,
since when Mr. Rix has conihicliil ,111 individual
practice, retaining a rt'incM iii;ui\ r rlicnta^^e and
having gained marked iirmnl). Mr. Rix early
developed oratorical and dialectic skill and thus
laid an excellent foundation for comprehensive
knowledge of parliamentary law. His first speech
given outside the lyceum or school was made in
the J\Iethodist Episcopal church of his native
town on the occasion of the centennial anniver-
sary of the inauguration of George Washington
to the presidency, and his success was such that
he soon found himself much in demand as a
speaker on public occasions. He has continued
to appear as a speaker on matters of public polity,
political affairs, patriotic observances, etc. Dur-
ing the campaign of 1900, while a law student,
his services were given to the Democratic party
at various places in Wisconsin. However, he
became convinced that the principles for which
the Republican party stands sponsor most nearly
represent the highest interests of the people, and
he signalized his conviction by transferring his
allegiance, to the "grand old' party," in whose
cause he has ever since been an enthusiastic and
active worker. In 1892, while a resident of Rob-
erts county, he was a delegate to the Republican
state convention, as was he also from Grant
county in 1896, while in 1896 he became a mem-
ber of the Republican state central committee, in
which capacity he served two years. In 1896
he was elected state's attorney of Grant county,
continuing incumbent of this position two terms

GEORGE S. RIX.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

and making an admirable record as a prosecu-
tor. He has served as city ' attorney since 1902.
Fraternally he is identified with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pyth-
ias, in the former of which he has passed all
the official chairs in his lodge. He and his wife
are valued members of the First Congregational
church, taking an active interest in the various
departments of its work. They have an attract-
ive home on Fourth street, and he is also the
owner of other residence property in Milbank.

On Christmas day of the year 1895 was sol-
emnized the marriage of Mr. Rix to Miss Maud
C. Nash, who was born and reared at Cherry
Grove, Minnesota, being a daughter of L. H.
Xash, an old and honored resident of that sec-
tion. Mr. and Mrs. Rix have one child, Doris C.

ADDISON H. PEASE, postmaster at
Wagner and publisher and editor of the Charles
Mix County New Era, is a native of the state of
Michigan, having been born in Lacota, Van
Buren county, on the 17th of May, 1867, and
being a son of Enoch M. and Rachel A. Pease.
The former was born in Wayne county. New
York, in 1830, and the latter in Pennsylvania, in
1838. They came to South Dakota in 1882, and
the father died in Wagner, this state, on the 26th
of February, 1901, while his devoted wife passed
away, in the same town, on the 25th of January,
1903. Enoch M. Pease was of stanch German
lineage, the family having been established in
America fully twelve generations ago. He was a
wool carder by vocation, was a man of sterling
integrity and ever commanded unqualified con-
fidence and esteem. Pie was a Republican in
politics and he and his wife held membership in
the Methodist church. They became the parents
of six children, all of whom are living, while the
subject of this sketch was the third in order of
birth.

Addison H. Pease came to South Dakota in
November, 1882, in company with his parents,
being at the time a lad of fifteen years. His edu-
cational advantages were such as were afforded

in the common schools, which he continued to at-
tend as opportunity afiforded after the removal of
the family to the territory of Dakota. As he
has personally stated, his education was secured
"principally by hard knocks and practical ex-
perience," since he early began to depend upon
his own resources. He has never been willing to
wait for opportunity but has turned his hand to
whatever honest work has come to hand. In
early days he drove stage and for eight years
after his marriage was variously employed. In
June, 1895, ^^ ^ool'- "P 3 homestead claim on
Yankton reservation, Charles Mix county, and
gave his attention to its improvement and cultiva-
tion until January i, 1901, when he took up his
residence in the town of Wagner, having been
appointed postmaster. He also purchased in that
year the plant and business of the New Era, a
weekly paper, and has since continued its publica-
tion, making it an effective exponent of local in-
terests and an advocate of the principles of the
Republican party, in whose cause he has been
an active worker. Mr. Pease is one of the char-
ter members of Wagner Tent, No. 59, Knights
of the Maccabees, of which he is now com-
mander.

.\t Armour, this state, on the ist of Septem-
ber, 1890, Mr. Pease was united in marriage to
Miss Carrie Thompson, daughter of Harry
Thompson, who was at that time sheriff of
Douglas countv.

DELATUS HINMAN, of Yankton county,
was born in Oswego county. New York, April
6, 1848, and is of English lineage. His paternal
great-grandfather was Edward Hinman, who de-
serted the land of his birth and established his
home in the new world and the family has since
been represented in America by loyal adherents
of the interest of this country. The grandfather,
Ephraim Hinman, was drafted for service in the
war of 1812. The parents of the subject were
William and Julie (Salisbury) Hinman, both of
whom were natives of New York, in which state
they lived and died. The father was a farmer
by occupation and a well-known representative

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

citizen of this countrv. He died in the year 1888
and his wife passed away in 1884. Tliey were
both members of the Methodist Episcopal church
and hved in harmony with their profession. The
political support of Mr. Hinman Was given to
tlae Whig party, and later to the Republican party
and eventually he became a Prohibitionist.

Delatus Hinman was reared in his father's
home and assisted in the cultivation of the farm
until he had attained his majority, when he en-
tered upon an independent business career as a
school teacher and followed that profession
through several winter terms. Attracted by the
opportunities of the rapidly developing west, he
came to Yankton county in the fall of 1869,
traveling by stage from St. Louis. He has been
identified with the educational interests of this
locality for several terms as a teacher, and in
1869 he made preparations for carrying on agri-
cultural pursuits by entering one hundred and
sixty acres of land from the government, while
to this he afterward added another quarter sec-
tion. He afterward sold both tracts and in the
fall of 1870 he bought one hundred and sixty
acres in township 94. range 55. There were no
improvements ujjon the place except a log house,
but he has since devoted his knowledge to the
care and cultivation of the farm, upon which
he has Hved continuously since 1877. He has a
fine farm and in 18/8 he erected a substantial
and attractive residence. He has likewise built
good barns and added other improvements and
the boundaries of his farm he has extended by the
purchase of eighty acres. The entire farm is now
under cultivation. In the early days he lost his
crops because of the grasshoppers, but he per-
severed in his work and as the years have gone
by he has accumulated a comfortable competence.
He now breeds hogs and cattle and makes a
specialty of the production of alfalfa hay. He
has a good apple orchard, containing some of
the best bearing trees of the state, and his farm
is modern in all its equipments and constitutes
one of the valuable properties of the community.

On the 1st of March, T877, ^^^- Hinman was
united in marriage to Miss Jane Ottman, a
daughter of Jacob and Christiana Ottman, who

spent their entire lives in New York, the father
being a successful farmer there. He voted with
the Republican party and both he and his wife
were members of the -Disciple church. Unto Mr.
and Mrs. Hinman has been born one son, Byron,
whose birth occurred January i, 1885, and who
is now a student in college at Yankton. In 1893
they adopted Mary Kincel, nine years of age,
whose parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Kincel, were
both deceased. The child took the name of Mary
Kincel Hinman, and has been given a good edu-
cation, graduating from Yankton Academy in
June, 1903. The parents hold membership in the
Methodist church, taking an active part in its
work, and their labors are effective in promoting
its welfare and extending its influence.

Mr. Hinman is a Prohibitionist, with strong
party tendencies, and fraternally he is connected
with the Modern Woodmen, the Pyramids and
the Royal Tribe of Joseph. Because of his suc-
cess and sterling worth, Yankton county num-
bers him among her representative men.

NOR^lAX D. AVHTTE was born at Scales
Mound, Illinois, August 2, 1863, and is a son
of John and Henrietta C. (Phelps) White. The
father was born December 25, 1826, at James-
town, New- York, and was the youngest son of
Moses and Sallie (Cheney) White. The family
is of English descent and was founded in America
by Elder John Wliite, who emigrated from
England to Massachusetts in 1632. The grand-
father of the subject was a goldsmith by trade
and removed from Southington, Connecticut, to
New York in 1791. He finally married and
settled at Jamestown, New York. His wife was
born and reared at Essex, Vermont. John WHiite
spent his childhood in Jamestown and attended
the public schools. He early showed marked
musical talent and became a skillful violinist. In
1846, at the age of twenty, he went to Chicago,
Illinois, and thence by stage to Galena, where he
worked for two years as a fami hand and about
the lead mines and also found many profitable
op])ortunities for the employment of his musical
skill. He was married in 1848 to Henrietta

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1043

Phelps, of Jo Daviess county, Illinois, a daugh-
ter of Milo and Charlotte (Beldian) Phelps,
formerh^ of Jasper, New York. Locating upon
a farm north of Scales Mound, he there engaged
in farming and stock raising for many years, ac-
cumulating considerable property. In the fall of
18S0 he visited his brother at Yankton, South
Dakota, and was so well pleased with this locality
that he invested in real estate in the fertile
James river valley. In 1885 he disposed of his
property in Illinois and located on his South Da-
kota farm. He added to his possessions from
time to time until he owned over thirteen hundred
acres of as fine land as can be found in the state.
In all his work and dealings he left the impress
of a considerate, careful-minded man and one
of strong, forceful chara:ter. In his long linger-
ing illness he manifested great patience and for-
bearance which characterized his entire life. He
voted vi'ith the Democracy and was a loyal mem-
ber of the Methodist church, to which his wife
also belongs. She survives him and is yet living
on the old homestead. In the familv of this
worthy couple were nine children : Thomas, in
1840, married ]\Telvina Wells and with his familv
of four children lives upon a farm in Yankton
county: Cecil J., born in 1854 and now conduct-
ing- a countr}- store in Y'ankton countv, married
Miss Viola Hill and they have an adopted child;
Delia, born in 1859. '^ the wife of William C.
Coulson. a resident farmer of Yankton county,
bv whom she has three children ; Norman D. is
the next of the family ; Lee is a carpenter of St.
Louis, Missouri ; Addie, is the wife of William
Van Epps, a liveryman of Yankton, and they have
three sons. The three other children of the White
familv died in Illinois. All were provided with
good educational privileges and Delia engaged in
teaching school, while Addie taught music.
Thomas displayed much of his father's musical
talent as a violinist. The diflferent members of
the family are now comfortably situated in life
and are valued residents of the various com-
munities in which they reside.

Norman D. White spent his earl\- life in
Illinois and with his father came to South Da-
kota in the spring of 1885. He has since re-

sided upon the home farm here and has taken an
active part in its management and operation. At
the time of his father's death he was appointed
executor of the estate, comprising eleven hundred
acres of land in Yankton county. He now car-
ries on general farming and stock raising, mak-
ing a specialty of Guernsey cattle, splendid bred
horses and Poland-China hogs. He has handled
stock extensively, becoming one of the leading
representatives of this line of business in the
county and his large sales have brought to him
a splendid financial return. His home is pleas-
antly located on the banks of the James river,
four miles from Yankton, and in 189 1 he erected
an elegant farm residence which is one of the
most attractive features of the landscape. There
is found an artesian well upon his place and also
a fish pond. He has a blacksmith and carpenter
shop upon his farm and he possesses excellent
mechanical ability, so that he is enabled to keep
everything about his place in first-class condition.
Mr. White is a most energetic and enterprising
man and his resolution and strong purpose have
been important factors in a successful business
career. He lives with his mother and both are
highly esteemed in the community. Fraternally.
Mr. White is connected with the Pyramids and
the Maccabees. He is an honored son of an
honored pioneer and today occupies a very
prominent and enviable position as a represent-
ative of agricultural interests in South Dakota.

CHARLES E. SEELEY. one of the well-
known and representative citizens of Clark
county, is a native of the Wolverine state, having
been born in Oakland county, ^Michigan, on the
31st of May, 1 84 1, and being 'a son of Edward
H. and Calista (Walker) Seeley, the former of
whom was born in Seneca county. New York,
and the latter in Connecticut, while it may be
stated that the original ancestors of the subject
in the maternal line settled in New England in
the pre-Revolutionary days. Edward H. Seeley
devoted his life to farming and was one of the
pioneers of the state of Michigan, where both
he and his wife died. His father was a promi-

I044

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

nent lawyer in New York, and served for a num-
ber of years as county judge of Seneca county.
The subject of this review received his early
educational training in the common schools of
his native state and also attended a select school
for a short time, just prior to the outbreak of the
war of the Rebellion, in which he participated.
On the 17th of August, 1861, he enlisted as a
private in Company D, Fifth Michigan Volunteer
Infantry, and a few weeks later proceeded with
bis command to the front. He was wounded in
the battle of Williamsburg) Virginia, on the 5th
of May, 1862, and rejoined his regiment three
days before the opening of the seven days' fight-
ing before the city of Richmond. He received
his honorable discharge in the autumn of 1862,
by reason of disability, and then returned to his
home in Michigan. He there continued to be
engaged in farming about five years, after which
be learned the trade of carpenter and became a
successful contractor and builder. In 1893 ^^
came to South Dakota and located in Maydell
township, Clark county, and here he has con-
tinued contracting and building, having con-
tributed materially to the substantial develop-
ment and progress of this section and having also
become the owner of a well-improved and pro-
ductive farm, to whose management he has given
his attention to a greater or less extent.

]Mr. Seeley has gained and retained the re-
spect and confidence of the people of the county
and is recognized as a loyal and progressive
citizen. Tn politics he has given his support to
the Republican party from the time of attain-
ing his legal majority, having cast his first
presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, at the
time of his second nomination, and having ever
since been a stalwart upholder of the principles
and policies of the "grand old party." He has
been called upon to serve in various township
offices and is at the present time incumbent of
that of justice of the peace. He is treasurer of
the Garden City Co-operative Creamery Com-
pany, one of the leading business concerns of the
county. Fraternally, he is identified with the
Grand Army of the Republic, and for the past
score of vears he has been a zealous member of

the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mrs.
Seeley also is a member.

On the 22d of March, 1865, was solemnized
the marriage of !\[r. Seeley to Miss Lucy O.
Green, who was born in the state of Michigan,
being a daughter of Z. R. and Zerilla Green, and
they have seven children, namely : Elmer G.,
Harry M., Emmet C, Eugene, May R.. Frank A.
and Alice Louise.

J. M. DOYLE, one of the influential and
honored business men of Delmont, Douglas
county, is a native of Grant county, Wisconsin,
where he was born on the loth of May, 1854,
being a son of John and Mary (Brady) Doyle,
of whose six children five are living, namely : Dr.
E. M., who is engaged in- the practice of his
profession in Yankton, this state; Thomas, who
is a resident of Grant county, Wisconsin ; Gar-
rett, who, likewise, resides in that county; John
S., who is a resident of Kansas City, Missouri;
Sarah M., who married William Sheridan in Oc-
tober, 1881, and died a widow in 1892; and J.
M., who is the subject of this review. The father
of the subject was born in County Wicklow,
Ireland, where he was reared to maturity, and he
was there identified with the mining industry
until 1846, when he emigrated to America, locat-
ing in Grant county, Wisconsin, as one of its
early pioneers, and there he engaged in mining
for two years. He entered a tract of government
land in that county, improved a good farm, to
whose cultivation he gave his attention until
his death, which occurred in 1886, at which time
he was seventy-three years of age. He was twice
married, the maiden name of his first wife having
been Farrell, and of this union were born four
children, of whom two arc- living, — Terrence,
who is a retired farmer of Pocahontas county,
Iowa ; and Anna, a maiden lady, residing in
Shellsburg, Wisconsin. The mother of the sub-
ject was also a native of County Wicklow,
Ireland, and she died in 1881, at the age of
sixty-five years, both she and her husband hav-
ing been zealous members of the Catholic church,
while the latter was a Democrat in politics.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1045

J. M. Do\lc was reared on the homestead
farm in Wisconsin, receiving- his early educa-
tional (liscii)line in the public schools and sup-
plementing the same by a course of study in St.
John's College, in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
In 1879 1''^ ^^'^ his brother Garret rented land
in Grant county, that state, where they were en-
gaged in farming for the ensuing two years, at
the expiration of which they purchased a meat
market in Fairplav, Wisconsin, conducting the
same one year. In 1882 the subject came to
Dakota, located in Plankinton, Aurora county,
and thus becoming one of the pioneers of what is
now the state of South Dakota. He located two
claims in that county and while complying with
the legal requirements necessary to retnining the
same he conducted a confectioner}' store in the
village mentioned, there continuing his residence
for seven years. A\'ithin this period he made a
visit to his old hrmie in \\'isconsin, remaining
about one year. In i8go Mr. Doyle disposed of
his property in Plankinton, Aurora county, and
removed to Pocahontas county, Iowa, with the
intention of engaging in the real-estate business
in company with bankers there. No satisfactory
arrangements could be made, however, and after
teaching a three-months term of school in Iowa,
he returned to Dakota, taking up his residence in
Plankinton, and from March until July, 1889,
he held the position of insurance underwriter for
the Dakota Mutual Protective Association, which
was organized and incorporated under the laws
of the territory for the purpose of rendering in-
surance indemnity on live stock, the executive
corps being as follows : H. C. Ayres, president ;
Richard Hancy, secretary, and W. T. Lafollette,
manager. In the autumn of the same year Mr.
Doyle went again to Iowa, passing some time
there and in the city of Chicago, his object being
to promote the organization of a land companv
to handle western properties, but again he was
unable to enlist satisfactory capitalistic co-
operation, and after teaching school for three
months, in Pocahontas county, Iowa, he re-
turned to South Dakota, locating in Delmont on
the 17th of August, 1891, as the representative of
the firm of T. McMichael & Son, of McGregor,

Iowa. He had the management of their elevator
and grain Ijusiness here until i8g8, when he pur-
chased the business, which he has since success-
fully continued. In January, 1892, he established
the first pennanent hog market in Delmont, and
he is today one of the heaviest buyers of grain
and live stock in this section of the state, while
he is known as an energetic and able business
man and as one who is worthy of unqualified con-
fidence and esteem, which are uniformly accorded
by all who know him. In politics he is a stanch
advocate of the principles of the Democratic
party, but he has never been ambitious for public
office. In the fall of 1902 he was tendered by his
party friends the nomination for either sheriff of
the county or for representative of the district in
the state legislature, but he refused to become a
candidate for either office. He was later ap-
pointed a member of the board of county com-
missioners, to fill the vacancy caused bv the re-
moval from the county of the regular incumbent,
D. M. Brennerman. He is a most effective and
popular auctioneer, in which line he is a pioneer
in this section, his services being in demand
throughout a wide radius of country in the cry-
ing of sales of various sorts. He and his wife are
communicants of the Catholic church, and fra-
ternally he is affiliated with Armour Lodge, No.
100, Ancient Order of I'nited Workmen, at
Armour.

On the 14th of June, 1898, Mr. Doyle was
united in marriage to Miss Sarah Catherine
Kelley, who was at the time principal of the
Delmont public schools, being a lady of refine-
ment and gracious presence, and they are the
parents of two children, William Bryan and
Lucille Bernice.

JOHN r\IEIER, one of Germany's native
sons, was born on the fith of August, 1835, his
parents being Jathan and Elizabeth Meier.
The father was a tailor by trade and thus pro-
vided for his family. In 1856 he brought his
wife and children to the LTnited States, settling in
Broadhead, Wiscotisin. John Meier, who ac-
quired his education in Germany, accompanied

1046

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the family at that time and in Wisconsin he took
a claim from the government and hegan farming
on his own account. He was married Febru-
ary 12, 1866, to Miss Caroline Dubois, of Rock
county, Wisconsin. Her father was a success-
ful farmer of that section. Unto the marriage
of Mr. and Mrs. Meier were born four sons and
three daughters, namely : John. George, Jathan,
Josephine, Alma, Gilbert and Hattie, and the
family circle yet remains unbroken by the hand
of death. George married Julia Rinker, by whom
he has one child and is a farmer, residing upon
a tract of land adjacent to his father's farm.
Josephine is the wife of Frank Ray, an agri-
culturist living near Wagner, South Dakota. The
other children are yet under the parental roof.
Mr. Meier continued to reside in Wisconsin
imtil the spring of 1872, when he came to South
Dakota, settling in Yankton township. Much of
the land was still in possession of the government
at that time and he secured a claim of one hun-
dred and sixty acres, to which he has since added
by the purchase of three hundred and twenty
acres near his old homestead. He is engaged in
stock raising and is today one of the progressive
agriculturists of his community. The success
that has crowned his efforts has come to him as
the reward of his perseverance and his earnest
labor and now at the age of sixty-eight years
he is enjoying the fruits of his former toil, hav-
ing a valuable property and a comfortable home.
He is independent in politics, as he is in religious
faith, although he endorses the teachings of the
Methodist church to some extent. Both he and
his wife are estimable people, enjoying the warm
regard of many friends.

RE\'. D. B. NICHOLS has devoted his life
to two of the most important callings which man
can give his energies, the healing of the body and
the care of the soul, and his life has been one of
extreme usefulness, his influence widely felt for
good as a factor in the community in which he
lives. He was born in Massachusetts on the 8th
of October, 1816, and is a son of James and Lydia
D. (Bliss) Nichols, natives of the old Bav state.

The father was a miller and for several years
was superintendent of a large cotton mill. He
also served as deputy sheriff of Bristol county
and gave his political support to the Whig party.
He held membership in the Congregational
church and died in that faith in 1832, while his
wife passed away in 1864. In the family were
six sons and one daughter, but all have passed
away with the exception of the subject.

Rev. Nichols was reared in the east and en-
joyed the excellent school privileges of his native
state, while later he had more advanced ad-
vantages. He pursued a classical course in Ober-
lin College of Ohio in 1839 and then, for ten
years engaged in teaching and occasionally
preached, being then employed by the missionary
society in Iowa. Subseciuently, he pursued a
course in medicin.e in Howard University, where
he was graduated in 1872. He is the oldest
graduate of that institution, a fact which was
mentioned in one of the Washington papers. He
was identified with the rise and progress of
Howard University, being one of its instructors,
its librarian, a trustee and curator of its museum.
For about eleven years he remained in the Capital
city and also spent a short time in the practice of
medicine in Florida. Since 1850 he has engaged
in preaching and followed that calling in Ken-
tucky, where he was also engaged in teaching
school. His labors have always been directed
along lines which have proven of the greatest
benefit to his fellow men. He served as city mis-
sionarv in Chicago, Illinois, and was superintend-
ent of the Chicago Reform School from 1854
until i860, when he resigned and went to Europe
at his own expense, visiting reform schools in
England, Scotland and Germany for the purpose
of rendering his own labors in that line more
effective. Upon his return to his native country
he was appointed superintendent of the State
Reform School at Lansing, Michigan, where he
remained for a year and then went to Boston.
Locating at Scituate Harbor, he there remained
until after the outbreak of the Civil war. In
i8fit he went to South Carolina to preach to the
negroes who had formerly been held as slaves
and also to act as a teacher amonfj them. There

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

he continued until midsummer when he went to
New York and afterward to Washington to act
as a missionary among the colored people of that
city. In Washington he was appointed super-
intendent of the contraband department service
and had four thousand people under his charge
to whom he gave supplies of food and clothing.

In the year 1880 Mr. Nichols came to De-
catur, settling in Bon Homme ci^unty. where he
began preaching. He built a church there and
remained for three years as its pastor, "at the end
of which time his health failed and he returned to
Boston, Massachusetts, but after he had re-
covered somewhat his usual health and strength
he once more came to Dakota, visiting various
churches in the state and preaching to many con-
gregations. He was also engaged in presenting
the claims of Yankton College. His influence
has been most marked in the moral development
of South Dakota since his arrival here about
twenty-five years ago. He is now an honorable
trustee of Howard University, at Washing-
ton, D. C, and also for years a trustee of
Yankton College, and now a member of the
college corporation. At one time he served as
librarian of Yankton College. Seventeen years
ago he located at his present home, which was
then in the midst of the frontier district. He built
the church at Mission Hill and has assisted in the
entire growth and development of this portion
of the state. For three years he served as post-
master and with the work of progress and im-
lirovement he has been actively identified along
material as well as moral lines. His chief in-
terest, however, has centered in the moral de-
velopment of the people and his influence has
been far-reaching and beneficial.

Rev. Nichols has been twice married. He
first married Sarah Chisman, whose parents
were from Virginia. After the death of his first
wife he wedded Elizabeth Booth and they lived
together for sixty years, her death having oc-
curred in the latter part of the year 1903, at the
age of eighty-eight years. Rev. Nichols has now
reached the advanced age of eighty-six years.
They were the oldest couple in the countv and
none were more respected. Air. Nichols votes

with the Republican party and has been active
and helpful in matters pertaining to the intel-
lectual progress of the community, acting as one
of the school officers. He is identified with the
Congregational church here and in Dakota as
in other sections of the country where he has
lived and labored for his fellow men he has
accomplished much good. His life has been de-
voted to the welfare of the human race and to
the opposition of all the vices that hold men
in bondage and today there is no citizen of
Yankton county held in warmer regard or higher
esteem than Rev. D. B. Nichols.

FRED C. RIX was born in Denmark on the
18th of May. 1839. His father was a farmer
there and his parents spent their entire lives in
that countr_\-. In early life Fred C. Ri.x went to
sea and has sailed around the world. He visited
Africa in 1861 and the Philippines in 1862, after
which he returned to Holland. He has been on
the isle of Java, and has visited Russia. Siberia,
Prussia, England, Belgium, France, Sweden,
Norway and Germany. He has sailed from
many ports and in the employ of different nations
and was always upon a sailing vessel, never mak-
ing a voyage upon a steamer until he came to the
United States. He was in the war when the
Danish fought the Prussians in 1864 and was
injured, having his leg broken during a high
sea. Mr. Rix continued to reside in Denmark
until 1872, when he crossed the Atlantic to the
new world, locating first in Chicago, where he
followed the mason's trade for two years. He
afterward lived in Waterloo, Iowa, where he en-
gaged in business as a brick-mason for four
years and in 1877 he came to South Dakota, se-
curing one hundred and sixty acres of land in
Yankton county. He settled upon a timber claim
and has planted thirty-eight thousand trees since
that time. He has one hundred and sixty acres
in his homestead and his first place of residence
was a dugout, while later he built a clay house,
known as a Russian homg. Mr. Rix now has
thirty-four hundred dollars' worth of improve-

1048

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ments upon his place and he also owns six lots
in the town of Irene, together with another
tract of an acre and a quarter.

In 1863 occurred the marriage of Air. Rix
and Miss Elizabeth Olson, whose parents spent
their entire lives in Denmark, the father being
employed in a foundry there. The home of the
subject and his wife has been blessed with four
children. Olivia, the eldest, is now deceased ;
Henry married Anna Massy and is living near
Bismarck, North Dakota, where he owns and
operates one hundred and sixty acres of land ;
Stella is the wife of Nels Nelson, of Kenmare,
North Dakota, where he secured a homestead :
Julia is the wife of Lawrence Nelson, a farmer
owning two hundred and forty acres of land in
Yankton county.

Air. Rix is an indejiendent voter and has
never been an active politician in the sense of
office seeking, but for eight years he served as
one of the school officials. He belongs to the
Lutheran church and his Qiristian faith has been
exemplified in his honorable life and his straight-
forward dealing. He is now living retired in the
enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil.

LARS C. CHRISTENSEX was born in
Denmark on the 19th of November, 1856. His
father is now deceased, but his mother lives with
her son, who, having spent the days of his boy-
hood and youth in his native countn,-, came to
America when a young man of nineteen years.
After spending one year in Racine, Wisconsin,
where he was employed, he removed to South
Dakota and here entered the employ of a stock-
man, with whom he remained upon a farm for
two }-ears. He afterward worked for the rail-
road company for a year and subsequently was
married and turned his attention to farming. Mr.
Qiristensen is now one of the prosperous resi-
dents of Yankton county and his financial con-
dition is now in great contrast to that in which
he arrived in America, for he then had but very
limited capital. He possessed, however, what
is better — strong courage and determination, and
his continued labor has been the foundation upon

which he has built his success. He has two hun-
dred and forty acres of land, of which two hun-
dred is pasture land. His wife homesteaded a
part of this land and Mr. Christensen purchased
the remainder. He now carries on general farm-
ing and also raises shorthorn cattle and some
hogs. He employs men who operate his land
and has a well-improved property. He hauled
the rock from his place and in 1885 he built a
rock barn, while in 1897 he provided still better
and more commodious accommodations for his
stock by building new barns. His home was
erected in 1886. In 1899 he planted trees upon
his place and now has a very well-improved prop-
erty supplied with all modern equipments and
accessories. He now owns twelve head of horses
and thirty-five head of cattle and already this year
has sold twenty head of fat cattle.

In 1879 Mr. Qiristensen was united in mar-
riage to Miss Johanne Petersen and unto them
have been born seven children : Catherine, the
wife of J. Tule, a farmer : Ma^v^ Anna, Qirist,
Lewis, Jens and Dagmer, all at home. The
family is well known in the community and the
members of the household occupy an enviable
position in social circles. Mr. Christensen is a
Republican in his political views, always sup-
porting the men and measures of that party. He
has' served as school treasurer and in other local
positions and no trust reposed in him has ever
been betrayed in the slightest degree. ' His re-
ligious faith is indicated by his membership in
the Lutheran church. Mr. Qiristensen has never
had occasion to regret his determination to come
to America for he has not only found a good
home, but has also gained many friends and won
for himself a handsome competence as the re-
ward of his labors. He is, perhaps, better known
as Lars C. Bukste, but no matter by what name
he is called he is a man worthy of respect and
esteem of those with whom he is associated.

ALEXANDER LePLANTE was born in
Qiarles Mix county. South Dakota, in April,
1867, and owing to the exigencies and conditions
of the time and place his early educational ad-

HISTORY. OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1049

vantag-es were limited in scope, though he se-
cured a good foundation, upon which to build up
the fund of practical knowledge which is his
today. He continued to be associated with his
father in the raising of live stock until 1887, when
he initiated his independent career in connection
with the same line of industry, which has become
one of the most important resources of the state.
He utilized the range in the valley of the Bad
river until 1S94, since which time his cattk- have
found their grazing grounds on the broad acres
of the Cheyenne Indian reservation. Mr. Le-
Plante has an average head of seven hundred
head of cattle, and makes his residence and head-
quarters at the Cheyenne government agency,
of which he has been official butcher since 1899,
providing all meats used.

On the 14th of November, 1893, Mr. Le-
Plante was united in marriage to Miss Johanna
Madison, a daughter of that honored pioneer,
Trnles Madison, of Fort Pierre, concerning
whom individual mention is made on other pages
of this work. Mr. and Mrs. LePlante have five
children, namely : Loiiis, Edward, George,
Gavlord and Caroline.

ORLANDO P. SWARTZ, one of the promi-
nent and highly honored business men of Hutch-
inson county, is a native of the state of Illinois,
.having been born in Jo Daviess county, on the
21st of April, 1864, and being a son of Elias M.
and Susan I'Rudy) Swartz, of whose eight chil-
dren we incorporate the following brief record :
Martins H. is a resident of Gillette, Wyoming;
Edith is the wife of James Brown, of Menno,
South Dakota; Sarah is the wife of Schuyler C.
Freeburg, of Sunnyside, California; George is
engaged in the drug business in Parkston, South
Dakota ; Maud is the wife of Nelson C. Davis, of
Crook county, Wyoming; Frederick is likewise
a resident of that county, as is also Grover; and
(Irlando P. is the immediate subject of this sketch.
Elias M. Swartz was born in Center count}-,
Pennsylvania, being a representative of one of the
sterling pioneer families of the old Keystone state
and coming of stanch German lineage. As a

young man he removed to Illinois, settling in
Stephenson county, engaging in agricultural pur-
suits, this being the vocation to which he had
been reared. He later removed to Jo Daviess
county, where he continued to reside until 1882,
when he came to South Dakota, remaining for
a short interval in the village of Scotland and
then entering claim to land in Qiarles Mix
county, where he engaged in the breeding and
raising of cattle and horses, becoming one of the
prominent and influential citizens of that section
and commanding the most unqualified esteem of
those who knew him and had cognizance of his
sterling qualities of mind and heart. He died in
1901, having been a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, while his political allegiance
was given to the Democratic party. His widow
now makes her home with her children in Wyo-
ming, she likewise being a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church.

The subject of this sketch remained at the
parental home until he had attained the age of
twelve years, having in the meanwhile attended
the public schools and assisted in the work of
the farm, and he then went to the city of Free-
port, Illinois, where he resided in the home of
his uncle about five years, during which period
he continued his educational work in the schools
of that place. In 1879 'i^ returned home, re-
maining one year, at the expiration of which he
went to Iowa Falls, Iowa, where he was em-
ployed in the drug establishment of his uncle,
John L. Swartz, for the ensuing three years. In
July, 1883, he came to Scotland, Bon Homme
county. South Dakota, where he secured a clerical
position in the drug store of another uncle, Wil-
liam P. Swartz, and in 1884 he went to Spring-
field, Bon Homme county, where he was em-
ployed for two years in the drug store of Bone-
steel & Turner, having in the meanwhile be-
come an expert pharmacist. In September, 1886,
in which year the town of Parkston was founded,
he took up his residence here and engaged in
the drug business on his own responsibility. In
1888 he entered into partnership with Frank
Wiedman, who was here engaged in the hard-
ware business at the time, and thereafter until

I050

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1898 the firm of Wiedman & Swartz here con-
ducted a most jirosperous business in the
handling of hardware, implements and drugs. In
the year mentioned they disposed of the drug de-
partment of their enterprise and added a general
line of merchandise, building up one of the most
important and extensive trades of the sort in
this section of the state. In 1901 they also pur-
chased a general stove business at Milltown, and
they now conduct the same as a branch of their
Parkston establishment. In 1901 !^Ir. Swartz
was appointed postmaster of Milltown, and he is
still incumbent of this ofiice, in which he is serv-
ing by proxy. In politics he is found arrayed as
a stanch advocate of the principles of the Re-
publican party, while fraternally he has attained
the thirty-second degree in Scottish Rite
Masonry, being identified with Oriental Consist-
ory, No. I, at Yankton. His ancient-craft mem-
bership is in Resurgam Lodge, No. 31, Free and
Accepted Masons, at Mitchell, and he belongs
to El Riad Temple, Mystic Shrine, at Sioux
Falls, while he is also a member of Milltown
Camp, No. 6153, Modern Woodmen of America.
On the 25th of September, 1885, Mr. Swartz
was united in marriage to Miss Margie W. Rob-
inson, of Iowa Falls, Iowa, she having been born
in Concord county, New Hampshire, daughter
of Horace Robinson, deceased. Of this union
have been born two children, Mabel C, who is
attending All Saints' Academy in Sioux Falls,
and William R., who remains at the parental
home. Mrs. Swartz is a member of the Congre-
eational church of Iowa Falls, Iowa.

JOSEPH E. HUBER was born on the 21st
of February, 1867, in Iowa, and in 1869 was
brought to Dakota by his parents. Peter Huber,
the subject's father, was born in Possan, Bavaria,
Germany, about 1838, his parents being agri-
cultural people. He came to America about
1871 and settled at McGregor, Iowa, where he
worked as a farm hand for about one year. At
the end of that time he purchased twenty acres
of timber land and at once commenced clearing
and cultivating the ground. After three years

he exchanged this land for a yoke of oxen, a cow
and a wagon, and with these he moved his family
overland to South Dakota, settling in Yankton
county, in the James valley. He pre-empted thrrr
claims of one hundred and sixty acres each, twn
of which were timber claims, and afterwards pur-
chased three more claims of the same size ami
character. He erected buildings and farmed the
ground as fast as his limited resources and his
own physical strength would permit, and suc-
cessfully conducted the place until 1901, when he
removed to Yankton and retired from active life.
He still owns six hundred and sixty acres of the
original farm, the remaining portion of it having
been divided among his sons. Before leaving
Germany he married Miss Theresa Reisinger and
they became the ])arents of fifteen children, of
whom eleven are still living, namely : Frank,
whose sketch will be found on another page of
this work; Caroline, the wife of Frank Heinige.
of Parkston, South Dakota (they became the
parents of ten children and the mother is now-
deceased) ; Joseph is the subject of this sketch;
Peter, who lives near Parkston, married Kate
Wallace, of Yankton, and they are the parents of
five children; Mary is the wife of John Mack, of
Gage county, Nebraska, and they have six chil-
dren ; Katie is the wife of Patrick McGilig, of
near Hanson, this state, and they have two chil-
dren : Charles married Bertha Rothmyer and
they had three children, one of whom is de-
ceased; Theresa is the wife of Nels Anderson, of
Yankton, and they have two children ; Bertha be-
came the wife of Gerald Smith, of Yankton ;
Celia, Josephine and Louisa are single and re-
main at home. Two, Peter and Edward, died in
infancy, and Anna died at twelve years of age.

At ten years of age Joseph E. Huber entered
the public schools and his preliminary studies
were supplemented by a course in Yankton Col-
lege. He thus gained an excellent education and
for three years he taught in the public schools,
proving a capable educator who imparted with
readiness and clearness to others the knowledge
that he had acquired.

On the 9th of October. 1892, Mr. Huber was
joined in wedlock to Miss Emma Rothmeyer,

,xv:,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

105 1

who was born in Iowa. Six children have graced
this marriage, five of wliom are now Hving, while
one has passed away. Those who still survive
are Clara, Anna, Martha, Joseph and Mildred.
The daughter who is deceased was Eleanora.
The home farm of Mr. Huber comprises one
hundred and sixty acres of land, most of which
he cultivates, and his energy and activity in busi-
ness affairs are bringing to him very creditable
success. Since he was eighteen years of age he
has been a member of the school board and he
has also been chairman of the board of super-
visors. He filled the office of justice of the peace
for a term of two years and in all these positions
he has been loyal to the trust reposed in him.
Over the record of his public career and his
private life there falls no shadow of wrong or
suspicion of evil. He is a man well worthy of
public regard and as almost his entire life has
been passed in Yankton county his career is
known to be one that is worthy of commendation,
gaining for him the favor of all and the friend-
ship of many.

Mr. Huber was tendered the nomination of
representative, but not wishing to serve in that
capacity refused to allow his name to go before
the convention. He has always been affiliated
with the Democratic party, and always takes an
active part in his party's campaigns. He is an
active member of the Roman Catholic church,
and attends the St. Agnes church, of which
Father Byrne, of Yankton, is the officiating min-
ister. Mrs. Huber is an active member of the
same church and the children are regular attend-
ants of the Sunday school.

Mr. and Mrs. Rothmeyer, parents of Mrs.
Huber, moved from Iowa to South Dakota in
1883. The mother died in 1894, and the father
is living a retired life in Yankton. He was again
married.

SILAS BURTON, one of the honored and
esteemed residents of Yankton county, was born
in Litchfield countv, Connecticut, on the 22d of
December, 1837, his parents being James and
Harriet Burton, in whose familv were nine chil-

dren, namely: Silas, Malvina, Lewis, Diadama,
Almoure (who died in the United States army),
Charles, Mary, Elizabeth, Florence, Ruth and
George. All but five have passed away, these
being Silas, Malvina, Charles, Diadama and
Ruth, and with the exception of the subject and
Ruth these are residents of New Haven. Con-
necticut.

The public schools of Litchfield county. Con-
necticut, afforded to Silas Burton his educational
privileges and he continued his studies until nine-
teen or twenty years of age, thus gaining a broad
practical knowledge in order to fit him for the
responsible duties of a business career. When
he put aside his text-books he worked at the
butcher's trade at Kent Corners, Connecticut,
being thus employed until 1863, when his
patriotic spirit was aroused and he enlisted in
the Second Heavy Artillery of Connecticut, being
with the army for twenty months. He par-
ticipated in the battles of the Wilderness and
afterward became ill and has never yet fully
recovered his health. Before starting to the front
he was married on the 6th of December, 1862, to
Miss Ellen Stewart, who was born in Hunter,
New York, a daughter of Alonzo and Mary
fTate") Stewart. In her parents' family were
six children : Edgar, Herman, Ellen, Charles,
William and George, of whom Edgar and
Giarles are now deceased. The living brothers
of Mrs. Burton are yet residents of Connecticut.

Following the Civil war Mr. Burton removed
from Connecticut to New York, where he re-
mained for two years and then came west with
his family. In 1868 he settled in Yankton
county, South Dakota, having traveled by stage
from Sioux Citv to his destination. The gov-
ernment afforded good facilities for purchasing
land and Mr. Burton secured a pre-emption
claim of one hundred and sixty acres. Subse-
quently he purchased an additional tract of one
hundred and sixty acres and he now farms two
hundred and eighty acres, raising grain and
stock. In 1 88 1, bv reason of the flood caused
bv the ice gorges in the Missouri, he lost all of
his cattle, his house and his barns, in fact, his
entire personal property was destroyed save one

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

team of horses. Thus he has met with dis-
couragements in what would seem to be a pros-
perous career. He has ever persevered in his
work, however, and as the years have gone by
he has accumulated a comfortable competence
and has become one of the very successful farm-
ers of South Dakota. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Burton
have been born eight children : Mary, who be-
came the wife of W. R. Smith, died at the age
of twenty-three years, leaving two children,
Edgar and George, but the latter was drowned
in the Missouri river at the age of thirteen years
and Edgar is now living with his grandfather,
the subject of this review ; Edgar, the second
child of Mr. Burton, has passed away; Hattie is
the wife of Mr. Anderson, a farmer of Yank-
ton county ; Jennie is the wife of M. C. Nelson,
a resident farmer of this county ; Arthur is living
at home at the age of fourteen years ; Theodore
has departed this life and two of the children
(lied in infancy. For the past thirty-five years
Mr. Burton has been connected with the schools
of Dakota and the cause of education finds in
him a w^arm and helpful friend. In politics he
is a stanch Democrat and fraternally he is con-
nected with the Masonic lodge. His wife and
children are members of the Congregational
church and the family is one of prominence in
the community, the members of the Burton
household occupying an enviable position in so-
cial circles and in the regard of their many
friends.

HENRY HASKAR, one of the represent-
ative men of Yankton county, was born in the
fatherland in 1836 and the schools of Ger-
many afforded him his educational privileges.
He was a young man when he resolved to seek
a honie in the new world and after living in
Tennessee for a time he removed to Ohio and
twentv-seven vears ago came to South Dakota.
Under the homestead act he secured a quarter
section of land in Yankton county across Beaver
creek. He afterward ])urchased two hundred and
eighty acres near Utica and now owns four hun-
dred acres of rich land which is cultivated bv his

sons. For many years Mr. Haskar was actively
connected with its improvement and develop-
ment, but now he is living retired. He and his
wife occupy a pleasant home in Yankton.

In 1864 Mr. Haskar was united in marriage
to Miss Mary Heine and unto them have been
born nine children : Annie, the eldest, is now de-
ceased; Kate, the next in the family, is the wife
of Henry Houker, a farmer residing in Irene,
South Dakota, and they have five children ; Mary
has also passed away ; Henry and Peter are both
enterprising young farmers who are operating
their father's land. The latter was married April
22. 1903, to Miss Katie Wagner, who was born
in Yankton county and is a datighter of George
C. and Anna (Kramer) Wagner, prominent
farming people of this locality. iMaggie is the
wife of John Rankin, a prosperous farmer of
South Dakota ; Lena is the wife of Albert Wag-
ner, who also follows farming in this
state ; Hattie is the wife of Norman Lcpt, and
Tesse is with her parents in Yankton and both
are graduates of the public school of Yankton
county and are popular in social circles there.

Mr. Haskar has served as school director for
the past twenty years. In the early days he
made his own home to be used as a schoolroom,
for the people were then too poor to build a
schoolhouse. He has always taken a deep inter-
est in the cause of education, putting forth every
effort in his power to advance its interests and
his efforts have been far-reaching and helpful
in this direction. In his political views Mr.
Haskar was formerly a Democrat, but now votes
independently, supporting the men and measures
of no particular party, but casting his ballot as
he thinks will do the most good in promoting
general progress. He fomierly belonged to the
Farmers' Alliance and he and his wife are
members of the Catholic church and attend the
services in Yankton. They occupy an attractive
and comfortable home at No. 701 Broadway
and a cordial hospitality is extended to their
many friends. Mr. Haskar has ever been
known as a courteous, genial gentleman who
while firmly upholding his own opinions has
always manifested due deference for the opin-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ions of others. His work in the county has been
of a helpful and beneficial nature and this section
of the state has profited by his residence here.

JOHN CHAMBERLIN, one of the sterling
pioneers of Cambria township. Brown county,
is a native of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsyl-
vania, where he was born on the 2d of March,
183 1, being a son of Jolm and Anna aiamberlin,
both of whom were born and reared in the state
of New Jersey, the father being a miller by
vocation. The subject was reared to manhood
in the state of New Jersey, having been assigned
to the care of his uncle when he was eleven
vears of age. In that state he gained his edu-
cation and at the age of sixteen entered upon a
four-years apprenticeship at the trade of wagon-
making, receiving the sum of one Inmdred dol-
lars in cash for the services rendered during
this period, while he was permitted to work in
the harvest fields two weeks each season, thereby
gaining a little extra money. In 1852 he came
west to Kingston, Green Lake county, Wiscon-
sin, where he established a shop and engaged in
the work of his trade, also dealing in general
merchandise on a small scale. He followed his
trade for a period of thirty years, having been
foreman of a large shnp in \'ermont prior to
his removal to Wisconsin. He remained in
Kingston seven years and then removed to
Portage Citv, Wisconsin, where he was for one
year employed in the car shops of the Qiicago,
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. Later he re-
moved to Randolph, in the same state, where he
made his home until 1880, having served as
postmaster of the town for the greater portion
of the intervening period. In the year men-
tioned Mr. Chamberlin came to what is now the
state of South Dakota, taking up a homestead
claim in Brown county, on July 15th, this being
the place on which he has ever since continued
to reside, having brought his family to the pio-
neer farm in October of the same year. Dur-
ing the winter of 1880-81 he and his family oc-
cupied a sod house on an adjoining farm, and
during a period of eight months no other woman

than his wife entered the primitive dwelling,
with one exception, the nearest neighbors being
one and a half miles or more distant. It is
needless to say that the family encountered its
quota of hardships and deprivations, and during
the winter mentioned some of the flour used in
the household was obtained by grinding the
wheat in a common coffee-mill. In the fall of
1880 Mr. Chamberlin hauled lumber from
Watertown and constructed a small house on
his claim, while his present comfortable and at-
tractive farm residence was erected about fifteen
years ago, the other farm buildings being like-
wise of substantial order. At the time he came
here there were but four or five other families in
Cambria township. Shortly after taking up his
residence here Mr. Chamberlin also took up a
tree claim, and his landed estate now comprises
four hundred and eighty acres, of which three
hundred and twenty comprise the home place,
while the remaining one hundred and sixty acres
constitute a separate farm, about a half mile
distant. The subject has from the beginning
devoted his attention mainly to the raising of
grain and at the present time he devotes three
hundred acres to this branch of his enterprise.
He has raised as high as thirty bushels to the
acre, and his largest crop in one year aggre-
gated thirty thousand bushels. He was promi-
nentl\- concerned in the organization of the town-
ship and has been closely identified with its de-
velopment and material upbuilding. He has
served for many years as chairman of the board
of township trustees, and in i8gi he was elected
to the office of countv commissioner, in which
capacity he served three years. In politics he
is arrayed as a stalwart supporter of the prin-
ciples of the People's party, and both he and
his wife are zealous and valued members of the
Methodist Episcopal church at Booth. They
were concerned in the organization of the
original class which resulted in the founding of
this church, about 1884, and of the few who
thus gathered together for worship there is prob-
ably but one other left in the township, Mrs.
Wenz. Mr. Chamberlin has been an official in
the church from the time of its organization to

I054

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

two years ago and was Sunday school super-
intendent fifteen years.

On the 24th of April, 1837, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Chambcrlin to Miss Martha
I. Clark, who was born and reared in Vermont,
having received her education in the academy at
Brandon, that state, and having been a success-
ful teacher for about two years prior to her
marriage. They have no children.

WILLIA^M KOEPSEL, a member of the
state senate and one of the honored citizens of
Brown county, is a native of the Badger state,
having been born on a farm in Dodge county,
Wisconsin, on the 27th of June, 1858, and being
a son of Herman and Caroline (Detlaff) Koep-
sel, who were numbered among the sterling pio-
neers of that state. The subject grew up under
the invigorating discipline of the farm and re-
ceived his educational training in the public and
parochial schools. He continued to be identified
with the great industry of agriculture in Wis-
consin until 1882, when he came to what is now
South Dakota and cast in his lot with its people.
He secured his present farm, in Groton town-
ship, shortly after his arrival in the state, having
now a well improved and attractive farm of four
hundred and eighty acres and being known as
a progressive and enterprising agriculturist and
stock-grower. In politics IMr. Koepsel has ever
been a stanch advocate of the principles and
policies of the Republican party, and while he
has been an unostentatious worker in the party
cause he has not been animated by ambition for
office, so that his selection to his present dis-
tinguished position as a member of the state
senate, in the fall of 1902, indicates in how high
esteem and confidence he is held by the people
of the district from which he was chosen for
this honorable preferment. In the senate he was
assigned to the committees on education, federal
relations, public health, charitable and penal in-
stitutions, and legislative expenses, and in each
of these important connections he proved him-
self signally faithful to the duties devolving
upon him, while he introduced and stanchly ad-

vocated four bills of no slight importance,
though never seeking to make himself obtrusive
in the great deliberative bodv of which he is an
able member. He is recognized as a man of
most scrupulous honesty of purpose in all the
relations of life, and thus the people of his dis-
trict consistently place their trust and confidence
in him as a representative of their interests and
those of the state at large. He is a member of
the Lutheran church, and has been president of
the Groton congregation since its organization.
Mr. Koepsel was married, in March, 1883, to
Bertha Waugerin, a native of Wisconsin, who
died in April, 1885, leaving one son, Edward.
He was married again in February, 1888, to
Adeline Wegner, of Groton. Mrs. Koepsel died
in August, 1900, leaving three daughters, the
oldest, Emma, being eleven years ; the second,
Frieda, nine years, and the youngest, Lydia, four
years old. Mr. Koepsel was married the third
time in April, 1902, to Miss Meta Zahl, of Min-
nesota, a native of Germany.

DAVID PATERSON is an American by
adoption, his native country being Scotland,
where his birth occurred on the 6th day of Oc-
tober, 1856. His parents, William and Margaret
(Duncan) Paterson, were born in Scotland,
spent their lives there on a farm, and both lie
buried in the old cemetery where sleep so many
of their kindred and friends. David Paterson
was reared to agricultural pursuits and enjoyed
the advantages of a common-school education.
When a youth he learned the tanner's trade and
followed the same at different places in Scot-
land imtil his twenty-second year, when he de-
cided to go to America, accordingly in 1879 he
and his brother, Colin, took passage and in due
time arrived at their destination, after which
they spent a couple of months in New York,
where the subject found employment in a tan-
nery. In July of the same year the brothers
went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they
worked at the tannery trade during the two years
following, and it was while thus engaged that
David made a trip to South Dakota and entered

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1055

a tract of land in Kingsbury county. Hiring a
man to break about twenty acres, he returned
to his work in Milwaukee and there remained
until the spring of 1881, when he again came to
South Dakota to take possession of his land and
attend to its cultivation. After erecting a small,
but comfortable dwelling, he planted twenty-
five acres of his own land and twenty acres on
the claim belonging to his brother, and in due
season reaped fair returns from his first effort
at South Dakota farming. On June 5, 1881,
Mr. Paterson chose a wife and helpmeet in the
person of Miss Jane Allardice, of Scotland, the
marriage being the culmination of a tender at-
tachment between the two, which began in the
old country, where they first became acquainted.
After preparing a home and finding himself in
circumstances to support a wife, he sent for his
intended bride, who in due time made the long
journey from Scotland to South Dakota, where
the nuptials were duly celebrated.

Mr. Paterson began life in the west under
very modest auspices, but by industry and thrift
he soon succeeded in getting the fair start which
paved the way to more favorable circumstances.
He developed a fine farm, raised cattle and other
live stock, from which he usually received a
liberal income, and by well-directed and per-
severing efforts, as well as excellent manage-
ment, finally reached the condition of prosperity
he now enjoys. His farm, which embraces an
area of four hundred acres, is admirably situated
in one of the richest agricultural districts of the
county, and with its good residence, a comfort-
able barn, fences and other improvements
indicates the home of a man of enterprise, who
is thoroughly familiar with every detail of agri-
cultural work. In addition to general farming
and stock raising, Mr. Paterson, since 1895, has
been interested in the dairy business, keeping
about twenty cows, the milk from which finds a
ready market at the creamery in Lake Preston.

The career of Mr. Paterson from the time of
landing on Ajnerican soil with less than one hun-
dred dollars in his possession to his present
conspicuous position, among the leading farmers
and representative citizens of his adopted county,

presents a series of successes such as few
achieve and affords many lessons which the
young of the present generation may study with
profit. Mr. Paterson is a member of the Mod-
ern Woodmen of America of Lake Preston, and
in politics supports the principles of the Populist
party, though formerly a Republican. He has
religious convictions and has been a leading
member of the Congregational church at
Lake Henry since its organization in 1886,
besides serving three years as superintendent of
the Sunday school. His wife and three daugh-
ters also belong to the Lake Henry church and,
like him, they are zealous workers, demonstrat-
ing by their daily lives the genuineness of their
religious profession. Mr. Paterson takes a
special interest in temperance work and all
agencies for the benefit of the people. He has
never been a seeker after office or any kind of
public place, notwithstanding which his fellow
citizens, irrespective of party, have honored him
at different times with positions of responsibility
and trust.

The family of Mr. and Mrs. Paterson con-
sists of seven children : Colin C, a young man
of very good habits, who assists his father on
the farm ; Beatrice, a graduate of the DeSmet
high school and a teacher of much promise;
Frances, also a graduate from the above school;
Margaret, who is pursuing her studies in the
high school; William, -David and Florence are
three bright, intelligent students of wTiom their
parents feel proud, and in whom are centered
many fond hopes for the future.

A. P. ROBINSON, who is justly considered
one of the leading agriculturists of Brown
county, was born in St. Lawrence county. New
York, March 23, 185 1. When a boy he was
taken to Wisconsin by his parents and spent his
youth, until nineteen years of age, in Dodge
county, that state, living on a farm until his four-
teenth year. Meanwhile he acquired a common-
school education and on leaving the farm en-
tered his father's store. In 1869 he went to

f^

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

native town and secured his early educational
training in its public schools, after which he com-
pleted a course of study in St. Lawrence Univer-
sity, in Canton, that state, where he was gradu-
ated as a member of the class of 1880. He then
took up the study of law. in the office of Hon.
Leslie W. Russell, of that place, one of the most
eminent members of the bar of the state. He
served as attorney general of the state, was a
member of congress for several terms, while in
1884 he was defeated for the LTnited States sen-
ate by a few votes, his opponent being the Hon.
William M. Evarts. He later became an associ-
ate justice of the supreme court of the state, re-
signing this office a short time before his death.
Under this able and honored preceptor Jiidge
Stearns prosecuted his legal studies, continuing
in the office of Judge Russell until 1884, when he
accompanied his preceptor to Albany, being one
of his clerks while he was serving as attorney
general. During the winter of 1884 the subject
took a course of lectures in the Albany Law
School, having been admitted to the bar of the
state in November of the preceding year. Judge
Stearns was graduated in the lav,' department of
Union University, in Albany, on the 22d of May,
18S4, having completed the prescribed two-years
course in one year, and from this institution he
received the degree of Bachelor of Laws, .\fter
his graduation he entered upon the active practice
of his profession in Canton, New York, where
he remained one year. In April, 1885, he came
west on business, and became so impressed with
the attractions of this division of our national
domain that he located in Wadena, Minnesota,
where he was associated in practice with Frank
Wilson until 1887, meeting with excellent success.
In 1889 his father died and he returned to his
old home in New York to assist in the settlement
of the estate. He had previously, in 1887, visited
South Dakota on business, remaining several
months, and upon returning to the west he located
in Fort Pierre, this state, in 1890. Here he has
since been engaged in active practice, retaining
at the present time a large and representative cli-
entage and holding high prestige at the bar of
the state. He served three terms as state's attor-

ney for Stanley county, and one term as judge
of the county court, making an excellent record
in each of these offices. He was one of those
prominently concerned in bringing about the
abolishment of the grand-jury system in South
Dakota, and he drew the first information for
murder after the law of 1896 went into effect,
said information having been drawn on the 3d
of July of that year, while the law went into
effect only two days previously. During his
first term as county attorney he was prosecutor
in three murder trials, and while serving on the
county bench he settled the estate of Frederick
Dupree, amounting to one hundred and eighty
thousand dollars. The Judge has been an ardent
and effective worker in the cause of the Repub-
lican party, and in 1892-3 was secretary of the
Republican League of the state. Early in the
vear 1893 Gov. Charles H. Sheldon selected Mr.
Stearns for one of his staff and commissioned
him a colonel. He held this appointment for four
\-ears, and did his full share of the honors and
entertaining at the South Dakota building at
the World's Fair in Chicago during the season
of 1893. He was also appointed and commis-
sioned by Governor Sheldon to represent this
state as a delegate to the World's Real Estate
Congress, held in Chicago during the week com-
mencing October 12. 1893. He was a charter
member of Hiram Lodge, No. 123. Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons, at Fort Pierre, and the
charter for the same was secured largely through
his efforts, as there was no little opposition on
the part of other lodges. Owint^- to the danger
entailed in crossing the Missouri river at cer-
tain seasons of the year he finally secured the
required dispensation from the grand lodge. He
has been a strong advocate of the project of build-
ing a railroad from Pierre to the Black Hills, and
his opinions and written articles on the subject
have been freely quoted and republished.

From the time of locating in the state Judge
Stearns has been more or less interested in real
estate and stock raising enterprises, and in 1900
he effected the organization of the St. Paul &
Fort Pierre Cattle Company, of which he has
been vice-president and general manager from the

I1IST(3RY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

time of its inception. J. B. Little, of St. Paul,
Minnesota, is president, and H. A. Knight, of
Minneapolis, is secretary and treasurer. The
company is capitalized for one hundred thousand
dollars, and is engaged in the grazing and ma-
turing of beef cattle, having one of the finest
stock ranches west of the Missouri river, the same
being located on the Bad river, two and one-half
miles south of Fort Pierre, where they have a
large ranch and fine ranch buildings. They make
a specialty of buying Texas cattle, shipping them
to their ranch and here maturing them for the
Chicago market, while the company are rapidly
increasing the number of stock fed on the ranch,
conducting operations on a constantly increasing
scale.

On the 24th of November, 1893, Judge
Stearns was united in marriage to Mrs. Mary A.
Miar, who was born and reared in Williamsport,
Pennsylvania, being a daughter of John Heyler,
a prominent farmer of Tioga county. No chil-
dren have been born of this union.

ARTHUR H. SEYMOUR, minister and
educator, was born in Portage county. Ohio,
August 15, 1868. His father, Deming. Seymour,
a native of Massachusetts, was the son of Gideon
and Corinthia Seymour, both of English de-
scent, their respective ancestors being among the
earliest settlers of New England. In his young
manhood Deming Seymour married ]\Iiss Har-
riet Hallock, of Portage county, Ohio, whose
parents, Colonel William R. and Julia Hallock,
were also descended from old New England
families, several representatives of which served
in the colonial army during the Revolutionary
war. Some of the Seymours were also heroes of
that struggle and rendered distinguished service
in the cause for independence. Deming Seymour
grew to maturity on a farm in Portage countv,
Ohio, and after his marriage, engaged in
the pursuit of agriculture near Roostown,
where he lived until his renioval to Wind-
liam, in the same county, some years later.
He departed this life at the latter place in Feb-
ruary, 1888, leaving a widow who now lives

with her daughter in the city of Cleveland, and
three children, namely : Arthur H., of this re-
view; Alice, wife of C. R. Bissell, Esq., and
George D., a prominent business man of Wind-
ham, Ohio.

Arthur H. Seymour spent his early life in the
village of Windham and ip 1886, when eighteen
years old, was graduated from the high school
of that place. He then entered the Ohio Nor-
mal University at Ada, where he completed the
prescribed course in 1887 and subsequently,
1898, received the degree of INIaster of Arts
from the same institution. He also studied one
year at Oberlin. After finishing his education
he spent seven j'ears teaching in the schools of
Portage county, three of which were devoted to
high school work, and in 1895 he yielded to a
desire of long standing by entering the ministry
of the Church of Christ, locating the same year
with a congregation at Carthage, South Dakota.
After preaching at that point until September.
1897, he took charge of the church at Arlington,
and two years later accejited the superhitend-
ency of the Arlington public schools, the duties
of which position he has since discharged in con-
nection with his ministerial work. Professor
Seymour's present pastorate has been signally-
successful. Since entering upon his labors the
church has prospered along every line of activity,
its membership has greatly increased, a marked
spiritual growth has also been noticeable and in
1902 the beautiful and commodious edifice in
which the congregation now worships was
erected and dedicated to the services of God.
Professor Seymour's religious work has not
been restricted to the specific field in which he
now labors, but has extended throughout the
state, as he served two years as secretary of the
State Christian Endeavor Union, and one year
as president, during which time he traveled quite
extensively, preaching at many points and striv-
ing to strengthen the organization and add to
its influence and efficiency.

As an educator the Professor occupies a

prominent position among the leading school

men of South Dakota, and his reputation as a

I superintendent is second to that of but few of his

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1059

compeers. The high standard of excellence
which the educational system of Arlington has
attained under his management affords the best
evidence of his ability as an organizer, and it
is now generally conceded that in point of ef-
ficiency the schools of that town are among the
best in the county. His services as an institute
conductor are in great demand and he spends
no little part of his vacations in this kind of
work. He has conducted two very successful
institutes in Kingsbury county, and has also
labored efficiently in similar institutions in the
counties of Gregory and Miner. He is 'a mem-
ber of the state and national educational associa-
tions, and of the Religious Education Associa-
tion. In addition to the above bodies, Professor
Seymour is identified with the Brotherhood of
American Yeomen, of Arlington, besides mani-
festing at all times a lively interest in local or-
ganizations for the promotion of educational and
religious endeavor.

On November 12. 1896, Professor Seymour
was united in marriage with Miss Jennie I. San-
ford, of Portage county, Ohio, who died in June,
i8g8, after a most happy wedded life. In 1900
he married Miss Flora M. Wilson, of Sioux
Falls, South Dakota, who for several years had
been a teacher in the public schools of that
city. Like her husband, Mrs. Seymour is active
in all lines of church and general religious work,
and has served very efficiently as president and
secretary of the State Qiristian Endeavor Union,
a position requiring a high order of clerical and
executive ability. Professor and Mrs. Seymour
have two children, a son by the name of Gideon
Deming and a daughter named Margaret Isabel.

CHARLES W. SNYDER, who is the
owner of a fine landed estate in Mellette town-
ship, Spink county, is a native of the Badger
state, having been born in Waukesha county,
Wisconsin, on the loth of January, 1855, ^^'^
being a son of A. K. and Margaret Snyder, the
former of whom was born in Gennany, while
the latter was a native of Ireland. Both died
in Wisconsin, where the father was engaged in

agricultural pursuits for many years, having
been one of the early settlers in Washington
county.

The subject grew up on the home farm and
as a bov became inured to the strenuous work
involved in its cultivation, while he received his
educational training in the common schools of
Hartford, Wisconsin. In 1876 he purchased a
small farm in Dodge county, that state, and in-
itiated his independent career as a husbandman.
As he himself has stated the case, he "farmed the
same two years, among stumps, stones and
gravelly hills, the land being high-priced at
that." His experience in this connection doubt-
less accounts in no small measure for his marked
appreciation of the superior advantages found in
his present location. In the fall of 1878 Mr.
Snyder disposed of his farm in Wisconsin and
moved westward into Alinncsota, locating in
Freeborn county, where he purchased a small
farm, to wdiose improvement and cultivation he
devoted his attention for the ensuing seven
■\-ears, disposing of the property in 1885 and
coming thence to what is now Spink county.
South Dakota, his financial resources at the time
being represented in ~the sum of about two
thousand dollars. Apropos of this statement we
may say that his estate at the present time may
be conservatively placed at a valuation of twenty
thousand dollars, and the significance of the com-
parative statements is prima facia. Shortly
after his arrival in the county Mr. Snyder pur-
chased a quarter section of land in Mellette
township, one mile southwest of the present vil-
lage of Mellette, and this has ever since been his
place of residence, while as success has crowned
his efforts he has added to his landed possessions
from time to time until he is now the owner of
a valuable ranch of six hundred acres, while the
permanent improvements are of excellent order,
everything about the place betokening thrift and
prosperity, while it may be stated that Mr. Sny-
der is recognized as an able business man and
as one who is well entitled to unequivocal con-
fidence and esteem. To the writer he spoke most
pertinently as follows, the words well indicating
his attitude : "I intend to remain here, and. all

io6o

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

things considered, believe this part of the Jim
river valley the best agricultural region in the
United States." On the place is found an
abundant supply of pure water, the same being
secured from a fine artesian well. In politics
Mr. Snyder has always been a stalwart sup-
porter of the Republican party and its principles,
though he has never sought office of any sort.
Fraternally, he is identified with the Modern
Woodmen of America, the Ancient Order of
United Workmen and the Royal Neighbors.

On the gth of October, 1877, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Snyder to Miss Josephine
Dempsey, a daughter of James Dempsey, of
Hartford, Wisconsin, and it is pleasing to note
that the family circle remains unbroken at the
time of this writing, their twelve children all
lieing still beneath the home roof, while eight
of the number were born on the homestead here.
The names of the children are here entered in
order of birth : Frank, Harry, ]\Iattie. Helen,
Frederick, Lois, ]\Iary and Howard (twins),
Carl, Frances, and \^'illard and Wilburt (twins).

JOHN H. LeAIAY, editor and publisher of
the Xorthville Journal, at Northville, Spink
county, is a native of the city of Philadelphia,
where he was born on the 27th of January, 1870,
being a son of Edward F. and Nellie (Robert-
son) LeMay, the former of whom was born in
France and the latter in Scotland and both of
whom have now passed away. The father of
the subject came to America as a young man,
and established his home in Philadelphia, while
he became a prominent contractor in the con-
struction of railways and bridges. The subject
secured his early educational discipline in the
fair old "City of Brotherly Love," and there-
after completed a course of study in the Shattuck
]\Iilitary Academy, at Faribault, Minnesota. At
the age of sixteen years he entered upon an ap-
prenticeship at the printer's trade, working dur-
ing vacations for several years in Duluth, that
state, gaining an excellent knowledge of the de-
tails and mysteries of the "art preservative of all
arts," and thereafter he was engaged in the work

of his trade in divers sections of the union, liav-
ing come to South Dakota in i8g6, while in
April, 1900, he settled in Northville and pur-
chased the Northville Journal, of which he has
since been editor and publisher. The Journal is
a five-column quarto and is issued on Thursday
of each week, while both editorially and in mat-
ter of letter-press it is an attractive publication,
while it so fully covers matters of local interest
that it is a welcome visitor in the majority of
the best homes in this section. In politics, Mr.
Le]\Iay is a stanch advocate of the principles and
policies of the Republican party, and his paper
is the medium through which he wields the
greatest influence in local afifairs of a public
nature, while he is thoroughly progressive in his
attitude and always ready to lend his aid and in-
fluence in the furthering of worthy enterprises
for the general good. He is a member of the
South Dakota Press Association. He has at-
tained to the thirty-second degree of Scottish-
Rite Masonry, being a member of the consistorv'
at Aberdeen, and is also a member of the Order
of the Eastern Star, as well as of the Ancient
Order of United Workmen. He enjoys un-
qualified esteem in business and social circles and
is one of the ]iopular young men of Spink
county.

On the 1st of May, 1902, Mr. LeMay was
married to Miss Miry Elsom, who was born
and reared in Northville, being a daughter of
Toseph Elsom, concerning whom a specific
sketch appears on another page of this work.
On February 8, 1904, a son was born to this

RUDOLPH ALEXANDER was born in
Gemiany, on the 20th of April, 1849, and is the
third in order of birth of the eight children of
William and Mary Alexander, while all of the
children are still living. The parents of the
subject bade adieu to their fatherland and emi-
grated with their children to America, taking up
their abode in Sauk county, Wisconsin, where
the father engaged in agricultural pursuits, re-
claiming a good farm and being one of the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

sterling pioneers of that section of the Badger
state, where both he and liis wife passed the re-
mainder of their lives. Their eldest son, Rich-
ard, was about nineteen years of age at the out-
break of the war of the Rebellion, and in 1864
he enlisted as a member of a regiment of Wis-
consin volunteers, and served until the close of
the war. Though a mere boy at the time, our
subject was desirous of emulating the example of
his brother, but his age prevented his being ac-
cepted as a volunteer. He was reared on the
homestead farm and early began to assist in re-
claiming and cultivating the land, while his edu-
cational advantages were such as were afiforded
in the somewhat primitive schools of the lo-
cality and period. After leaving school he re-
mained on the home farm some time and later
engaged in farming on his own responsibility,
in Sauk county, where he continued to reside
until 1882, when he came to South Dakota,
arriving in March of that year and visiting
various sections of the prospective state
in search of a suitable location. The following
summer he took up his residence in Faulk
county, whose organization had been effected
but a short time previously, and here took up
a pre-emption claim near the present village of
Rockham, and there continued to reside about
twelve years, bringing his farm imder cultivation
and meeting with excellent success on the whole,
though he met with the misfortunes entailed
throughout this section by droughts and grass-
hoppers in the earlier years. In 1895 he dis-
posed of his property and purchased a portion
of his present fine ranch of Frank Bacon. He
has since added to its area by additional pur-
chases in the locality until he now has a landed
estate of one thousand acres, of which a very
considerable portion is under a high state of
cultivation while the remainder is used for
grazing purposes, as he runs an average herd of
about two hundred head of Durham and short-
horn cattle, while of late he is giving attention
also to the raising of the Hereford breed. His
ranch adjoins the corporate limits of iMiranda
on the north and he also owns considerable real
estate in the village, while his residence is one

of the finest in the county and his ranch build-
ing large and substantial, affording ample ac-
commodations for stock and farm products. As
the line of the Northwestern Railroad is in jux-
taposition to his ranch he has the best of ship-
ping facilities, and he has reason to be proud of
his valuable ranch as well as of the success
which he has attained since casting in his lot
with the people of South Dakota. In politics he
is a stanch advocate of the principles of the
Republican party, though -never a seeker of pub-
lic office, and fraternally he holds membership in
the Knights of the Maccabees.

On the i2th of April, 1877, Mr. Alexander
was married to Miss Mary Trueb, who was
born in Switzerland, where she was reared and
educated, being a daughter of John Trueb, whey
came from Germany to America in 1857 "i""^ be-
caiue a pioneer of Wisconsin. Of the children
of this union we enter the following brief
record : Louis is now associated with his father
in the management of the home ranch ; Annie
is the wife of Henry Metz, of Miranda ; and
Edward. Ella, Edna and Hilbert reiuain at the
parental home.

JCmN J. PRICE, one of the pioneers and
highly esteemed citizens of Faulk countv, is a
native of Wales and a scion of stanch old Welsh
stock. - He was born in Mothvey, Carmarthen-
shire, on the 24th of January, i860, and is a son
of John W. and Guenllein (Joseph) Price, both
of whom were born and reared in the same sec-
tion of southern Wales, where the respective
families have been established from the time
when the "memory of man runneth not to the
contrary." In 1868 his parents immigrated ta
America and settled near Iowa City, Iowa, where
they remained until 1872, when they took up their
residence in Williamsburg, Iowa county, Iowa,
while in 1876 they removed to Jefferson, Greene
county, Iowa, where the father was engaged in
farming until his death, which occurred on the
26th of April. 1003, at the venerable age of
eighty-three years. He was a man of inflexible
integrity, keeping himself "unspotted from the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

world," and living a life of honor and usefulness.
His widow still resides near Jefferson, being sev-
enty-seven years of age at the time of this writ-
ing, in 1904. Tlie subject received his educa-
tional training in the public schools of Iowa, and
continued to be associated with his father in the
conduct of his business affairs until he had at-
tained his legal majority, when he initiated his
independent career. In March, 1883. he came to
what is now the state of South Dakota and filed
entry on the northwest quarter of section 10,
township 120, range 68, in Faulk county,
which original homestead is an integral
portion of his present landed estate. He
surveyed his own land, as onlv a small
portion of the land had been surveyed by the
government at the time, and his residence is lo-
cated on this original claim. He is now the owner
of twelve hundred and eighty acres of most fertile
and productive land, improved with substantial
and attractive buildings, the property being un-
incumbered of debt, while he is also the owner of
a nice residence in the city of Aberdeen, his inten-
tion being to utilize the same as a family home
during the period when his children are to avail
themselves of the educational advantages there
afforded. He devotes his attention to diversified
agriculture and the raising of a high grade of live
stock, and is the owner of two modern steam
threshing machines, which he keeps in active
operation each autumn. In politics he is an un-
compromising Republican, and he has served two
terms as county commissioner, being chairman of
the board for a portion of each term. He is iden-
tified with Camp No. 2692, Modern Woodmen of
America, at Ipswich, in which he carries an insur-
ance of three thousand dollars.

Oh the 8th of June, 1888, ^Ir. Price was
imited in marriage to Miss Lotta M. Scott, who
was born in Manchester, Iowa, on the 14th of
August, 1867, being a daughter of Thomas B.
and Emma (Pratt) Scott. Mr. and Mrs. Price
Tiave five children, whose names and respective
dates of birth are here entered : Joseph. August
29, 1889 : Florence. August 30, 1891 ; Howard.
October 13, 1893 ; Marie, October 8, 1895. ^^'^'^
Forrest, August 7, 1898.

WILLIAM T. DALE, a prominent and well-
known citizen of Mellette, Spink county, was
born in Daleville, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania,
on the 6th of January, 1840, and is a son of Mark
Dale, who was a native of England, whence he
came when young to Ainerica. in company with
his parents, who located in Pennsylvania, and en-
gaged in farming. The father of the subject also
continued to follow the great basic industry of
farming during his active life and his death oc-
curred in Pennsylvania. He was a man of ex-
alted integrity of character and a prominent
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in
which he was a licensed exhorter. He was twice
married and the subject of this review was the
eldest child of the first union. William T. Dale
was reared on the farm and his early educational
advantages were such as were afforded in the
common schools of his native county. At the
age of thirteen years he set out to see somewhat
of the world, coming west to Illinois, where he
remained three years, after which he returned
to his home in the old Keystone state, where he
worked for his father for a }'ear, and then went
to Salem, that state, being employed there until
the fall of t86o. He then went to the pineries
of Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, and worked
at lumbering until spring, then going down the
river on a lumber raft to Marietta, that state.
On the 2ist of May, 1861, he tendered his services
in defense of the L^nion, practically being in the
Federal army throughout the entire period of the
great Civil war. He enlisted in Companv K,
Fifteenth Pennsylvania ^^oluntee^ Infantrv-, for a
term of three months. D. H. Hastings being cap-
tain of his company. I\Ir. Dale took part in the
battle of Falling Waters and was with General
Patterson when he crossed the Potomac. He re-
ceived his honorable discharge on the 7th of .Au-
gust, 1 86 1, and on the T7th of the following
September re-enlisted, at this time becoming a
member of Company L. Ninth Pennsylvania \"ol-
unteer Cavalry, in which he was made commis-
sary sergeant of his company, which was in com-
mand of Captain George Smith. His regiment
was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland,
and in the connection he was a [larticipant in the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1063

battles of Perryville, Thompson Station, Brent-
wood, second battle of Franklin, Triune, Shelby-
ville, Lafayette (Georgia), the three days' fight
at Ciiickamauga ; the engagement at Mossy
Creek, the two battles at Fairgarden, and the
conflict at Cripple Creek, after which he was
with Sherman in the Atlanta campaign and on
the memorable march to the sea, taking part in
the engagements at Black river and Goldsboro.
He received his second discharge on the 31st of
December, 1863, but promptly veteranized and
re-enlisted in the same company and regiment.
April 14th the regiment started home. Mr. Dale
received a veteran's furlough on April 26th at
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and arrived in Dan-
ville on the 28th. On May 22d following he was
married to Susan Snover, to whom he had been
engaged at the time of his enlistment in i86t.
(^)n }i[ay 26th he rejoined his regiment, with
which he continued in active service until the
close of the war. receiving his final discharge
on the i8th of July, 1865. He then returned to
Pennsylvania, and in the same year removed
with his wife to Iowa, locating in Independence,
where he continued to reside for the ensuing fif-
teen years, being there engaged in the manufac-
turing of wagons, making and losing ten thou-
sand dollars.

On the 20th of May, 1881, Mr. Dale made
his advent in what is now the town of Mellette.
South Dakota, with a strong heart and light
purse to start life anew, being the first settler,
and in the following fall, October 4th, he here
opened a grocery store, the only store within
ten miles, which he conducted until January.
1883, when he sold out his groceries and put in a
stock of hardware, in which line he has ever since
continued, now having a commodious and well-
equipped store and warehouse, and carrying a full
line of heavy and shelf hardware, tinware, stoves,
etc., as well as agricultural implements and ma-
chinery. He has the unqualified confidence and
esteem of the people of the community and thus
hf'.s his business prosperity established on a firm
foundation, controlling a large and representative
trade. It was not until about two months after
his settling here that another resident came tn

the little frontier village which was represented
by only one or two buildings at that time. In
December, 1881, J\Ir. Dale was appointed post-
master of the place, and has ever since served
in this capacity save for an interim of four years,
during the second administration of President
Cleveland. He has taken a most prominent part
in the development and civic progress of the vil-
lage and county, and is one of their most hon-
ored and popular citizens. He is identified with
the Grand Army of the Republic and the Ma-
sonic fraternity, besides a number of insurance
fraternities, and in politics he is a stalwart ad-
vocate of the principles and policies of the Re-
publican party. He is treasurer of the Old Set-
tlers' Association of Spink county and takes an
active interest in its affairs.

In Pennsylvania, on the 22d of May, 1864.
was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Dale to Miss
Susan Snover. who was born and reared in
Wayne county, that state, and of their children
we record that Mark died at the age of twenty-
seven years ; Lucy is the wife of J. L. Mead, the
subject's partner in the hardware store and busi-
ness ; and Bertha remains beneath the parental
roof. The family are all members of the Episco-
pal church and Mr., Dale was for a number of
years one of the vestry of the St. James church
at Independence, Iowa, although he never united
with the church but took an active interest in its
welfare and supported it in every way possible.

JOEL WHITNEY GOFF, A. M.. who oc-
cupies the chair of English in the South Dakota
State Normal School at Madison, is a native of
the old Pine Tree state and a scion of families
early settled in New England, where was cradled
so much of our national history. He was born
on a farm near Sangerville, Piscataquis county.
Maine, on the i6th of October, 1861, being a son
of Edward and Elizabeth (Spaulding) Gofif. the
former a farmer and lumberman by occupation.
Professor Goff has but meager data of absolutely
authentic order as applying to the remote gene-
alogy, but it is known that the ancestry in the ag-
natic line was of English and Irish extraction.

1064

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

while on the maternal side the lineage is traced
to Scotch and English forbears. The paternal
ancestors came to the new world in the early
colonial epoch and settled in New Hampshire and
Maine, while representatives of the name were
valiant soldiers in the Continental line during the
war of the Revolution. Many followed a sea-
faring life, and records extant indicate that for
several generations the love of travel, and partic-
ularly of the sea, was strongly evidenced by the
sturdy men of this stock. The parents of the
subject are now dead. To them were born three
children, of whom all are still living.

The early educational advantages enjoyed by
the subject were such as were afforded in the
public schools of Sangerville, Maine, after leav-
ing which he continued his studies for one year in
Foxcroft Academy, at Foxcroft, that state. La-
ter he was for two years a student in the Maine
Central Institute, at Pittsfield. being there grad-
uated as a member of the class of 1882. In 1882
he was matriculated in Bates College, at Lewis-
ton, where he completed the classical course, being
graduated in June, 1886, with the degree of Bach-
elor of Arts, while in i88g his alma mater con-
ferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts.
It may be said that Professor Gofif passed his
boyhood and early youth on the parental farm-
stead, three miles distant from the village of
Sangerville, and he early became imbued with
a distaste for the drudgery of farm life, while
he was equally appreciative of the value of an
education and had the self-reliance and determin-
ation to carry him forward to the coveted goal.
Through the generous sacrifice of his parents he
was enabled to prepare himself for college, and
thereafter certain frienrls of the young man
had sufficient confidence in him to advance the
funds requisite to supplement his own earnings
to a sufficient degree to enable him to complete
his collegiate course. He labored zealously to
attain the desired end, teaching school during the
winter terms and working on farms during the
summer vacations. After his graduation Pro-
fessor Goff forthwith turned his attention to
teaching, finding this the most expedient method
of earning the money with which to discharge

his indebtedness and being also animated with a
distinctive love of the work. During the first
year after his graduation he held the position of
principal of Monmouth Academy, at Monmouth,
Maine, and at the end of the school year he made
a trip to South Dakota, for the purpose of rec-
reation and in order to see what he could of the
great west. The greater portion of the time was
given to the study of law and the next year he
accepted the principalship of the Anson Academy,
at North Anson, ]\Iaine. At the end of the year
he was elected to his present position as profes-
sor of English in the South Dakota State Normal
School, and he has thus been identified with the
institution in this capacity for the past fifteen
vears, contributing materially to the prestige of
the school and to the advancement of its interests
and the efficiency of its work, while he is held in
aflfectionate regard by the many students who
have been trained under his able direction. Pro-
fessor Goff has an attractive home in Madison
and is also the owner of valuable farming land
in Lake county. In politics he has ever been a
stanch advocate of the principles of the Repub-
lican party, and while he has never sought or
desired official preferment he has been an active
worker in the party cause, having served for
several years as ciiairman of the Republican cen-
tral committee of Lake county, while he also rep-
resented the county on the state central commit-
tee for two years. He is liberal in his religious
views and is not formally identified with any
church organizations, his opinions being essen-
tially in harmony with the basic tenets of the Uni-
tarian church. The Professor was initiated into
the time-honored Masonic fraternity in the spring
of 1887, when he became an entered apprentice
in Monmouth Lodge, No. no. Free and Accepted
Masons, at Monmouth, Maine, in which he was
passed to the degree of fellowcraft, after which
he was duly raised to the Master's degree and
with which he is still affiliated. He has advanced
through the various grades and attained the thir-
ty-second degree of Scottish Rite IMasonry, be-
ing identified with Oriental Consistory, in the
city of Yankton.

On the 22d of June. 1892, Professor Goff

HISTORY OK SOUTH DAKOTA.

1065

was united in marriage to Miss Frances Shaw,
who was born near Cresco, Howard county,
Iowa, being a daughter of James and Ella Em-
mons Shaw, who are now residents of Madison,
South Dakota. Mrs. GofiE was a pupil in the
State Normal School, where she was graduated
as a member of the class of 1890, and while
there she formed the acquaintance of her future
husband, who was one of her instructors. Prior
to her marriage she was for one year a teacher
in the public schools at DeSmet, this state, and
one year in her alma mater, the normal school.
Professor and Mrs. Goff have three children,
namely : Charles Sheldon, who was born on the
5th of June, 1894; Margaret, born February i,
1897; and Edward Shaw, February 2, 1901.

Our subject is quite frequently called upon
to deliver public addresses on educational and
other topics and to thus appear before various
organizations. In the spring of 1903 he was se-
lected as one of the three judges of delivery at
the annual meeting of the Northern Oratorical
League, held in the city of Minneapolis, this
league comprising the great universities of the
central and northwestern states, including Chi-
cago University, the Northwestern, the Iowa,
Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Oberlin
College.

WILLIAM B. VALENTINE comes of
stanch English stock and is a native of the city
of Buffalo, New York, where he was born on
the 31st of March, 1836, being one of the eight
children of George and Anna (Mee) Valentine,
while all except one are yet living. Eliza is a
widow and resides in Cincinnati, Ohio; Sarah is
the wife of John M. Cooper, of St. Louis, Mis-
souri; William B. is the subject of this sketch;
Elizabeth, a maiden lady, resides in St. Louis, as
does also Lucy, who is the wife of William N.
Graves; Albert is engaged in building and con-
tracting in Tuscola county, Michigan ; ' and
Helen is the wife of Byron Bailey, of Cincin-
nati. The parents were both born in Boston,
England, whence they came to America with
their respective parents when they were children,

both having been reared and educated in Buffalo,
New York, where their marriage was solem-
nized. John Valentine, grandfather of the sub-
ject, was a man of means and became an in-
fluential and prominent citizen of Buffalo, where
both he and his wife died. John Valentine learned
the trade of mason in his native city and was a
man of marked intellectuality and business
ability. He was engaged in contracting and
building in Buffalo until 1867, when he removed
to Michigan, locating in Bay City, which was
then a village of two or three thousand, and
there he continued to reside about five years, at
the expiration of which he removed to Fair
Grove, Tuscola county, that state, where he con-
tinued to make his home until his death, which
occurred in 1886, at which time he had attained
the venerable age of eighty years. In politics he
was originally an old-line Whig, but upon the
organization of the Republican party he espoused
its cause and ever afterward remained a stalwart
adherent of the same, taking an active part in
forwarding the party interests but never aspir-
ing to official preferment. His religious faith
was that of the Adventists and he afterward be-
came a Baptist. His first wife, the mother of
the subject, died in 1849, and he later married
Mrs. Ann Dove, no children being born of this
union.

William B. Valentine, whose name initiates
this sketch, was reared to maturity in Buffalo,
New York, and received his educational training
m the common schools, while in his youth he
learned the trade of mason under the effective
direction of his father and became a skilled and
able contractor and builder. Upon attaining
maturity he; left the parental roof and went to
Ohio, where he remained one season, being en-
gaged in the work of his trade. He then re-
turned home, where he remained for a short
time and then took up his residence in Flint,
Michigan, where he engaged in contracting and
building, to which important line of enterprise
he has ever since given his undivided attention,
having had to do with the construction of many
large structures of both public and private order
and having been long recognized as one of the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

leading contracting builders of South Dakota.
He remained in Flint about four years and then
went to Bay City, where he continued in his
chosen vocation about eight years, having
erected the first brick building in that now at-
tractive and populous city, where he continued to
make his home until 1870, when he came to
Yankton as one of the pioneers in his line, and
here he erected the first brick building to be put
up in the place, while it may be said without
fear of contradiction that he has erected more
than one-half of the principal buildings in the
city. In politics Mr. Valentine is a stalwart ad-
vocate of the principles of the Republican party,
and he served for six years as a member of
the board of county commissioners, while for
four years he was a member of the city council,
in each of which incumbencies his efforts and
advice proved of marked value and met with
appreciative approval. He also was for one year
a member of the board of trustees of the state
hospital for the insane, which is located in his
home city. Mr. Valentine is not formally
identified with anv religious organization, but
his family are members of the Congregational
church.

On the loth of November, 1863, Mr. Valen-
tine was united in marriage to Miss Elfrida E.
Mathias, who was born in Woolwich, England,
and of this union have been born four children,
namely : Florence E., who remains at the par-
ental home ; Gipsy E., who is the wife of Leon
J. Potter, of Chicago, Illinois; Dr. Everett M.,
who is a practicing dentist of Yankton ; and
Oiarles H. A., who is a successful contractor
and builder of Phoenix, Arizona.

REV. HENRY KIMBALL WARREN, M.
A., LL.D., president of Yankton College and
known as one of the leading educators of the
state, was born in Cresco, Howard county, Iowa,
on the 31st of May, 1858, being a son of Chaun-
cey J. and Mary A. (Kimball) Warren, whose
two other children arc Alice M., who is the wife
of Rev. Arthur H. Claflin, of Allegheny, Penn-
sylvania, and Harriet L., who is the wife of Wil-

liam H. Davisson, assistant chief engineer of the
Rock Island Railroad, with headquarters in the
city of Chicago. Chauncey J. Warren was born
in Watertown, New York, on the ist of August,
1 83 1, and when he was about seven years of age
his parents removed to northern Indiana, becom-
ing pioneers of that section, where his father de-
veloped a farm in the midst of the forest wilds.
Thus the father of the subject was reared under
the conditions of the pioneer epoch, implying
that his educational advantages were somewhat
limited in scope and that a full quota of arduous
labor fell to his portion in his youthful days.
After his marriage he removed to Cresco, How-
ard county, Iowa, where he engaged in farming.
He there continued to reside until 1861. when he
returned to Middlebury, Elkhart county, Indiana,
and purchased his father's old homestead farm,
to whose cultivation he gave his attention until
1865, when he disposed of the property and re-
moved to Ionia county, ?ilichigan, purchasing a
farm near the village of Portland, where he con-
tinued in agricultural pursuits until 1872, when
he took up his residence in the village, where he
engaged in the operation of saw and planing
mills and in the manufacture of the products in-
cidental to the same. At the present time he is
devoting his attention to the manufacture of an
improved type of washing machines, still retain-
ing his residence in Portland. In politics he is
a stanch advocate of the principles and policies
of the Republican party, and he and his wife are
both earnest and active members of the Congre-
gational church.

Henry K. Warren, the immediate subject of
this sketch, acquired his early education in the
public schools, completing a course in the high
school at Portland, Michigan. In 1876 he was
matriculated in Olivet College, at Olivet, that
state, where he was graduated in the spring of
1882, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts,
while three years later his alma mater conferred
upon him the Master's degree. After his gradu-
ation Dr. Warren turned his attention to the ped-
agogic profession, in which his work during the
intervening years has been attended with most
gratifying success. He was ordained a clergy-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1067

man of the Congregational church at Neligh, Ne-
braska, in the year 1893, and the degree of Doc-
tor of Laws was conferred upon him by OHvet
College, in 1902. The Doctor was principal of
the public schools at Mount Pleasant. Isabella
county, Michigan, during the years 1882-3, and
from the latter year until 1889 he held the posi-
tion of superintendent of the public schools of
Hannibal, Missouri. He was then called to the
presidency of Gates College, at Neligh, Ne-
braska, retaining this incumbency until 1894, and
for the ensuing year he was president of Salt
Lake College, at Salt Lake City, Utah. He re-
signed this position in 1895 to accept his pres-
ent incumbency as president of Yankton College,
while his labors here have been such as to add
further to his high reputation as an able and dis-
criminating educator, the college having been
eminently prosperous during his administration.
In politics the Doctor is a Republican, taking a
lively interest in the issues of the day, and fra-
ternally he is a member of Yankton Lodge, No.
loi, Ancient Order of LTnited Workmen.

On the 25th of December, 1883, was solem-
nized the marriage of Dr. Warren to Miss Lillian
Hamilton, of Sturgis, Michigan, and they are the
parents of three children, Howard H., Ruth K.
and Robert H., all of whom remain at the pa-
rental home, which is a center of gracious and
refined hospitality.

F. D. WYMx\N is the scion of one of the
oldest families in the United States, the history
of his ancestry being traceable m an unbroken
line to Lieutenant John Weyman (as the name
was originally spelled), a tanner by trade, the
date of whose marriage, in November, 1644,
appears on the old official records of Middlesex
county, Massachusetts, preserved in the archives
of Woburn, that state. Of the preceding history
of this ancestor nothing definite is known, but
from the most reliable infonnation obtainable
he subsequently appears to have been a man of
considerable consequence in his community, and,
from his title, to have been connected with the
early military service of the colony. Among his

immediate descendants was a son by the name of
Jacob, who also became a tanner and who
spent his life in his native town of Woburn. A
son of Jacob Weyman, also Jacob by name, was
born at the above place, September 11, 1688,
but of him little is known beyond the fact of his
having married, and reared sons and daughters,
one of the former being Daniel, who for a num-
ber of years operated a saddlery shop at Sud-
bury, Massachusetts, and who afterwards served
from 1757 to 1759, inclusive, as a sergeant in the
French and Indian war. His son, Daniel, Jr.,
born at Sudbury, was a millwright and builder,
also a soldier, having joined the American army
at the age of nineteen and taken part in Arnold's
ill-starred invasion of Canada, during the early
part of the Revolution. This Daniel married
and reared a family, among his sons being one
who was also given the name of Daniel, and who,
like his father, became a millwright and builder
Joseph Weyman, son of the third Daniel, was a
soldier in the war of 181 2, and for a livelihood
followed the same pursuits as did his father and
grandfather before him, working at his trades
for a number of years in Schoharie, New York.
David Weyman, son of Joseph, and father of
the subject of this review, was born in New
York, removed with his parents when a child to
Crown Point, that state, and, when a y-oung man,
took up the trades to which h's ancestors had for
so long a period devoted their attention, to-wit,
building and equipping of mills. He followed
his chosen calling in his native state until about
the year 1844, when he removed to Walworth
county, Wisconsin, where in addition to the
manufacttire of flour he carried on farming.
Subsequently, 1865, he disposed of his interests
in Walworth county, and took up his residence
in Schuyler county, Missouri, where he devoted
his attention chiefly to agricultural pursuits, until
his death, which occurred on the 21st day of
January, 1 871. He was a man of intelligence
and good judgment, successful in his business
affairs and a most estimable citizen. In politics
he was a Republican and an active party worker
and in religion he subscribed to the Baptist faith
and for manv vears was an earnest and sincere

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

member of the church. The maiden name of
]\Irs. David W'eyman was Betsy M. Braley ; she
bore her husband eight children, the following
being the living representatives of the family :
Mrs. Hickox, of Ocola, Iowa; F. D., of this
review; Mrs. Adelia Murphy, of Frederick,
Kansas, and J. Henry, who lives at St. Charles,
Iowa.

F. D. WATiian was born in Essex county,
New York, on the 14th of June, 1841. He en-
joyed the advantages of a common-school edu-
cation, and after remaining with his parents until
nineteen years of age, severed home ties and
taught for one year at Byron, Illinois. He then
worked his way as far as Des Moines, Iowa,
supporting himself and paying his e>^penses by
teaching vocal music at his various stopping
places, and to this manner of life he gave his
attention until the breaking out of the great
Civil war, when he tendered his services to his
country in its time of need. In August, 1861,
he enlisted in Company K, Eighth Wisconsin
Volunteer Infantry, with which he bravely and
honorably served until August, 1865, a period
of three years, during which time he took part
in some of the most celebrated campaigns of the
rebellion, participating in thirty-three battles,
among the more notable of which were Fort
Donelson, Shiloh, the two engagements at Cor-
inth, the various battles of the Red River ex-
pedition, siege of Vicksburg, Chattanooga,
Nashville, Tuscumbia, luka and many others, to
say nothing of skirmishes and minor engage-
ments. The regiment to which Mr. Wyman be-
longed gained a national reputation on account
of the live eagle, "Old Abe," which was carried
at his head during the war, and which, stuffed,
has since been preserved as an interesting and
priceless war relic in the state house at Madi-
son, Wisconsin.

Mr. Wyman was mustered out of the service
at Uniontown, Alabama, but, unlike the great
majority of his comrades and Union soldiers gen-
erally, he did not return home, choosing rather
to remain in the south, where he felt convinced
money could be made raising cotton, for which
there was such a great demand immediatelv fol-

lowing the war. Locating in Perry county, Ala-
bama, he at once engaged in cotton culture, and
in addition thereto soon became interested in
the public affairs of that section of the state. He
had a varied and interesting experience, and dur-
ing his six years' residence in the south was
honored with several important official positions,
in all of which he acquitted himself worthily
and won the esteem and confidence of the peo-
ple. He served two years in the state senate,
where he made a creditable record, and was also
elected superintendent of the Perry county pub-,
lie schools. While serving in the latter capacity,
he organized the local educational system, in-
troduced many reforms and valuable modern in-
novations, secured teachers of recognized pro-
fessional ability from the north, and before the
expiration of his term placed the schools upon
the solid and successful basis which they have
ever since enjoyed. Mr. Wyman also held the
office of revenue assessor while a resident of
Alabama, discharging the duties of the same
about two years, and for the same length of time
served as sheriff of Perry county, resigning the
latter position in 1 871, when he moved to Schuy-
ler county, Missouri. After living about two
and a half years in the latter state, Mr. Wyman,
in the fall of 1873, came to South Dakota, bring-
ing with him a herd of horses for the Yankton
market. Choosing this city for his permanent
location, he at once began buying and shipping
live stock on quite an extensive scale, and in
connection therewith also opened a meat market
which soon became the leading establishment of
the kind in the place. To him belongs the credit
of shipping the first carload of cattle that ever
left Yankton by rail and he has since followed
the business with a large measure of success
financially, being still engaged in the handling of
live stock of all kinds, also running a meat
market, the patronage of which has steadily in-
creased with the city's growth. In addition to
the enterprises noted, he has large agricultural
interests in the vicinity of Yankton.

Mr. Wyman has been an unswerving suppor-
ter of the Republican party ever since old enougli
to exercise the right of franchise, and it was in

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1069

recognition of his valuable services as an organ-
izer, manager and leader as well as by reason of
his personal qualifications, that he was honored
with the several official positions referred to in
preceding paragraphs. In September, 1898, he
was appointed steward of the State Hospital for
tlie Insane at Yankton and held the office for one
year, when a change of administration caused
his removal with that of others connecteil with
the institution. Subsequently, however, in the
spring of 1901, he was reappointed to the same
position, and since that time has attended closely
to his line of dut\', his official course being
straightforward, business-like, eminently hon-
orable, and above the slightest suspicion of any-
thing savoring of disrepute. In 1886 Mr. Wy-
man was elected sheriff of Yankton county and
served as such for a period of six years, having
been twice chosen his own successor. In 1894 he
was sent to the general assembly and served dur-
ing the exciting session of that year, taking an
active part in all the deliberations of the body,
working on important committees, besides intro-
ducing bills which, becoming laws, have had a
decided influence in promoting the interests of
the state. He fs a member of Phil Kearney
Post, No. 2,y. Grand Army of the Republic, also
belonging to the Knights of Pythias and the Mod-
ern Woodmen of America.

While a resident of the south. Mr. Wyman,
in 1866, married a cultured southern lady by the
name of Miss Mattie C. Robertson, a representa-
tive of an old and popular family of Uniontown,
Alabama. To this marriage six children have
been born, only three of whom are living,
namely: Mattie M., wife of F. A. Klopping, of
Yankton ; Albert Lee, a prominent attorney of
the same city, and Lute A., who is engaged in
buying and shipping stock at this point.

ELIJAH P. FOWLER is a native of New
York, born in the city of Rochester, September
25, 1844. He spent about eight' years of his
bovhood in Massachusetts, where he attended
school, and he also pursued his studies for some
time in the state of his birth, remaining in the

latter until entering the army as a member of
the Fourth New York Artillery, in the year
1863. He shared with his comrades the vicissi-
tudes of war in the Virginia campaigns, under
General Hancock, and participated in a number
of hard-fought battles and minor engagements,
serving with an honorable record until the sur-
render of the Confederacy, at Appomattox. Mr.
Fowler was mustered out at Washington City
in 1865, and after spending several months at
home went the following spring to Virginia City,
Montana, near which place he devoted his at-
tention to prospecting and mining until 1873,
meeting with varied success the meantime. In
the latter >'ear he went to Nevada, after
which spending about eight months in the
Eureka and other mining camps, traveled
over different parts of the country until 1875,
when he returned to New York and engaged in
the nursery business about five miles from his
native city of Rochester.

After a brief experience in that industry Mr.
Fowler again became animated by a strong de-
sire to go west ; accordingly in the spring of the
following year he disposed of his nursery in-
terest and went to Nevada, thence after a brief
period to California, and from the latter state
came to the Black Hills, in the early part of
1877, ^"d engaged in prospecting in the vicinity
of Deadwood. Two years later he went to Min-
nesota and purchased cattle, which he drove
through to the Belle Fourche river, where
he began his career in the live-stock busi-
ness and in which locality he prosecuted
the enterprise with very encouraging success
for a considerable length of time. Later
he bought cattle in Texas, but in the winter of
1886-7 suffered quite heavy loss on account of
the death of a large number of his animals, also
encountered severe financial embarrassment the
following spring in the destruction of a large
part of his property in Central City, by fire.

In the winter of 1887, shortly after the lay-
ing out of Whitewood, Mr. Fowler bought land
adjoining the town site, which he surveyed into
lots and made an addition to the original plat.
With the growth of the town these lots found

1070

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ready purchasers, and from their sale he realized
handsome profits on the original investment.
The following year he opened a general store in
the new town and within a comparatively short
time was at the head of a large and profitable
business which he continued with encouraging
success until September, 1902, when he sold out
his establishment, at that time being the principal
mercantile house in the place. After his severe
financial reverses in 1887, ]\Ir. Fowler discon-
tinued the live-stock business for several years,
but in 1899 he again engaged in cattle raising,
running his herds during the several years fol-
lowing at Slim Buttes, Butte county. Later,
however, he disposed of his live stock and turned
his attention to other pursuits, principally real
estate, in which he still deals quite extensively,
owning at this time large and valuable tracts of
grazing and farm lands in the vicinity of White-
wood, also desirable lots in the town, besides
private property of no small magnitude. Mr.
Fowler owns one of the finest residences in
Whitewood and has spared no reasonable ex-
pense in beautifying and adorning the same. Be-
lieving in using good things of this world to
enhance comfort and happiness, he has supplied
his place with modern conveniences and many of
the lu.xuries of life, thus providing liberally for
those dependent upon him and making his home
noted for the hospitality which pervades its pre-
cincts.

Mr. Fowler is an earnest supporter of the
Republican party, and wields a strong influence
in political circles; he was elected in 1890 and
re-elected in 1892, to represent Lawrence county
in the general assembly. His record as a legis-
lator is an honorable one, as he labored faith-
fully for the good of his constituency and for
the best interests of the state. Fraternally, he is
identified with the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, aside from which he gives counte-
nance and support to charities and benevolence, is-
respective of name or order.

Mr. Fowler, on August 23, 1880, was mar-
ried, in Central City, to Miss Augusta Larsen,
who has borne him seven children, viz: Mabel,
Arthur G., Elmer P., Emmit Willis, Walter E.,

Lester and Cora A., all living but Cora and
Arthur. The last named departed this life on
the 13th of May, 1903, at the age of twenty
years. Cora was the oldest, being born May
23, 1881, and died August 23, 1883.

JACOB P. RESNER, cashier of the bank
of Scotland, Bon Homme county, was
born in Plotzk, South Russia, on the 14th
of March. 1863, being a son of Andrew
and Anna ^l. (Lyer) Resner, of whose
two children he is the elder, the other
being Dr. Andrew K., who is a successful practic-
ing physician at Planning, Iowa. The father
of the subject was a native of Wurtemberg, Ger-
many, where he was reared to the life of a farmer,
continuing to there devote his attention to this
great basic industry until 1877, when he emi-
grated with his family to the United States,
spending a short interval in the state of Iowa
and thence coming directly to the territory of
Dakota, locating in Hutchinson county, where
he entered claim to three quarter sections of land,
under the homestead, pre-emption and tree-cul-
ture acts, respectively, and here he has ever since
continued to make his home, having improved
his land and placed it under a high state of culti-
vation and having thus contributed to the devel-
opment of the resources of the great state of
South Dakota. He has been successful in his la-
bors and is now one of the representative and
substantial citizens of Hutchinson county. He
is a Republican in politics antl has held various
local offices of public trust, ever retaining the
confidence of his fellow men. His devoted and
cherished wife died in the fatherland, in 1869,
and he later married Miss Caroline Stortz, and
they are the parents of four children, Daniel and
John, who reside in Scotland, Bon Homme
county : Emanuel, who remains at the parental
home; and Mary, who is the wife of L. W.
Hoffman, of the village of Scotland.

Jacob P'. Resner, to whom this sketch is dedi-
cated, was about eight years of age at the time
of ' his father's emigration from Germany to
.•\merica, and he received his education in both

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1071

German and English, having prosecuted his stud-
ies in the pubHc schools of South Dakota after
the family here took up their abode. That he
made good use of the advantages thus accorded
is shown in the fact that he was for three years
successfully engaged in teaching in the district
schools of Hutchinson county prior to his mar-
riage, which occurred in 1885. After his mar-
riage he settled on a quarter section of land in
that county, having secured the same as a pre-
emption claim, proving up on the property after
attaining his legal majority. He made good im-
provements on his farm and devoted his atten-
tion to its cultivation for four years, at the ex-
piration of which he removed to Scotland, in the
adjoining county of Bon Homme, to accept the
position of treasurer and manager of the Farm-
ers' Elevator Company. He retained this incum-
bency two years and then purchased the eleva-
tor of the company, continuing its proprietor
for the ensuing seven years, when he disposed of
the property and became manager of the eleva-
tors here owned by the Spencer Grain Company.
;in important corporation engaged in the hand-
ling of grain throughout this section. He re-
mained with this concern three years, during
which time he was also individually engaged in
the real-estate business, having his office on Main
street in the village of Scotland. He continued
in the real-estate business after severing his con-
nection with the company mentioned and also
accepted a position as manager of the local inter-
ests of Shannerd Brothers, extensive grain buy-
ers of Bridgewater, this state. In August, 1902,
Mr. Resner accepted the position of cashier of the
Bank of Scotland, one of the solid and popular
monetary institutions of this section, and he has
since continued to give most discriminating serv-
ice in this important executive office, gaining to
the bank new prestige and handling its aflfairs
with marked ability and to the entire satisfaction
of its stockholders. Shannerd Brothers were most
reluctant to dispense with his services and finally
prevailed upon Mr. Resner to continue in their
employ as manager of their interests in this sec-
tion, and the details of the business he now as-
signs principally to a deputy, though maintain-

ing a general supervision of all transactions. The
political support of the subject is given in an
unqualified way to the Republican party, of
whose principles he is a stanch advocate, having
been prominent in political affairs in a local way
for a number of years past. He served four
years as a member of the village council and for
the past six years has been a valued member of
the board of education, while for three years he
was incumbent of the office of village assessor
and is in tenure of this office at the time of this
writing. His religious faith is that of the Ger-
man Congregational church, of which both he
and his wife are zealous members, and he is prom-
inently identified with the Masonic fraternity,
being affiliated with Scotland Lodge, No. 52, Free
and Accepted Masons ; Scotland Chapter, No.
31, Royal Arch Masons: Yankton Commandery,
Knights Templar ; and Yankton Consistory, No.
I, of. the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, at
Yankton. He also holds membership in Security
Lodge, No. 48, Knights of Pythias, and Scotland
Camp, No. 977. Modern Woodmen of America.
On the 14th of December, 1885, Mr. Resner
was united in marriage to Miss Christina Red-
mann, of Yankton county, whither her parents
emigrated from Russia in 1873. Of this union
have been born seven children, namely : Edward,
William, Julius. Amerlia. Lydia, Bertha and Ar-
thur.

CHESTER C. TORRENCE is a native of
the state of Iowa, having been born in Jones
county, on the 13th of April, 1873, the fourth
in order of birth of the six children of Adam
C. and Almira J. (Rooney) Torrence. Of. the
children we enter brief record as follows : George
A. is a resident of Bon Homme county and is
associated with our subject in the management
of the old homestead farm and in the cattle busi-
ness ; Cora B. is the wife of Frank Cole, of
York county, Virginia : Nellie M. is deceased ;
Chester C. is the immediate stibject of this
sketch ; David M. is assistant to the subject in
the postoffice ; and Giarles is deceased. Adam
C. Torrence was born in Fairfield county, Ohio,

I072

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

on the 27th of August, 1840, and in 1849 ^^^ ac-
companied his parents on their removal to Tama
county, Iowa, where he was reared to manhood,
receivinof a good common-school education. In
1861 he tendered his services in defense of the
Union, enlisting as a private in Company B,
Ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with which he
proceeded to the front, remaining in the service
three and one-half years, or until the close of
the war, his regiment having served under both
Sherman and Grant, while the history of the
Ninth Iowa is the record of his gallant military
career 'as a true and loyal son of the republic.
After the close of the war he returned to Iowa,
and after his marriage located on a farm in
Jones county, where he continued to reside until
1883, when he came to South Dakota and pur-
chased a farm three miles east of the town of
Bon Homme, in the county of the same name.
In i8g8 he removed to Montana and later to
Idaho, which is now his home, while he is de-
voting his attention to fruit culture. He is a
Republican in politics and both he and his wife
are exemplary members of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, while fraternally he is a valued
member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
He is a man of influence in his community but
has never sought the honors of public office of
any order. Elmira J- (Rooney) Torrence was
born in Warren county, Indiana, on the 27th of
September. 1843, and she accompanied her par-
ents on their removal to Jones county, Iowa, in
1850, being there reared and educated, and thus
both the Torrence and Rooncy families are to be
noted as having been pioneers of the favored
state of Iowa.

Chester C. Torrence, whose name initiates
this article, received his early educational train-
ing in the public schools of his native county in
Iowa and was about ten years of age at the time
of the family removal to South Dakota. As
earh^ as his fourteenth year he began to depend
upon his own resources, being a boy of marked
energy and ambition, while his self-reliance
I)rompted him to jirove his mettle, and he worked
on farms or at such other occupations as he
could secure. For nearlv six vears he devoted

his attention to the drilling of artesian wells in
various portions of South Dakota, being suc-
cessful in his efforts and being careful to con-
serve his financial resources. In 1900 he located
in Tabor and engaged in the buying and shipping
of live stock and .grain, in wdiich connection he
has shown much business tact and acumen and
has met with unqualified success. In June,
1901, he was appointed postmaster of the town,
and in 1902 he here established a local telephone
exchange, which he still owns and operates, the
same being of great benefit to the town through
the facilities which it offers. For the past two
years, he has also served as deputy sheriff of
the county, while in politics he is a stanch ad-
vocate of the principles and policies of the Re-
publican party, and fraternally is identified with
Tabor Camp, No. 9087, Modern Woodmen of
America, and Canton Lodge of Home Guard-
ians. He is held in high esteem in the com-
munity and is known as one of the energetic and
progressive young business men of the county.
On the 1st of February, 1903, Mr. Torrence
was united in marriage to Miss H. Emma Cooley.
daughter of Hon J- P. Cooley, of Bon Homme
countv.

ADRIAN L. FISH, the able and popular
clerk of the courts of Bon Homme county, was
born in Adel, Dallas county, Iowa, on the 15th
of November, 1867, being a son of Abner K. and
Margaret E. (Wallace) Fish, of whose five chil-
dren he is the eldest of the four surviving, the
others being as follows : Oliver, who is a resident
of Good Springs, Nevada ; Lillian, who is the
wife of James Farran, of Sioux City, Iowa; and
Alice, who remains at the parental home. Abner
K. Fish was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, in
the year 1845, and when he was a boy he accom-
paiiied his parents on their removal to Iowa,
where he was reared to maturity. His father,
Abner H. Fish, was one of the pioneer settlers
of Dallas county, that state, where lie took up
government land and engaged in farming, becom-
ing one of the prominent citizens of that section.
He lived to attain a patriarchal age, having died

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1073

in the home of his son, Peter Fish, in the city of
Chicago, at the age of ninety-eight years, having
been a resident of Chicago about twenty years
prior to his demise. The father of our subject
enlisted for service in the Union army in 1863,
lieing at the time eighteen years of age and go-
ing as a substitute for an elder brother, who had
been drafted. He served until the close of the
Rebellion, under command of General Sherman,
and soon after his return to Iowa he was married,
and he there continued to devote his attention to
agricultural pursuits until 1873, when he came
tn Union county. South Dakota, which was yet
a portion of the undivided territory of Dakota,
and here he purchased a tract of land near Elk
Point, where he continued to be engaged in farm-
ing and stock growing until 1881, when he re-
moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where he engaged in
the coal and wood business. In 1891 he removed
thence to Texas county, Missouri, where he has
ever since been engaged in the culture of fruit,
being one of the honored and successful citizens
of that locality. He is a stalwart Republican
in his political proclivities and is a member of the
Grand Army of the Republic.

Adrian L. Fish, whose name initiates this
sketch, secured his preliminary education in the
public schools of his native county, and he then
entered the normal school at LeMars, Iowa,
where he was graduated as a member of the class
of 1889. He later attended the university at Ver-
million, South Dakota, for two years, and in 1890
he took a business course in the University of the
Xorthwest, at Sioux City. Iowa. As early as his
nineteenth year he inaugurated his efforts as a
teacher in the public schools, and through his
efforts in the pedagogic profession he earned the
funds which enabled him to complete his collegi-
ate work. In 1891 he entered the law office of
Carter & Brown, of Sioux City, and under their
preceptorship continued the technical reading of
the law about two years, becoming well grounded
in the principles of the science of jurisprudence.
In the spring of 1892 he came to Tyndall, South
Dakota, and here was associated for one year
with P. W. Smith, in the abstract business. At
the expiration of this time he was appointed dep-

uty register of deeds for Bon Homme county,
in which capacity he rendered most efficient serv-
ice for the ensuing four years, and in 1897 he
was elected to his present responsible and exact-
ing office of clerk of the courts, in which he has
since served consecutively, which fact indicates
the appreciative estimate placed upon his services.
He was elected for a fourth term in the autumn
election of 1902. In politics he accords an un-
faltering allegiance to the Republican party, tak-
ing an active interest in the cause and contribut-
ing to the furtherance of the same in a local way.
His religious faith is that of the Congregational
church, of v/hich his wife likewise is a devoted
member, and fraternally he is identified with
Tyndall Lodge, No. 95, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows ; Istaska Tribe, No. 32, Improved
Order of Red Men : and Tyndall Camp, No. 2463,
Modern Woodmen of America.

Oji the 31st of October, 1892, Mr. Fish was
united in marriage to Miss Alice Benbow, of
Sheldon, Iowa, and of their four children two are
living. Warren D. and Francis F.

JOHN H. SANFORD is the owner of a fine
ranch of six hundred and forty acres in Bon
Homme county, while he maintains his business
headquarters and residence in the attractive town
of Tyndall, the county seat. The state of Illi-
nois figures as the place of his nativity, since he
was born in Ogle county, on the 12th of Decem-
ber, 1847, a son of Tared W. and Henrietta fStur-
gis) Sanford, of whose eight children only three
are living at the present time-'— James W., who is
a resident of Santa Clara county. California;
Sarah, who is the wife of ;\^ron Rood, of Pueblo,
Colorado; and John H., who is the subject of
this sketch. Jared Sanford was born in the state
of Connecticut, where he was reared to the sturdy
discipline of the farm and where his marriage was
solemnized. Some time after thus assuming con-
nubial responsibilities he removed to Ogle countv,
Illinois, where he was engaged in farming until
about 1870, when he removed to Missouri and
later to Dickinson county, Kansas, where he
passed the remainder of his life, his death occur-

1074

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ring in 1876, at which time he was seventy-one
years of age. While his vocation in life was
farming, he had distinctive mechanical ability, and
for a number of years he did much work along
this line, in connection with his agricultural oper-
ations, while he was also a successful stock-
grower, our subject having gained his initial ex-
perience in the breeding of stock under' the ef-
fective direction of his father. Jared Sanford was
a stanch Republican in his political proclivities
and he and his wife were zealous members of the
Congregational church, the latter having entered
into eternal rest in 1854, at the age of forty-five
years.

John H. Sanford was reared to farm life and
secured his early educational discipline in the
public schools, supplementing the same by a
course in F. E. Arnold's business college, at Rock- j
ford. Illinois. On attaining his legal majority he i
came into possession of a valuable farm, of one
hundred acres, the same having been a part of his
father's old homestead in Ogle county, Illinois,
and he devoted his attention to the cultivation
of the same until the time of his marriage, which
occurred on the 30th of December, 1869, when
he led to the hymeneal altar Miss Louisa E.
Stone, the only daughter of Joseph and Mary
Stone, of Ogle county. Illinois, and thereafter he
was associated with his father-in-law in the man-
agement of the latter's farm until 1880, while
for a number of years he was extensively engaged
in the buying and shipping of live stock, in which
line of enterprise he was very successful, gain-
ing a knowledge which has made him one of the
best judges of stock to be found in South Dakota.
In 1880 he came to South Dakota and secured a
quarter section of land in Bon Homme county.
He has since added to his landed estate in the
county until he is now the owner of an entire
section, as previously stated, and though the tract
is valuable farming land he devotes his attention
more specially to the cattle industry, being an
extensive feeder of stock and a breeder of reg-
istered cattle and hogs. He has done much to
improve the grade of stock raised in this section
and his finely improved farm shows some of the
finest specimens of cattle and hogs to be found in

the confines of the state. He is progressive and
discriminating in his methods and has been very
successful in his operations since coming to South
Dakota. In politics he gives his support to the
Republican party, but he has never been an as-
pirant for public office. Fraternally he is identified
with Bon Homme Lodge, No. loi, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons. He and his wife are the parents
of one child, Harry Otis, who is a veterinary
surgeon, being successfully established in the
practice of his profession at Tyndall.

JAMES H. DICKSON, one of the leading
citizens of Scotland, Bon ' Homme county, is a
native of the old Empire state, having been born
on a farm in St. Lawrence county. New York,
on the 4th of September, 1844, a son of John and
Catherine (McGregor) Dickson, both of whom
were born in Scotland, of stanch old Scottish
lineage, while both came to America as children,
their respective parents having emigrated to this
country and taken up their abode in the state of
New York. The father of the subject passed
his entire life in the northern part of that state,
where he was a successful farmer. He passed
away at the age of seventy-four years, having
been a man of prominence and influence in his
section and having held various local offices. He
identified himself with the Republican party at
the time of its organization and ever afterwards
remained a stanch advocate of its principles,
while both he and his wife held membership in
the Presbyterian churcli. the, latter having been
summoned into eternal rest at the age of forty-
two years.

The subject was reared under the invigorat-
ing discipline of the home fami and after avail-
ing himself of such advantages as were afforded
in the common schools of the locality and period
he completed a course of study in the Eastman
Business College, at Poughkeepsie, New York.
He continued to assist in the work and manage-
ment of the home farm until he had attained the
age of twenty-three years, when he \vent to the
town of Gouverneur, St. Lawrence county. New
York, where he engaged in the dry-goods busi-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1075

ness in company with George P. Tait, under the
firm name of Tait & Dickson. This partner-
ship continued about five years, at the expiration
of which tlie subject retired from the firm and
engaged in the merchant-tailoring business in
partnership with James Brodie, under the title
of Brodie & Dickson. Four years later, in 1879,
Mr. Dickson established himself in the same line
of enterprise at Adams, Berkshire county,
Massachusetts, being there a member of the
firm of Dickson & Legate. In 1882 he came to
South Dakota and located in Scotland, Bon
Homme county, where he has ever since main-
tained his home. Here he opened a general
mercantile establishment and engaged also in
the buying of grain and hogs, in each of which
lines of enterprise he built up an excellent busi-
ness within a short interval. Upon the com-
pletion of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul
Railroad through this section Mr. Dickson- built
and operated a chain of grain elevators from
Lesterville to Armour and Parkston, while later
he erected a large elevator in Geddes, and
several of these monuments to his enterprising
spirit are still owned and operated by him. He
is a heavy shipper of Iiogs and grain, and in
connection with the latter branch of industry
he handles agricultural implements and coal
in the various towns in which he buys grain.
These statements clearly indicate that he is a
man of affairs and one of marked capacity in
an executive way, but he has proved equal to
meeting all exigencies and is known as a careful,
able and upright business man and as a citizen
of value to the county and state. In 1894 his
mercantile house and stock in Scotland were
entirely destroyed by fire, but a fortnight later
he had installed a new and comprehensive stock
in his present attractive quarters, so that his large
trade suffered but slight interruption.

In politics ]\Ir. Dickson gives an unqualified
allegiance to the Republican party and has been
a prominent figure in its councils in the state,
having been repeatedly a delegate to state and
other conventions, while he has been strongly im-
portuned by his party friends to permit the use
of his name in connection with candidacy for the

state senate, but he has no ambition for official
preferment, realizing that the demands of his
business are exacting and require his undivided
attention and believing that he has discharged
his civic duties in his fforts to promote the cause
of his party and to further the ends of good
governiucnt. He is one of the prominent and
valued members of the Presbyterian church, in
which both he and his wife are zealous workers,
and he has held the ofiice of elder in the church
since the age of twenty-eight years, having
been elected to this office while a resident of
Gouverneur, New York, and having been chosen
incumbent of the same office in Scotland soon
after identifying himself with the church here.
Fraternally he is affiliated with Scotland Camp,
Modern Woodmen of America.

On the 14th of February, 1872, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Dickson to Miss Mary
J. Tait, who was born and reared in Rossie town-
ship, St. Lawrence county, New York, and they
are the parents of one son, Cyrus J., who is as-
sociated with his father in business.

FREDERICK D. WICKS, who is presiding
on the bench of the county court of Bon Homme
county, an incumbency which he has retained for
nearly a decade, is a native of the old Empire
.=tate of the L^nion, having been born in Fort Ed-
ward, Washington county, Xcw York, on the
31st of July, i86fi, and being the youngest of the
seven children of Walter W. and Ellen (Ken-
nedy) Wicks, all of whom survive except one,
a brief record concerning them being as follows :
William E. died at the age of forty-five years;
Mary remains at the parental home; Walter J.
is superintendent of the Indian school at Spring-
field. South Dakota ; Sarah is the wife of James
D. Keeting, a printer and publisher in Fort Ed-
ward, New York; Fannie is the wife of Frank
B. Hall, a successful merchant of Llartford, New
York; Albert H. is a cigar manufacturer and to-
bacconist at Fort Edward, that state ; and Fred-
erick D. is the immediate subject of this sketch.
The parents are still living at the old home in

T076

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Fort Edward, where the father of the subject
has long been engaged in building and contract-
ing. He is a Republican in his political procliv-
ities and both he and his wife are members of the
Episcopal church.

Judge Wicks secured his early educational
training in the public schools of his native town
and later supplemented this discipline by a course
of study in the Fort Edward Collegiate Institute.
In 1886 he began the reading of law in the office
of R. O. Bascom, a prominent member of the bar
of Fort Edward, and under his able preceptor-
ship he continued his technical studies until he be-
came eligible for admission to the bar, gaining this
distinction in 1890. Soon afterward he came to
South Dakota and located in Scotland, where he
established himself in the practice of his chosen
profession. His ability so manifested itself that
his novitiate in his new field of endeavor was of
short duration and he soon took a prominent
place at the bar of the county, while a gratifying
recognition of his personal popularity and his
professional talent came only two years after he
took up his abode in the town, since in 1892 he
was elected county judge, of which important
office he has since remained consecutivelv incum-
bent save for an interim of two years. He has a
distinctively judicial mind, is well poised and im-
partial in his rulings, which are based on a thor-
ough knowledge of the science of jurisprudence
in its various branches, and he has dignified the
bench by his able and discriminating services.
He is also city attorney of Scotland, a position
which he has held for four terms, and he is known
as a skillful advocate and a conservative and able
counsellor. In politics the Tudge gives an un-
wavering allegiance to the Republican partv, in
whose cause he has rendered timelv and efficient
service, and both he and his wife are communi-
cants of the Protestant Episcopal church, while
fraternally he is identified with Scotland Lodge,
No. 52, Free and Accepted Masons ; Scotland
Chapter. No. 31, Royal Arch Masons, and Ori-
ental Consistory, No. i. Ancient Accepted Scot-
tish Rite, in Yankton.

On the I2th of November, 189^, was solem-
nized the marriage of Judge ^^1cks to Aliss Marv

L. Wood, of Springfield, this county. She was
born in Springfield, Bon Homme county, in 1874.
Judge and Mrs. Wicks have three children, Em-
ma, Walter and Ellen.

JOHN L. TURNER, in point of consecutive
identification the oldest merchant in the state of
.South Dakota save for one exception, retaining
his residence and business headquarters in the
attractive town of Springfield, Bon Homme
county, is a scion of a family which has been
identified with the annals of American history
from the early colonial epoch, and is himself a
native of Geneseo, Livingston county. New York,
where he was born on the 26th of August, 1843,
being a son of Lyman and Martha (Lewis) Tur-
ner, of whose five children he is the eldest of the
three surviving, his sisters being I\Iary H., a
maiden lady, residing in New York city, and Isa-
bella L., the wife of Charles S. Pease, of Albany,
New York. The fatlier of the subject was born
in Connecticut, in 1809, his ancestors in the ag-
natic line having emigrated from England to
America in 1648, taking up their abode in the
colony of Massachusetts, whence representatives
later went into Connecticut, where the name be-
came one of prominence, as representative of the
highest order of citizenship. Members of the
family rendered valiant service as Continental
soldiers during the war of the Revolution, and
patriotism and loyalty have been distinguishing
family traits in successive generations. As a
voung man Lvman Turner removed with his
father. Mattlie\' Turner, who was born in 1777.
to New York city, whither an older brother had
preceded them, and after remaining for a short
time in the national metropolis he removed to
Geneseo, that state, wlierc he establishd himself
in the mercantile business. In later years he be-
came extensively engaged in the cattle business
in that section of the Empire state, and was a
member of the company which imported the first
shorthorn cattle into that district. He eventually
retired from mercantile pursuits and devoted his
entire attention to the breeding of blooded live
stock, in which connection he gained a high repu-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

tation, being very successful in his efforts and
becoming- an extensive land owner. He died at
the age of fifty-five years, in the very prime of his
honorable and useful manhood, his demise oc-
curring in 1864. He was originally an old-line
Whig in his political adherency, and espoused the
cause of the Republican party at the time of its
organization, ever afterward remaining a radical
advocate of its principles, though he never sought
ofificial preferment. He and his wife were com-
municants of the Protestant Episcopal church and
were persons of sterling character, retaining the
high regard of all who knew them. The mother
of the subject entered into the eternal life in 1861,
at the age of forty-two years.

John L. Turner remained at the parental home
until he had attained the age of twenty-two years
and after completing a course of study in the high
school at Geneseo he entered a private boarding
school conducted by Dr. Reed, at Geneva, New
York, and later continued his studies in a com-
mercial college at Rochester, that state. After
thus completing his educational discipline he be-
came actively associated with his father in the
cattle business, which he continued after the death
of his father until 1867, when he removed to Ann
Arbor, Michigan, where he resided until 1S70.
giving his attention to property interests of the
estate in that locality. In the >ear last mentioned
he cast in his lot with what is now the state of
South Dakota, coming to Springfield and here es-
tablishing himself in the general merchandise
business. About three years later he became asso-
ciated with Henry E. Ronesteel in the prosecu-
tion of the enterprise, under the firm name of
Bonesteel & Turner, and this partnership obtained
for a quarter of a century, being dissolved in
1898, after which John W. Turner, the son of our
subject, became associated with him in the busi-
ness, proving an able coadjutor, and the enter-
prise has since been continued under the firm
name of J. L. Turner & Son. The business has
grown to extensive proportions, drawing its trade
from a wide radius of contiguous country, while
the stock carried is select and comprehensive and
the firm is one whose reputation for reliability and
fair dealing is of the highest. Mr. Turner is also

the owner and operator of the Artesian roller
mills in Springfield, anf! for many years he also
conducted a drug store in the town, having re-
cently disposed of this branch of his business.

In 1864 ]\Ir. Turner enlisted as a member of
the Fifty-eighth New York National Guards,
in which he was made sergeant major, and during
liis term of service he was on guard dutv at El-
mira. New York, receiving his honorable dis-
charge in December, 1864. Mr. Turner has ever
been a stanch adherent of the Republican party
and has taken an active interest in promoting the
party cause. Soon after coming to Springfield
he was appointed postmaster of the town, being
the first incumbent of this office, which he con-
tinued to hold for a number of years, while his
also was^the distinction of being the first mayor
of the town, of which position he was likewise
incumbent for several years. He maV well be
mentioned as one of the founders and builders of
Springfield, to whose interests he has ever been
most loyal, doing all in his power to promote its
advancement and material upbuilding. In 1896
he was candidate of his party for presidential
elector, and in 1892 he was an alternate delegate
to the national Republican convention, in Min-
neapolis. He has been a member of the Masonic
fraternity since 1865 and is a charter member of
Moimt Zion Lodge, No. 6, of Springfield ; he was
a delegate at the organization of the grand lodge
of the territory of Dakota, being senior grand
warden of this body in 1879. He is also a char-
ter member of the Masonic Veterans' Associa-
tion and is identified with DeMolay Commandery,
No. 3, Knights Templar, at Yankton, and with
El Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in Sioux Falls. He
is one of the prominent members and a communi-
cant of Ascension church, Protestant EpiscopaL
in whose organization he took an active part,
and he has been a member of its vestry from that
time to the present. He was for several years a
member of the board of education of Springfield,
and in 1883 he was a member of the state con-
stitutional convention, which assembled in Sioux
Falls.

On the 17th of May, 1865, was solemnized

1078

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the marriage of 'Sir. Turner to Miss Mary A.
Finley, of Geneseo, New York, and they became
the parents of one son, John W., who was born
on the 8th of October, 1866, and who is now as-
sociated with his father in business, being one of
the able and popular young men of the county,
Mrs. Turner entered into eternal rest on the 8th
of ?vlarch, 1884, baving been a devoted communi-
cant of the Episcopal church, and on the 2d of
Februarv, 1888, Mr. Turner was united in mar-
riage to Miss Fanny E. Howes, of Springfield,
who presides with gracious dignity over their at-
tractive home, no children having been born of
this union.

CHARLES M. KEELING, M. D.— The
attractive town of Springfield, Bon Homme
county, has in Dr. Keeling an able physician and
surgeon and one whose prestige and success
place him among the representative members of
the medical profession in the state. The Doc-
tor was born in Bartholomew county, Indiana,
on the i6th of February, 1863, being a son of
William W. and Mary R. (Speirs) Keeling, all
of whose five children are yet living, namely :
John R,, who is a merchant at Shelbyville, Indi-
ana; William F., who is engaged in the drug
business at Nemaha, Nebraska; Charles M., who
is the subject of this sketch ; Dr. James E., who
is a practicing phvsician at Sulphur Hill, Indi-
ana; and Marian R., who is the wife of Edward
L. Culver, of Omaha, Nebraska.

The father of the subject is a representative
of one of the pioneer families of Indiana, hav-
ing been born in that state in the year 1830, and
being there reared to maturity. As a young man
he prepared himself for the practice of medicine,
entering the Eclectic Medical College of Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, and being there graduated about
1858. He entered upon the practice of his pro-
fession in Indiana, where he remained until 1863,
when he went to Nemaha, Nebraska, where he
continued the work of his noble profession very
successfully, becoming one of the leading citizens
of that section. In 1863 he was elected a mem-
ber of the Nebraska legislature, and shortly after

the expiration of his term of office he returned
to Indiana, locating at Sulphur Hill, where he
continued in the active practice of medicine
about a quarter of a century, being recognized
as one of the leading physicians of that section.
About i8go he returned to Nemaha, Nebraska,
where he has since maintained his home and
where he still devotes more or less attention to
his profession, though well advanced in years.
He is a- Democrat in his political proclivities, and
his religious faith is that of the Methodist
Episcopal church. I\Tary R. Speirs was born in
Indiana in 1840 of Scotch parents.

Dr. Charles M. Keeling was an infant at the
time of his parents' removal to Nemaha, Ne-
braska, and was about three years of age when
they returned to Indiana, and thus he secured
his early educational training in the public
schools of Sulphur Hill, that state. At the age
of sixteen years he was matriculated in Harts-
ville College, at Hartsville, Indiana, where he
continued his literary studies for some time.
He was thereafter engaged in teaching in the
public schools for five years and then began
reading medicine under the effective direction of
his honored father, thus continuing until 1885,
when he entered the Medical College of Indi-
ana, at Indianapolis, where he was graduated as
a member of the class of 1887, receiving his
coveted degree of Doctor of Medicine. Soon
after his graduation he came to South Dakota
and took up his abode in Springfield, where he
has since continued in the practice of his pro-
fession, being known as a skilled physician and
surgeon and having a large and constantly in-
creasing business. In 1899 he completed a post-
graduate course in Chicago, while in 1901 he
took another post-graduate course in New York
city, ever aiming to keep in touch with the ad-
vances made in the sciences of medicine and
surgery and thus the more thoroughly fortifying
himself for his practical work in connection with
the same. He is a member of the State Medi-
cal Society, of which he was president in 1901,
and is also identified with the American Medi-
cal .Association. In politics he gives his allegiance
to the Dcinncratic party and fraternally he holds

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1079

membership in the lodge and chapter of the
Masonic order and in the adjunct order of the
Eastern Star; also the lodge and Daughters of
Rebekah. Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
the Modern Brotherhood, and the Knights of
the Maccabees, and the Modern Woodmen of
America.

On the 22(1 of March, 1882, Dr. Keeling was
united in marriage to Miss Viola E. Osborn, of
Sulphur Hill, Indiana, and they have one child.
Era. Airs. Keeling's father, John C. Osborn,
was born in 1840, in Ohio, and was a school
teacher. He died in 1866. The mother, whose
maiden name was Roanna Hawkins, was born
in Indiana in 1841.

PAUL LANDMANN, who is successfully
engaged in the real-estate and lumber business in
the town of Scotland, Bon Homme county, was
born in Odessa, Russia, on the 22d of February,
1853, being a son of Anton and Louisa (Hofif-
man ) Landmann and the only survivor of their
three children. His brother, Emanuel, died in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the 28th of Sep-
tember, 1898, as a result of fever contracted in
Porto Rico, where he served as a member of
Company F, Third Illinois Volunteer Infantry,
during the Spanish-American war. The father
of our subject was born in Germany and always
remained a citizen of that empire, though he
went to Russia as a yoimg man and there main-
tained his home about a quarter of a century. A
year after the subject came to the LTnited States
and located in South Dakota his parents joined
him here, and this state continued to be their
home until their deaths.

Paul Landmann was reared to maturity in
Russia, and there acquired his educational train-
ing in the excellent schools of his native place.
In 1873, at the age of twenty years, he bade
adieu to his native land and set forth to seek
his fortunes in ^America. He landed in New
York city and from the national metropolis con-
tiiuied his westward journey to what was then
the territory of Dakota, arriving in Yankton, the

capital, with a cash fund of only five dollars.
There he was for seven years employed in the
hardware store of the firm of Wynn & Buck-
waiter, in the capacity of salesman, and in
1880 he came to Scotland, Bon Homme county,
where he engaged in the same line of enterprise
upon his own responsibility, beginning opera-
tions upon a modest scale and succeeding in
building up an excellent trade. He continued
the business about seven years, when he disposed
of the same, having been elected to the office of
county treasurer, in which he served one term,
after which he was incumbent of the office of
register of deeds of the county for a term, having
proved a most efficient executive in each of these
capacities. After his retirement from office Mr.
Landmann returned from Tyndall, the county
seat, to Scotland, where he engaged in the real-
estate business, in which he has since continued,
having handled much valuable property in this
and other counties of the state. In February,
1903, Mr. Landmann expanded the sphere of his
business operations in Scotland, by establishing
extensive lumber yards in the town, and he
already controls a large part of the lumber busi-
ness of this section. He is the owner of eleven
hundred and twenty acres of land in Hutchinson
county and much valuable real estate, both im-
proved and unimproved, in the village of Scot-
land. He is a stalwart Republican in his po-
litical adherency and is a strong factor in the
councils of his party in this section, and both
he and his wife are members of the Reformed
church.

Mr. Landmann was united in marriage to
Miss Caroline Serr. of Scotland, this county,
and they are the parents of seven children.

JAMES H. RASKIN, one of the best-known
and most popular residents of Bon Homme
county, and late mayor of the town of Scotland,
was a native of the sunny south, having been
born in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, on the 17th
of February, 1845, a son of John and Elizabeth
(P.enton) Baskin, of v/hosc seven children four

io8o

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

are living at the present time, namely: Anna,
who is the wife of a Mr. Harris, of Atlanta;
Walter, who likewise continues to reside in that
city, as does also Zachariah ; and James H., the
immediate subject of this sketch. The father of the
subject came of stanch English lineage and was
himself a native of the .state of South Carolina,
where he was reared to maturity. He finally
removed thence to Atlanta, Georgia, where he
established himself in the blacksmithing and
wagon-making business, in which he continued
to be actively engaged for many years, and in
that city he continued to reside until his death, at
the age of seventy years, while his devoted wife
passed away when the subject was quite young.

James H. Baskin was reared and educated in
his native city and was a lad of sixteen years at
the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. His
sympathies were naturally with the section in
which he had been reared, and he was among
many others of the chivalrous and valiant young
men of the south who tendered their services to
the Confederate government. At the age of six-
teen years he enlisted, in September, 1861, a^ a
member of a Georgia regiment, heavy artillery,
with which he continued in active service until
November, 1864, when he was captured at Fisher
Hill, Virginia, and taken to the Union prison
at Point Lookout, Maryland, being released on
parole two weeks later. He had participated
in many of the important engagements of the war
and had proved a valiant defender of the "lost
cause." After his release from captivity he passed
a short interval in New York city and then
drifted westward to St. Louis, Missouri, while in
t868 he came as a pioneer to the territory of Da-
kota, which was then on the frontier of civiliza-
tion. For a year after his arrival he was in the
employ of the firm of Duett & Bogue, traders, at
Fort Thompson. About this time the Indians
were removed to the Santee agency, and our sub-
ject was sent to that point in the employ of the
government, and there he continued in service un-
til 1875, when he took up his residence in Spring-
field, Bon Homme county, where he established
himself in the hotel business, in which he there
continued for the long period of eleven years.

gaining a wide acquaintanceship throughout
what is now the state of South Dakota and be-
coming one of the most popular pioneer hotel men
of the state. In 1886 he came to Scotland, where
he conducted the Baskin hotel, which is a pop-
ular resort of the traveling public, no pains being
spared to provide the best possible accommoda-
tions and cater to the comfort and pleasure of the
guests of the house. That the subject was a man
of versatility is shown when we state that for
seven years after coming to Scotland he was edi-
tor and publisher of the Scotland Journal, which
he made an able exponent of local interests
and a factor of importance in public and political
afl^airs in this section. In 1890 he was elected
mayor of the town, and served continuously as
chief executive of the municipal government from
that time to the date of his death, save for an
interim of two years. He maintained a progres-
sive policy and yet conserved economy in all de-
partments, while his long retention in office was
the best voucher of the popular appreciation ac-
corded his well-directed efiforts in the connection.
In i8Qg Mr. Baskin was elected a member of the
lower house of the state legislature, and during
his service of one term he proved an able and
discriminating legislator, taking an active part in
the work of the body, while he had the distinc-
tion of being chairman of the important commit-
tee on ways 'and means and also held membership
on the committee on railroads and that on mili-
tary affairs. He was originally an adherent of
the Democratic party, but was a man who ever
showed the courage of his convictions, and in
harmony therewith he transferred his allegiance
to the Kepublican party in 1896, during the cam-
paign of which year he gave effective service in
the support of the candidacy of President McKin-
ley, and he afterward continued a stalwart advo-
cate of the cause of the "grand old party." He
and his wife were communicants of the Protest-
ant Episcopal church, and fraternally he was
identified with Scotland Lodge, No. 52, Free and
Accepted Masons, and Scotland Chapter. Xo. 31.
Royal Arch Masons.

On the 1st of December, 1888, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Baskin to Miss Mary

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Kula, of this county, and they became the par-
ents of two sons, James E. and Frederick R., both
of wlioni remain at the parental home. Mr. Bas-
kin departed this hfe on February 29, 1904.

ELMER W. MONFORE, a well-known
and highly respected citizen of Springfield,
Bon Homme county, was born in the town of
Center Lisle, Broome county, New York, on
the 1 8th of November, 1853, being a son of Peter
and Diana A. (Howland) Hon fore, of whose
eight children seven are living, namely : Emer-
son J., who resides at Waverly, Kansas; Elmer
W., who is the subject of this review; Cora A.,
who is the wife of Qark S. Rowe, of Sioux
Falls, South Dakota; Lana H., who is the wife
of Alfred Burkholder, of that city; Alice A.,
who is the wife of Charles McBeth, of Mankato,
Minnesota; Luna B., who is the wife of Pro-
fessor Joseph W. Whiting, a member of the
faculty of the normal school in Springfield,
South Dakota; and Peter G., who is likewise
a resident of this place.

The father of the subject was born in Dela-
ware county. New York, in 1821, and in the
old Empire state he learned the trade of miller.
In 1865 he came west to Putnam county, Illinois,
where he was engaged in farming for the en-
suing three years, at the expiration of which
he removed to Marion count}^, Iowa, where he
remained about two 3'ears and then came to
South Dakota, locating in Springfield, and he
was tliereaftcr employed for a number of years
by the government as miller at the Santee Indian
agency and later at the Ponca agency, after
which he lived a retired life in Springfield until
his death, which occurred in 1895. On coming
here he took up homestead and tree-culture
claims, while at the time of his death he had re-
cently disposed of three hundred and twenty
acres of excellent land near Springfield. In
politics he was a stanch Republican, and he was
a man who ever commanded unqualified esteem.
His wife was born in Broome county, New
York, and is now living with a married daugh-
ter at Mankato, Minnesota.

Elmer W. Monfore was about twelve years
of age at the time his parents came from New
York to Illinois, and his early educational train-
ing was secured in the common schools and sup-
plemented by a course in Bryant & Stratton's
Business College in Des Moines, Iowa. After
coming to South Dakota he devoted his atten-
tion to farm work for about five years, and later
he was employed, for varying intervals, in the
mercantile establishments of D. W. Currier, M.
H. Day and P. M. Liddy, all of Springfield, the
last mentioned having succeeded Mr. Day. In
1 88 1 he engaged in business for himself, con-
ducting a drug and grocery store here for two
years, at the expiration of which he admitted
to partnership in the enterprise his cousin, Ed-
ward C. Monfore, the firm title of E. W. Mon-
fore & Company being adopted at that time.
This partnership continued until Januan' i,
1903, when the firm disposed of the business,
since which time our subject has had no active
business associations. In politics he is a Re-
publican and he has served as a member of the
board of aldermen of Springfield and also as
treasurer of the town and as a member of the
board of education. He and his wife are valued
members of the First Congregational church,
and fraternally he is identified with Mount Zion
Lodge, No. 6, Free and Accepted Masons ; Scot-
land Chapter, No. 52, Royal Arch Masons ;
Springfield Lodge, No. 7, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, and Deborah Lodge, No. 52,
Daughters of Rebekah; Springfield Lodge,
Knights of Pythias, and Springfield Chapter. No.
II, Order of the Eastern Star.

On the i6th of October, 1883, Mr. Monfore
was united in marriage to Miss Emma R. Sec-
combe, of Springfield, and they became the
parents of four children: Charles E. (died Feb-
ruary 6, 1904), Alberta A., Fred H. and Milli-
cent L.

LEVI D. WAIT. — Douglas couny is favored
in having so able a representative of its interests
as the Armour Herald, which is recognized as
one of the best count}- newspapers to be found in

io82

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the state. Of the corporation of Wait & Dana,
editors and publishers of the Herald, the subject
of this sketch is the senior member and presidait
qf the company. He is a native of the state of
Wisconsin, having been born in Sylvan Corners,
Richland county, on the 26th of June, 1867, a son
of Lorenzo and Rachel (Townsend) Wait. In
the family were ten children, and of the number
the following seven survive : Helen, who is the
wife of J. M. Cross, of Richland county, Wiscon-
sin ; Nora, who is the wife of A. P. Monnell. of
Selby. Iowa ; lona, who is the widow of William
Jones, and resides in Oacoma, South Dakota ;
Nellie, who is the wife of E. S. Wallace, of Rich-
land county, Wisconsin ; Dighton C. resides in
Richland county, Wisconsin ; Charles A., who is
likewise a resident of that county; and Levi D.,
who is the immediate subject of this sketch. Lo-
renzo Wait was born in the city of Cleveland,
Ohio, in 1829, and there he was a boyhood friend
of the late President Garfield, being reared to
maturity in that city. As a young man he became
identified with the lake marine industry, sailing
on variotis vessels on the Great Lakes for a num-
ber of years, after which he removed to Wiscon-
sin and located in Richland county, where he has
since maintained his home, save for a period of
twelve years passed in Kimball. South Dakota,
whence he and his wife returned to their old
home in Wisconsin in 1894. Both are devoted
members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and
in politics Mr. Wait is a stanch adherent of the
Democratic party.

The subject of this sketch was reared to ma-
turity in his native county and his educational
discipline was secured in the public schools. At
the age of twenty years he entered upon an ap-
prenticeship at the printers' trade, in the office
of the Flandreau Herald, at Flandreau, South
Dakota, his parents having been residents of this
state at the time. He continued to be identified
with the publication of this paper for three years
and was thereafter employed in the office of the
Pipestone Star, at Pipestone, Minnesota, until
1802. when he removed to Howard. Miner
county, South Dakota, where he became edifor
of the Howard Advance, retaining this position

one year, at the expiration of which he entered
into partnership with his present associate, Mr.
Dana, and purchased the plant and business of
the Miner County Democrat, of Howard, con-
tinuing the publication of the paper until 1898,
when Mr. Dana became the sole owner of the
enterprise, having purchased our subject's in-
terest. Mr. Wait was thereafter employed for
one year as a traveling commercial salesman, and
he then returned to Howard and purchased the
paper and business of his former partner, the
publication being continued under his control for
the ensuing year. In }ilay, 1901, he came to
Armour, Douglas county, and purchased the
plant of the Armour Herald, and the first edition
after the property came into his hands was issued
under his name, as editor and publisher. A week
later, however, yir. Dana became his associate
in the enterprise, and they have since successfully
carried the same forward under the firm name
of Wait & Dana (recently merged into a stock
company). Mr. Wait is inflexible in his alle-
giance to the Democratic party and takes a deep
interest in the questions and issues of the hour, as
well as in local affairs of a public nature. He has
just completed a term as alderman for the city
of Armour. In 1900 he v/as chosen permanent
secretary of the Democratic state convention at
Yankton, and since that time has been identified
more or less with the organization of the party
in the state. Mr. Wait has devoted a great
deal of time and energy the past winter to fur-
thering the ambitions of Hon. E. S. Johnson to
become national • Democratic committeeman for
South Dakota, and at the state convention in
Sioux Falls March 30. 1904. saw his eflforts re-
warded by the unanimous election of Mr. John-
son to the head of the party within the state. By
reason of his activity in party councils Mr. Wait
is probably one of the best known Democrats in
South Dakota today, and has the respect and
esteem of his party and business associates at all
times. During the summer of 1903 Mr. Wnit
was one of the prime movers in the organization
of the Publishers' ]\Tutual Insurance Association,
fo Huron, now the strongest mutual insurance
company in the state. Mr. Wait was elected it^

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

first president and was unanimously re-elected
by the board of directors at their annual 1904
meeting. He is also serving his second term as
treasurer of the South Dakota Press Association,
one of the strongest bodies of newspaper men in
the United States. He is a thorough church-
man of the Protestant Episcopal church, of which
he was made a communicant in igoo, and he is
now warden of the parish in Armour. Frater-
nally he is identified with the Masons, Knights
of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of Amer-
ica.

On the 25th of February. 1893. was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Wait to Miss Lulu
A. Wallace, of Kimball, this state, and they are
the parents of one son, Harry W., who was
born on the 8th of September, 1895. Mrs. Wait
also is a communicant of the Episcopal church
and is an active worker in the same.

RUEL E. DANA, secretary and treasurer
of the corporation of Wait & Dana, editors and
pulilishers of the Annour Herald, was born in
Fairmount, Minnesota, on the 23d of May, 1872,
being a son of Charles T. and Lucinda ( Oilman)
Dana, of whose five children he is the eldest of
the three now living, the others being Frank N.,
who is a resident of St. Paul, Nebraska, and
Myrtie L., who is the wife of William A. Tor-
bert. of Deavertown, Ohio. The father of the
subject came of stanch New England stock, of
English extraction. He was born in the state
of Vermont, in 1820, and as a young man he set
forth to seek his fortunes in the west, becoming
one of the pioneers of the state of Wisconsin,
where he remained for a few years and then re-
peated his pioneer experiences in Minnesota,
where he resided many years. His death oc-
curred in St. Paul, Nebraska, August 4, 1893, at
the age of seventy-three years. In his youth he
learned the trade of carpenter, becoming a skilled
artisan in the line, and he was for many years
successfully engaged in contracting and build-
ing, while he also was prospered in his operitions
as a farmer. In 1887 he removed to Howard
county, Nebraska, and later to Thomas county,

in the same state, where he remained about three
years. He identified himself with the Republican
party at the time of its organization in Wiscon-
sin and continued to support its cause for many
years, but finally identified himself with the Peo-
ple's party, of whose principles he continued a
stanch advocate until his death, at which time
he was incumbent of the office of county com-
missioner of Thomas county. In earlier years he
held, at various times, practically all the county
offices in the section where he resided, having
never been defeated for any office for which he
was a candidate, and having been a power in
local affairs, showing much ability in the mar-
shalling of political forces and being an in-
fluential factor in his party councils. His wife,
who was born in the province of Quebec,
Canada, July 20, 1842, is now sixty-two years
old. I\Ir. Dana held membership in the ^letho-
dist Episcopal church in his earlier life, while his
widow is a member of the Baptist denomination.
Ruel E. Dana, the immediate subject of this
sketch, remained at the parental home until he
had attained the age of sixteen years, his edu-
cational advantages having been such as were
afforded in the public schools during a portion
of the winter periods, his time during the sum-
mer months being taken up with work on the
farm. At the age noted he initiated his independ-
ent career, having, in the summer of 1887,
entered the office of the Advance, a weekly paper
then published at Worthington, Minnesota,
under the editorial direction of A. P. Miller, a
prominent journalist and a poet of considerable
reputation. There Mr. Dana gained his initia-
tion into the mysteries of the "art preservative,"
remaining until the autumn of the same year,
when he accompanied his parents on their re-
moval to Nebraska, where he secured employ-
ment in the office of the St. Paul Phonograph
and later was an employe of the Greeley Herald,
at Greeley Center, that state. In October, 1892,
Mr. Dana came to Howard, South Dakota, ar-
riving here without funds, since the proceeds of
his former labors had largely been devoted to
assisting in the support of the family. Previous
to his arrival he had been offered employment in

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

tlie office of the Miner County Democrat, in
Howard, resigning his position with the Greeley
(Nebraska) Herald to accept the South Dakota
position, and less than two months later, on the
ist of December, 1892, he formed a partnership
with Levi D. Wait, his present associate, and
purchased the plant of the Democrat "on tick,"
which they continued to publish under the same
title, the enterprise proving a financial success,
as is evident when we revert to the fact that the
young men were able to pay for their plant
within eleven months after its purchase, while
they advanced the paper to a position among the
best and most widely quoted in that section of the
state. In 1898 Mr. Dana purchased his partner's
interest and individually continued the publica-
tion about one year, when he sold the plant and
business to Mr. Wait, and he then secured em-
ployment in a local mercantile establishment,
his impaired health having necessitated this
change of vocation. In the autumn of 1900 Mr.
Dana went to Seneca, Missouri, where he took
a working interest in the Seneca Dispatch, with
an ultimate view of purchasing the property if
satisfied with the business outlook and climatic
conditions. After a six-months residence in the
Missouri town he was not satisfied, however, and
thereafter made a trip through Oklahoma, In-
dian Territory and Texas, returning to Howard,
South Dakota, in April, 1901, and there rejoin-
ing his family. Within the period of his ab-
sence Mr. Wait had sold the Democrat and in
May, 1901, had come to Armour and con-
tracted for the purchase of the Armour Herald,
publishing the first copy under his name. One
week later Mr. Dana joined his old partner here
and purchased a half interest in the business,
which has since been continued under the firm
name of Wait & Dana, merged into a corpor-
ation January 5, 1904, all the stock being owned
by the subject and his partner.

In politics Mr. Dana is a zealous advocate of
the principles of the Democratic party, in whose
work he has taken an active part. While a resi-
dent of Howard he held the office of village
recorder for two terms. In the fall of IQ02, yield-
ing to the importunities of his party friends, he

became a candidate for the office of auditor of
Douglas county, and he was elected to this office,
notwithstanding the fact that the normal political
complexion of the county is strongly Republican
and that he had been a resident of the county
only eighteen months at the time of his election.
He received a majority of thirty-one votes, and
was appreciative of the honor conferred upon
him by the voters of the county, while his service
has proved the wisdom of their confidence and
support. Fraternally, Mr. Dana is a ]\Iason
and a member of Washington Lodge, No. 104,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Armour.
He passed through all the chairs of Lodge No.
48, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at
Howard and has been a representative to the
grand lodge of the state. He is also identified
with the encampment of the order and with the
Daughters of Rebekah, while he is affiliated with
Armour Camp, No. 2746, Alodern Woodmen
of America. He and his wife are communicants
of the Protestant Episcopal church. Mrs. Dana
is at present noble grand of Pleiades Lodge, No.
86, of Armour, and is the representative to the
state assembly, of South Dakota, for 1904.

On the 15th of August, 1894, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Dana to Miss Ellen
-Moore, of Howard, this state, and they are the
parents of three children, Florian Alice, Charles
M. and Clarence E.

JAMES H. EXON, one of the prominent and
honored citizens of Charles Mix county, formerly
incumbent of the office of county judge, as well
as that of county auditor, and the principal figure
in the County Seat State Bank, at Wheeler, is a
native of the "right little, tight little isle" of Eng-
land, having been born in Somersetshire, on the
nth of July, 1858, being a son of Henry and
Sarah Exon, both of whom were likewise burn
in Somersetshire, of stanch old English stuck.
Both secured excellent educational advantiL;t^
and both received life certificates as teachers in
England, where both gained distinction and pro 11-
inence in educational circles, the father ha\iii^
devoted the major portion of his active cancr

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

to the pedagogic profession, while his wife also
devoted herself to teaching for several years.
The former was for nine years superintendent of
the Ripleyville British schools and for eighteen
years was principal of the schools at Wookey, '
Somersetshire, where the subject of this sketch
was born. The mother of the Judge was like-
wise a teacher in the schools at that place. In
1882 the parents left their native land and came
to the United States, our subject having come to
Canada in the preceding year, and from New
York city they proceeded to Iowa, where they
resided about six months, after which they came
to South Dakota, and secured claims in Charles
Mix county, the property being located in what
is now Forbes township.

In the month of May, 1881. Judge Exon bade
adieu to home and native land and emigrated to
America, landing in Quebec, and remaining in
Canada about one year, at the expiration of which
he joined his parents, who had located temporarily
in Iowa, as has just been noted. In the autumn
of 1882 he preceded them into what is now the
state of South Dakota and selected the land for
his father and for the four children who had at-
tained years of maturity, the members of the
family thus eventually being able to prove up on
the five quarter sections which he had selected
in Charles Mix county, of which they were pio-
neer settlers. Later three of these quarter sections
were sold and the parents of the subject then re-
moved to Gage county, Nebraska, where thev
now reside, the father having retired from active
labors and being now sixty-eight years of age,
while his devoted wife has attained the age of
seventy years. Both are members of the Epis-
copal church and are folk of sterling character
and high intellectual attainments.

Judge Exon attended the Ripleyville schools
for a period of five years, during which time lie
prepared himself for his collegiate course. He
then entered Cullom College, near famed old Ox-
ford, where he was graduated in 1879. after
which he was for two years an assistant master
in the schools at Ripleyville, Bradford and York-
shire. It was the wish of his father that he should
follow the profession of teaching, in which the

former had attained so gratifying success, but the
Judge early manifested a desire to turn his atten-
tion to agricultural pursuits and it was in har-
mony with this ambition that he was led to emi-
grate to America. After his location in South
Dakota he taught in the district schools during
the winter months, and during the balance of the
year devoted his time to the improving and culti-
vation of his farming land. In the autumn of
1890 he was elected to the office of county audi-
tor, and in the following January he removed
from his farm to the village of Wheeler, the
county seat, to enter upon the active discharge
of his official duties. He gave a most capable
and satisfactory administration, and at the expi-
ration of his term of two years he engaged in the
abstract business, while in July of the same year
he was appointed state's attorney, to fill the unex-
pired term of the regular incumbent. A. L. Hnp-
paugh. who removed from the state. In the fol-
lowing October Judge Exon was one of the lead-
ing spirits in bringing about the organization of
the People's party in this section of the state,
and, in company with seven other prominent
workers in the movement, he purchased the
Wheeler Courier, the weekly newspaper published
in the capital town of the county, and this was
thereafter made an effective exponent of the cause
of the party. Our subject's appointment to the
office of state's attorney, for which he was well
qualified in an abstract way, led him to make a
careful study of the technical branches of the
science of jurisprudence, and he was admitted
to the bar of the state, upon examination before
the supreme court, at Pierre, on the 3d of Octo-
ber, 1893. From time to time he continued to
acquire the interests of other stockholders in the
Wheeler Courier, of which he became sole owner
in 1901, while the paper has been under his edi-
torial charge and his general direction from the
time it was purchased by him and others, as pre-
viously mentioned. In the autumn of 1898 he
was elected to the office of county judge, serving
one term, and in January, 1902, he again received
the appointment of state's attorney to fill a va-
cancy caused by the resignation of T. J. Reming-
ton, and he served in this capacity until the ex-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

piration of the term, in January, 1903. In March,
1903, was effected the organization of the County
Seat State Bank, and Judge Exon was made
president of the institution at that time and still
continues as chief executive. He still continues
in the active practice of the law and is also en-
gaged in the real-estate and abstract business.
He now gives his allegiance to the Democratic
party, of whose principles he is a stanch advo-
cate, and his religious faith is that of the Protest-
ant Episcopal church, of which he is a communi-
cant, but as there is no church organization in
Wheeler he and his family attend the Congrega-
tional church services. Fraternally he is identi-
fied with Doric Lodge, Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, at Platte, this state.

On the 26th of June, 1886. Judge Exon was
united in marriage to Miss Emma Smith, of
Mitchell, South Dakota, and they became the
parents of three sons, Arthur R., Walter E. and
John J. In 1896 Mrs. Exon's health had become
so seriously impaired that he deemed it advisable
to take her for an ocean voyage, in the hope that
she might recuperjtte her energies, and they ac-
cordingly visited his old home in England, where
she received treatment without avail, since her
death there occurred four months later, on the
5th of August, 1896. On the 20th of April, 1898,
at Paris, Kentucky, was solemnized the marriage
of Judge Exon to Miss Marian Smith, a native of
England and a sister of his former wife, and they
are the parents of one child, Dorothy J.

WILLIAM L. RYBURN, cashier and gen-
eral manager of the business of the First Na-
tional Bank of Alexandria, was born in Rock-
ford, Illinois, May 10, 1872, a son of William
and Mar\- (Legge) Ryburn, to whom were born
six children, namely : Anna, who resides in
Alexandria ; George, who is engaged in the real-
estate business in this place; John, of Alexan-
dria; Minnie, who is the wife of G. H. Mont-
gomery, engaged in the furniture business in
the same place; William L., who figures as the
immediate subject of this sketch, and Maud,,

who is the wife of Dr. E. E. King, of Mitchell,
this state. Both the father and mother of the
subject were born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland,
the former in 1836 and the latter in 1835. The
parents of each died when they were children
and they were reared in the homes of relatives,
and after attaining maturity each came to
America in company with relatives. Both
located in the city of Rockford, Illinois, where
the father learned the trade of blacksmith, in
which he was there engaged for nearly thirty
years. In 1883 he came with his family to
South Dakota and purchased a pre-emption claim
in Hanson county, where he continued to be en-
gaged in agricultural pursuits and stock grow-
ing up to the time of his death, which occurred
in 1898, his devoted wife having been sum-
moned into eternal rest in 1893. Both were
worthy members of the Presbyterian church and
were folk of sterling character, honored lay all
who knew them.

The subject of this review was about ten
years of age at the time of his parents' removal
to South Dakota, and his early educational train-
ing had previously been secured in the public
schools of his native city, to which he later re-
turned for the purpose of taking a course in the
Rockford Business College, in which he was
graduated in 1891, having completed a thorough
commercial course. He then returned to his
home in South Dakota and was given a position
in the Hanson County Bank, in Alexandria,
proving himself a capable and faithful executive
and being made assistant cashier of the institu-
tion in 1894, while in 1899 '""^ was chosen cashier.
In 1 90 1 the bank was reorganized and incorpor-
ated as the First National Bank of Alexandria,
with a capital stock and surplus of fifty thou-
sand dollars, and Mr. Ryburn was forthwith
placed in executive charge of the affairs of the
institution, which has gained a leading position
through his able and well-directed efforts. In
1899 he was sent to Elk Point, Union county, to
superintend the business of the Citizens" Bank,
which was practically a branch of the bank at
Alexandria, and there he remained about eigh-
teen months, within which time the institution

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1087

was reorganized as the First National Bank of
Elk Point.

Mr. Ryburn is one of the leaders in the local
ranks of the Republican party and is secretary
of its county organization. He is a member of
Celestial Lodge, No. 37, Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, and Mitchell Chapter, Royal Arch Masons,
of Alexandria; St. Bernard Commandery,
Knights Templar, at Mitchell; Oriental Consist-
ory. No. I, Ancient .Vccepted Scottish Rite,
in Yankton, and El Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic
Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in
Sioux Falls, being an appreciative and enthu-
siastic affiliate of these various bodies of the
time-honored order of Freemasonry. He has
held the office of worshipful master of his lodge
for the past three years. He and his wife hold
membership in the Presbyterian church.

On the 28th of April, 1898. Mr. Ryburn was
united in marriage to Miss Edith Peckham, of
Alexandria, and they are the parents of two chil-
dren, Leota and Helen.

ED^^^\RD E. W.\GXER, one of the repre-
sentative members of tlie bar of Hanson county,
was born in Lyon county. Iowa, October 22,
1870, a son of James H. and Louisa E. (ConkUn)
Wagner, of whose six children four are living,
namely: Orville S., of Rock Rapids, Iowa;
Fred B.. of Pasadena, California; Hulbert D.,
of Hawarden, Iowa, and Edward E., subject of
this sketch. The father of the subject was born
in Pennsylvania, on the 8th of February, 1840,
and as a boy accompanied his parents on their
removal thence to Iowa, the family locating in
Linn county, where he was reared to manhood
on the homestead farm. He was there married
in the year i860, and in the following year en-
listed as a private in Company G, Twenty-fourth
Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with which
he remained in service until the close of the great
conflict which perpetuated the integrity of the
Union. He was captured by the enemy at Sabine
Crossroads, Texas, and later was again taken
captive in a spirited engagement, passing about
fourteen months in rebel prisons. He was with

Grant in the siege of Vicksburg and participated
in many of the important engagements incident
to the progress of the war. After receiving his
honorable discharge he returned to his home in
Iowa, where he continued to be identified with
farming until 1870, when he removed to the
northwestern part of that state, where he took up
government land. He was one of the organizers
of Lyon county, in 1871, and was chosen the first
treasurer of the count}-, while for many years
thereafter he was a member of the county board
of supervisors, being a man of influence in that
section and a prominent figure in the local ranks
of the Republican party, of whose principles he
was an ardent advocate. He passed the re-
mainder of his life in the county which he aided
in organizing, his death there occurring on the
15th of November, 1884, while his cherished and
devoted wife entered into eternal rest on the 7th
of October, 'igoi, both having been consistent
members of the Congregational church, while he
was a Royal Arch Mason.

Edward E. Wagner was reared on the home-
stead farm and after attending the district schools
completed a course in the high schools at Rock
Rapids, Iowa. In February, 1891, he began read-
ing law in the office of H. G. McMillan, of that
place, his former preceptor being now L^nited
States district attorney for the northern district
of Iowa, while he was for several years a prom-
inent m.ember of th.e Republican stat^ central com-
mittee of Iowa. Under the able direction of this
honored preceptor the subject continued his tech-
nical studies until his admission to the bar. on
the 13th of May. 1893. He then came to Mitch-
ell, South Dakota, where he was associated in the
practice of his profession with D. A. Mizener
until November, 1895, when he returned to Rock
Rapids, Iowa, and became associated in practice
with his former preceptor, Mr. McMillan, who
had lately been chosen chairman of the Repub-
lican state central committee. About one year
later Mr. Wagner formed a law partnership with
C. J. Miller, of Rock Rapids, and this profes-
sional alliance there continued until April, 1899,
when the subject came again to South Dakota
and located in Alexandria, where he has since

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

been established in practice, having gained a high
reputation as an advocate and being one of the
prominent and successful members of the bar.
He is a stanch Republican, and in 1900 was
elected state's attorney of Hanson county, serving
one term. He was the nominee of his party for
representative of his district in the state senate
in 1903, but met the defeat which attended the
party ticket in general in this section. He is a
member of Celestial Lodge, No. 37, Free and
Accepted Masons ; of Mitchell Chapter, No. 16,
Roval Arch Masons; and St. Bernard Command-
erv, No. 11, Knights Templar, of Mitchell, while
lie also is affiliated with the Alexandria lodges
of the Modern Woodmen of America and the
Ancient Order of United Workmen. He has
served as a member of the county central commit-
tee of the Republican party and is a zealous
worker in the cause of the same. He is a member
of the Presbyterian church, at Alexandria.

On the loth of July, 1894, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Wagner to Miss Alice E. Tres-
ler, of Rock Rapids, Iowa, and they are the par-
ents of three children, Hazel L.. Ruth N. and
Robert Edward.

HORACE J. AUSTIN.— Standing in the
clear white light of a life and character such as
denoted the late Horace J. Austin, we are
moved to a feeling of admiration, respect and
reverence, for he stood for all that signifies sane,
well poised and noble manhood. He was one of
the foremost citizens of the state of South Da-
kota, and in his home city of Vermillion, Clay
county, his death came with a sense of personal
bereavement to his fellow townsmen, who could
not but appreciate his sterling worth and his
value to the community. Tt is fitting that in this
history be incorporated a memoir of this distin-
guished citizen.

Horace I. Austin was born in Washington
cotuity. New York, July 11. 1837, and when he
was two years of age his parents removed thence
to Essex county, that state, where he was reared
to manhood, cnntinuing to abide beneath the
home roof initil the fall of 7857, when, as a young

man of twenty years, he set forth to seek his for-
tunes as a pioneer in the west, his educational
advantages having been such as were aff'orded
in the common schools. He proceeded as far as
Dubuque, Iowa, where he secured employment
with a company of surveyors, and there he made
his home for two years save when absent on
surveying expeditions. Twice within this period
his business brought him within the confines of
the territory of Dakota, and on the second trip
he decided to here take up his permanent resi-
dence. Accordingly he located in Yankton, the
capital of the territory, where he was living at
the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. In 186 r
he enlisted in Company A, First Dakota Cavalr\ .
which was stationed for some time in Vermillion,
where it was mustered out on the 9th of ]\Iay,
1865, having thus served during the entire period
of the war, principally in repelling the ravages
of hostile Indians, and the record of our subject
as a soldier was one that will ever redound to
his horior. After his military career he contin-
ued to reside in Vermillion until his death, which
occurred on the 27th of February, 1891, as the re-
sult of an attack of pneumonia, which brought
his life to a close in the zenith of its power and
usefulness. From a previously published outline
of his career we enter the following excerpt :

Although he never had the advantages of what is
technically designated as higher education, he was a
man who had the power of gaining much through
absorption, observation and personal application, and
his knowledge of men and affairs was well rounded
and symmetrical. His honesty, integrity and stead-
fastness of character won him a high place in the
- hearts of the people, and he was six times elected a
member of the legislature. In 1868-9 he was presi-
dent of the territorial council. As a civil engineer
he secured government surveying contracts every year
from 1866 until his death, and there are few if any
counties in the state which do not bear some of his
surveying stakes. In temporal affairs Mr. Austin
was greatly prospered, but freely as he received, with
equal freedom did he give to the poor and needy.
His was a kindly, sympathetic nature and charity
and tolerance abided with him as constant guests.
The principles of diligence and faithfulness were
early mastered by him and ever dominated his course
in life. His name, too. was a synonym of honesty,
and in writing to his sister, several years prior to

HORACE J. AUSTIN.

MRS. RACHEL M. R. AUSTEN.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1089

his death, he said: "I am being prospered, but this
much I can say, I have never talven an unjust penny
from any man." In the political history of South
Dakota he bore an honorable part, and as a legislator
was associated with such men of prominence as Moody,
Brookings and a host of others, and was the acknowl-
edged peer of all. As a citizen he believed in law
and its obeyance, and as a man he was gentle, cour-
teous and obliging. In truth, Horace J. Austin was
well-nigh the embodiment of man's ideal. He was
a sturdy pioneer, a patient soldier, a faithful legisla-
tor, .a true citizen, a loyal friend, and, last but not
least, a loving and indulgent husband.

On the occasion of his funeral the president
of tlie State University spoke of him as follows :
"With all his niodesty and simplicity, he was a
.a;reat, strong man and played a full man's part
in the world. He could not be moved from the
position which he believed to be right ; he was
true to his conscience. He was like a child in
freedom from trickery or meanness or malice.
He was every inch a man in the thick of life's
struggles with evil and wrong. With a heart
tender to suffering, he knew what it was to be
righteously indignant against the evils that pro-
duce suffering. What a wide range of character
these traits cover! A simple-hearted, strong-
willed, generous, gentle man — what more can be
said of character? * * And I call this life
successful because, first, Mr. Austin won an hon-
orable success in his chosen pursuit. He became
an expert surveyor ; he acquired reputation and
a competence. His work was honest w&rk.
Successful, second, in that he was a loyal and
loved citizen and an honored public servant.
There was no public enterprise in which he was
not interested. He could be counted on for
everything that concerned the welfare of the peo-
ple. And it was a matter of course that such a
man should be chosen for public service. He
was the model citizen. He never sought office;
he was too distrustful of his own abilities, too
modest for that. He shunned rather than courted
responsibility, yet, like a true inan, when the office
sought him he accepted it as a true citizen, with
determination to do his best." Mr. Austin was a
niember of the lower house of the state legislature
at the time of his death, and thus he died in the
harness, faithful to the last and one of that noble

band of pioneers who were associated in the
founding and building of a gyeat commonwealth.
His political support was given to the Republican
party and fraternally he was prominently identi-
fied with the Masonic order and the Grand Army
of the Republic. Though he never formally
identified himself with any religious body he had
the deepest reverence for the spiritual verities
as exemplified in the Christian faith, and guided
and guarded his life in accord with the teachings
of the divine Master, whom he served with hmnil-
ity and reverence, his being the faith that makes
faithful.

The home of Mr. Austin was ever to him
a sacred spot, and here his ambitions and affec-
tions centered and shone most resplendently.
To violate this sanctity by words of eulogy would
be most flagrant abuse in this connection, but in
conclusion of this memoir we enter a brief record
concerning the domestic chapter in his life his-
tory. On the 2ist of March, 1870, Mr. Austin
was united in marriage to Miss Rachel M. Ross,
who was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, on the
1st of June, 1838, being a daughter of Benjamin
and Mary (Palm) Ross. The father died in
Arkansas and Mrs. Ross later came to Vermillion
Dakota, where she died on the 22d of January,
1876. Mrs. Austin, whose death occurred March
6, 1 904, was a woman of gracious presence and
noble character and proved a true helpmeet to her
husband, their companionship being ideal in all
its relations. Mr. and Mrs. Austin had no chil-
dren, but their generous natures prompted them
to provide a home for three children, all of whom
were reared with utmost care and solicitude,
namely: Leroy O. Stevens, who is now living
at Victor, Colorado ; Anna Ross, who is now at
Silex, Missouri, and Helen P., who was legally
adopted by them in infancy, l)eing now of Ver-
million.

Rachel Ross was born in Warren, Trumbull
county, Ohio, June i, 1838, where she grew to
young womanhood, and received her education.
In 1867, with her mother, she came to Dakota
territory and t(Xik up her home in \''ermillion.
Soon after her arrival here, she was employed

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

by the pioneer people to teach in the school-
house which they had erected — the old log
school-house in the ravine — and even today
are those in this city who w£re her pu-
pils at that time. In 1870 she was married
to Horace J. Austin, who preceded her to the
better land some thirteen years ago. Never were
husband and wife any more alike or more con-
genial in their natures. They' possessed the
same ideas as regards the doing of good to their
fellow-beings.

When Mr. Austin died and left to his wife his
large estates, she used the income in the manner
that they both did before : the relief of the suf-
fering and needy, the making of a pleasant home,
and assisting in all the public enterprises in
which the people of the city were interested. She
donated to the city the block of land near the
fair grounds to be used for park purposes ; and
although she has not been permitted to live to
see its full development, yet that park will stand
as a monument to her large-heartedness and pub-
lic spirit. And in days to come, as the genera-
tions view this monument it will recall to their
minds the life and works of a good, true and
generous woman.

In the early history of this community Mrs.
Austin was one of the foremost figures. In re-
ligious work she was among the leaders. She
was a charter member of the first organization in
this city, and was the last survivor of that noble
band who worked so hard and faithfully during
those early days to establish the church in this
community, and from the earliest inception of the
society up to the present time she has been one
of the pillars in the support of the church and
organization. She was always ready and willing
to do more than her share in matters pertaining
to its welfare. Her home was always open to
church social gatherings, and her life was de-
voted to the cause of the Master.

Mrs. Austin was an untiring worker in the
ranks of the Woman's Christian Tem]>erance
Union, and to her devotion is largely due the
fact that the local union has been made one of the
strongest in the state. It was but a week before
her death that slic oiiencd the doors of her home

for a public memorial service in honor of the
memory of Frances E. Willard. As a tribute to
her memory, the following testimonial by the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union was read
at the funeral services :

In behalf of the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union, we desire to express the regret we feel in the
loss of our dear sister, Mrs. Austin, who was so
heavenly in her aims, and who earnestly worked to
extend the blessings of temperance and to build up
the union. We believe if the sealed lips could speak
to us from the calm heights among the hills of God,
that it would be to bid the women of today stand
together to secure for the world a truer motherhood,
a nobler manhood, a higher type of citizenship.
Through the help of Christian womanhood homes are
to be lifted from dishonor. The world is better be-
cause of the life of such a woman, and while her
noble soul was ever filled with gratitude to God, her
great heart was ever reaching out in helpfulness to
humanity. It does not seem possible that we shall
no more see her "till we lift the latch and pass into
the other chamber of the King, a chamber larger than
this." It is very hard to say, "Thy will be done."
How can we get on without her?

She always gave her warmest support to any
cause that she thought was right, and when the
woman suffrage movement was started she iden-
tified herself with the work, and at the time of
her death was president of the local league. Four
years ago, when the proposition was up for the
consideration of the voters in the shape of a con-
stitutional amendment, she managed the cam-
campaign in this county, and brought to the
standard of the equal suffragists far more sup-
port than the advocates of the movement had
anticipated.

She was a prominent member of the Eastern
Star lodge, and in her death the members of that
order were called upon to mourn the loss of one
whose counsels were looked up to with confi-
dence, and whose advice was timely and good.
As a tribute to her memory the members of the
order complied with her often expressed desire,
and' took up a goodly collection and sent to the
Children's Home at Sioux Falls.

Another society in whose work she took the
utmost interest was the Cemetery Improvement
Association. It was her aim to make a beautiful

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

place of this resting-place of the dead. And now
as her body lies within the enclosure of that sacred
spot, her associates of the society will recall her
efforts in bringing Bluff View Cemetery to its
present orderly arrangement.

She was a heavy stockholder in the County
Fair Association, and took an active interest in
the work pertaining to the annual exhibitions.

She was very fond of the young people, and
always had room in her home for some young man
or woman who was working his or her way
through school or college. There are many of
this class of pupils who have attended the Univer-
sity in years past, who will give evidence of her
large-heartedness and her timely assistance while
they were struggling on the upward grade.

In educational matters Mrs. Austin took a
deep interest. Not only did she lend her energies
to the betterment of educational facilities, but she
had the interests of the teachers at heart. Her
spacious lawn and pleasant home have been the
scene of many a happy party given to the teach-
ers of the city and county, and she was ahvays
happy when she was engaged in entertaining a
company of this kind. At the city election in
1903 she was chosen a member of the city school
board from the fourth ward, and had been faith-
ful in the discharge of her duties as such mem-
ber. The other members of the board have been
aided by her presence, and they will miss her
quick womanly discernment and sound judgment.
As a mark of respect to her memory, the board
dismissed school on Tuesday and the board and
tlie teachers attended the funeral services in a
body.

All of Mrs. Austin's public and private bene-
factions originated in her own home and radi-
ated from that home out into the community.
She had an intuitive way of finding out who
really needed help, and when she found that some
poor family was destitute and the family was
worthy, help was immediately forthcoming. She
had an extraordinary power of estimating the
value of timely help where help was needed.
]\Iany are the times that she has ordered gro-
ceries and provisions sent from the stores to the
needv ones in the citv, and there are those who

will miss her faithful watchfulness and gentle
ministrations in this regard. She felt that it was
her duty — the performance of these many kind-
nesses— and she never shrank from what she
deemed to be her duty, no matter where the
jjerformance of that duty lay.

In view of Rlrs. Austin's generosity, her many
kindnesses and her gifts to the city, Mayor Bry-
ant issued the following proclamation :

Mayor's Office, Vermillion, S. D., March 8, 1904.

Again death has entered our city and claimed one
of our number, whose strength of mind and character
and whose devotion to duty and interest in the wel-
fare of others made her more than ordinary, Mrs.
H.J.Austin. Her life work was not confined to the ra-
dius of a few. but extended to the public at large in
more ways than one. One of our city parks we today
own by the grace of her benevolence. Her death
casts a gloom over our entire city. I, therefore, ex-
press what I am certain will be the desire of every
citizen, that, during the funeral hour from three to
four o'clock this afternoon, all places of business he
closed and all business be suspended, that we may as
a city show our admiration for her character.

W. C. Bryant, Mayor.

P. F. WICKHEM, one of the representa-
tive merchants of Alexandria, is a native of the
state of Wisconsin, having been born on a farm
in Dodge county, on the 15th of October. 1855.
He is a son of John and Catherine (Joyce) Wick-
hem, of whose seven children six are living,
namely: Michael, a resident of Waterloo, Wis-
consin ; P. P., the immediate subject of this
sketch : James G.. who is a prominent attorney
of Beloit, Wisconsin, where he served four years
as postmaster, being one of the leaders of the
Democratic party in that section ; Maria, who re-
mains on the old homestead, with her brother
Michael ; Nellie E., who makes her home with
the subject ; and Margaret, principal in the pub-
lic schools of Beloit, Wisconsin. The father was
born in County Wexford, Ireland, about 1825,
and was there reared to manhood, having been
left an orphan when a mere lad and having thus
been early thrown upon his own resources. He
there devoted his attention to farm work until
1842, when he emigrated to America, being vari-

1092

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ously employed, in different states of the Union,
for the first four years of his residence here and
finally taking up his permanent abode in Dodge
county, Wisconsin, where he purchased a farm
of eighty acres, becoming one of the prominent
and prosperous farmers of the county and being
the owner of a fine estate of three hundred and
twenty acres at the time of his death, which oc-
curred in 1892. He was a Democrat in politics
and he and his wife were communicants of the
Catholic church, the latter having entered into
eternal rest in 1897.

The subject of his sketch was reared on the
home farm and completed the course of studies
in the graded schools of Waterloo, Wisconsin,
being graduated in 1873. He then secured a
clerkship in a general store in that town, where
he remained until 1880. when he came to Alexan-
dria. South Dakota, in charge of a stock of gen-
eral merchandise owned by his employer, S. M.
Wiener, and here he opened a branch store. Two
years later he engaged in the same line of enter-
prise on his own responsibility, opening his store
on the 1st of May, 1882, and he has ever since
been identified with this enterprise, which has
been developed into one of the most important
of the sort in the county, controlling a large and
representative trade. The business is now placed
in charge of H. L. Burlew, who has been in the
employ of the subject for the past twenty-two
years. Mr. Wickhem withdrew from the active
supervision of his store in order to devote his
attention to his extensive cattle interests, having
become identified with this important line of in-
dustry in 1900. He is now the proprietor of the
Rose Hill and the Spring Valley stock farms,
comprising twelve hundred acres of the best land
in the county, and he has gained a high reputa-
tion throughout the state as a breeder of short-
horn cattle, which he raises upon a large scale,
having done much to advance the stock interests
of this section and having two of the finest stock
farms to be found in the state. In politics Mr.
Wickhem is an uncompromising Democrat, and
has ever taken an active part in furthering the
|)arty cause. His is the distinction of having been
chosen the first mavor of Alexandria after its

incorporation, in 1885, and he served two terms
as treasurer of the county, while further official
honors came to him in 1890, when he was elected
to represent his district in the state senate, serv-
nig with ability and discrimination during the
sessions of 1890-91. In 1893-4 Mr- Wickhem
held the position of internal revenue collector for
the eastern district of South Dakota, then resign-
ing the office in order to give his attention to his
personal business interests. He has been an im-
portant factor in the ranks of the Democracy in
the state, and was a delegate to the national con-
vention of 1892, in Chicago, which nominated
Cleveland for the presidency. He is president of
the Retail Merchants 'Association of South Da-
kota, and was one of the organizers of the Retail
^Merchants' Fire Insurance Company, of whose
directorate he is a member. He and his wife are
communicants of St. Mary's church, Roman
Catholic, and he is a member of its official board.
On the 1st of June, 1897, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Wickhem to Miss Ella Hayes,
of Rockford, Illinois, and they are the parents
of one son. John Francis, who was born on the
27th of April, 1 89 1.

N. J. EROCK!\IAN, vice-president and
manager of the State Bank of Spencer, is a
native of Germany, where he was born on the
26th of April. 1853, being a son of Qaus and
Aple (Stuhr) Brockman, both of whom passed
their entire lives in Germany.

The subject of this review was reared to
manhood in his native land and was given
the advantages of a collegiate education. He
came to America in 1871. with but little financial
reinforcement, and located in the city of Daven-
port, Iowa, where he was variously employed
for several months. He then went to Tama
county, that state, where he was identified with
agricultural pursuits until 1877, when he took
up his residence in the town of Traer, Iowa,
where he engaged in the mercantile business, in
which he was very successful, there laying the
foundation for the distinctive prosperity which
he today enjoys. In 1881 he engaged in the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA

same line of enterprise in Gradbrook, Iowa,
where he remained two years, at the expiration
of which he disposed of his interests there and
engaged in the lumber trade at Kingsley, that
state, also buying and shipping grain. There he
continued to make his home until 1901. when he
sold his prosperous business and removed to
Sac City, Iowa, where he resided until January
I, 1903, when he became associated with M. D.
Gates in the purchase of the State Bank of
Spencer, South Dakota, Mr. Gates being made
president of the corporation, while the subject
assumed his present office of vice-president and
general manager. Mr. Brockman is a Republican
in his political proclivities, while he and his wife
are members of the German Lutheran church,
and fraternally he is identified with the lodge,
chapter and commandery of the Masonic order,
and also with the Ancient Arabic (.)rder of the
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

In 1883 Mr. Brockman was united in mar-
riage to Miss Bertha E. Gebauer, of Lyons.
Iowa. One son has been born of this union, Ray,
who is now a student in the Iowa State Agri-
cultural College, at Ames.

W. S. HILL, one of the representative busi-
ness men of Hanson county and an influential
citizen of Alexandria, was born in Edgar county,
Illinois, on the 3d of June, 1863, being a son of
Joseph and Rebecca (Braden) Hill, of whose
four children three are living at the present lime,
naniel}- : Elizabeth, wife of \\' illiam Hillyard.
of Wayne county. Iowa ; Albert, a resident of
Alexandria, South Dakota; and W. S., the im-
mediate subject of this sketch. Joseph Hill was
born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and
his wife in Greene county, that state, both being
of Scotch-Irish lineage, and both having re-
ijioved to the state of Illinois when young, their
marriage having been there solenniized a few
years later. The father of the subject was reared
on a farm but as a young man learned the trade
of carpenter, becoming a skilled artisan. He fol-
lowed his trade for a time in Iowa, having re-

sided in Keokuk, and then returned to Illinois,
settling in Edgar county after his marriage and
there engaging in agricultural pursuits. He ten-
dered his services in defense of the union at the
time of the Civil war, enlisting as a member of
Company E, Twelfth Illinois Volunteer In-
fantry, with which he served eighteen months, —
until the close of the war, when he received his
honorable discharge. In 1869 he removed ta
Iowa and located in Wayne county, where he
became a prominent and prosperous farmer,
there continuing his residence until his death,
in 1897, at the age of sixty years. He was a
Republican in politics from the time of the or-
ganization of the party, and was originally a
member of the Presbyterian church, later em-
bracing the faith of the r^Iethodist Episcopal
church. His widow is still living, making her
home in Wayne count}-.

The subject of this sketch completed the
curriculum of the common schools and was
graduated in the high school at Allerton, Iowa,
as a member of the class of 1884, while two years
prior to this he had completed a course in the
Pierce Business College, in Keokuk, Iowa, be-
ing duly graduated in 1882. At the age of
twenty-one years he secured a position with a
firm of wholesale dealers in farming machinery
and implements in the city of Des Moines, re-
maining thus engaged for a short time and then
accepting a position with the McCormick Har-
vesting ]\Iachine Company, while a year later
he entered the employ of a wholesale grocery
house in Des I\Ioines. In the spring of 1887 Mr.
Hill came to South Dakota and located in Alex-
andria, where he purchased an interest in the
business of Lanz & Jacobs, securing the interest
of the junior member of the firm, while opera-
' tions were continued under the title of Lanz &
I Hill, the enterprise involving the handling of
agricultural implements and machinery and
varied allied lines of goods. In 1893 the sub-
ject's brother, Albert, purchased Mr. Lanz's in-
terest in the business, which was conducted for
the ensuing six years under the firm name of
( Hill Brothers. In 1899 our subject purchased
his Ijrother's interest and has since been in entire

I094

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

control of the extensive business which
has been built up through energy-, enter-
prise and honorable methods. He handles a
complete assortment of agricultural implements,
vehicles of all kinds, harness and saddlery goods
and also coal, and the enterprise ranks as one of
the foremost of the sort in this section of the
state.

In 1897 Mr. Hill became identified with the
cattle business, making his first purchase of
ranch land in that year, and from time to time
he has made additional purchases until he now
has a fine landed estate of fifteen hundred and
twenty acres, all being located in Hanson county
and being known as the Riverview ranch, while
it is recognized as one of the finest stock farms
in this section, having the best of modern im-
provements and facilities. Mr. Hill makes a
specialty of the breeding of registered red polled
cattle, and in this line he has attained a high
reputation throughout the state and has done
much to improve the grade of cattle raised here.
In politics he is a stanch Republican, and he j
is now serving his third term as mayor of Alex-
andria. He is secretary of the Retail Imple-
ment Dealers' Association of South Dakota,
Southwestern Minnesota and Northwestern
Iowa, having held this ofifice from the time of the
organization of the association, in 1899. He and
his wife are prominent members of the Presby-
terian church, in which he is an elder, taking a
deep interest in all departments of church work.
He is affiliated with Celestial Lodge. No. 37,
Free and Accepted Masons, at Alexandria ;
Mitchell Qiapter. No. 16, Royal Arch INTasons,
in Mitchell: St. Bernard Commandery, No. 11,
Knights Templar, in this city; Oriental Con-
sistory, No. I, Ancient Accepted Scottish
Rite, in Yankton ; and El Riad Temple of the
Mystic Shrine, in Sioux Falls, while he is also
identified with Alexandria Lodge, No. 11,
Ancient Order of LTnited Workmen.

On the 3d of September, 1890, was solem-
nized the manage of Mr. Hill to Miss Ida Kel-
logg, of Wayne county, Iowa, and they are the
parents of five sons, Joseph L., W. Braden,
Emorv K., Lawrence M. and Robert D.

LEWIS V. SCHNEIDER, one of the most
prominent and highly honored business men of
Salem, McCook county, was born in La Crosse,
Wisconsin, on the 28th of December, i860, being
a son of Joseph and Frances (Ringl) Schneider,
of whose children eight are living at the present
time. The father of the subject was born in
Austria, where he was reared to maturity, there
learning the trade of cabinetmaking. As a young
man he emigrated to the United States, and
passed a number of years in the state of New
York, where he followed the vocation of carpen-
ter and builder. About 1855 he came west to
La Crosse, Wisconsin, as one of the pioneers of
the place, and there he followed contracting and
building for some time, also devoting no little at-
tention to work as a millwright, through which
association he was finally led to engage in the
milling business. In 1890 he sold his milling
interests in Sheldon, Minnesota, where he had
resided for a number of years, and came to
South Dakota to pass his declining days with his
sons. He died in October, 1897, at the age of
sixty-seven years. His widow now resides with
her daughter, Mrs. Frances Roop, of Salem,
this state. Joseph Schneidei* was a Democrat in
politics, but was not deflected from its orginal
principles by the heresy of free silver. He was
a member of the Lutheran church, as is also his
widow, -who was born in Austria.

The subject of this review secured his -early
educational raining in the common schools of
the pioneer epoch in Wisconsin, having attended
school in a little log building of the most primi-
tive type. .\t the age of thirteen years he se-
cured a position in a general store at La Crosse.
Wisconsin, working the first year for his board
and clothing and being thereafter advanced in
salarv from year to year, as his value increased.
He retained this clerical position seven years and
then, in the spring of i88t, came to the territory
of Dakota, being one week en route. His finan-
cial resources were represented in the sum of
about five hundred dollars, which he hid saved
from his earnings, and after returning to La-
Crosse to make a final settlement of his affairs
preliminary to taking up his permanent aliode in

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1095

what is now South Dakota, he returned to Sioux
Falls, in May, 1881, driving through from Valley
Springs, where the railway train had been com-
pelled to stop, by reason of the damage done to
the roadbed by heavy storms. He finally reached
his destination, having been compelled to ford
numerous swollen streams and to encounter other
annoying obstacles. Upon his arrival he entered
the employ of Frank Kunerth, a prominent gen-
eral merchant of Sioux Falls and one who stands
high in Masonic circles. In December, 1881, Mr.
Schneider engaged in business on his own respon-
sibility, entering into partnership with P. L. Run-
kel, and coming to Salem. Here they erected a
store building and on the 27th of the following
March formally opened the same for business,
having a stock of general merchandise. The en-
terprise prospered and in June, 1889, Mr.
Schneider purchased his partner's interest and
soon afterward admitted his brother Henry to
partnership, while in 1890 liis brother Joseph also
became a member of the firm. On the 2d of
March. 1899, to meet the exigencies of the con-
stantly increasing business, the firm was incor-
porated as the Schneider Brothers' Company, un-
der which title the business has since been con-
I , tinned, the esablishment of the company being
one of the best equipped department stores in
this section of the state and commanding a large
and widely extended trade throughout the sur-
rounding country. In addition to a full and select
line of general merchandise the company also
conduct an extensive trade in the handling of
farming implements and machinery, this depart-
ment having been an adjunct of the business since
1882. while in the connection it may be noted
that our subject sold the first binder ever sold
in the county. In 1892 Mr. Schneider was prom-
inently concerned in the organization of the
AlcCook State Bank, of Salem, of which he was
chosen president, retaining this office until 1897,
when he disposed of his interest in the institution.
In 1895, in company with his two brothers, he
purchased the Salem flouring mill, and in 1892
they established in connection with the same a
modern heating and electric-lighting plant, sup-
plying public facilities in these lines, and at that

time they effected the organization of a stock
company, known as the Salem Milling, Lighting
and Heating Company, under which corporate
title the enterprise has since been successfully
conducted. Since its organization Mr. Schneider
has served as its president.

Since 1896 Mr. Schneider has been aligned
with the Republican_ party, while prior to that
time he was a sound-money Democrat. In 1896
he was persuaded to accept the nomination of the
Republican party for state senator from his dis-
trict, but met defeat in the Democratic landslide
which prevailed in this section in that campaign.
In 1888 he was chairman of the Democratic cen-
tral committee of his county, and later served as
councilman and mayor of Salem. He and his
wife are members of the Presbyterian church.
He is a prominent and valued member of the
Masonic fraternity in the state, and was a mem-
ber of the building commitee which had the su-
pervision of the erection of the fine Masonic tem-
ple in Yankton, being also a member of the board
of trustees, as is he at the present time. His Ma-
sonic affiliations are briefly noted as follows : For-
titude Lodge, No. 73, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons ; Chapter No. 34, Royal Arch Masons ;
Constantine Commandery, No. 2, Knights Tem-
plar; Oriental Consistory, No. i, Ancient
Accepted Scottish Rite, in which he has attained
the thirty-second degree ; and EI Riad Temple,
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mys-
tic Shrine. He also holds membership in Salem
Lodge, No. 106, Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows ; the Knights of the Maccabees and the
Ancient Order of United Workmen.

On the 28th of August, 1883. Mr. Schneider
was united in marriage to Miss Emma Jehlen,
of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and they have one child,
Mae.

WESLEY DOLTGLASS, engaged in the
drug business in Menno, is a native of the prov-
ince of Ontario, Canada, where he was born on
the 30th of January, 185 1, being a son of Robert
and Jane (McGiin Douglass, of whose nine
children only four are now living, namely : Alex-

1096

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ander, who is engaged in the real-estate busi-
ness in Winnipeg, Canada; Elizabeth, who is the
widow of John Sproat and resides in Ontario,
Canada; John, who is a physician in the city of
Chicago; and Wesley, who is the subject of this
review. Robert Douglass was born in the state
of New York, where he was reared on a farm,
and as a young man he removed to the province
of Ontario, Canada, where the later years of his
life were passed in agricultural pursuits, his
death there occurring in 1888, at the age of
eighty-four years. He was a man of strong
individuality and well-fortified opinions, and
loyal to his native land. He was a zealous advo-
cate of the principles of the Whig party and an
advocate of reform measures in the land of his
adoption, while his religious faith was that of
the Wesleyan Methodist church. He was of
stanch old Scottish ancestry, his grandfather
having come to the United States from Scotland
during the war of the Revolution, arriving about
the time of the historic "Boston tea party." The
mother of the subject died in 1895, aged eighty-
seven years.

Wesley Douglass received his educational
training in the common schools of his native
province, remaining at the parental home dur-
ing the major portion of the time until he had
attained the age of twenty years, prior to which
he had been employed for a time in a drug store
and in the office of his brother Robert, who was
then engaged in the practice of medicine in
Canada. In 1871, at the age noted, our subject
came over "into the states," making his way to
■Kansas where he remained about two years, hav-
ing been engaged in teaching school and in
working in the office of the Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe Railroad. He then returned to Canada,
where he tarried one year, operating for the
Grand Trunk Railroad, and in the spring of
1874 he became numbered among the pioneers
of what is now the state of South Dakota, com-
ing to Hutchinson county and entering home-
stead and timber claims a few miles northwest
of the present town of Scotland. He resided on
his farm about four years, in the meanwhile
doing some freighting to the' Black Hills and

teaching school during the winter terms for twa
years. In the fall of 1878 Mr. Douglass was
elected sheriff of Hutchinson county, being
chosen as his own successor in 1880, and thus
serving four consecutive years. After the ex-
piration of his second term he removed to the
village of Scotland, where he was employed dur-
ing the ensuing year as operator in the telegraph
office of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul
Railroad. In January, 1884, he came to Menno,
where he has since resided. Shortly after locat-
ing here he established himself in the drug busi-
ness, being one of the pioneer merchants of the
town, and this enterprise he has since success-
fully conducted, having a representative patron-
age. He is a Democrat in his political allegiance,
and fraternally is a member of Scotland Lodge,
No. 53, Free and Accepted Masons.

On the 3d of February, 1878, Mr. Douglass
was united in marriage to Mrs. Caroline
(Church) Johnson, who was born in Ontario,
Canada. She had one child by her first marriage,
]\Iinnie, who is the wife of E. J. Swanton, of
Menno, and of the second union have been born
two children, Agnes J. and Gerald R., both at
the parental home.

ALBERT C. BIERXATZKI, a prominent
and successful member of the bar of 3iIcCook
county, being actively engaged in the practice of
his profession in Salem, was born in Webster
City, Iowa, on the 3d of December, i860, being a
son of Charles and Margaret (Noland) Bier-
natzki, the former of whom was born in Poland
and the latter in Ireland. The father of our
subject was reared to maturity in his native land,
and secured his educational training in the mili-
tary academy in St. Petersburg. He was there-
after commissioned a colonel in the Russian army,
but as his mother was strenuously opposed to his
continuing in the military service he resigned
his office and was appointed a member of the
government engineering corps, with the rank of
colonel. He became involved in the revolution of
1847, manifesting that distinctive loyalt\- which
was one of his dominating characteristics, and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1097

his patriotism placed his hfe in jeopardy, so that
in that year he left his native land and came to
America, locating in Oswego, New York, where
he became identified with the shipping trade,
owning and operating two or more vessels. In
1857 he removed to Webster City, Iowa, where
he engaged in farming and live-stock enterprises,
becoming one of the prominent and influential
citizens of that section and being signally pros-
pered in his business operations. He died in
1899, at the venerable age of eighty-two years,
honored by all who knew him and recognized as
a man of fine intellectuality and sterling charac-
ter. He was a stanch Republican, and while
never ambitious for office he was an influential
factor in the councils of his party. His wife is
still living.

Albert C. Biernatzki secured his early educa-
tional discipline in the public schools of his native
place and then entered the University of Des
]\Ioines, Iowa, where he continued his studies
for two years, while in 1881 he was matriculated
in the Iowa State University, at Iowa City, where
he had simultaneously prosecuted a technical
course in the law department of the university,
in which he was graduated in 1884, with the
degree of Bachelor of Laws. In March of the
following year he took up his residence in Salem,
South Dakota, being one of the early members of
the bar of the county, and here he has ever since
been established in the active practice of his
profession, having built up an excellent business
and retaining a representative clientage, while
he has high standing at the bar of the state. He
continued to be a close and appreciative student,
and is considered one of the best read lawyers
in this section. He is a stalwart advocate of the
principles and policies of the Republcan party,
in whose cause he has been an effective worker,
and he served as county judge from 1889, until
1903, with the exception of one term, his rulings
being signally impartial, indicating not only the
possession of an intrinsically judical mind but
also a wide and intimate knowledge of the science
of jurisprudence. The Judge is a member of
Fortitude Lodge, No. 72, Free and Accepted
Masons: Salem Chapter, No. 34, Royal Arch

Masons; Constantine Commandery, No. 17,
Knights Templar, and El Riad Temple of the
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mys-
tic Shrine, at Sioux Falls.

On the 7th of June, 1887, was solemnized the
marriage of Judge Biernatzki to Miss Emma Sib-
ley, of State Center, Iowa, and they are the par-
ents of one son and two daughters, Charles, Mar-
garet and Helen.

GEORGE E. MASTERS, one of the prom-
inent business men and honored citizens of Spen-
cer, McCook county, was born in Steuben county,
New York, February 26, 1853. a son of Sam-
uel and Margaret (Farrington) Masters, of
whose four children we incorporate the following
brief data : Augusta A. is the wife of C. P.
Sherwood, state dairy commissioner of South
Dakota, and they reside in DeSmet ; Jesse F. B.
is likewise a resident of that place : Genevieve
is the wife of W. G. Renwick, auditor for the
zinc syndicate and a resident of the city of Chi-
cago ; and George E. is the subject of this review.
Samuel Masters was born in New Jersey, in 1822,
and when a child accompanied his parents on their
removal to Steuben county, New York, where
he was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm,
demical education, in Ithaca, New Y''ork.
being given the advantages of an aca-
There he completed a course in civil en-
gineering, and in later years he found
his services as a surveyor in much requisition,
in connection with his agricultural operations.
In 1878 he removed with his family to Minne-
sota, and three years later came to South Da-
kota, locating in Kingsbury county, where he
took up a quarter section of government land.
He rendered efficient service as county surveyor
for a number of years and was one of the influ-
ential citizens of his section. He was a Demo-
crat in politics and was a man of impregnable
integrity and marked mentality. While a resi-
dent of Steuben county, New York, he held the
office of superintendent of schools for several
years, having also been a successful teacher and
prominent in educational work. He died in 1893,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

having passed the psahnist's span of three score
years and ten. His widow is still living and re-
sides in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Sher-
wood, in DeSmet, being seventy-six years of age
at the time of this writing, in 1903.

George E. Masters was reared under the
gracious influences of a cultured and refined
home, and after completing the curriculum of the
public schools continued his studies for two years
in Corning Academy, at Corning, New York.
At the age of twenty-one he took a position as
clerk in a drug store in that place, where he was
employed for three years. In 1876 he set forth
to carve out his career in the west, and for two
years was employed in the city of Chicago. In
1878 he located in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in
which locality he was employed at farm work,
and there, in 1879, he was married to Miss Mar-
garet Gilmore. In the spring of the following
year he came with his bride to South Dakota,
and during the ensuing summer he was employed
in the company store of Walls, Harrison & Shute,
railroad contractors, who were then engaged in
the construction of the line between Tracy and
Pierre. In the fall of that year Mr. Masters
took a position as brakeman on this road, and in
December went to DeSmet, Kingsbury county,
in which locality he has filed entry on a tree claim
in 1879 and on a homestead in the spring of 1880,
his eldest son having been the first white child
bom in what is now the thriving little city of
DeSmet. He continued to reside on his home-
stead until 1886, duly proving on the property
under the homestead laws. Within this interval,
in 1881, he accepted a position with the Empire
Lumber Company, at DeSmet, and continued in
the employ of this concern for ten and one-half
years, while for one year he was an employe of
the firm of Hanson & Lambert, engaged in the
same line of enterprise in DeSmet. In 1893 he
associated himself with his brother Jesse in the
sheep business, in which he continued a short
time. In 1892 he was candidate on the Demo-
cratic ticket for the office of state senator, there
being three tickets in the field during that cam-
paign. He succeeded in winning sufficient Re-
publican votes to compass the election of the

Populist candidate, and though he was himself
defeated he gained no little influence in the ranks
of his party, and this led to his securing the ap-
pointment of postmaster at DeSmet, an office
which he held for four years under the adminis-
tration of President Cleveland. In the winter of
1884 there was organized in DeSmet Company E
of the National Guard of the Territory of Da-
kota, and our subject was made third sergeant
of the same, from which position he finally rose
to the office of captain. At the outbreak of the
Spanish-American war Mr. ^Masters was senior
captain of his regiment, which in 1898 tendered
its services to the government, enlisting for serv-
ice in the Philippines, where it made a brilliant
record. Mr. Masters accompanied the regiment
to Sioux Falls and there was rejected for service
on account of his physical proportions. This
was the reason ^iven but he has ever Ijeen certain
that the real cause of his rejection was one of po-
litical nature. He was, however, given the privi-
lege of naming the lieutenants of the company
over which he had so long been in command, and
his choice fell upon Harry Hubbard and Sidney
Morrison for first and second lieutenants, respec-
tively. On bidding the boys farewell the last to
grasp his hand were Lieutenant Morrison and
Lewis Chase, both of whom met their death in
the Philippines while in discharge of their patri-
otic duties.

In March, 1899, Mr. Masters accepted a posi-
tion with the John W. Tuttle Lumber Company,
as manager of their yards at Spencer, where he
has since been located, being one of the honored
and popular citizens of the place. He is a stanch
advocate of the principles of the Democratic
party and has long been an active worker in its
cause. While a resident of DeSmet he served
for a number of years as a member of the vil-
lage council and also as a member of the board of
education, while at the time of this writing he is
president of the board of education in Spencer.
He is affiliated with Spencer Lodge, No. 126,
Free and Accepted Masons, to which he trans-
ferred his membership from DeSmet Lodge, of
which latter he is past master, as is he also of the
lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1099

in that place. He and his wife are valued mem-
bers of the Baptist church.

Mention has been made of the fact that Mr.
Masters was married in iSyq, his nuptials hav-
insj been solemnized, in July of that year, to
Miss Margaret Gilmore, a resident of St. Charles,
Minnesota, and a native of that state. They are
the parents of nine children : Arthur, who is a
resident of Dayton, Washington ; Alexander also
resides in that place ; Vere H. is manager of the
State Bank of Farmer ; Claude is employed in a
printing establishment here ; and Juniata, Hazel,
G-enevieve, Ronald and George. Jr., remain at the
parental home.

MORRISON A. TAYLOR, M. D., of
Spencer, McCook county, was born in Clarks-
ville, Butler county, Iowa, December 2, 1857, ^
son of James R. and Hester N. (Cook) Taylor,
of whose five children he is the eldest of the
three surviving. John M., a commercial traveler
by vocation, is a resident of Mason City, Iowa,
and Rose E. is the wife of L. M. Valentine, a
prominent capitalist of that place. James R.
Taylor was born in Fairfax countv, Ohio, and
his wife was born in Fountain countv, Indiana.
The ancestry in the agnatic line is of Scotch-
Irish derivation, and the direct line is traced
back to the 3'oungest son of an English earl, he
having left the parental home and located in
Scotland, whence his descendants eventually
came to America. The Cook family is of French
Huguenot stock intermixed with German, the
original progenitors in America having come
hither from Gennany and the name having been
spelled Koch at that time. The parents of our
subject removed from Indiana to Iowa in 1853
and they still reside in Clarksville, that state,
honored pioneers of the commonwealth. Mr.
Taylor was numbered among the early settlers
of Butler county, where he purchased govern-
ment land, receiving a warrantee deed signed by
Franklin Pierce, who was then president of the
United States. He paid the purchase price in
gold, which was then the currency commonly in
use. He continued to be actively identified with

agricultural pursuits until 1902, when he re-
tired, having now attained the venerable age of
seventy-two years. He and his wife have long
been prominent and zealous members of the
Christian church, and he has also been influential
in educational work.

Dr. Taylor secured his preliminary educa-
tion in the district schools of his native county
and then completed a course in the high school
at Qarksville. At the age of nineteen he initi-
ated his pedagogic career, proving a successful
teacher. At the age of twenty-one he went to
Decorah, Iowa, where he completed a one year's
course in the institute conducted by Professor
John Breckenridge, and he thereafter continued
to teach for two years in the district schools of
his native state. In 1881 he entered the North-
ern Indiana Normal School and Businei==i Uni-
versity, at Valparaiso, Indiana, but shortly after-
ward he suffered a serious illness, which com-
pelled him to abandon his studies and return
home. He then began teaching in the public
schools of different towns and cities in Iowa,
continuing to advance in his profession and to
receive larger salaries from year to year. In
1889 the Doctor came to South Dakota, and for
three years was superintendent of the public
schools of Alexandria. In the fall of 1894 he
was matriculated in the medical department of
the State University of Iowa, where he com-
pleted the prescribed course and was graduated
in the spring of 1897, receiving the degree of
Doctor of Medicine. He initiated the practice
of his profession in Volga City, Iowa, but shortly
afterward located in Lamont. and later engaged
in practice in Waterloo, that state. In May,
1903, Dr. Taylor came to Spencer and here
established himself in practice, and he has
already gained marked prestige in his profes-
sion and controls a representative supporting
patronage, which is a due recognition of his
ability and genial personality. He is a member
of the state medical society and is examiner for
the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Com-
pany, of Milwaukee ; the Northwestern National
Life Insurance Company, of Minneapolis; and
the Bankers' Life Insurance Company, of Des

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Moines, while he also holds a similar position
with the Modern Woodmen of America, the
Mutual Benefit Association, and the Central Life
Insurance Association of Des Moines, the
Ancient Order of ' Pyramicjs, the C. C. C.
and the Modern Brotherhood of America.
He is a Republican in politics and his
religious faith is that of the Christian church.
Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of
Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America, the
Ancient Order of Pyramids, the Modern Brother-
hood of America and the Mutual Benefit Associa-
tion.

On the 29th of September, 1898, Dr. Taylor
was united in marriage to IMiss Marie A. Axtell.
of Strawberry Point, Iowa, and they are the
parents of two children. Roba H. and Hester M.

WILLIAM T. ELLIS, postmaster at Salem,
McCook county, is a native of the Badger state,
having been born in Rock county, Wisconsin, on
the 2d of August, 1852, a son of Thomas and
Mary (Davis) Ellis, of whose six children he
is the third and the eldest of the three surviv-
ing. Of his brothers it may be noted that Allen
B. is engaged in the grain business at Winni-
peg, Manitoba, and that Edgar A. is engaged in
the same line of enterprise in Assiniboine,
Canada. The parents of the subject were born
in Cardiganshire, South Wales, whence the
father came to America when a young man, his
marriage being solemnized in Ohio, where his
wife had come with her parents when a girl.
Thomas Ellis was a tailor by trade, but the
sedentary employment made serious inroads on
his health and he was thus led to abandon this
vocation and turn his attention to agricultural
pursuits. About 1850 he removed from the
Buckeye state to Wisconsin, where he resided
until 1855, when he removed to Freeborn county,
Minnesota, where he initiated his operations as
a farmer, becoming one of the prosperous men
of that county, where he continued to reside
until his death, which occurred on the 13th of
September, 1874, since which time his loved
and devoted wife has made her home with the

subject of this review. Thomas Ellis was a Re-
publican in politics and his religious faith was
that of the Methodist Episcopal church, of
which his widow is likewise a devoted member.
William T. Ellis was reared on the home-
stead farm in Minnesota, and after completing
the curriculum of the district school he con-
tinued his studies in the high school at Albert
Lea, that state. At the age of twenty-one years
he engaged in teaching in the public schools, and
to this vocation he continued to give his atten-
tion at intervals for about twelve years, in Min-
nesota and South Dakota. In May, 1880, he
came to Salem, this state, and within the same
year entered a homestead claim in McCook
county, at a point four miles west of Salem. He
proved on this property and there continued to
reside for a period of six years, developing a
valuable farm. In 1888 he became associated
with his brother Allen in the erection of a store
building in Salem, and in the same they engaged
in 'the hardware business, in which they con-
tinued to be associated until May, 1901. In
1897 the subject was appointed postmaster at
Salem, taking charge of the office on the ist of
June, and he has ever since remained in tenure
of the position. At the initiation of his regime
the office was one of the fourth class, but in
1899 its business had so increased that it was
brought into the class of presidential offices, so
that Mr. Ellis received in that year his re-
appointment directly from President McKinley.
It is needless to say that he is an uncompromis-
ing Republican, and in the connection he has
done effective service in behalf of the party cause
in this section of the state. He served three
years as a member of the board of county com-
missioners, having been incumbent of the office
at the time of the erection of the present court
house. Fraternally Mr. Ellis is identified with
Fortitude Lodge, No. 73, Free and Accepted
Masons ; Salem Chapter, No. 34, Royal Arch
Masons ; Omega Council, No. 2, Royal and
Select Masters ; Constantine Commandery, No.
2, Knights Templar, and El Riad Temple of the
Mystic Shrine, in Sioux Falls. He is also af-
filiated with the local organizations of the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Knights of the Maccabees. He was the first
eminent commander of the Constantine Com-
mandery. Knights Templar, of Salem, and has
ever manifested a deep interest in the noble fra-
ternity of Freemasonry.

J. C. LAWYER, M. D.. established in the
successful practice of his profession in the town
of Spencer, McCook county, was born in Bell-
vilie, Washington county, Pennsylvania, on the
2d of January, 1862, a son of Martin and Mar-
garet (Moss) Lawver, of whose eight children
all are living save one. Martin Lawver was
born in Brownsville, Fayette county, Pennsyl-
vania, as was also his father, while the grand-
father was a native of Germany, whence he came
to America in an early day, being numbered
among the sterling pioneers of the old Keystone
state. In the maternal line the Doctor traces his
ancestry back to Scotch-Irish stock. His mother
died in 1882, and his father now resides in Spen-
cer, this state, having come to South Dakota
about 1883 and purchasing land in McCook
county, where he was actively engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits until 1902, when he removed
to Spencer, where he has since lived retired.

Dr. Lawver may be said to have inherited
a certain predilection for the medical profession,
since on the maternal side of the family there
have been a number of able physicians, in the
various generations. His uncle, Jolin C. Moss,
was the inventor of the process of photo-en-
graving, in which connection his name became
known throughout the civilized world, while
several others of the Moss family attained dis-
tinction as lawyers and educators. Dr. Lawver
secured his early education in the public schools
and supplemented this by a course of study in
Waynesburg College, at Waynesburg, Pennsyl-
vania. At the early age of fourteen years he
purchased medical books and began to devote his
attention to careful study of the same, having
determined to fit himself for the medical pro-
fession. In 1882 he went to New York city to
complete his medical gtudies. In the fall of 1884
he entered the Bellevue Hospital Medical Col-

lege, in New York city, where he continued his
studies for the ensuing three years, being grad-
uated with the degree of Doctor of Medi-
cine. He then began the practice of his pro-
fession at Granville, West Virginia, where he
remained until the fall of 1891 when he was ma-
triculated in the Baltimore Medical College, in
the city of Baltimore, where he was graduated
in the spring of 1892, having thus secured the
very best of preliminary training for his exact-
ing and responsible profession. After his gradu-
ation the Doctor continued in practice at Gran-
ville for a short time, and in the fall of the same
year he came to South Dakota in search of an
eligible location. In February, 1893, he es-
tablished himself in practice in Spencer, where
his skill, devotion and personal courtesy have
been the factors which have enabled him to build
up a large and representative practice. In ad-
dition to his superior medical education which
fitted him for active duties, since he commenced
to practice twelve years ago, he has been a liberal
patron and student of most of the leading medical
books and periodical publications in this coun-
try and abroad, by means of which he has suc-
cessfully kept posted on the latest discoveries
for the cure of human afflictions and the most
skillful methods of treating them. Stacks of
medical magazines and a magnificent library of
the best medical works, representing a cost of
hundreds of dollars, attest in the most emphatic
term= to the educational qualifications of Dr.
Lawver. Among the office equipments are
nearly all the latest devices, implements and
medical appliances used in testing the condition
of the human system and for treating chronic
diseases in the most scientific way. Very few
country physicians have such a fine display of
instruments and appliances as has Dr. Lawver,
of Spencer, and this fact as well as the further
fact that he possesses superior skill in handling
them, is becoming widely known throughout
this section of the country. During the past
year the Doctor has erected a fine two-story
brick building, entirely adapted to his own use,
and it is his intention to ultimately utilize this
building as a hospital in which he can treat cases

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of every description from different parts of the
country, and give them hospital treatment at
home equal to or better than what they now go
to larger cities to obtain. He is a member of the
State Medical Society and at all times keeps in
touch witli the advances made in both branches
of his profession. In politics he renders alle-
giance to the Republican party, and fraternally is
identified with the Free and Accepted jNIasons
and the Modern Woodmen of America.

On the 2d of February, 1903, Dri Lawyer
was married to Miss Margaret Theis, of Farmer,
this state, she being a daughter of Jacob Theis
and a native of the state of South Dakota.

CHARLES P. BARRIER, who is now liv-
ing practically retired in the village of Geddes,
was born in Besancon. France, on the 12th of
June. 1833. being a son of Frederick and Kate
( Goll ) Barbiere. both of whom passed their lives
in la belle France, the former having devoted
the major portion of his life to custom office
pursuits, while he served with distinction in the
French army. This worthy couple became the
parents of nine children, of whom five are still
living, three of the number being resident of the
United States. The subject was reared to the
age of sixteen in his native land, where he re-
ceived good educational advantages, and at the
age noted, in company with his sister Louise, he
emigrated to the L^nited States. His father also
desired to come to America, but found it inex-
pedient thus to do, since his removal from the
French domain would forfeit him the pension
which he received from the government and
which was adequate for his maintenance in his
declining years. From New York city our sub-
ject mafle his way to Ohio, where he remained
about ten years, being variously employed, and
he then went to the state of Louisiana, where he
was engaged in working along the Mississippi
river for several years, finally removing to the
city of St. Louis, IMissouri, where he was em-
ployed during the years 1859 and i860 by the
American Fur Company, afterward being

located for a time in Iowa. In 1861 he came to
Dakota and secured employment with Dave
Pease, a prominent Indian trader, whose head-
quarters were on Pease creek and Pease island,
which were named in his honor. Later he en-
gaged in chopping wood to supply the steam-
boats which then plied the ]\Iissouri river to
points in Montana, where the gold excitement
was then at its height. In 1867 he took up a
homestead claim of a quarter section of land,
near the river, and in what is now Charles Mix
county. South Dakota. He improved this farm
and retained the same in his possession until
1893, when he disposed of the property, for a
consideration of one thousand dollars.

In November, 1863, l\Ir. Barbier was united
in marriage to Miss Kate Bear, a member of the
Yankton Sioux tribe of Indians, and of this
union have been born six children, concerning
whom we enter the following brief record :
Louise is the wife of Dennis ]\Ioran. who resides
in Fort Randall, being an extensive farmer;
Mary is the wife of William Sweeney, who is
an extensive farmer and stock grower on the
Yankton reservation ; Annie, who is partially
crippled, remains at the parental home ; Sophia
resides in Geddes with her parents ; Fred, who
married Miss Rose Burdean. is a successful
farmer of Charles Mix county ; and Adele, who
was the fifth in order of birth, died in early child-
hood. In politics i\lr. Barbier gives his support
to the Republican party, and he and his wife are
communicants of the Protestant Episcopal
church. He served for two years as county com-
missioner, has always taken a deep interest in
the advancement of the county and state and is
held in high esteem by all who know him. He
and his wife are the owners of two hundred
and forty acres of land on the Yankton Indian
reservation, and he gives a general supervision
to this property as well as to his other cajiital-
istic interests. Mr. Barbier has a vivid recollec-
tion of the memorable snowfall which visited the
state in the winter of 1880-81. The precipita-
tion began on the 7th of December and remained
on the ground until April 12th. The result was
the loss of much valuable live stock by starva-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

103

tion, and the subject himself suffered a loss of
more tlian one hundred head of cattle at the
time.

SOLOMON CLOUGH. one of the promi-
nent and representative farmers and stock grow-
ers of Charles Mix county, is a native of the far
distant Pine Tree state, having been born in
Piscataquis county, Maine, on the 19th of
August, 1832, so that he lias now passed the
span of three score years and ten. He is a son
of Noah and Abigail (Oakes) Clough. who be-
came the parents of eight children, namely :
Clarissa, Bradford, Noah, Orrison. Albion,
Betsy Jane. .Solomon and John B. Of the chil-
dren those living at the present time are Orrison,
Solomon and John B. The father followed a
seafaring life for seven years, after which he
was engaged in agricultural pursuits during the
balance of his active career. The Clough family
is one whose name has long been identified with
American history, the original progenitors in the
new world having come hither from England
about four centuries ago. When our subject was
a lad of seven years his parents emigrated from
Alaine to the new state of Illinois, settling in
Winnebago county, where they remained about
four years, the father having there purchased
land for about two dollars an acre. At the ex-
piration of the period noted he disposed of his
Illinois farm and settled in Grant county, Wis-
consin, where he purchased government land and
developed a good farm, having been one of the
sterling pioneers of that section of the Badger
state, where both he and his wife continued to
reside until their deaths.

Solomon Clough, subject of this sketch, has
a vivid recollection of the pioneer days in Wis-
consin, where he passed his youth, assisting in
the reclaiming and cultivation of the home farm
and attending the common schools until he was
about eighteen years of age. In 1854 he was
united in marriage to Miss Frances Shaw, who
was born in Illinois, and the one child of this
union survived its birth by only a few days. The
subject continued to follow agricultural pursuits

in Wisconsin from the time of his marriage until
1890, when he came to South Dakota, having
previously disposed of his farm in Grant county,
Wisconsin, for a consideration of fifteen dollars
an acre. Upon arriving in Charles Mix county
he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of
the valuable land in the Missouri river valley,
paying for the same at the rate of six and one-
quarter dollars an acre, while he also took up a
homestead claim of eighty acres. He now is the
owner of a fine landed estate of two hundred and
forty acres, the same having excellent improve-
ments of a permanent nature and being main-
tained under a high state of cultivation. In
politics Mr. Clough pronounces himself a Jef-
fersonian Democrat and an Abraham Lincoln
Republican, and he holds that the two terms are
synonymous. He served for six years as treas-
urer of his school district and has done all in
his power to forward the educational interests of
the district. He and his wife are members of
the R. G. Ingersoll church.

J. E. HAMAKER, one of the leading busi-
ness men and honored citizens of Spencer,
McCook county, comes of stanch German lineage
and was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, on
the 28th of February, 1849, ^ son of Adam and
Hannah (Grubb) Hamaker, both likewise native
of that county and representatives of old and hon-
ored families of the Keystone state. Adam Ha-
maker was a wheelwright by trade and devoted
his attention to the same for a number of years,
later engaging in agricultural pursuits. In 1857
he removed with his family to Ogle county, Illi-
nois, where he became a successful farmer and
prominent citizen, his death there occurring in
1892, his wife passing away in 1901.

The subject of this sketch secured his early
education in the common schools of Pennsylvania
and Illinois, and as a youth he became identified
with the great basic art of agriculture, to which
he continued to give active allegiance until 1892.
In the spring of 1880 Mr. Hamaker came to South
Dakota and took up a homestead claim in McCook
county and a tree claim in Miner county. He

II04

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

made excellent improvements on both of these
properties and continued to reside on his fine
homestead until 1892, when he took up his resi-
dence in Spencer. In 1894 he here established
himself in the furniture and undertaking busi-
ness, in which he has since continued.

In politics Mr. Hamaker is an uncompromis-
ing advocate of the principles of the Democratic
party. In 1891 he was elected a member of the
state legislature from his district, being one of the
historic "faithful twenty-five," and making a cred-
itable record as a conscientious and able legisla-
tor. He served several years as a member of the
Democratic central committee of McCook county,
and has been a member of the state central com-
mittee since 1902. Fraternally he is affiliated
with Spencer Lodge, No. 126, Free and Accepted
Masons, and Salem Chapter, No. 34, Royal Arch
Masons.

On the 29th of December, 1881, Mr. Hamaker
was united in marriage to Miss Rosa B. Jarver,
of Ogle county, Illinois, no children having been
born of the union.

STANLEY B. DICKINSON, M. D., is one
of the able and popular young members of the
medical profession in the state, being success-
fully engaged in practice in Watertown, and be-
ing held in high regard in professional, business
and social circles. The Doctor is a native of
the state of Michigan, having been born in Ben-
ton Harbor, Berrien county, on the i6th of April,
1871. He is a son of Joseph and Hannah A.
(Davis) Dickinson, the former of whom was
born in the state of Michigan and the latter in
New York. Joseph Dickinson became one of the
successful fruit growers in the famous peach belt
of Michigan, was a man who commanded une-
quivocal confidence and esteem, and died at his
home in Benton Harbor in 1888, at the age of
fifty-five years, his wife being' still a resident of
that place. The paternal grandfather of the sub-
ject was Robert Dickinson, who was born in Eng-
land, whence he came to America as a young
man.

Dr. Dickinson received his early educational

training in the public schools of his native place
and then entered the Northern Indiana Business
Institute, in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he was
graduated as a member of the class of 1890. The
following three years he was engaged in manag-
ing a fruit farm in his native county, and at the
expiration of this period entered the medical de-
partment of the State University of Illinois, es-
tablished in the city of Chicago, where he com-
pleted the prescribed course and was graduated
as a member of the class of 1897, having passed
the intervening summers in further technical
study, under the preceptorship of Dr. John Bell,
of Benton Harbor. After his graduation, with
the degree of Doctor of Medicine, he held for a
short time a position as interne in West Side Hos-
pital, in Chicago, thus gaining farther and valu-
able clinical experience. He was thereafter en-
gaged in the practice of his profession in Chicago
for four years, at the expiration of which, in 1901,
he came to South Dakota and opened an office in
Watertown. where by his energy, ability, devo-
tion to his profession and gracious personality
he has built up a most gratifying and successful
practice. While in Chicago he was for three
years clinical instructor on diseases of children
in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, while
he also acted as medical examiner for the New
York Mutual Life Insurance Company, the Pru-
dential, of Newark, New Jersey, and other lead-
ing companies, as well as fraternal insurance or-
ders. In politics the Doctor is an uncompromis-
ing Republican, taking a lively interest in the
questions and issues of the hour. He is a mem-
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and fra-
ternally is identified with the Masonic and
Pythian orders, and belongs to the District, State
and American Medical Associations.

On the 26th of September, 1900, Dr. Dickin-
son was united in marriage, in the city of Chi-
cago, to Miss Nellie C. Shurtleflf, who was born
and reared in that city, being a daughter of Bar-
zella M. and Mary Ellen (Sibley) Shurtleflf. the
former of whom was born in Illinois and the
latter in Vermont. Mr. Shurtleflf has been for
many years a prominent commission merchant in
Chicago. The Sibleys are of a prominent old

S. B. DICKENSON, M. D.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

family of New England, and related to that re-
doubtable Revolutionary hero, General Israel
Putnam. Laura Bridgeman, the famous blind
mute, is also a relative of the family. Mrs.
Dickinson is a member of the Woman's Club and
is prominent in local social circles, being an ac-
complished musician and a woman of gracious
refinement. They have one son, Robert Sibley
Dickinson.

SUTTON E. YOUNG, a resident of Aurora
county, is a native of the old Buckeye state, hav-
ing been born in Hiram, Portage county, Ohio,
•on the 23d of September, 1847, ^ son of Erastus
M. and Christina (Allyn") Young, both of whom
were representatives of sterling pioneer families
of Ohio. The father was born in 1813, while
"his death occurred in 1891, his life having been
devoted to fanning and to contracting and build-
ing. His wife died in 1899, at the age of seventy-
seven >-ears, and of their three children the sub-
ject of this sketch and his brother. Dr. Clark
M. Young, a professor in the University of
South Dakota, are now living.

Sutton E. Young was reared to the sturdy
discipline of the farm and his early educational
training was received in the public schools, after
which he continued his studies in Hiram College,
Ohio, where he was graduated as a member of
the class of 1871. Thereafter he was for five
years superintendent of the public schools of
Kenton. Ohio. In the meantime he had given
careful attention to the study of law, securing
admission to the bar of Ohio in 1875. He served
as prosecuting attorney of Hardin county, Ohio,
for one term and later represented the same
countv in the legislature of the state. In 1881
Mr. Young came to the territory of Dakota and
accepted the superintendency of the public
schools of Sioux Falls, remaining in that posi-
tion until 1884 and gaining a high reputation
as one of the able educators of the state. Later
"he was successfully engaged in the practice of
law in Sioux Falls. He was elected a member
of the first legislature of the state of South
Dakota in 1889, and had the distinction of being

chosen the first speaker of the house of repre-
sentatives. In 1891 he returned with his family
to Ohio, where they remained four years, during
which time his sons were attending college at
Hiram, Ohio. He then returned to South Da-
kota and passed the ensuing two years in Rapid
City, in the Black Hills, after which he again
took up his residence in Sioux Falls, where he
remained until 1901, and was then appointed
superintendent of the State Reform School at
Plankinton, which position he now holds. Mr.
Young is a stanch advocate of the principles and
policies of the Republican party and has been
an effective worker in its cause and one of the
leading campaign speakers in the state.

On the nth of May. 1874, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Young to Miss Emma
Stickney, daughter of Cleveland and Abigail
(Abbott) Stickney, of Medina county, Ohio.
Mrs. Young is a graduate of Oberlin College,
Ohio, and has always been prominently identified
with educational and philanthropic work. At
the time of her marriage she was principal of the
high school of Kenton, Ohio. She has also taught
in the Sioux Falls high school and in the Sioux
Falls College. Mrs. Young has written much
on educational themes and at present has
editorial charge of the Reform School Item.
There are three children in the family, concern-
ing whom we enter the following brief record :
.A.llyn A. completed a course of study in his
father's alma mater. Hiram College, in Ohio,
and then entered the University of Wisconsin, at
Madison, to take a post-graduate course, and
received the doctor's degree in 1902. He is now
professor of economics in the Western Reserve
University, in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Evan
E. was educated in Hiram College and in the
South Dakota State School of Mines, at Rapid
City. When the First South Dakota Regiment
was organized for service in the Spanish-
American war he entered the regiment as sec-
ond lieutenant of Company M, of Rapid City.
He served with the regiment in all its campaigns
in the Philippines and was promoted to a first
lieutenancy and made adjutant of the regiment.
When the regiment returned home to be mus-

[io6

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

tered out. Lieutenant Young remained in the
Philippines and accepted a commission as cap-
tain in the Eleventh Cavalrs', United States Vol-
unteers. He was appointed adjutant of the regi-
ment and served about eighteen months until the
regiment was mustered out March 13, igoi. He
then declined a commission as first lieutenant of
cavalry. United States army, to enter the law
school of the University of Wisconsin. He
graduated in the law course in June, 1903, and
immediately began the practice of law at Sioux
Falls. Gertrude, the youngest of the three chil-
dren, is now a student in the University of Wis-
consin.

WILLIAM MOORE, who is one of the
owners and operators of the Armour Roller
Mills at Armour, Douglas county, is a native of
the province of Ontario, Canada, having been
born in the town of Athens, on the loth of May,
1857, a son of Mark and Ann Moore. He re-
ceived his educational discipline in the excellent
schools of his native province, where he was en-
gaged in business until the year 1881, when he
came to the Lfnited States and located in the
city of Cleveland, Ohio, where he resided for two
years, at the expiration of which, in 1883, he
came to Douglas county. South Dakota, where
he established himself in the hardware and agri-
cultural-implement business in the town of
Grand View, moving to Armour later and be-
coming one of the early merchants of the place
and building up a most successful enteqjrise,
while he secured a firm hold on the confidence
and esteem of the community, so that his busi-
ness increased in scope and importance with the
development and growth of the village and
county. In the year igoi Mr. Moore disposed
of this business and shortly afterward purchased
an interest in the Armour Roller Mills, of which
he assumed the active management at the time.
The output of the mills finds a ready demand
in the market, and its products are sold through-
out the state, the special brands of flour manu-
factured being the Fancy Patent, the White
Rose and the Headlight, all of which have at-

tained a high reputation through South Dakota,
being held equal to any brands to be found in
any section of the L'nion. The mills have been
equipped with the most modern and improved
macliinery and accessories, and the most scrupu-
lous care is given to every detail of operation,
the daily capacity being for the output of fifty
barrels. Through the indefatigable efforts and
able administrative powers of Mr. Moore the
scope of the business has been greatly expanded,
and the enterprise is one which is highly appre-
ciated and which contributes largely to the in-
dustrial prestige of the attractive town of
Armour. Mr. Moore is a stanch advocate of
the principles and policies of the Democratic
party, and is at the present time a valued mem-
ber of the village council. Fraternally he is
identified with Arcania Lodge, No. 97, Free and
Accepted Masons, of Armour, South Dakota;
Mitchell Qiapter, No. 16, Royal Arch Masons,
and St. Bernard Commanderv-, No. 11. Knights
Templar, the latter two affiliations being with
the respective bodies in the city of Mitchell.

On the 3d of June, 1891, Air. Moore was
united in marriage to Miss Hattie E. Long, of
Cleveland, Ohio, and they are the parents of
two fine sons, William A. and Lucius Wells,
aged ten and seven, respectively.

BYRON P. JONES, of Prosper township,
Davison county, was born on a farm in Rensse-
laer county. New York, on the 25th of February,
1855, being the youngest of the three children of
Augustus and Margaret (Jones) Jones. His
sister, Eudora, is now the wife of N. H. Dum-
bolton, of Rockford, Iowa, and his brother,
James Irving, is a resident of Rockford, Iowa.
When the subject was twelve years of age his
parents removed to Wisconsin, and in 1868 they
t(xik up his residence in Floyd county, Iowa,
where they passed the remainder of their lives.
The educational advantages aflforded the sub-
ject were somewhat limited, being confined to
a somewhat irregular attendance in the common
schools of New York and Wisconsin. He was
thirteen years of age at the time of the removal

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

to Iowa, and there he continued to make his
home until he had attained manhood, being en-
o-agcd in farm work during the intervening
years.

In 1879 he came as a pioneer to Soutli Da-
kota, taking up a homestead claim of one hundred
and sixty acres, in what is now Prosper town-
ship, Davison county, and later securing a pre-
emption claim of equal area, the two tracts con-
stituting his present farm, the major portion of
whicli he has brought under a high state of
cultivation, while he has erected a substantial
dwelling and other good buildings, constructed
fences about the place and otherwise brought it
up to a model status. He is a Republican in
politics and is known as a loyal and public-
spirited citizen. Fraternally he is a member of
the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and
both he and his wife are valued members of the
Presbyterian church, in whose work they take a
zealous interest.

On the 21 St of March, 1881, J\Ir. Jones was
united in marriage to Miss Huldah Emma Colby,
who was born and reared in Illinois and who
was a resident of Rockford county, Iowa, at the
time of her marriage, being a daughter of Eben
and Mary Cnlliy. Of this union have been born
five children, all of whom are living, namely:
Margie, Blanche, :\lay, Ethel and Ella.

OLR'ER P. AULD, one of the represent-
ative business men of Plankinton, Aurora county,
is a native of the city of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania,
where he was born on the 20th of March, 1855,
and when he was a child of two years his par-
ents removed westward to Benton count^^ Iowa,
where he was reared to maturity, his educational
training having been received in the public
schools of Iowa and Illinois. At the age of
seventeen years he left school and initiated his
independent career, having been engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits for a few years thereafter in
Iowa, after which he engaged in the mercantile
business in Vinton, that state, conducting the
enterprise for three years, at the expiration of
which, in 1883. he came to the territory of

Dakota and took up his residence in Plankinton,
Aurora county, where he established a general
mercantile business, building up an excellent
trade and devoting his attention to the same for
four years. He then disposed of his interests in
the line and engaged in the abstract business, in
which he has ever since continued, having a rep-
resentative support and being thoroughly equip-
ped for the facile handling of all work involved,
while he is known as an expert in the line and as
one of the best judges of realty values in this
section of the state. In the real-estate depart-
ment of his business he has handled most valu-
able properties in various sections of the state,
showing marked discrimination in his operations
and being recognized as one of the reliable and
straightforward real-estatt men of the state,
while upon his books are always to be found
details in regard to most desirable investments.
He is at the present time rendering eflfective
service as receiver of the Bank of Plankinton.
which went into liquidation in 1900. In politics
he is stanchly aligned in support of the principles
and policies of the Re])ublican party, in whose
interests he has been an active worker, having
frequently been a delegate to county and state
conventions. For ten years he was chainnan of
the board of county commissioners, while for
four years he was incumbent of the office of
president of the village council, ably managing
and directing the executive department of the
nnmicipal government, while he has also held
other village offices, ever manifesting a marked
loyalty and public spirit and being one of the
representative citizens of the county. He and
his wife are prominent and valued members of
the Methodist Episcopal church.

On the 4th of October, 1883, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Auld to Miss Nellie Hoon,
of Vinton, Iowa, and they are the parents of four
children, Clarence, Leslie, Glenn and Nellie.

GEORGE T. CHANDLER, one of the pro-
gressive agriculturists and stock growers of
Douglas county, was born in Fayette county,
Ohio, on the ist of November, 1847, being a son

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of Howell and Martha (Pace) Chandler. Both
parents were born in Virginia, being represent-
atives of old and prominent families of the Old
Dominion state. Representatives in both the
paternal and maternal lines took part in the war
of the Revolution, as well as that of 1812, in
which latter the paternal grandfather of the
subject served as quartermaster. Two of the
brothers of the subject were valiant defenders of
the Union in the war of the Rebellion. William
S. went to the front as a member of the Second
Massachusetts Cavalry, while H. T. was a mem-
ber of Company A, Thirty-fourth Iowa Volun-
teer Infantry, while five cousins were members
of the Third Iowa Cavalry during the same great
conflict through which the Union was preserved.
The honored father of Mr. Reed, who was a
miller by profession, died in i8g8, aged eighty
years, while the mother died in 1881, aged sixty-
seven years.

George T. Chandler was, a child of eight
years at the time when his parents removed from
Ohio to Iowa, locating on a farm in Decatur
county, where he received his educational train-
ing in the public schools, continuing his studies
until he had attained the age of eighteen years,
after which he devoted his attention to the man-
agement of a portion of his father's farm until
1880, when he secured a farm of his own in
Decatur county, Iowa, where he continued to
reside until 1882, when he came to what is now
the state of South Dakota and became one of the
pioneers of Douglas county. Here he filed claim
to a quarter section, where he has since made
his home, having inade excellent improvements,
erecting good buildings, and he has brought the
place under a high state of cultivation, his landed
estate in the county now comprising one hundred
and sixty acres, while in addition to securing
large yields of the cereals and other products
commonly raised in this section he devotes no
little attention to the breeding and raising of
high-grade cattle, swine and horses. He is alert
and progressive in his business methods and has
attained marked success, while he holds the
confidence and esteem of the people of the com-
munity in which he has so long made his home, i

In politics he is an uncompromising advocate of
the principles of the Democratic party, and has
been an active worker in its behalf, having been
a potent factor in securing to the same note-
worthy victories in Douglas county, though he
has never been ambitious for personal prefer-
ment in a political way. He has served, how-
ever, for six }ears as a member of the school
board of his district, and is always relied upon
to lend his aid and influence in support of all
measures tending to advance the general wel-
fare. He is a member of Armour Lodge, No.
25, Knights of Pythias, at Armour, being past
chancellor of the same, while he has represented
his lodge as delegate to the grand lodge of the
state. He is also identified with the Knights
of the Maccabees.

On the 25th of October. 1868, Mr. Chandler
was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ellen
Chambers, who was born in Jefferson county,
Iowa, on the 2d of December, 1847, being a
daughter of Daniel and Eliza (Breniman) Cham-
bers, her father having been a pioneer farmer
of the county mentioned. He now resides in
Kansas, having attained the patriarchal age of
eighty-seven years, and having been afflicted
with blindness for the past fifteen years. His de-
voted wife was summoned into eternal rest in
1894, at the age of seventy-eight years. Mr. and
Mrs. Chandler are the parents of four children,
all of whom remain at the parental home,
namely: Marion Austin, Thomas M., Howell
Francis and Cora E.

JAMES GURNAL JONES, one of the pio-
neers of Charles Mix county, is a native of the
old Empire state of the Union, having been born
on a farm in Oneida county. New York, on the
2ist of April, 1851, a son of William J. and Ann
fWheldon) Jones. The grandparents of the
subject were born in Wales, whence they emi-
grated to the United States about the year 1812,
locating in the state of New York, where they
passed the remainder of their lives. The father
of our subject was born in Oneida county. New
York, and became a prominent farmer near

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Utica, Oneida county, where he died in 1877.
James G. Jones received his early educational
discipline in the common schools and in an
academy at Rome, New York, while he has ever
been a wide reader and student of affairs, and
is a man of broad and exact information, hav-
ing supplemented his early training by system-
atic personal application. He continued to as-
sist in the work of the home farm until he had
attained the age of sixteen years, when, in 1867.
he gave rein to his spirit of adventure and came
to the west, passing five years in Texas and the
Indian territorv' and gaining much experience
in regard to life on the frontier. In 1873 he
came to what is now the state of South Dakota
and settled in Charles Mix county. In 1879.
when the county was organized. Governor How-
ard appointed Mr. Jones county commissioner,
while in the first popular election, in the fall
of the same year, he was elected register of
deeds of the county. He was re-elected in 1880,
serving for a total of three years, as the first in-
cumbent of this office. Four years later he was
chosen representative of his county in the first
constitutional convention of the south half of
the territory of Dakota, but declined to serve,
said convention having been held at Sioux Falls.
In 1887 he was elected a member of the terri-
torial legislature, serving with marked ability
and being chosen as his own successor two years
later. Prior to the organization of Charles Mix
county Mr. Jones and Major Thad S. Clarkson,
ex-commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of
the Republic, were rival candidates for the ter-
ritorial legislature, and the vote proved to be a
tie. Under these conditions Brule county, which
gave Mr. Jones a majority, was conveniently
thrown out on a technical pretext and his de-
feat was thus compassed, this being in the year
1876.

The subject was a stanch supporter of the
Republican party until the organization of the
Populist party, when he transferred his
allegiance to the same, and he has ever since
been one of the ablest and most enthusiastic
advocates of its cause in the state, while he has
been an effective worker in the promotion of its

interests. In 1893 Mr. Jones was the nominee
of his party for the state senate, but met defeat
by a narrow margin. In 1896 he was elected
enrolling and engrossing clerk of the house of
representatives. In 1898 he was again the nomi-
nee of his party for the state senate, and at this
time a gratifying majority was rolled up in his
favor, and he proved an able and valued mem-
ber of this body. In 1900 he was one of the
delegatcs-at-large from this state to the Peo-
ple's party national convention, at Sioux Falls,
which nominated Bryan for the presidency and
Towne for the vice-presidency. Mr. Jones is
a man of strong individuality and marked intel-
lectuality, being a close student of the political
and economic questions of the hour and being
ever fortified in his convictions. He is the owner
of a fine landed estate of three hundred and
twenty acres, in the Missouri valley district of
the county, and is one of the successful farmers
and stock growers of this section. Fraternally
he is identified with Doric Lodge, No. 93, Free
and Accepted Masons, at Platte, which village
is fourteen miles distant from his fine farm
home.

On the 15th of July, 1877, Mr. Jones was
united in marriage to Miss Winifred Mulleague,
who was born in County Roscommon, Ireland,
whence she came to America at the age of thir-
teen years and established her home with her
brothers and sisters in Bon Homme county,
South Dakota, where she was reared to maturity.
As before noted, she was the first white woman
to settle in Charles Mix county, where she re-
sided almost two years with her husband with-
out seeing a person of her sex and race, and
her eldest child was the first white child born in
the county. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are the parents
of eight children, all of whom have been ac-
corded the best possible educational advantages,
their names, in order of birth, being as follows:
Whitfield, William James, Mary Laura, Gordon
Gurnal, Winifred Ann, Roscoe Conkling, Fran-
cis, Wheldon and Emma Lela. Four of the
children are successful and popular teachers in
the public schools of tlie county, namely : Whit-
field, Mary L., Gordon G. and William J.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

A. SHERIN, one of the representative
citizens of Codington county, being engaged in
the practice of law in Watertown and being also
the editor and publisher of the Watertown
Times, was born in Victoria county, province of
Ontario, Canada, on the nth of March. 1857,
and is a son of Henry and Ann Sherin, both of
whom were bom in Ireland, whence they came
to Canada with their respective parents when
thev were young. The father of the subject
became a successful farmer and both he and his
wife died in Canada.

A. Sherin, the subject of this review passed
the first sixteen years of his life on the home
farm, and received a common-school education,
completing his studies in the schools at Branch-
ton, Ontario. He early manifested a predilection
for mechanical pursuits and became a skilled
carpenter, to which line of work he devoted his
attention for eight years after leaving the
parental roof. In 1881 he came to what is now
the state of South Dakota, and in the following
year took up a pre-emption claim near the village
of Blunt. Hughes county. In 1884 he removed
to Britton. the capital of Marshall county, and
there engaged in the practice of law, for which
he had prepared himself by careful preliminary
study, being duly admitted to the bar of the ter-
ritory. He built up an excellent professional
business and there continued in practice until
1899, when he came to Watertown, where he
has since been engaged in general practice. He
was editor and publisher of the Britton Sentinel
from 1891 until his removal to Watertown, and
here he has since published and edited the Water-
town Times, one of the ably conducted and popu-
lar weekly newspapers of the state. Mr. Sherin
served as county judge in Marshall county dur-
ing the years 1895-6, and during the ensuing two
years was state's attorney of that county. He
is a Populist in his political faith and adherency,
and has been a prominent and influential figure
in the ranks of the same in South Dakota, having
done most eflfective service in the party cause.
He and his wife are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and fraternally he is identified
with the Modern Brotherhood of America, of

which he served as secretary in the local or-
ganization for two years.

In Gait, Ontario, in the year 1879, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Sherin to Miss Sarah
J. Copeland, and of their five children four are
living. Edwin J. was born in 1880; Burtie was
born in 1881 and died in 1897; Arthur was born
in 1883 : Harry in 1887 and Evaline in 1894.

ALONZO J. BUFFALOE. AI. D., estab-
lished in the successful practice of his profession
in the attractive little city of Alexandria, Hanson
county, is a native of the fine old state of North
Carolina, having been born in Raleigh. Wake
county, and being the son of B. B. and Cor-
nelia Buffaloe, representatives of old and hon-
ored southern families. The father is devoting
his life to agriculture and is a man of promi-
nence and influence in his community. Dr. Buf-
faloe was accorded excellent educational ad-
vantages in his youthful days, having secured
his preliminary discipline in the common schools
of his native state and having entered Wake
Forest College, where he received his literary
training. In the meanwhile he had determined
to prepare himself for the noble profession to
which he is now giving his attention, and was
matriculated in that celebrated technical insti-
tution of the national metropolis, Bellevue Hos-
pital Medical College, in New York city, being
there graduated in 1886 and receiving his coveted
degree of Doctor of Medicine. After his gradu-
ation, wishing to be more thoroughly equipped for
the arduous duties of his chosen profession, he
took special courses in chemistry, physical diag-
nosis, surgen,- and army and navy dressings in
Belleview and Mount Sinai Hospitals. He then
located in the city of Raleigh, North Carolina,
determined to win his professional spurs in his
native state, and there he initiated the active
practice of medicine and surgerv', being for some
time connected with the city hospital, where he
gained still further clinical experience of the
most valuable order. He continued to be there
engaged in practice until 1901. In 1895 he
availed himself for a while of the advantages of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the post-graduate course at the Johns Hopkins
Hospital, Baltimore, Marv'land. Dr. Buffaloe
came to South Dakota in April, 1901, and finally
became impressed with the attractions of Alex-
andria and decided to establish himself here.
He has no reason to regret his choice, for he
has met a most favorable reception, both profes-
sionally and socially, and has built up a gratify-
ing practice.

WILLIAM HENRY STOKES was born in
the town of Porter, Rock county, Wisconsin, on
the i6th of May, 1845, being the son of Charles
and Anna E. (Kimble) Stokes, the former of
whom was born in Axbridge, Somersetshire,
England, in 1812, while the latter was a native of
Saugerties, New York, being of English and
Dutch lineage. He was educated in the district
schools in Wisconsin until the age of nineteen,
finishing with one term in a select school at
Mitchell, Mitchell county. Iowa. His early life
was spent on the farm. His business life began
]May 16, 1866. He was associated with his
brothers in the sawmill and lumber business until
the spring of 1872. From 1872 until the present
time, 1904, he has been interested with various
parties in the milling business, ten years in
Janesville, Waseca counts', Minnesota, and the
remainder of the time up to the present date in
the milling and grain business at Watertown,
South Dakota. At present he is president and
manager of the W. H. Stokes Milling Company,
while his son-in-law, F. E. Hawley, is the sec-
retary and treasurer.

The old milling plant, built in 1882 at Water-
town, South Dakota, was destroyed by fire March
13, 1901, and the summer following the fire the
present substantial mill and elevator plant was
erected on the same site, business being resumed
on December 19, 1901. The W. H. Stokes Mill-
ing Company's mill and elevator are decidedly
the largest and most modern in the state. The
brick elevator and steel tanks have a capacity of
one hundred and forty thousand bushels and are
practically fireproof. The subject of this sketch
has also been largely interested in farming, now

owning and controlling something over five
thousand acres of land, most of which is in Cod-
ington county. South Dakota.

W. H. Stokes is recognized as one of the
leading business men of the state and at the
present time is found worthy of having his name
enrolled in the Financial Red Book of x-Vmcrica
for 1903.

Mr. Stokes was married to Miss Elsie Mi-
nerva Grout on December 23, 1872. She was born
at York, Wisconsin, September 18, 1853, being
the daughter of Leroy and Cordelia (Flower)
Grout, the former of whom was born at Vermont
and the latter in the state of New York. Nine
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Stokes.
Their names are: Ella Glencora, wife of F. E.
Hawley; Gladys May, Maud Leonore, Alice
Wilhelmena, Elsie Minerva, William Henry, Jr.,
Louisa Alcott, Anna Kimble and Philip Doug-
las, all of whom are now living. Mr. and Mrs.
Stokes and six of their children are members of
the Congregational church. Mr. Stokes is a mem-
ber of the Masonic fraternity, being affiliated with
the Kampeska Lodge, No. 13, Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons ; Watertown Chapter, No. 12,
Royal Arch Masons, and Watertown Command-
ery. No. 7, Knights Templar. He served as
eminent commander of the commanderv for two
years.

Politically Mr. Stokes has always been a Re-
publican, although he has never aspired to any
political office or influence.

CLINTON D. HOSKIN, who is the pres-
ent popular and able incumbent of the office of
register of deeds of Hand county, claims the
fine old Buckeye state as the place of his nativity,
having been born in the county of Ashtabula,
Ohio, on the 29th of October, 1867, and being
a son of Hilan J. and Nancy (George) Hoskin,
who were likewise born in that state. The sub-
ject is the elder of their two children, his sister
Maud being now the wife of A. R. Hannum, of
Hand county, South Dakota, while his parents
are residents of Huron, South Dakota. When
Clinton D. was but two years of age his parents

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

removed to Wheatland, Qinton county, Iowa,
where his father engaged in teaming, and seven
years later they removed to Buena Vista county,
that state, where the father turned his attentioh
to farming. The subject secured his educational
training in the public schools of the Hawkeye
state, where he was reared to maturity, and in
1884, at the age of sixteen years, he came to
Hand county. South Dakota, where his father
took up a homestead claim, in Gilbert township,
and here he turned his attention to farming, in
which he was engaged until his election to his
present office.

Mr. Hoskin has given a stanch allegiance to
the Republican party from the time of attaining
his majority, has evinced a lively interest in pub-
lic affairs of a local nature and been a prominent
worker in the party cause. He served as treas-
urer of his school district for a period of thir-
teen years, and in the fall of 1902 was elected to
the office of register of deeds of Hand county,
for a term of two years, assuming his official
functions in January. 1903. He is well known
in the county, and his personal popularity is at-
tested by his having been chosen to fill his pres-
ent office. Fraternally he is identified with St.
Lawrence Lodge, Ancient Order of United
Workmen, in St. Lawrence.

On the 29th of October, 1889, Mr. Hoskin
was united in marriage to Miss Florence A.
Scovill, daughter of B. P. Scovill, a prominent
farmer of this county. She was born in !\Iason
county. Illinois, and was twelve years of age at
the time of her parents' removal to South Da-
kota. Mr. and Mrs. Hoskin have four children,
Mabel I., Hilan J., Mina F. and Benjamin P.

NICK KIRSCH, a farmer and stock raiser
of Codington county, whose homestead lies at
Gardner, about five miles northeast of Water-
town, is a native of Germany, born in Luxem-
borugh on February 9, 1859. He is one of a
family of six children, two sons and four daugh-
ters, whose parents were Michael and Maggie
Kirsch, natives of Luxembourg, as were the
antecedents of both branches of the familv for

many generations. Michael Kirsch, in 1880,
brought his family to the United States and set-
tled in Minnesota, where he lived until 1882, at
which time he removed to Codington county.
South Dakota, his present place of residence.

The subject of this review grew to young
manhood in his native country, received a fair
education in the public schools and in 1880 ac-
companied his parents to the new world, remain-
ing with them until their removal to Dakota. In
1882 he took up a homestead in Kreuzberg town-
ship, Codington county, and after residing on
the same for a period of five years, sold out and
purchased his present beautiful place in Elmira
township, consisting of five hundred and sixty
acres of fine land, admirably situated for agri-
cultural and stock purposes. In addition to
farming, which he carries on very successfully,
especially the raising of grains, Mr. Kirsch de-
votes considerable attention to live stock and
purposes ultimately to make the latter his prin-
cipal business. He now has quite a herd of
cattle, to which he is making additions as
rapidly as possible, also owns a number of valu-
able sheep and horses and the time is not far dis-
tant when he will come to the front as one of
the leading stockmen in this section of the state.
In addition to his stock and agricultural inter-
ests he runs an elevator at Gardner, near his
place, and his operations as a buyer and shipper
of grain have been eminently successful, as the
steady growth of his business abundantly at-
tests.

Mr. Kirsch is one of the progressive German-
American citizens of Codington county and his
enterprising spirit has done much for the ma-
terial advancement of the community in which
he resides. While retaining warm feelings and
tender recollections of the fatherland, he is a
loyal citizen of his adopted country and a great
admirer of its laws and institutions.

Mr. Kirsch was married November 17, 1887,
to Miss ]\Iaggie Pfeil, of Minnesota, daughter of
Christopher and Elizabeth Pfeil, natives of Ger-
many. The parents of Mrs. Kirsch came to the
United States a number of years ago and for
some time lived in St. Qiarles, Minnesota, at

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

which place the mother died on January 27,
1902. The father still lives at St. Charles. They
reared a family of eleven children, all but one
living. Mr. and Mrs. Kirsch have five bright,
interesting children, whose names are as follows :
Freddie N., Elizabeth S., Eddie D., Lena G. and
Christopher G.

GEORGE C. OSTRANDER comes of sturdy
old Dutch stock and traces his family history to
the early settlement of the Mohawk valley. New
York. His great-grandfather, William Ostrander,
was one of the Dutch pioneers of Herkimer
county, that state, took an active part in the set-
tlement and development of the valley and be-
came an influential factor in the affairs of the
community which he assisted to found. His son,
William, was a blacksmith by trade, and a man
of sturdy character and generous impulses, who
carried to successful completion any undertaking
to which he addressed himself. He married
when a young man and reared a family, repre-
sentatives of which still live in Herkimer and
neighboring counties of New York, while others
may be found in different states of the Union,
principally in the west, as the pioneer spirit has
long been a marked characteristic of the family.
A son of the second William, also William by
name, was born in New York and there married
Miss Abigail D. Eddy, whose antecedents were
also among the early settlers of the Empire state.
William and Abigail spent the greater part of
their lives in the cit}' of Watertown, New York,
where for over twenty years the former was en-
gaged in mercantile pursuits, and to them was
born one son, the gentleman whose name fur-
nishes the caption of this review.

George C. Ostrander was born October 22,
1858, in Waterto\yn, New York, and received his
educational training in the public schools of that
city. At an early age he entered his father's
store where he received a practical commercial
training and assisted in conducting the business,
until about twenty years old, when he abandoned
mercantile life for the purpose of learning
telegraphy. After becoming proficient in that

calling he engaged with the Rome, Water-
town & Ogdensburg Railroad as operator
and station agent, which position he held
until 1882, when he resigned to become
a salesman for the wholesale merchant tail-
oring firm of Wiggins & Goodale at Water-
town. After remaining with the above house
for a period of four years, he resigned his place
and in 1886 came to Codington county, South
Dakota, bringing forty-four head of milch cows
with the object in view of starting a dairy and
engaging in the general stock business. In part-
nership with his father, Mr. Ostrander purchased
a fine tract of farm and grazing land, about four
and a half miles east of Watertown, in Elmira
township, where he now lives, and here success-
fully carried out his intentions by starting a
dairy which from the beginning more than met
his most sanguine expectations. In connection
with the dairy he also established a creamery,
the first enterprise of the kind in the state, and
this also proved a remunerative undertaking as
it soon had an extensive patronage and filled a
long-felt want in the community. After con-
ducting these lines of business for a few years
and realizing therefrom handsome profits, he
discontinued dairying and turned his attention to
raising grain. Convinced that larger returns
could be realized from wool than from agricul-
ture, Mr. Ostrander subsequently discontinued
tilling the soil and engaged in the sheep business,
which he now follows with success 'and financial
profit, being at tliis time one of the largest and
most successful sheep raisers in Codington
county. He is now running about eight hundred
grade Shropshires, which breed he finds best
suited to the country and by far the most re-
munerative, all things considered ; and in addi-
tion to the four hundred acres comprising his
own farm he controls about six hundred acres
of fine grazing land in the vicinity in which he
conducts his large and rapidly growing business.
Mr. Ostrander inherits the energy and pro-
gressive spirit for which his family has long been
distinguished and his industry and enterprise
have made him an influential factor in the busi-
ness affairs and public concerns of his adopted

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

county. He worthily upholds an honored an-
cestral name, is a man of wide intelligence, sound
judgment and unimpeachable integrity and the
high esteem in which he is held by his fellow
citizens shows him the possessor of those sterling
qualities of head and heart that beget confidence
and retain warm and personal friendships. In
politics he supports the Republican party and,
while not a partisan, still less an office seeker, he
was elected in 1902 a member of the board of
county commissioners, which responsible posi-
tion he worthily holds.

The domestic life of Mr. Ostrander dates from
1879, on October 22d of which year, in Water-
town, New York, was solemnized his marriage
with Miss Martha P. Heintzelman, who has
borne him two children, Mabel and William D.
Mr. Ostrander is a member of the Ancient
Order of United Workmen of Watertown. His
father is a member of the home circle at this
time, his mother having died three years ago.

THORNTON N. BABCOCK, one of the
prom.inent and successful farmers and stock
growers of Codington county, was born on the
parental homestead, Winona county, Minnesota,
on the 29th of December, 1865, and is a son of
George P. and Antoinette (Newcomb) Bab-
cock, the former of whom was bom in the state
of New York and the latter in Massachusetts,
both families having long been identified with
the annals of American history. George P. was
a carpenter and cabinetmaker by trade, and fol-
lowed the same as a vocation for many years,
having come to Minnesota in the pioneer days
and having there maintained his residence until
1880, when he removed to South Dakota, taking
up land in Codington county and there improv-
ing a good fami. He died at Tracy, Minne-
sota, on the 1st of March, 1892, while enroute
home from Minneapolis, at the age of sixty-
four years. In politics he was a stanch Repub-
lican. His widow was a devoted member of the
Presbyterian church, her death having occurred
on the 9th of June, 1899, at the age of seventy

years. They became the parents of four sons
and four daughters, all of whom are living ex-
cept the eldest, Ada, wife of J. J. Greer, who
died at the age of forty years. The others are
Libbie M., unmarried; Charley, a farmer of
Brookings county ; Lillian, wife of A. M. Nash,
of Tracy, Minnesota, a conductor on the North-
western Railroad ; Willie C, of Seattle, Wash-
ington, a conductor on the Northern Pacific
Railroad; Hobart A., county clerk at Watertown;
and Metta, wife of J. E. McKoane, of Minot,
North Dakota, in the abstract and real-estate
business, and Thornton.

The subject of this sketch received his early
educational training in the public schools of
Lanesboro, Fillmore count\% [Minnesota, where
he completed a course in the high school. In
1880, at the age of fourteen years, he came to
South Dal-iota, where he gave his attention to
farm work and to teaching in the district schools
until 1883. Thereafter he remained on his
father's farm, taking charge of the same after
the death of the latter and still residing on the
homestead, which now comprises one hundred
and sixty acres, and which is located in Fuller
township, eight miles northwest of Watertown,
two miles north of Lake Ivampeska. In addition
to the homestead Mr. Babcock controls and
utilizes about five hundi-ed acres, principally In-
dian-reservation land, and in all he has about
five hundred acres under effective cultivation
and devoted to diversified agriculture, while he
also gives special attention to the raising of live
stock, in which line he has gained marked prec-
edence and met with distinctive success. His
cattle are of high grade, and he has some pure-
bred shorthorn stock in the line, while he also
breeds the best type of Percheron and road
horses and Berkshire hogs. He is associated with
others in the ownership of a fine thoroughbred
Percheron stallion, of which he has the manage-
ment. In politics Mr. Babcock gives an unfaltering
allegiance to the Republican party, and he served
for two terms as clerk of his township, while
he has been a valued member of the school board
for twelve years. Fie is a Methodist, while his
wife belongs to the Baptist church. Fraternally

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1 1 15

he is identified with the Ancient Order of
United Workmen.

On the 3d of January, 1899, ^'I''- Babcock
was united in marriage to Miss Carlotta A.
Hewitt, a daughter of C. P. and Amiinta
(Straub) Hewitt, of Watertown, her birth hav-
ing occurred in Calamus, Clinton county, Iowa.
Of this union have been born two children,
Bruce A. and Doris.

AUGUSTUS C. GIESE, farmer, stock
raiser and representative citizen of Elmira town-
ship, Codington county, is a native of Sauk
county, Wisconsin, where his birth occurred on
the 3d day of February, 1869. His parents,
John M. and Albertina (Yerkley) Giese, natives
of Germany, came to the United States a number
of years ago and after residing for some time in
Wisconsin caine, in the fall of 1879, to Coding-
ton county, being among the early settlers of
what is now the township of Rauville. They
located on government land which they entered,
improved a good farm and the elder Giese is
now among the prosperous and well-to-do men
of the community, now living in Watertown.

Augustus C. Giese was a lad of ten years
v\-hen his parents came to Dakota and from that
age to the present has been a resident of Coding-
ton county, growing with the country's growth,
taking an active part in its development, and for
some years he has been an influential factor in
the agricultural and live-stock interests of Elmira
township. He received his elementary educa-
tion in his native state and for several years after
coming to Dakota pursued his studies in the
public schools, the meanwhile assisting his
father in improving the latter's homestead and
contributing his full share to the support of the
family. Reared under wholesome discipline and
healthful influence, he grew up strong in body
and with an independence of mind which early
led him to rely upon himself, and while still a
mere lad he matured plans for his future course
of action. After remaining under the parental
roof until reaching the years of young manhood,
he started out to make his own way in the world

and being so fortunate as to liave his lot cast
in a land of opportunities, it was not long until
he secured a desirable tract of land. He finally
decided upon the place in Elmira township on
which he now lives, a beautiful tract containing
a half section, which for stock-raising and gen-
eral agricultural purposes will compare favor-
ably with any like number of acres in the county.
He has greatly improved his land and brought
it to a high state of cultivation, and, in addition
to tilling the soil, he now has a substantial start
in live stock, owning a number of cattle, sheep
and horses, with most favorable prospects of
adding to his flocks and herds as well as of in-
creasing his acreage in the no distant future. He
has erected a large barn and has a desirable lo-
cation for a comfortable residence. Mr. Giese
is a young man of well-defined purposes, and his
industry and energy have already won him a
competence of sufficient magnitude to place him
in comfortable circumstances.

On September 13, 1894, Mr. Giese was
united in marriage with Miss Emma Barha,
whose parents, Mr. and Mrs. August Barha,
were among the early settlers of Codington
county. This marriage has resulted in the birth
of six children, namely : Herman ; Henry died
July 13, 1902, in his fourth year; Robert, Mabel
and an infant that died unnamed. Mr. and Mrs.
Giese are members of the Lutheran church, be-
longing to the congregation worshiping at
Watertown.

LAURENCE J. O'TOOLE, one of the rep-
resentative farmers and stock growers of Cod-
ington county, is a native of the fair Emerald
Isle, having been born on the i6th of June, i860,
and being a son of John and Marv (Dowling)
O'Toole, who were born and reared in Ireland.
The father was there engaged in farming until
his death. The subject and other members of
the family came to America in 1871, at which
time he was a lad of about eleven years, his early
educational discipline having been secured in
his native land. He was the voungest of the
three sons and two daughters in the family, and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of that number three are Hving at the present
time. His brother Patrick had previously come
to the United States, and was a member of
Corrigan's Brigade, of New York, during the
Civil war, in which he sacrificed his life, being
killed in battle. Upon coming to the new world
the subject and the other members of the family
located in New York, where he was reared to
manhood, in the meanwhile continuing his edu-
cational work in the public schools, while in
1877 he came west and took up his abode in
the home of an aunt in Winona county, Min-
nesota, where he also attended school, remain-
ing with his aunt until 1880, when he came to
South Dakota.

Laurence was twenty years of age at the time
of casting his lot with what is now the state of
South Dakota. In 1881 he took up one hundred
and sixty acres of govern!'>nent land in Codington
county, the same constituting a portion of his
present farm. He set himself vigorously to the
work of improving his land and placing it under
cultivation, and through energy and good man-
agement he has attained a position of independ-
ence, being one of the well-to-do farmers of this
section, while he has ever maintained a strong
hold on popular confidence and esteem in the
community. He gives his earnest attention to
diversified agriculture and to the raising of high-
grade live stock. In politics his support is given
to the Re]niblican party, and he has taken an
active part in public affairs of a local nature,
while he has been called upon to serve in various
positions of trust and responsibility, including
the office of township clerk and that of member
of the board of supervisors, while for the past
eighteen years he has been postmaster of Esterly.
He is affiliated with the Modem Woodmen of
America, and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen. He has improved his ranch with a
commodious and comfortable residence and other
excellent buildings, while the entire place gives
unmistakable evidence of thrift and prosperity.

On the i6th of February, 1885, Mr. O'Toole
was united in marriage to Miss Delia S. Gram-
niond, who was born and reared in Illinois, being
a daughter of Oliver and Sarah ( Barslo) Gram-

mond. both of whom were of French ancestry,
but born in Canada. ]\Ir. and Mrs. O'Toole
have eight children, namely : Marie Nellie, John
L., Edward J., Laurence H., Earl L., Clarence
C, Samuel C. and Delia M.

JOSEPH P. LEONARD, one of the hon-
ored residents of Lake township, Codington
county, is a native of Niagara county, New
York, where he was born on the loth of Janu-
ary, 1858, being a son of Joseph L. and Sophia
A. (Chidester) Leonard, the former of whom
was born in the state of New York and the
latter in Canada, she being of French descent.
The father of the subject was engaged in farm-
ing in New York until i860, when he came west
to Minnesota, where he passed the remainder of
his life, dying in St. Qiarles, that state, on the
31st of March, 1895, at the age of seventy- four
years, while his widow still maintains her home
in that place. Of their seven children five are
living, the other two having died in infancy.

The subject of this sketch passed his boyhood
days in Minnesota, having been a child of aboul
two years at the time of his parents' removal to
the west, and his educational advantages were
those afforded in the excellent public schools of
the town of St. Charles. In the meanwhile he
assisted in the work of the home farm, leaving
school at the age of twenty years, and he con-
tinued to be thus identified with agricultural pur-
suits in Minnesota until 1878, when, as a
young man of twenty years, he came to the ter-
ritory of Dakota, taking up government land in
Codington county, where he now lives, and thus
becoming one of the pioneers of this section of
South Dakota. He entered claim to a home-
stead of one hundred and sixty acres and also
took up a tree claim of equal area, adjoining,
while he is today the owner of a finely improved
and well-cultivated ranch of four hundred acres.
He raises the various cereals best adapted to the
soil and climate, his entire tract of land being
available for cultivation, and also gives no little
attcntinn to the raising of cattle and swine of
excellent grade. In politics he accords support

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

to the Democratic party, taking a public-spirited
interest in local affairs, but never seeking official
preferment. Fraternally he is identified with
the lodges of the Modern Woodmen of America
and the Ancient Order of Pyramids in Water-
town.

On the 4th of December, 1881, Mr. Leonard
was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Wil-
liams, who was bom and reared in Wisconsin,
being a daughter of John and Lavina (Sheldon)
Williams, who were born in New York, whence
they removed to Wisconsin in an early day. Mr.
and Mrs. Leonard became the parents of five
children, four of whom are living, while they
still remain at the parental home, namely : Lil-
lian B., Herbert E., Gladys P. and Aubrey C.
Charles P., the third in order of birth, died on
the 25th of February, 1895, at the age of seven
years.

JOHN H. KING, one of the honored
pioneers of Codington county, being now one
of the prominent citizens of Watertown, was
born in Troy, New York, on the 19th of Janu-
ary, 1850, and is a son of Michael and Catherine
(Holland) King, both of whom were born in
Ireland. The father of the subject was a wheel-
wright by trade, but was for many years en-
gaged in mercantile pursuits in the city of Troy,
being one of the prominent and public-spirited
citizens of the place and one who commanded
unqualified esteem in the community. There
both he and his wife continued to reside until
their death. They became the parents of two
sons and three daughters, and of the number
one of the sons and one of the daughters arc
now deceased.

The subject was reared to maturity in his
native place, and there received the advantages
of the public schools and also of a preparatory
collegiate institution, in which he continued his
studies until he had attained the age of twenty
years. As a young man he there engaged in the
buying and shipping of country produce, in
which line of enterprise he met with excellent
success. In 1882 he came to South Dakota and

took up government land in what is now Eden
township, in the western part of Codington
county, and there developed a valuable farm,
continuing to devote his attention to agriculture
and stock raising until 1893, having in the mean-
while become the owner of a fine landed estate
of nine hundred acres. In the year mentioned
he sold four hundred acres and removed to
Watertown, where he has since been prominently
engaged in the real-estate busihess, owning a
considerable amount of residence property, as
well as farming lands in various parts of the
county, while he also controls many properties
which he handles for others. In September,
1904, in company with B. H. Cartford, he pur-
chased a general store at South Shore and to this
has since devoted his attention, enjoying a lucra-
tive and satisfactory trade. In politics he is a
stanch advocate of the principles of the Demo-
cratic party, and has long taken an active part
in forwarding its cause in his county. He was
justice of the peace in Eden township from its
organization until he removed from it. In 1890
he was elected to represent his county in the
state legislature, in which he served one term,
during the third session, while he has also held
various school offices, doing all in his power to
advance the interests of popular education. At
the time of his locating in Eden township there
were but four other families settled within its
borders. He was among the number who as-
sisted in adopting the name of the township, and
had the privilege of bearing the result of the
selection to the county seat. He assisted in the
erection of the first schoolhouse in the township,
and in all other matters proved himself progress-
ive and public-spirited, while he has at all times
commanded the unqualified esteem of the people
of the county in which he has so long maintained
his home. He and his wife are members of the
Catholic church, and fraternally he is identified
with the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

On the 17th of March, 1877, Mr. King was
married to Miss Anna Nisbet, of Lee, New
York, where she was reared and educated, being
a daughter of William and Catherine (Cox)
Nisbet, both of whom were born in the state of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. King have six
children, concerning whom we offer the follow-
ing brief data in conclusion of this sketch : Lil-
lian M. is the wife of Frederick H. Elfring,
of Watertown, and the other children still re-
main l)eneath the home roof, their names, in
order of birth, being as follows : Nora, Kather-
ine, C. Stanley, Frances C. and A. lona.

TETER PHILP.— Prominent among the
representative citizens and honored officials of
Codington county is the well-known and widely
respected gentleman whose name introduces this
review. Peter Philp, farmer and for four terms
county commissioner, is a native of Scotland
and inherits in a marked degree the sterling
qualities of head and heart for which his sturdy
nationality has for centuries been distinguished.
His father, James Philp, a teainster by occu-
pation, met with an accidental death when the
subject was but one and a half years old : his
mother, whose maiden name was Catherine Wil-
son, subsequently remarried and lived to a very
old age, bearing her second husband one daugh-
ter, Peter being the only issue of her first mar-
riage.

Peter Philp was born in Thronton, Fifeshire,
Scotland, on August 27, 1838. After securing
a good education in the schools of his native land
he learned the trade of iron moulding and fol-
lowed the same in various parts of Scotland until
about 1875 or 1876, from which time until his
removal to America, in 1880, he followed agri-
cultural pursuits. June 19, 1866, he contracted
a matrimonial alliance with Elizabeth Anderson,
of Fifeshire, daughter of Robert and Margaret
(Deas) Anderson, and in 1880, as stated above,
he brought his family to America, making his
way direct to Codington county, South Dakota,
and entering several hundred acres of land in
what is now the township of Waverly. Mr.
Philp reached his new home in August of the
above year and during the ensuing fall he put up
a house and as best he could prepared for the
winter that was soon to follow. The winter of
1880-81 is remembered as the most severe ever

known and the vicissitudes, hardships and suf-
ferings of the settlers during that season of
awful cold, piercing winds and frightful bliz-
zards, cannot be described by either tongue or
pen. Mr. Philp's stock of provisions was ex-
hausted long before the terrible winter ended,
and for weeks at a time the only food of the
family consisted of wheat ground to the con-
sistency of course flour in a coffee-mill. To
keep from freezing after their fuel was gone,
the}' had recourse to hay, and to make this last
as long as possible, only small quantities were
burned at a time, the members of the family
huddling closely around the fire so as to utilize
every particle of the precious heat.

.\fter this trying experience, a more favor-
able season dawned and from that time forward
matters progressed favorably with the pioneer
family. Mr. Philp improved his land, brought
it to a high state of cultivation and in addition
to agriculttire devoted considerable attention to
live stock until in due time he became one of the
leading stock raisers in the county, as well as
one of its most prosperous men in other lines
of activity. He has taken a lively interest in
public affairs ever since coming to the state, and
is now on his fourth term as county commis-
sioner, having been first elected a member of the
board in the year 1900. He has held the office
of school treasurer for over twenty-two years,
besides serving two terms as township clerk,
having pointedly refused to be a candidate a
third time for the latter position. Mr. Philp is
a zealous Republican and since arriving in Cod-
ington county, twenty-three years ago, his ability
as an organizer and his success as a campaigner
have made him one of the party leaders in this
section of the state. His services on the central
committee have been greatly appreciated and the
success of the Republican ticket in a number
of local elections has been largely due to his
effective and thorough work. P>y close atten-
tion to business and successful management, he
has succeeded in accumulating a handsome com-
petence and recently he disposed of the greater
part of bis landed property and retired from
active life.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Mr. Philp was made a Mason in Scotland in
1864 and ever since his initiation into the order
he has been one of its most earnest and zealous
members. Tn his native land he subscribed to
the Presbyterian creed and for a number of
years was active in the church, having risen to
the position of elder and superintendent of the
Sunday school. Since coming to this country,
however, he attended the Methodist church and
is . now, with his wife, identified with the Con-
gregational church.

Mr. and Mrs. Philp are the parents of seven
children, namely: Alison J., wife of Plenry
Esington, of Summit, South Dakota: Margaret,
now Mrs. Charles N. Slauson, Graceville, Min-
nesota: Catherine, who married G. L. Hender-
son, of Kansas City, Missouri; James and Rob-
ert A., both married and living in Watertown :
Agnes P.. wife of George Burt, editor of the
South Shore Republican, and Peter, who is also
the head of a family with his home in Water-
town.

WILLIAM H. JOHNSTON was born in
Blue Earth county, Minnesota, November 7,
i860, and is one of a family of six children, four
sons and two daughters, whose parents were
John and Elizabeth (Sharp) Johnston, both na-
tives of Scotland. John Johnston, a blacksmith
by trade, came to the LInited States in 1855 and
the following year settled in Blue Earth county,
Minnesota, where he worked at his chosen
calling for a number of years, a part of
the time being in the employ of the gov-
ernment. Of his children all are living
but the youngest. George, who was killed in a
railroad wreck on the Northern Pacific Railroad
while making his last run as express messenger,
prior to entering upon his duties as auditor, to
which position he had been promoted a short
time before.

William H. Johnston was reared in his native
county and state, and after receiving a public
school education prepared hiniself for active life
by taking a commercial course in the Curtis
Business College at Alinneapolis, from which in-

stitution he was graduated with the class of
1888. Shortly after receiving his diploma he
came to South Dakota and located at the newly
settled town of South Shore, Codington county,
where he engaged in the hardware business,
opening the first store in the place with that
line of goods as a specialty. After building up
a successful trade and continuing the same for
a few months, he disposed of his stock and be-
gan the manufacture of flour, the mill which he
ran during the ensuing three years being also
the first enterprise of the kind in the village of
South Shore. Selling his mill at the expiration
of the above time. Mr. Johnston turned his at-
tention to real estate and he has since been deal-
ing in the same, doing a large and lucrative
business in Codington and adjacent counties,
and he has also extended his operations in many
other parts of the state, meeting with the most
encouraging success in all of his transactions.
In addition to his private concerns, Mr. Johnston
has been an active participant in the public
afifairs of his town and county, having served
as school trustee of the former ever since its
incorporation, and for the last fifteen years he
has acted as justice of the peace. He is also
chairman of the local school board and his ac-
tivity in behalf of the cause of education has
resulted in great and permanent benefit to the
school system of South Shore.

On .\pril 25, 1899, ^^^- Johnston was ap-
pointed by President McKinley postmaster of
South Shore, and since that time he has filled the
office with credit to himself and to the satis-
faction of the people, proving a most courteous
and efficient public servant. In addition to his
business afifairs and official duties he is now
largely interested in live stock, owning a fine
tract of land near South Shore, which is well
stocked with a fine herd of graded shorthorn
cattle.

In politics Mr. Johnston is one of the leading
Republicans of his part of the county, and it was
in recognition of his valuable services to the
party as well as on account of his peculiar
fitness that he was honored with the various
official positions referred to in preceding para-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

graphs. Fraternally he is identified with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen and Modern
Woodmen of America, being foreman of the
former society at the present time. He was
married December 12, 1888, to Miss Mary
Benedict, of Wisconsin, daughter of Thomas and
Harriet Benedict, and has a family of four chil-
dren. Dean, Lyle, Rex and Elsie. Mr. John-
ston is prominent in the religious aflfairs of
South Shore and, with his wife, belongs to the
Congregational church.

MARWOOD R. BASKERYILLE, who has
been engaged in the agricultural implement busi-
ness in Watertown for the past fifteen years, is
known as one of the able and progressive busi-
ness men of the state, having built up one of
the most extensive retail enterprises in the line
that is to be found in the commonwealth, while
his intrinsic public spirit has been manifested at
all seasons. He is at the present time incumbent
of the ofSce of mayor of Watertown, and is one
of its most influential and honored citizens. Mr.
Baskerville is a native of the state of Iowa, hav-
ing been born on a farm in Delaware county, on
the i6th of July, 1859, an dbeing a son of Rev.
Job and Grace (Caldwell) Baskerville, both of
whom were born in England. The father of the
subject was a clergyman of the United Brethren
church, while after taking up his residence in
Iowa, as a pioneer, he became there identified
with agricultural pursuits in connection with his
ministerial work. He died in Iowa in October.
1892, aged eighty-four years.

The present mayor of Watertown passed his
boyhood days on the parental farmstead in Iowa,
and after duly availing himself of the advantages
of the common schools he continued his studies
in Western College, an institution of the United
Brethren church, then located at Western,, Iowa,
but now in Toledo, that state. He later attended
Epworth College, at Epworth, Iowa, for one year,
after which he completed a course in the Baylies
Business College, in Dubuque. Iowa. After leav-
ing that institution he secured a position as book-

keeper in the office of a manufacturing concern in
Dubuque, retaining this incumbency three years
and then becoming business manager for the Wi-
nona Plow Company, at Winona, Minnesota. He
resigned this position three years later, in 1888.
and came to Watertown, South Dakota, where he
established himself in the agricultural implement
business, beginning operations upon a somewhat
modest scale, while his business has kept pace
with the growth and development of the state and
is one of the most extensive of the sort in this
section, an annual business of two hundred thou-
sand dollars being done, of which about seventy-
five thousand dollars is sold at a branch estab-
lishment at Elkton, South Dakota. Mr. Basker-
ville has been signally prospered in his efforts
since coming to South Dakota and is known as a
straightforward, sincere and upright business
man, thus commanding the unequivocal confi-
dence and esteem of those with whom he comes
in contact in the various relations of life. He is
now the owner of four entire sections of valuable
farming land, in Codington county, and the
major portion of the same is given over to the
raising of the cereals best adapted to the soil and
climate of this prolific agricultural section. He is
president of the Watertown & Lake Kampeska
Transportation Company, which is preparing to
construct an electric railway between the city and
the attractive lake mentioned, and is a promoter
of a line to connect Watertown and Webster. In
politics the subject is found stanchly arrayed
in support of the Republican party, and in 1903
he was elected to the office of mayor of Water-
town, of which he is now incumbent, while his
administration is admirably justifying the confi-
dence and trust reposed in him by the municipal
electors. That this confidence is of no uncertain
order is manifest when we revert to the fact that
he was elected by the largest majority of all can-
didates for the office ever chosen in the city, re-
ceiving a plurality of two hundred and ninety-six
votes above his two opponents. Mr. Baskerville
is identified with the Masonic fraternity, the
Knights of P>'thias. the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, and the Benevolent and Protective Or-
I der of Elks, having been the first exalted ruler

MARWOOD R. BASKERVILLE.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of Watertown Lodge, No. 838, of the last men-
tioned organization.

On the 28th of November, 1894, Mr. Basker-
ville was united in marriage to Miss Harriet L.
Fahnestock, a daughter of Henry J. Fahnestock,
one of the representative citizens of Watertown,
and of this union have been born two children,
Henry M. and Walter G.

Mr. and Mrs. Baskerville are members of the
Episcopalian church, and in all social matters
Mrs. Baskerville is active and popular, her home
entertainments being leading functions.

GEORGE K. BURT, editor and proprietor
of the South Shore Republican, was born Janu-
ary 3, 1875, in Bradford county, Pennsylvania,
being the son of John and Ellen (Kirk) Burt,
both natives of Scotland. They were reared and
married in their native land and resided there
until 1873, when they emigrated to Bradford
county, Pennsylvania, where for a number of
years he followed his trade of shoemaker. In
1876 they returned to Scotland, but in 1881 de-
cided again to trj' the new world, and came
direct to Codington county. Settling on a tract
of government land near South Shore, he im-
proved a farm and cultivated the same with en-
couraging results until a few years ago, when
he ceased active life, and removed to the town
where he now is living in easy retirement.

George K. Burt was so young when his par-
ents returned to Scotland that he has no recol-
lection of the place of his birth. His few years
spent in the land of his forefathers served to fix
permanently in his memorj- the romantic scenes
of that country, but the greater part of his youth
was spent on the homestead in Codington
county, where he became accustomed to the
varied duties of farm life. He attended the pub-
lic .school of winter seasons and the training thus
received was supplemented by attendance for a
short time at the agricultural college at Brook-
ings.

He spent one year on the farm, and in 1898
accepted a position in the office of the South Shore
Republican, from which time until the present

he has been actively engaged in journalism. Two
weeks after entering the office he took charge of
the paper and after becoming sole proprietor he
introduced a number of improvements, gave
new life and impetus to the enterprise, and its
present high standing is due entirely to his
energetic and successful management. The Re-
j publican is a creditable paper, its columns con-
taining all interesting and important local and
general news and its editorials are able and fear-
less in discussion of the leading questions of the
day. Mr. Burt is an easy and graceful writer,
a courteous but able antagonist and is incisive
as well as fearless with his pen. He is an in-
fluential factor in the public affairs of his town
and county, manifests a lively interest in what-
ever tends to the advancement of the com-
munity, and his paper has become a powerful
educational force in moulding sentiment and
directing opinion.

Mr. Burt was a leading spirit in the incor-
poration of South Shore and has served two
temis as town clerk. He is also interested in
various local enterprises, one being the Creamery
Association, of which he is vice-president. His
fraternal relations are represented by the Mod-
ern Woodmen of America, in which he is an
active worker and in which he has been officially
honored.

Mr. Burt, on Thanksgiving day, 1901, was
united in marriage -with Miss Agnes Philp,
the youngest daughter of Peter Philp, the
union being blessed with one child. Muriel.

GEORGE T. MITCHELL, one of the suc-
cessful and highly esteemed farmers of Grant
county, has the distinction of being a scion of
one of the representative pioneer families of
Ionia county, Michigan, where he was bom on
the 20th of May, 1855, being a son of Curtis B.
and Martha (Troop) Mitchell, both of whom
were born and reared in the state of New York.
The father early removed to Michigan and de-
veloped a good farm in Ionia county, and there
continued to reside until his death, in Novem-
ber, 1889, at which time he was sixty-eight years

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of age. His father, George Mitchell, a veteran
of the war of 1812, settled in Michigan in 1839.
The family was founded in New England in
the earlv colonial epoch, being of Scotch-Irish
extraction.

George T. Mitchell was reared on the home-
stead farm, while his educational advantages
were those afforded by the public schools and a
commercial college in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Thereafter he was for a number of years em-
ployed as a commercial traveling salesman, in
which connection he met with excellent success
and gained a reputation for ability and energy.
In 1882 he came to what is now South Dakota
and took up his permanent abode in Melrose
township, Grant county, having come here the
preceding fall and purchased one hundred and
sixty acres of land, upon which he located in
June of the year mentioned, while later he added
another tract of equal area, so that he now has
a farm of two hundred and forts' acres, im-
proved with good buildings, fences, etc., and
devoted to diversified agriculture and to the
raising of good live stock. He gives no little
attention to dairying, and furnishes a very con-
siderable supply of milk to the co-operative
creamery at Milbank, having been one of those
actively identified with the establishment of the
enterprise, which met with some opposition or
apathy on the start, much trouble having been
experienced for a time in securing the co-opera-
tion of manv of those who are now numbered
among its principal supporters, though it now
has about one hundred and twent\'-five patrons.
He was elected president of the operating com-
pany at the time of its organization, and has
ever since continued in tenure of this office,
while it is due in no small degree to his energy
and progressive ideas that the institution has
built up a fine business, having the best cream-
ery plant in the state. About three and a half
million pounds of milk are received each year
in the plant, and the annual product aggregates
about twenty-six thousand to twenty-eight thou-
sand pounds of butter. Mr. Mitchell is also treas-
urer of the farmers' grain elevator at Milbank
having l)een one of the organizers of the company

and having contributed materially to the success
of the enterprise, whose financial prosperity has
shown how great benefits may be gained by
farmers through such co-operation. About two
hundred thousand bushels of wheat and thirty
thousand bushels of flax are handled annually.
The company buys on a close margin and is thus
enabled to declare very gratifying dividends to
the stockholders. Mr. Alitchell was a member
of the board of county commissioners from 1891
for twelve years and was chairman of the same
for nine years. The significance of this long
tenure of the important office as a Democrat in
a strong Republican county is prima facia, as
it indicates in an unmistakable way the high
degree of confidence and esteem in which he is
held in the county and the objective appreciation
of his loyalty and business and executive ability.
At the time of this writing he is also supervisor
of his township. He manifests at all times a
lively interest in public affairs, particularly those
of a local nature, and in politics is a stalwart ad-
vocate of the principles of the Democratic party.
Fraternally he is identified with Milbank Lodge,
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, which he
represented in the grand lodge of the state for
three years, and with Milbank Chapter, Royal
Arch Masons, in which he is serving his third
vear as high priest, while he also holds mem-
bership in the auxiliary chapter of the Order of
the Eastern Star, and is affiliated with the Alod-
em Woodmen of America and the .\ncient
Order of United Workmen.

At Ionia. Michigan, on the 17th of Novem-
ber, 1880, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Mitchell to Miss Man,' Allen, who was born in
Allegany county, New York, as were also her
parents, Roy and Melissa (Lewis) Allen, repre-
sentatives of old colonial stock and now residents
of Milbank. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell have four
children, Maude E., Curtis P.., Clara M. and
Leroy.

Jl^NIUS W. SHANNON, born Will county,
Illinois. 1835. Editor; established Huronite
June 2, 1881, President board of regents. 1893.
Died, 1899.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[123

COURTS AND BAR OF THE BLACK
HILLS.

FY GR.\NVILL,E G. BENNETT.

[Tlie following iutcrestiug sketch was .scliertuled to
appear amoug tlie iither contributed articles in Volume
I. but was not received until iifter the completion of
that volume.— Ed.]

The treaty with the Sioux Indians, ceding the
Black Hills, was made in the summer of 1876,
and ratified by the senate on the 27th day of Feb-
ruary, 1877. The territorial legislature which
convened in January, 1 877, anticipated the ratifi-
cation of that treaty, and, realizing the urgem
need of civil administration in that new, busy
and seething mining country, passed an act to take
efifect immediately upon the ratification of the
treaty, consolidating the first judicial district
with the second, of which Chief Justice Peter C.
Shannon was then the presiding judge, and con-
stituting the Black Hills the first district, and
transferring Judge Granville G. Bennett from
the old to the new first district. Judge Bennett
reached T)eadwood with his clerk. General A. R.
Z. Dawson, on the 28th day of April, 1877, and
immediately entered upon the task of organizing
the courts.

The Black Hills were then indeed "the forest
primeval." The cruel axe of the woodman had
just begun its work of slaughter and denuda-
tion, which in twenty-seven years has left bare
and forbidding large areas once beautiful with
their heavy growth of majestic and stately pines.
Game was abundant. Deer, antelope, bear, moun-
tain lion, wild cat and elk made the Hills the
hunter's paradise. There were no roads, except
of nature's own contraction ; no bridges ; means
of travel were primitive, either on foot, horse-
tack or in a dead ox wagon. The population was
at that time about twelve thousand. Of this num-
ber, ten thousand were in Deadwood, Lead City,
Central City and adjacent gtilches. In 1876 Cus-
ter was the populous camp, containing, as was
claimed, not less than six thousand people, but
the discovery of placer gold on Deadwood creek,
in the northern hills, had well-nigh depopulated
it, and at the time of which we are writing it had
very much the appearance of a "deserted village,"

but without a Goldsmith to link its name with the
immortality of song. Perhaps the white monu-
ments in the valley of the Little Big Horn will
be more enduring as they tell a story more tragic
and pathetic than any that might be woven in
a poet's brain. Most of the early settlers were
mere fortune hunters, with no thought of becom-
ing permanent dwellers or establishing homes,
so took but little interest in the organization of
society, of churches or schools. The mining
states and territories of the west had the much
larger representation, and cjuite a majority of
these belonged to the class of placer miners, who
as a general thing are improvident and nomadic.
The greater portion of the population had
entered the Hills in 1876 under the ban of the
United States government, against its protest,
and in the face of its active opposition. Bfeing
then Indian country, the territorial government
was powerless to give them aid or extend to them
the protection of the law and the courts. Feeling
the necessity for some sort of judicial adminis-
tration, to hold the unruly element in check, pun-
ish petty crimes, and settle chattel property
rights, these pioneers of 1876 organized in Cus-
ter and Deadwood provisional courts, with
judges and ministerial officers. Questions relat-
ing to mining and the right of possession of min-
ing ground were settled by miners' meetings, as
provided by the rules and regulations adopted by
the miners in the several mining districts. The
decisions of these courts and miners' meet-
ings were very generally respected as bind-
ing and final. Minor ofifenses were readily
disposed of, but when it came to capital
or other felonious crimes these hardy fron-
tiersmen preferred giving the culprit his
libertv on condition that he would leave the
camp, — as in the case of McCall, who murdered
Wild Bill, — rather than assume the responsibility
of inflicting the death penalty, and the execution
of a pententiary sentence being impossible. There
is no question but what these temporary govern-
mental expedients were productive of good.
They exercised a wholesome -restraint over the
lawless element, engendered and kept alive re-
spect for law and authority, prevented serious

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

personal encounters and bloodshed over property
rights, and a resort to the questionable methods
of vigilantes and the barbarities of lynch law.

Such were the existing conditions when the
jurisdiction of the territorial government was
extended over the Black Hills country. The
counties of Lawrence, Pennington and Custer
were organized and the machinery of the law
put into operation.

There was some funny work done and at-
tempted by the respective boards of county
commissioners of these counties, in the tempor-
ary location of the county seats. That of Custer
was fixed at a little placer mining camp, called
Hayward, which afterwards proved to be in Pen-
nington county, and its subsequent removal
to Custer City involved some citizens in rather
unpleasant experiences in the courts. The com-
luissioners of Pennington county laid out a town
awav up in the hills on Spring creek, where
there were a few miners' cabins, called it Sheri-
dan, and made it the county seat. An effort was
made to locate the county seat of Lawrence count}-
at Crook City, a small hamlet seven miles north-
east of Deadwood, but this failed and Deadwood
was selected.

Prior to statehood, the following judges oc-
cupied the bench of the Black Hills district:
Granville G. Bennett, GideonX. Moody, William
E. Church and Charles M. Thomas. Upon the
admission of the state, the seventh and eighth
circuits wee created. T^c seventh embraced
the counties of Pennington, Custer and Fall
River, and some adjacent unorganized counties,
Lawrence, Meade and Butte counties, with cer-
tain adjoining unorganized territory, constitut-
ed the eighth circuit. The seventh has had
three judges, viz : John W. Nowland, William
Gardner and Levi McGee. Judge Nowland died
during his term of office. The eighth has had
the following : Charles M. Thomas, Adoniram
J. Plowman, Joseph B. Moore, Frank J. Washa-
baugh and William G. Rice, the latter filling by
appointment the unexpired term of Judge Wash-
abaugh. Of the judges who have presided over
the courts of the Black Hills, three are dead.
Judges Thomas. Moody and Washabaugh.

The first term of United States court was
convened at Sheridan on the 4th Tuesday of
May, 1877. There were no civil cases for trial,
and no parties held to answer to the grand jury.
So no juries were empaneled, no attorneys were
present except Mr. Frank J. Washabaugh, who*
had been appointed and qualified as district at-
torney for Pennington county. There was no-
building in which to hold court, and a miner's
cabin, with dirt floor and a dirt roof, was used
as a hall of justice, and during a heavy rain-
storm the descending water and mud made things
very uncomfortable. The session was of short
duration and no business was transacted.

The next term of court at Sheridan was held
in September, same year. It was unique in many
respects. The little cluster of miners' cabins was
still all there was of the town, known as the
county seat. The county commissioners had
erected a one-story log house to serve as a court
house. It, too, had a dirt floor and roof. Places
were cut out for doorways and windows, but
that was all ; no doors were hung and no sash
or glass ; all was open. There was organized the
first United States grand jury in the Hills. Many
indictments were found and a number of con-
victions followed, most of them for violations of
the internal revenue laws. The United States
government was represented by the late John R.
Gamble. Quite a number of attorneys were pres-
ent, but few of whom are still in this jurisdic-
tion. The court, attorneys, jurors and witnesses
had to make the trip either from Deadwood or
Rapid City by private conveyances, taking with
them bedding, provisions and camp equipage,
and providing for themselves during the term.
A number encamped across the road opposite
the court house and fared sumptuously on bacon,
slap-jacks and canned goods, and when court was
not in session found amusement in shooting the
judge's "bench" full of holes, though the open
doorway. They were a jolly lot of fellows, and
enjoyed their outing. This was the last term of
court held at Sheridan, and the last of the town.
The county seat was removed lo Rapid City,
where it should have been located in the first
place, and the old site of the prospective city of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Sheridan passed to the ownership of a prosper-
ous ranchman, and became one of the most pro-
ductive farms on upper Spring creek.

The first term of court held in Deadwood,.the
fore part of May. 1877, was in many respects
rather remarkable. There was no civil calendar,
and criminal business occupied the time of the
court. The grand jury returned fifteen indict-
ments, and but one out of that number was ac-
quitted, fourteen being sentenced to the peniten-
tiary. The crimes for which these persons were
indicted and punished ranged all the way frem
manslaughter to assaults with deadly weapons.

Shortly before the arrival of the judge in the
Hills, two homicides had been committed, in a
quarrel over the possession of certain town lots.
Certain citizens, regarding the conditions as
rather unbearable, organized a vigilance com-
mittee and proposed to inaugurate extreme meas-
ures. One of its members stated that the judge
was on his way in and would open court very
soon, and suggested that the committee wait and
see if he should be able to enforce the law and
punish crime. This was acceded to, and this
committee ceased to exist after this first term of
the court. It can be said to its credit, that during
all the period of its wild and reckless history
there never was a case of lynching in Deadwood.
And since that first term of court life and prop-
erty have been as safe in Lawrence county as in
any county in the west.

In this first effort to establish law and order
in this new mining camp, the iudge was most
efficiently assisted and supported by three excel-
lent officers, Sheriflf Seth Bullock, District At-
torney John H. Barnes, and Clerk A. R. Z. Daw-
son. They were among the first settlers, knew
the people well, were familiar with conditions and
■were able to give valuable information and ad-
vice.

At this first term seventy or more attorneys
were admitted to the practice of the law, repre-
senting almost every western state and territory.
Of all these, bu^ four remain in the Hills. Many
liave crossed the mystic river, while the remain-
ing survivors are scattered far and wide. The
following year some able men were added, and

the Lawrence county bar soon acquired the rep-
utation of being the strongest in the then terri-
tory, which it has in a measure maintained, al-
though having lost by death and removal a num-
ber of its recognized leaders and talented mem-
bers. Opportunity is a great factor in the lives
of most men, and this factor has been potent
with the lawyers of the Black Hills. For many
years the litigation, especially in Lawrence county,
was extensive and very important. Property
rights of great value being frequently involved,
and the cases closely and hard fought, could not,
than otherwise, develop a keen, logical and thor^
oughly equipped class of attorneys.

The early strenuous legal contests in the Black
Hills courts were cases involving rights to mining
ground. These were frequently complicated by
the carelessness with which mining claims had
been located and sometimes by the utter disre-
g-ard of the rights of others by subsequent loca-
tors. There were other elements entering into
these contests, which made the duties of the pre-
siding judge difficult and perplexing. The mem-
bers of the bar, as has been already stated, came
from almost every mining state and territory
of the west. Each brought with him his own
ideas and interpretation of the practice and pro-
cedure in the jurisdiction from which he had
come, and insisted upon their adoption and ob-
servance, regardless of the provisions of the code
of civil procedure of this territory. In fact there
was but one lawyer among the sixty or seventy
who had a copy of the code. There were then
(1877) no accessible text-books and scarcely no
adjudicated cases on mines and mining law. One
authority only could be produced attempting to
construe the mining acts of congress, and that
tvas the Golden Fleece case, decided by the su-
preme court of Nevada a short time previous.
Then there were a few attorneys, wholly devoid
of any sense of moral or legal responsibility, who
would resort to any methods, however question-
able, for the accomplishment of their purposes.
Under all these adverse conditions it is not at all
strange that the pathway of the presiding judge
was rather rough, at least not strewn with
flowers.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Some of the earlier cases, while protracted and
fought with stubborn ability, proved disastrous
to all litigant parties concerned. The first case
involving mining rights, being that of the Hidden
Treasure Mining Company vs. The Aurora
IMining Company, was instituted immediately
upon the organization of the courts in Lawrence
county. It was conducted on part of counsel for
defendant with unpardonable bitterness and mal-
ice, the effects of which were apparent for a long
time. When the case was concluded it was found
that the ground in dispute was worthless, and
neither company survived the disastrous legal
battle. Of the counsel engaged in this somewhat
celebrated case, but one survives, Judge Kings-
ley, who is now a resident of Denver, Colorado.
Of a similar nature was the Sitting Bull case,
but without any unpleasantness. It was long-
drawn-out and very expensive, at the end both
parties were bankrupt, and the ground in dispute
has never since been worked and is regarded as
of but little if any value. The attorneys for de-
fendant in this case, to-wit : Messrs. McLaughlin,
Steele, Moody and Skinner, are all dead, while
the attorneys for plaintiff still survive, Messrs.
Van Cise and Kingsley being in Denver and
Messrs. John R. Wilson and Bennett still prac-
ticing in Deadwood. The judge who presided at
that trial, Hon. W. E. Church, is now residing
in Chicago.

A very important case more recently tried in
the federal co^rt was that of the Buxston Mining
Company vs. the Golden Reward Mining Com-
pany, in which the plaintiff obtained a judgment
of over sixty thousand dollars. The pllaintiff in
this case was represented by Messrs. Martin &
Mason, with whom was associated Granville G.
Bennett, and the defendants by Messrs. W. R.
Steele, G. C. Moody and W. L. McLaughlin.
There never was a case more closely tried, every
inch being tenaciously contested, and although
the trial occupied about four weeks, it was con-
ducted in the most amicable spirit, and without
the least friction or unpleasantness, in this pre-
senting a marked contrast to the methods and
spirit employed and displayed by certain attor-
ne\'s in the conduct of the first civil action tried

and determined in the courts of the Black
Hills.

I have referred to these cases simply as sam-
ples of the heavy and important litigation in
which the Lawrence county bar has been engaged
during more than a quarter of a century.

It will be noticed how the Lawrence county
bar has suffered from deaths and removals dur-
ing its comparatively short existence. But no
man was ever yet so great or important that he
could not be spared from the world's activities,
and these places made vacant are being rapidly
filled by the oncoming aspirants for curialistic
honors, who give good promise of maintaining
the enviable reputation which this bar has en-
joyed in the past.

The Lawrence county bar has not been over-
looked in the distribution of political honors. It
has furnished a delegate in congress, Granville
G. Bennett, a United States senator, Gideon C.
Moody, a member of congress, Eben W. Martin,
a member of the state's supreme court. Dighton
Carson, besides many minor positions.

The bars of the other Black Hills counties
have many able lawyers, and have not been so-
changeable in their membership. They have not
had the important and extensive litigation that
Lawrence has had, hence have not had the same
opportunities and experiences as the attorneys
in the northern Hills.

The tempestuous days are past. Mining
ground is being rapidly patented, which settles
very generally mining titles, and does away with
what has been the most important branch of the
law in the Hills.

Things are fast assuming the steady charac-
ter of the older communities and litigation is be-
coming commonplace. But those stirring times
will long be remembered by those who were
actors in their exciting and busy scenes.

PIERCE CAHILL, representative of the
district in the state senate and one of the suc-
cessful farmers and stock growers of Grant
county, was born in Beetown, Grant county,.
Wisconsin, on the 9th of January, 1869, and is.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

a son of John and Margaret (Quirk) Cahill. the
formtT of whom was born in Ireland and the
latter in Wisconsin. The father was a child of
four years when his parents removed to the
United States, the family locating in the state of
Wisconsin, where he was reared. He became
identified with railroad contract work as a young-
man and was thus engaged at the time of the
outbreak of the war of the Rebelliorl, when he
enlisted as a private in Company C, Second Wis-
consin Volunteer Infantry, with which he was
under McClellan in the famous old "Iron
Brigade," participating in both battles of liull
Run and receiving four gun-shot wounds in the
second of those engagements, the injuries thus
received resulting in his death, in 1901. His
brother Pierce was likewise- a soldier and was
captured and held prisoner in Andersonville for
eighteen months. John and Margaret Cahill
became the parents of three sons and one daugh-
ter, and all arc now living in Grant county.
South Dakota.

Pierce Cahill secured his earlv educational
discipline in the public schools of Fox Lake,
Wisconsin, and assisted his father in his farm-
ing operations until he had attained the age of
twenty-six years. In 1889, at the age of twenty
years, he caine to South Dakota and, in com-
])any with his brother. Frank. ])urchased six
hundred and forty acres of land, in Grant county,
and here they now have one of the finely im-
proved and valuable farms of this section of
the state, while they have given particular atten-
tion to the raising of the best grade of live
stock. The subject has a fine residence in the
village of Albee and is now engaged in stock-
buying business here, still retaining his interest
in the ranch property and stock-growing enter-
prise, through the medium of which he has at-
tained a high degree of prosperity and a reputa-
tion as a progressive and sagacious man. He is
identified with the Modern Woodmen of
America, and his political faith is that of the
Republican party, of whose principles he has
been a stanch advocate, being a factor in public
affairs and having held various township offices.
In 1900 a just recognition of his eligibility and

party fealty was given in his being selected to
represent his district in the state senate. He
made an excellent record iluring the session of
the general assembly, being assigned to impor-
tant committees and taking an active part in the
work and councils of the senate, and the popu-
lar appreciation of his efforts was shown by his
re-election in November, 1902. He is held in
high esteem and is deserving of unequivocal
confidence.

THOMAS FITCH, one of the esteemed
citizens of Milbank, is a native of the old Buck-
e>-e state, having been born in Trumbull county,
Ohio, on the 7th of July, 1840, being a son of
Andrew and Elizabeth ( Blackburn) Fitch, the
former of whom was born in Connecticut and
the latter in Ohio, the father being a scion of old
colonial stock, while representatives of the name
were valiant soldiers in the Continental army
during the war of the Revolution. Andrew
Fitch was a man of sterling character and com-
manded unqualified confidence and esteem. He
served as auditor of Trumbull county, Ohio, and
about 1849 h^ removed with his family to Mc-
Henry county, Illinois, where he remained until
1856, when he took up his residence in Fillmore
county, Minnesota, becoming a pioneer settler
of that section, where he took up a homestead
and improved a good farm. He died at Mil-
bank at the age of seventy-four years, having
passed the closing years of his life in Milbank,
and his wife was summoned into eternal rest
three years later, at the age of seventy-four years.
They became the parents of ten children, of
whom only two are now living, Thomas and
Emmor A., who is a resident of Sioux Falls,
South Dakota.

Thomas Fitch was about sixteen years of age
at the time of the removal to Fillmore county,
Miniiesota, where he attended the common
schools and an excellent academy at Qiatfield.
He was for many years successfully engaged in
teaching, while he has ever continued a close
student and wide reader, being distinctively a
man of broad information and liberal ideas. He

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

was teaching when the thundering of rebel guns
against old Fort Sumter announced the initiation
of the greatest civil war known in the annals of
history. He responded to President Lincoln's
first call for volunteers, and on the 26th of June,
1861, was enlisted for three months as a member
of Comi^any A, Second Minnesota Volunteer
Infantry. His company was commanded by
Captain Judson W. Bishop, who eventually rose
to the rank of general and who is now a promi-
nent resident of St. Paul. He continued in ac-
tive service for three years and one month, being
mustered out as corporal on the 21st of July,
1864. He retired from service by reason of
severe injuries received in the battle of Chicka-
mauga, on the 20th of the preceding September.
He was wounded in the right arm and the face,
by the same ball, and in the ensuing surgical
operation fifteen pieces of shattered bone were
taken from his arm, in which the ball had re-
mained for eighty-one days. His brothers, Wil-
liam A. and James H., also served in the Union
arm\-, the former having been a member of the
Chicago Light Artillery and died in the service,
after having been a prisoner in Libby prison for
seven months. The latter was a member of
Company E, Seventh Minnesota Volunteer In-
fantry.

After the war Mr. Fitch resumed teaching
in the same school in which he had been retained
at the time of his enlistment, and thereafter de-
voted fourteen years to pedagogic work in Min-
nesota, though he was also identified with agri-
cultural pursuits and was incumbent of various
local offices. In 1880 he took up a soldier's
homestead in Kilborn township, Grant county,
becoming-thus one of the early settlers. He im-
proved his farm and placed it under cultivation,
and still owns the property, as well as forty acres
adjoining Milbank. In 1883 he took up his
residence in Milbank, where he is now success-
fully engaged in the wood and coal business,
while he commands the unequivocal esteem of
all who know him, being popular in business,
social and public life. He has been called upon
to serve in various offices of trust and responsi-
bility, including those of justice of the peace.

school trustee and member of the village coun-
cil. He has a nice residence and the pleasant
home is a center of gracious hospitality. Mr.
Fitch is a member of the company operating and
owning the co-operative creamery in Milbank,
which represents one of the important industrial
enterprises of the county. In politics he has ever
accorded a stanch allegiance to the Republican
party and has been an active worker in its cause,
while for the past two years he has served as
chairman of the Republican central committee of
Grant county. In January, 1902, he received
through the legislature the appointment as one
of the five members of the board of control of
the soldiers' home at Hot Springs. He has ever
retained a deep interest in his old comrades in
arms and is one of the valued members of Gen-
eral A. A. Humphrey Post, No. 42, Grand
Army of the Republic. In 1900 Mr. Fitch was
elected one of the presidential electors on the
Republican ticket, and had the distinction of re-
ceiving the largest number of votes ever cast for
a candidate in the state.

At Preston, Minnesota, on the 7th of Decem-
ber, 1865, ^Ir. Fitch was united in marriage to
Miss Sarah P. Shaw, who was born in New
York, being a daughter of Ebenezer and Lydia
P. Shaw, who were numbered among the early
settlers in Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Fitch have
one son, Frederick, who is now a resident of the
city of Spokane, Washington, where he is a
conductor on the Great Northern Railroad. He
married Miss Mary Hause, and they have one
child. Gene.

HON. A. H. INGERSOLL, county judge
of Roberts county, was born in Waupun. Wis-
consin, October 12, 1837, and is the son of
Artemedorous and Nancy (McNammard) In-
gersoll, both parents natives of Pennsylvania,
the father of English descent, the mother of
Scotch-Irish. Artemedorus Ingersoll came from
an old and respected New England family, was
a man of intelligence and much more than or-
dinary culture and for a number of years served
as official surveyor of Dodge county, Wisconsin,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[129

having been an educated and remarkably cap- j
able civil engineer. He reared a family of nine
children, six sons and three daughters, the old-
est son, a captain in the late Civil war, dying in 1
a rebel prison, and two otliers have died since
that time.

A. H. IngersoII was reared in his native state,
received a high-school education at Waupun,
Wisconsin, and studied law at Preston, Minne-
sota, under the direction of Henry R. Wells,
being admitted to the bar in 1878. In that year
he came to South Dakota and, settling on a tree
claim near Wilmot, began practicing in that town
and upon the organization of Roberts county, in
1882, he was chosen state's attorney, which posi-
tion he held for a term of two years, retiring
at the expiration of that time to his farm. But
a brief interval elapsed until he was again elected
to the office and after discharging the duties of
the same in an able and satisfactory manner for
a period of six years, he was elected to the county
judgeship, which with the exception of four
years spent in agricultural pursuits, he has since
held. Judge IngersoII is an able lawyer, a ju-
dicious and successful practitioner, and as a
judge his course has been creditable to himself
and an honor to the county, fully meeting the ex-
pectations of his friends and the public and
justifying the wisdom of his election. In the
discharge of his official functions he is eminently
fair and impartial, his rulings bear every evi-
dence of a profound knowledge of the law, his
decisions have been characterized by an intense
desire to render justice in all matters submitted
for his consideration, and thus far there has been
little in his career to criticise and much to com-
mend. He is not only one of the representative
Republicans of Roberts county, but enjoys much
more than local prestige as a judicious organizer
and successful leader.

Judge IngersoII is vice-president of the
Citizens' Bank at this place, and a stockholder in
the same, and is also identified with the Bank of
Wilmot, besides having various other interests
which tend to the development of the country and
the promotion of its prosperity. Fraternally he
belongs to the Ancient Order of United Work-

men and the Knights of Pythias, in both of which
brotherhoods he is an active worker, and at dif-
ferent times he has been honored with important
official positions in the same.

The Judge was married on April 15, 1881,
to Miss Ida F. Maydole, a native of Iowa and
the daughter of Henry M. and Eliza (Wilson)
Maydole, the father of German descent, the
mother's lineage being traceable to an old New
England family that figured in the early history
of Vermont.

ELIAS MONSON, ex-register of deeds
of Roberts count}- and now president of and ab-
stracter for the Roberts County Aljstract and
Title Company, is a native of Dodge county,
Minnesota, and the son of Ole and Bertha
(Kuntson) Monson, both parents born and
reared in Norway. Ole Monson and wife came
to the United States a number of years ago and
were among the earliest settlers of Dodge county,
Minnesota, locating there when the county was
on the very outskirts of civilization. After a
long residence in that state, they removed to
near Grand Forks, North Dakota, where the
father's death occurred in 1900, and the mother's
two years previously. Ole Monson, a farmer
by occupation, was a man of intelligence and
sound judgment and was a most excellent and
praiseworthy citizen. He was always deeply in-
terested in the public afifairs of the coinmunities in
which he lived, took an active part in politics
and for years was one of the Republican leaders
of Dodge county, Minnesota. Although of for-
eign birth and ever retaining a warm feeling
for his native country, he became devotedly at-
tached to the country of his adoption and was
an ardent admirer and loyal upholder of the free
institutions under which so many years of his
life were spent and so much of his success
achieved.

Elias Monson was born on July 4, 1864, spent
his childhood and youth in his native county and
state and after acquiring an elementary edu-
cation in the public schools completed an
academic and business course in an academy at

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Portland, North Dakota. On quitting the
academy he went to North Dakota in 1888 with
the family, and after farming two years in Grand
Forks county, changed his residence to the
county of Roberts, where, in 1892, he took up a
fine claim, which he at once proceeded to im-
prove. He continued to reside on his place and
promote its development until the fall of 1898,
when he was elected, on the Republican ticket,
register of deeds for Roberts county, the duties
of which office he discharged for two terms hav-
ing been chosen his own successor in the year
1900. As a public official Mr. Monson demon-
strated fine business capacity and became quite
popular with the people. At the expiration of
his second term he was prevailed upon by his
successor to continue in charge of the office as
deputy, being familiar with its varied duties and
far better qualified to discharge the same than
any other individual.

Mr. Monson is now identified with the Rob-
erts County Abstract & Title Company, of which
he is president, and also owns an interest in a
hotel at White Rock. He gives his influence and
encouragement to all enterprises having for
their object the material advancement of the
community, being alsa a friend of education, re-
ligion and other civilizing agencies without
which no commonwealth can truly prosper. He
belongs to the Improved Order of Red Men and
Court of Honor at Sisseton, is a zealous worker
in both organizations and at various times has
been honored with responsible official positions
by his fellow members.

Mr. Monson's domestic history dates from
1895, on December loth of which year was
solemnized his marriage with Miss Carrie Stad-
stad, of Douglas county, Minnesota, a most ex-
cellent and amiable lady who has presented him
with two children, Beatrice and Arthur A.

CHARLES L. FOLKSTAD, a prominent
merchant of Sisseton and proprietor of one of
the largest and finest general stores in the easteru
part of South Dakota, is a native of Minnesota
and the son of Levi Folkstad, who came to the

United States from Norway sometime in the
'forties. Charles L. Folkstad was born on June
I, 1863, spent his early life in Dodge county,
Minnesota, and enjoyed the advantages of a
common-school education. When a young man
he turned his attention to well digging, which
arduous business he followed for three years in
his native state and in 1891 came to South Da-
kota and, entering a tract of land in the southern
part of Roberts county, lived on the same until
receiving a patent from the government, when
he returned to Minnesota. During the ensuing
three years Mr. Folkstad clerked in a mercantile
house, but at the expiration of that time re-
signed his position and in 1895 again came to
Dakota and opened a gents' furnishing store in
Sisseton. His business career since the above
date presents a series of successes perhaps
without parallel in this state, as his progress
from a comparatively modest beginning to his
present commanding position among the lead-
ing merchants of Dakota has been little less than
phenomenal. Starting with a small stock of
goods, in an indifferent building, fourteen by
twenty feet in size, he soon secured a lucrative
patronage and as the business continued to grow
in magnitude more commodious quarters became
necessary. In 1897 he took in a partner, but in
January following purchased the latter's interest
and has since been sole proprietor, the business
meanwhile increasing to such an extent as to
make his store the leading establishment of the
kind in the city. Mr. Folkstad, in 1900, erected
the fine brick building which he now occupies,
the structure being twenty-four by one hundred
and twenty feet in size, handsomely finished with
pressed brick front and large plate glass win-
dows, the interior a model of beauty and con-
venience and perfectly adapted to the purposes
for which intended. This store is packed to re-
pletion with full lines of clothing, gents' fur-
nishings, and a first-class tailoring department.
Mr. Folkstad has a well-established reputation
for selling goods at low prices and for square
and honorable dealing with his patrons. Mr.
Folkstad has been remarkably fortunate in all
of his business affairs and now possesses a for-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1131

tune of considerable magnitude, owning in ad-
dition to his large mercantile house and other
city property, an extensive tract of fine farm
land, besides considerable stock in a number of
local enterprises. He is a man of sterling worth,
enjoys the confidence of the public and is held in
high esteem by his fellow men of Sisseton and
Roberts county. He holds membership with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen and the
Knights of Pythias, and in politics supports the
Republican party.

Mr. Folkstad's wife, formerly Miss Anna
Pederson, was born in Dodge county, Minnesota,
but since five years of age has lived in South
Dakota, where her marriage was solemnized on
September 26, 1893. The following are the
names of their children : Lloyd, Gordon, Alton,
Anna Bernice and Charles Walter, a twin of the
first born dying in infancy.

ANDREW MARVICK, treasurer and man-
ager of the Iowa and Dakota Land Company,
and stockholder in the Citizens' National Bank,
Sisseton, is a native of Grundy county, Illinois,
where his birth occurred on June 28, 1871. His
parents, Seivert and Laura (Naadland) Marvick,
were born in Norway and in 1854 came to the
United States, settling in Illinois, where the
father purchased land and became a successful
tiller of the soil. Andrew grew up in close
touch with the rugged duties of farm life, and
after receiving an elementary education in the
public schools of his native county entered the
normal school at Morris, Illinois, where he pur-
sued for some time the higher branches of
learning. His education finished, he engaged in
farming in Illinois and continued the same for
some years, later embarking in the real-estate
business in Minnesota and South Dakota. In
the spring of 1902 he opened a real-estate office
in Sisseton and after conducting the same with
marked success until the following fall, when
he helped to organize the Citizens' National
Bank, of which his brother, Joseph Marvick, is
president.

Mr. Marvick is an accomplished business
man and although but recently identified with
banking, he has demonstrated abilities and re-
sourcefulness as a financier such as few attain
after a much longer and more varied experience.
Under his able management the Citizens' Na-
tional Bank has become not only one of the lead-
ing institutions of the kind in Roberts county,
but in the northeastern part of the state, and,
being backed by safe and conservative men, it
bids fair to achieve ere long an honorable repu-
tation among the popular and successful banks
of the great northwest. In addition to his con-
nection with the banking interests of Sisseton,
Mr. Marvick is identified with various other
business enterprises that have had a decided in-
fluence upon development of the country, notably
among which being the Iowa and Dakota Land
Company, which he is now serving in the two-
fold capacity of manager and treasurer.

Mr. Marvick ranks with the intelligent and
level-headed men of the city of his residence and
in every relation of life has made a reputation
for probity and correct conduct that has become
proverbial. His impulses, always earnest and
generous, are invariably in the right direction,
and the encouraging success with which
his business career has been crowned is mainly
due to his industry, fidelity and the spirit of
courtesy characteristic of the well-bred, broad-
minded gentleman.

Mr. Marvick was married on February 20,
1895, to Miss Linnie Bjelland, a native of Illi-
nois, but of Norwegian parentage, the union re- •
suiting in the birth of three children, Lydia,
Raymond O. and Amos S. Mr. and Mrs. Mar-
vick have one of the most beautiful modem
residences in Sisseton, and their pleasant home
is noted for the hospitality and spirit of good
fellowship that welcome all who enter its pre-
cincts. In private life the subject is quiet and
unobtrusive, but warm-hearted and afifable in
his relations with his fellow men. He numbers
his friends by the score, stands high in public
esteem and the prominent position which he has
already reached in business and social circles is
indicative of the still greater and more influential

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

career that awaits him in tlie future. Relig-
iously Mr. Marvick and wife are Lutherans,
being among the leading members of the church
of that denomination in Sisseton.

FRITHIOP X. H. GYLLENHAMMAR,
M. D., of Gayville, Yankton county, was born in
Sweden, on the 8th of February, 1857, being a
son of Lars G. and Catherine M. (Samuelson)
Gyllenhammar. From 1632 to the present time
the subject's ancestors and himself have been
noblemen in their native land, the Doctor's name,
with the other members of the family, being
registered in the noblemen's calendar at Stock-
holm, Sweden. JMrs. Anna Carlson, the Doctor's
sister, who is his housekeeper, was widowed in
Sweden, her husband having been a civil en-
gineer. The Doctor was reared in his native
land and his more purely literarj' education was
secured in Linkoping College, where he con-
tinued his studies until he had completed the
prescribed course of the college. About the
year 1882 he took up the study of medicine and
surgery, under most effective preceptorship, and
in 1884 he emigrated from the far northland to
the United States, locating in the city of Duluth,
Minnesota, where he continued his technical
studies under the direction of Dr. W. H. Mc-
Gee, and while a resident of that city he also
familiarized himself with the English language,
so that he became well qualified for taking up his
active labors in the country of his adoption. Li
the autumn of 1887 the Doctor was matriculated
in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in
the city of St. Louis, Missouri, where he com-
pleted the prescribed course, being graduated as
a member of the class of 1891, and receiving his
degree of Doctor of Medicine on the loth of
March of that year. He passed the ensuing
summer in that city and in the autumn removed
to Sioux City, Iowa, where he built up a suc-
cessful practice, continuing to there follow his
profession until the autumn of 1894, when he
came to South Dakota and located in the city of
Yankton, where he was engaged in practice for
the ensuing three years, at the expiration of

which he came to Gayville, which has ever since
been the field of his earnest and successful en-
deavors in the work of his noble profession, in
which he has gained marked prestige and the
concomitant confidence and esteem of the com-
munity.

Since coming to South Dakota Dr. Gyllen-
hammar has served about five years as a mem-
ber of the board of pension examiners for Yank-
ton county, and he is held in high regard by his
professional confreres in the state, while his
ability and pleasing personality have brought to
him a representative support in his chosen field
of labor. In politics he accords a stanch support
to the Republican party and his religious faith is
that of the Lutheran church. He is a member
of the South Dakota State Medical Society, the
Sioux Valley Medical Association and the
American Medical Association, while fraternally
he is identified with the Knights of tlie Mac-
cabees and the Mutual Benefit Association. He
is also president of the Yankton District Medical
Association. The Doctor is the owner of a
pleasant and well-appointed home in Gayville, in
which he has a large library of well-selected
books, both professional and scientific. The Doc-
tor is not married, and his sister presides over
the domestic affairs of his pleasant home, while
in the family circle are two adopted children.
George and Hilda Heloise.

J. A. RICKERT, a financier of more than
'local reputation, 'is a native of Trumbull county,
Ohio, and the oldest in a family of twelve chil-
dren, whose father and mother were of Gemian
and Irish descent respectively. Mr. Rickert was
born September 21, 1852, and four years later,
with his parents, emigrated to Olmsted county,
Minnesota, where he grew to manhood on a
farm, meanwhile receiving his preliminary edu-
cation in the district schools of that county. In
1871 he entered St. Vincent's College, WHieeling,
West Virginia, where he pursued his studies for
two years, meanwhile attending night school at
the Bryant & Stratton Business College, of that
city, completing the full commercial course at

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTx'\.

that institution. For the six years following
Mr. Rickert was engaged as clerk, timekeeper
and bookkeeper, in Wheeling, West Virginia,
and in towns in Minnesota. In 1879 he came to
South Dakota and took up a homestead in Grant
county, near Milbank. In 1881 he disposed of
his claim and with the proceeds engaged in the
general merchandise business two years later at
Corona, this state, where he carried on a ver\^
successful business during the ensuing sixteen
years, all of which time he served as postmaster
of the town, besides holding various township
and municipal offices.

In 1896 Ivlr. Rickert was elected treasurer
of Roberts county, and upon taking charge of
the office moved to Wilmot, where he resided
until the seat of justice was changed to Sisseton,
when he took up his abode at the latter place and
has since made it his home. He was re-elected
in 1S98 and served both terms in an able and
satisfactory manner, proving a painstaking,
obliging and popular public servant. During
his last term he built an elevator at Sisseton and
engaged in the grain business, and about the
same time associated himself with H. S. Morris
and Howard Babcock and organized the First
National Bank of Sisseton, becoming president
of the institution, which position he still holds.
Still later he became one of the organizers, stock-
holders and officers of three new banks, known
as the Citizens' State Bank of White Rock, the
First State Bank of Summit, and the Roberts
County State Bank, of Corona, and is a stock-
holder in the Sisseton Loan and Title Company
and the Roberts County Land and Loan Com-
]3any.

.Air. Rickert ovvus a fine business property at
Corona and a nice residence in Sisseton. He
has charge and the management of the extensive
farm properties of the Sisseton Loan and Title
Company, of which the}' own about thirty farms
in Roberts and neighboring counties.

Mr. Rickert was married in December, 1882,
the union being blessed with one child, a son,
Paul M., who is now pursuing his studies in
Pillsbury Academy at Owatonna, Minnesota.

Mr. Rickert is a Mason and a member of the

.\ncient Order of United Workmen. In politics
lie has always been an enthusiastic Republican.
The distinction which he has achieved in
financial and business circles has given him con-
siderable reputation, and as a public-spirited
citizen he is deeply interested in all that tends
to the material development and general pros-
perity of his city, county and state.

RT. RE\-. THOMAS O'GORMAN.— To
him whose name initiates this review has come
the attainment of a distinguished position in
connection with the work of the holy Catholic
church. A man of distinctive and forceful in-
dividuality and high attainments, he has con-
secrated his life to the service of the Divine
Master and is at the present time ministering
faithfully and zealously as bishop of the Catholic
church for the diocese of South Dakota, of
which Sioux Falls is the see city and conse-
quently his place of residence.

Bishop O'Gorman is a native of the city of
Boston, Massachusetts, where he was born on
the 1st of Jilay, 1843, being a son of John and
Margaret O'Gorman, who removed to the west
when he was a child, his boyhood days being
passed in Chicago and St. Paul, where he se-
cured his early educational training in public
and parochial schools. At the age of ten and
one-half years, in company with the dis-
tinguished Archbishop Ireland, who was then
sixteen years of age, he was sent to France,
where he continued his literary studies and was
also educated for the priesthood. Upon his re-
turn to St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1865, he was or-
dained to the priesthood, receiving holy orders
on the 5th of November of that year. There-
after he had charge of a missionary district in
southern Minnesota until 1878, the center of said
di.strict being the town of Rochester. In the
year last mentioned he joined with the Paulist
fathers in their missionary work, and during a
portion of two years was an assistant in the church
of St. Paul in New York city. In 1885 Bishop
O'Gorman was made president of the seminary
of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minnesota, in

II34

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

which institution he also occupied the chair of
philosophy and dogmatic theology. In 1890 he
was appointed professor of ecclesiastical history
in the Roman Catholic University at Washing-
ton, D. C, where he remained until 1896, in
which year he was consecrated a bishop and as-
signed to the diocese of South Dakota, being the
second incumbent of this distinguished and ex-
acting office.

At the time of his residence in the national
capital the Bishop was selected to write a his-
tory of the Roman Catholic church in the United
States, and this important work he successfully
accomplished, Volume IX of the series of de-
nominational church histories, published under
the auspices of the American Society of Church
History, having been written by him. Of his
work in this connection it has been pertinently
said : "This volume evidences the fact that no
mistake was made in his being selected for the
work. It covers a wider field than any other
volume of the series, commencing with the first
landing of Columbus on this continent and, ad-
vancing step by step, gives a complete account
of the development and growth of the church
to the present time. It is a great work, written
in a most attractive ■ and scholarly style, and
places the Bishop in the front rank of historical
writers."

Concerning the work of the Bishop in his
present wide field of endeavor we can not do
better than to quote at length from an appre-
ciative article previously publisheci : "On the
2(1 of May, 1896, Bishop O'Gorman arrived in
Sioux Falls, accompanied by Archbishop Ireland,
of St. Paul, and other high dignitaries of the
church, and the reception, the ceremonies of the
installation the day following, in St. Michael's
church, and the banquet tendered him, will al-
ways be remembered by participants as among
the grandest events in the history of the city. It
is not too much to say that a more cordial and
elaborate welcome was never given to anyone in
Sioux Falls; and one of the most pleasing fea-
tures attending the coming of this eminent prel-
ate to our midst was the hearty co-operation
of the clergy of other denominations in making

the event a notable one. Since coming to South
Dakota he has labored with great zeal and
ability in advancing the welfare of his church,
and under his administration some of the finest
and most costly church buildings in the state
have been erected. The Bishop is greatly be-
loved by his people, and throughout the state,
regardless of denominational preferences, he is
highly esteemed, while the city of Sioux Falls
is especially proud of her distinguished citizen."
Both by inherent qualities and training the
Bishop is eminently fitted for leadership in both
the spiritual and temporal affairs of his exalted
calling, and his labors are fruitful in a cumu-
lative way and will constitute for all time an
integral part of the history not of only the
church but also of the commonwealth in which
he is serving so faithfully and zealously. In
igo2 Bishop O'Gorman went to the city of
Rome as a member of the Taft commission, to
which was assigned the work of negotiating with
the church authorities upon the important busi-
ness and civic questions connected with the
church in the Philippine islands, and in connec-
tion with this work he was absent from his dio-
cese for four months.

CLEMEXT F. PORTER, president of the
Farmers' State Bank of Wilmot, is a native of
Addison county, Vermont, born in the city of
New Haven, on the 24th day of October, 1861.
His parents were Qement and Elizabeth
fComo) Porter, both natives of the province
of Quebec, Canada, and he is one of nine chil-
dren, seven sons and two daughters, being the
fifth of the family. His early life was beset with
many discouraging vicissitudes and not a few
hardships, and at the tender age of seven years
he was thrown upon his own resources, from
which time to^the present day he has been
obliged to make his own way in the world.
When about eleven years old he went to West
Boylston, Massachusetts, where he learned the
shoemaker's trade, and after working at the same
in that city until 1878 went to St. Paul, Min-
nesota, where during the ensuing four years he

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

"35

was employed in the shoe factory of Forepaugh
& Tarbox.

Severing his connection with that firm at
the expiration of that time noted, Mr. Porter
came to Roberts county, South Dakota, and in
1882 engaged in general merchandising at Wil-
mot, in company with Edmund Cook, where he
did a fairly successful business for a short time,
finally disposing of his establishment to take
a business course in a commercial college in St.
Paul, Minnesota. Finishing the course, he re-
turned to Wilmot and opened a hardware store,
which he conducted with profitable results until
1888, when he engaged in the liven,' business,
later turning his attention to real estate, bank-
ing and to dealing in agricultural implements.
Mr. Porter took a leading part in establishing
the Farmers' State Bank of Wilmot, and was
made president of the same immediately after its
organization, being also a director of the Citizens'
National Bank at Sisseton and of the Iowa
and Dakota Land and Loan Company, also of
Sisseton. A few years ago he sold his implement
business, and has since devoted his attention to
his financial interests and to agriculture, being
quite extensively engaged in the latter, owning
a finely improved and valuable farm in Roberts
county, which is cultivated under his personal
management.

Mr. Porter has been an active participant in
public affairs ever since coming to South Da-
kota, and in 1902 was elected to the upper house
of the general assembly as representative from
the thirty-fourth senatorial district. A Repub-
lican of the most orthodox style, he has been a
zealous worker in the party, a leader in its
councils in Roberts county, and it was in recog-
nition of his valuable services that the above
official honor was conferred upon , him. Mr.
Porter has served on the Republican central
committee of Roberts county, in which capacities
he was largely instrumental in formulating the
policy of the party and in leading it to victory in
local campaigns. Mr. Porter is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is also
identified with the ^Modern Woodmen of
America and the Knights of Pythias fraternities.

having represented both the last named organi-
zations in the grand lodge.

Mr. Porter is a married man and owns one
of the beautiful and refined homes of Wilmot,
the presiding genius of which is a lady of in-
telligence and culture, who formerly bore the
name of Nathalie DeNomme, but who changed
it to the one she now so worthily bears on Feb-
ruary 14, 1886. Mrs. Porter is a native of
Massachusetts and of French descent, and has
borne her husband children as follows : Flora
M., George W., Clement F., Qiarles S., Thur-
man, Harry and Irene, all living but Harry, who
died January 12, igo2, aged two years and
eleven months.

RE\'. AVILLIAM F. OUILTY, who since
the year 1900 has been the efificient pastor of St.
Peter's Catholic church of Sisseton, was born
in Madison, Wisconsin, on the 12th of Novem-
ber. 1872. He received his preliminary edu-
cational training in Dubuque, Iowa, later be-
came a student of St. Joseph's College, and after
finishing the prescribed course of that institu-
tion was prepared for holy orders in St. Mary's
Seminary, Cincinnati, Ohio, where he completed
his theological studies in 1898. Father Quilty
entered upon the duties of his holy office in Wis-
consin, but after a short pastorate there was ap-
pointed, in 1900, to St. Peter's church of Sisse-
ton. where he has since reinained and which
under his able management and aggressive work
has grown into one of the strongest and most in-
fluential Catholic congregations in the north-
eastern part of the state. Since taking charge of
the work at tliis point the church has prospered
along all lines of activity and he has won golden
opinions and high respect from all classes of
society, irrespective of creed or nationality. His
labors for the good of his people have been
constant and unwearied, and his unswerving
fidelity to the interests of his parish has met with
an approbation of his superiors that will be
more n.ianifest as the years roll by.

In addition to the church at Sisseton, Father
Quilty has charge of the mission points at Wil-

1 136

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

mot and Effington, both of which have pro-
gressed greatly under his pastorate, and it is not
too much to predict that ere long these con-
gregations will be self-supporting. Father
Quilty is a gentleman of scholarly tastes and, as
already stated, his earnest and consecrated efforts
have endeared him not only to the people to
whom he ministers, but to the public at large.
His labors for the spiritual and temporal wel-
fare of his flock have been zealous and unceas-
ing and, being an orator by nature and thor-
oughly trained by education in pulpit eloquence,
his success in performing the duties of his pas-
torate and winning the love and admiration of
his parishioners has been little less than phenome-
nal. Conscious of the dignity of his mission and
losing sight of self in his efforts to extend the
Master's kingdom and win souls thereto, his life
thus far has been consecrated to duty and the
future awaits him with abundant rewards. His
scholarly accomplishments, as well as his un-
feigned piety and many personal virtues, have
made him popular with all classes and conditions
of his fellow men, and whatever the future may
have in store for him, his name will always be
cherished in the hearts of the people among
whom he is now laboring with such beneficial re-
sults.

CHARLES C. KING is one of the represent-
ative citizens and honored business men of Scot-
land. Bon Homme county, where he has main-
tained his home since 1890, being president of the
First National Bank of Scotland, succeeding the
Bank of Scotland in 1903, one of the solid and
popular monetary institutions of the state.

Charles Clark King is a native of the state
of Illinoi-s. having been born in the town of
La Harpe, Hancock county, on the 7th of July,
1863, and being a son of Luranus F. and Laura
("Andrews) King, both of whom were born and
reared in Ohio, whence they removed to Illinois
in an early day. In 1866 they removed to Polo,
Ogle county, Illinois, the father there turning
his attention to banking. The subject of this

sketch secured his educational discipline of a pre-
liminary sort in the public schools, being gradu-
ated in the high school at Polo, Illinois, as a mem-
ber of the class of 1883. He then devoted one
year to the reading of law, after which he was
employed as a stenographer until 1887, when he
removed to Duluth, Minnesota, and there en-
gaged in the real-estate and loan business. In
the following year he went to the city of Boston,
Massachusetts, where he remained for two years
as representative of the American Loan & Trust
Company, of Duluth, and at the expiration of this
period, in May, 1890, he came to South Dakota
and took up his residence in Scotland, where he
has ever since maintained his home. He here pur-
chased a controlling interest in the Bank of Scot-
land, of which institution he has ever since been
president. He is known as a careful and conserv-
ative executive and able financier and has the
confidence and esteem of those with whom he has
come in contact in either business or social rela-
tions. In politics Mr. King is a stalwart advo-
cate of the principles of the Republican party,
in whose cause he has ever shown a zealous in-
terest, though never a seeker of political prefer-
ment for himself. He served as a member of the
state executive committee of his party during the
campaign of 1900 and at the time of this writing
he is chairman of the Republican central commit-
tee of his county. He has held no elective oflfices
save that of treasurer of the school district, of
which he is now incumbent. He and his wife
are prominent and valued members of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church, and fraternally he is an ap-
preciative member of the INIasonic order, in which
he has attained to the thirty-second degree in the
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, being affili-
ated with Oriental Consistory, No. i, at Yankton,
while he is also a member of the El Riad Temple
of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the
Mystic Shrine, in Sioux Falls.

On the 19th of February, 1896, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. King to Miss Delia
Robinson, daughter of A. F. Robinson, a re-
spected citizen of Dixon, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs.
King have one son, Robert R., who was born on
the 27th of October, 1900.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

"37

FRANK McNULTY. attorney and coun-
sellor at law, of Sisseton, is a native of Minne-
sota and one of a family of six children, whose
l)arents were born and reared in Ireland. His
father came to the United States in the early
'fifties and settHng in Illinois, followed stock
raisinsT until the breaking: out of the Great Re-
bellion, when he enlisted in the Thirty-third
Illinois Infantry, with which he served with an
honorable record until the close of the war.
Later he moved to Minnesota, where he spent
the remainder of his life, dying in the city of
St. Goud in 1896, at the age of fifty-six, his
widow being still a resident of that place.

Frank McNulty was bom December i, 1873,
in the city of St. Paul and after finishing the
public-school course pursued his studies for
some time in the University of Minnesota, sub-
sequently, 1900, being graduated from that
institution with the degree of Bachelor of Laws.
INIeantime, 1895, ^^^ came to South Dakota as
principal of the schools of Wilmot and after
filling the position one year was elected super-
intendent of the Roberts county public schools,
the duties of which he discharged two terms,
baving been re-elected in i8g8. Retiring from
the superintendency, Mr. McNultA' resumed his
legal studies in the University of Minnesota,
and after finishing tlie same, as stated above,
opened an office in Sisseton, where his legal abili-
ties soon won public recognition, as is attested
by the hicrative practice which he has since
built up and now commands. Although a young
man with a comparatively brief experience at
the bar, he is recognized as a lawyer of high
rank and scholarly attainments, well equipped
in even' branch of the profession and since lo-
cating in his present field of labor he has ap-
peared either for the' prosecution or defense in
many of the most noted cases tried in the courts
of Roberts county.

Mr. McNulty is not only well versed in the
basic principles of jurisprudence, but is familiar
with the devious methods of practice and, being
apt and resourceful, is quick to detect weak
points or flaws on the part of opposing counsel
and turn them to his own advantage. A close

and critical student, he has earned the reputation
of an able and honorable adviser, as well as that
of a judicious practitioner, and the energy and
spirit manifested in cases intrusted to him de-
monstrate his ability to maintain the justness of
his causes. Mr. McNulty is pronounced in his
allegiance to the Republican party and has done
much to promote its success in Roberts county
and throughout South Dakota. He served one
year as secretar\r of the state central committee,
in which capacity his labors were duly recog-
nized and appreciated, and he has used his in-
fluence in many other ways to insure victory for
the cause which has always been very close to his
heart. Prominent in local afifairs and untiring in
his efforts to advance the interests of his city
and county, he encourages every legitimate en-
terprise to these ends, and ever since taking up
his residence in South Dakota his name has
been very closely identified with movements and
measures having for their object the advance-
ment of the state and the prosperity of its peo-
ple. Mr. McNulty is a director of the Citizens'
National Bank of Sisseton and a stockholder in
the same, also a director and vice-president of
the Iowa Land and Loan Company. In addi-
tion to his individual interests as represented by
his law practice, he owns considerable land and
devotes no little attention to agriculture and
stock raising, for both of which he has always
manifested a decided liking. Fraternally Mr.
McNulty is a member of the Knights of Pythias,
in which he now holds the title of past grand
chancellor, and he has at different times rep-
resented the local lodge in the grand lodge of
the state. While in college he was an active
worker in the Phi Delta Phi fratemit}' and still
manifests a lively interest in the same, retaining
his membership and keeping himself in close
touch with its deliberations.

L. WILLIAM FOSS, clerk of the Roberts
county courts, is a native of Dodge count}', Min-
nesota, where his birth occurred on July 12,
1878. His parents, Anton and Emma fFolk-
stadt) Foss, were born in Norwav and ^lin-

:i38

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

nesota, respectively, both being of Scandinavian
origin. Anton Foss lived in Minnesota for a
number of years and was a man of considerable
prominence in his community. He came to
South Dakota in 1880, took a leading part in
the public affairs of Roberts county and from
i8go to 1894, inclusive, held the office of register
of deeds. His home at the present time is on a
farm near Wilmot, but he is interested in the
abstract business at Milbank, in the Grant
County Abstract and Title Company.

L. William Foss was about two years old
when his parents moved to South Dakota, and
since that time the greater part of his life has
been spent in Roberts county. He has reared
on a farm near Wilmot. attended the public
schools of that town until finishing the prescribed
course of study and in 1896 was appointed
deputy register of deeds, which office he held
until engaging in the mercantile business at Sum-
mit . in September of the following year. Mr.
Foss sold goods until igoi, when he disposed of
his establishment and accepted the position of
committee clerk in the house of representatives
in the session of 190 1. He then came to Sisseton
and entered the employ of the Roberts County
Abstract and Title Company, with which he re-
mained about one and a half years, when he was
elected in 1902 clerk of the circuit and county
courts, which office he has since held. Mr.
Foss's previous training and experience fitted
him to discharge acceptably the duties of the
clerkship and his management of the office has
fully justified the people in the wisdom of his
election. He is an accomplished business man,
a ready accountant, and by his courteous treat-
ment of those having business to transact in
the office, he has won a warm and permanent
place in the hearts of his fellow citizens. A
Republican in politics and zealous in upholding
his principles, he is nevertheless popular with
the people of the county, regardless of party
ties and numbers among his warm friends many
who hold opinions directly the opposite of his
own.

Mr. Foss. on November 25, igoi, was united
in marriage with Miss Angle ^\. Tennev, of

Spring Valley, Minnesota, the accomplished
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. D. H. Tenney, who
are among the well-known and highly respected
people of that town. Fraternally Mr. Foss is
identified with the Modem Woodmen of
America and the Improved Order of Red
Men, being at this time chief of records in the
local lodge of the latter organization in Sisseton.
Mr. Foss is one of the rising young men of
Roberts county, and his honorable career thus
far is prophetic of a much wider sphere of action
and greater achievements in vears to come.

B. F. CAMPBELL, born :Machias, Maine,
1838. Served in Civil war and earned rank of
colonel. Register LTnited States land office at
Vermillion, 1879. Postmaster Sioux Falls, 1889-
93. Died, 1897.

HOMER A. METCALF, for twenty-two
years a resident of South Dakota and since 1900
auditor of Roberts county, is a native of the
dominion of Canada, born near the city of Lon-
don, Ontario, on April 13, of the year 1865,
being one of eight children, three sons and five
daughters, that constituted the family of An-
thony and Catherine (Haley) Metcalf, the father
of English birth, the mother of German-English
deseent, but born and reared in Canada. An-
thony Metcalf, a carpenter by trade, and later a
large and successful contractor, immigrated to
South Dakota in 1881 and settled near Wilmot,
Roberts county, where he engaged in farming,
which vocation he followed until retiring from
active life a few years ago and. removing to the
town of Wilmot. While following building he
displayed great energ}^ and acquired an honor-
able reputation as mechanic and contractor. He
was also successful as an agriculturist, and is
now enjoying the fruits of his many years of
honest toil in the quiet, restful life, which onlv
such busy men as he know how to appreciate
fully. Mrs. Catherine ATetcalf died in Roberts
county in the month of March, 1887.

Homer A. Metcalf spent his childhood and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

"39

}outh on the family homestead near London,
Canada, attended the public schools there until
about his sixteenth year and in 1881 accompanied
his parents to Roberts coutjty, South Dakota,
where he has since resided. He continued his
studies for some time after coming to this state
and when a young man engaged in teaching,
which profession he followed of winter seasons
for three years. He also pre-empted land, from
which in due time he developed a good farm,
and after retiring from educational work de-
voted his entire attention to agriculture until the
fall of 1900, when he was elected by the Re-
publican party to the office of county auditor.
The better to discharge the duties of his office
Mr. Metcalf turned his farm over to other hands
and removed to the county seat, where he has
since lived, having been chosen his own suc-
cessor in the year 1902.

Mr. Metcalf has administered his office in
an able and praiseworthy manner and his record
since taking possession of the same has been
eminently creditable to himself and an honor
to the county. He keeps in close touch with
public affairs, is active as a politician and has
contributed much to the success of the Re-
publican party in his section of the state. He
retained his landed interests until quite recently,
when he disposed of the same, and is now prom-
inently identified with the growth and develop-
ment of Sisseton, encouraging all efforts making
for the city's material prosperity and lending his
influence to all enterprises having for their ob-
ject the social, educational and moral advance-
ment of the community.

On November 20, 1890, Mr. Metcalf en-
tered the marriage relation with Miss Ella
Frymire, of Canada, daughter of Philip Fr\'-
mire, who moved some years ago to Roberts
county. South Dakota, where the father is still
living, her mother being deceased. Six children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Metcalf,
namely: Harold H., Donald C, Paul W., Ray
C, Edith May and Winfield, all living and, with
their parents, constituting a happy household.
The religious belief of Mr. Metcalf is repre-
sented by the Methodist church, of which he

has been a faithful and consistent member for
a number of years. Mrs. Metcalf is also a
Methodist, and with her husband belongs to the
congregation worshiping at Sisseton.

EDWARD C. GAMM, the leading lumber
dealer of Sisseton, was born in Schleswig-
Holstein, Germany, on August 24, 1844, being
one of the five children of Qiristopher Gamm,
a miller by trade, who came to America in
1865, and departed this life four years later in
the state of Connecticut. E. C. was reared
and educated in his native country and when a
youth learned cabinetmaking, which trade he
followed in Germany until 1865, when he came
to the United States and secured employment in
an organ and piano factory in the city of New
York. Subsequently he engaged in the manu-
facture of doors, sash and other building ma-
terial at that place, but later, in 1875, went to
Stillwater, Minnesota, where he carried on the
same line of business for some time in connec-
tion with the general lumber trade. In 1885
Mr. Gamm went to St. Paul as agent for the St.
Croix Lumber Company, and continued to man-
age the firm's large interests in that city during
the ensuing several years, resigning his posi-
tion as manager in 1896. In the latter year he
came to Sisseton, South Dakota, and started the
lumber yard of which he is now general man-
ager, the meanwhile building up an extensive
business in lumber and all kinds of building ma-
terial, such as doors, sash, lath, etc., his establish-
ment being one of the largest of the kind in this
part of the state. Since coming west Mr. Gamm
has manifested a decided interest in the affairs
of Sisseton and Roberts county, being public
spirited in all the term implies and ever ready
and willing to lend his influence and support to
enterprises and measures for the general welfare
of the conmiunity. He served six years as alder-
man and could have had almost any local office
within the gift of the people had he not positively
refused to accept such evidence of public con-
fidence.

]\Ir. Gamm holds membership with the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Knights of Pythias, Improved Order of Red
Men, Ancient Order of United Workmen and
the Sons of Hermann, and in politics votes the
Republican ticket. He has been twice married,
the first time, in May, 1869, to Miss Amelia
Huhnke, of Germany, who died in 1889 at the
age of forty-eight years, leaving three children :
Charles, Emma and Edward. Mr. Gamm, on
October 23. 1890, contracted a matrimonial al-
liance with Miss Louisa Hohlmann, a native of
St. Paul, but of German parentage, the union
being blessed with two children, a son, William
PL. and a daughter by the name of Irene. As
stated in a preceding paragraph, Mr. Gamm is
classed with the most energetic and progressive
citizens of Roberts county and in even- walk of
life he is respected as a courteous, kind-hearted
gentleman of sterling integrity and genuine
moral worth. He has been quite successful in
business, but has other than this to recommend
him to the favorable consideration of the com-
munity, being interested in everything pertain-
ing to the welfare of his fellow men, a liberal
donor to all public and private benevolences, and
a supporter of agencies that make for the ad-
vancement of his city, county and state. Few
stand as high in general esteem and no man in
Sisseton enjoys greater popularity or is more
worthy of the success he has achieved.

T. H. PEE\^ER is a native of Canada, and
the son of David and Eliza (Huffman) Peever,
who came from Ireland about i860 and settled
in Canada where the father purchased land and
engaged in agricultural pursuits. Of a family
of nine children, six sons and three daughters,
T. H. is the eldest in order of birth. He was
born August 4, 1862, receiving a good practical
education in the public schools of Canada, and
in 1881 came to the United States, locating for
one year in Michigan, where he engaged in the
lumber business. At the expiration of the time
noted he went to Wisconsin, where he dealt in
lumber during the ensuing nine years, and then
sold out and came to Roberts county. South Da-
kota, arriving at Wilmot on the 25th of March,

1892, before the opening of the reservation.
After running a locating office at the above place
for a short time. Air. Peever settled on the pres-
ent site of Sisseton. where he took up a home-
stead and later when the town was laid out he
assisted in the enterprise, took an active in-
terest in disposing of the lots and was largely
instrumental in attracting a thrifty class of peo-
ple to the place. Shortly after locating at Sis-
seton, he began dealing in farm machinery,
in connection with which he also opened a real
estate office, and in due time built up a large
and lucrative patronage in both lines of business,
continuing the same with encouraging success
for a period of six years.

Mr. Peever was the second postmaster of
Sisseton. having been appointed to the posi-
tion by President Cleveland, during whose ad-
ministration he managed the office in a manner
highly satisfactory to the public. He was the
first chairman of Sisseton and Sisseton township
before incorporation and did much to advance the
interests of the community and promote its ma-
terial growth and development. Mr. Peever has
always been an ardent Democrat and since old
enough to exercise the rights of citizenship has
taken active interest in part>' politics. In 1899
he was nominated for the senate, but by reason
of the county's being overwhelmingly Repub-
lican he failed of election, although he made a
gallant fight and greatly reduced the normal
majority of the opposition. In February, 1900,
Mr. Peever organized the Peever-Gorham
Mercantile Company of Sisseton, which was in-
corporated with a capital of fifty thousand dol-
lars for the purpose of establishing and carry-
ing on a general mercantile business, and of
which he has since been president and business
manager. The company carries full lines of
merchandise, demanded by the general trade,
owns large and commodious store rooms and
does a much more extensive business than any
establishment of the kind in the city or county.
In addition to this enterprise the subject is
president of the First State Bank of Peever, is
interested in the Peever Loan Company, and
owns a large and valuable fami adjoining Sisse-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ton, which is operated under his direction. Mr.
Peever is one of the wide-awake, energetic men
of Roberts county, and his abiHty to carry on
successfully large and important enterprises is
attested by the financial prosperity that has
crowned all of his undertakings. Mr. Peever is
a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows. Ancient Order United Workmen and
Masonic fraternities, and in the last named or-
ganization he holds the office of treasurer at the
present time. His domestic life dates from
January 22, 1895, at which time he was united
in marriage with Miss Agnes P. Rice, who died
in 1897, leaving one child, a son by the name of
David B. Subsequently. May 18, 1901, Mr.
Peever was united in the bonds of wedlock with
. Miss Emma E. Schindler, a native of Minnesota,
and a sister of the Schindler brothers, of Sissc-
ton.

ANDREW D. DARLING, D. D. S.. one of
the representative dental practitioners of South
Dakota, maintaining his residence in the thriving
town of Tyndall, is a native of the state of
Illinois, having been born in Princeton, Beaver
county, on the 19th of September, 1862, a son
of William D. and Clara O. (Smith) Darling,
and the younger of their two children, his sister.
Alice C. being the wife of James ^McCartney,
of Wyncote, Wyoming. The father of the Doc-
tor was born in the state of New York, of stanch
Scotch extraction, and when he was a boy his
parents removed thence to Illinois, where he was
reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm, re-
ceiving his education in the public schools.

At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion
he tendered his services in defense of the Union,
enlisting as a private in the Ninety-third Illi-
nois Volunteer Infantry. At the battle of Look-
out Mountain he was suffering an attack of
measles but insisted upon taking his place in the
ranks and participating in the engagement.
When the retreat was made he was too ill to
keep in line with his regiment and was captured
by the enemy and incarcerated in Andersonville
prison, where he died shortly afterward. His

widow subsequently became the wife of John
\'anderley. and they became the parents of one
daughter, Nellie, who is the wife of Edward W.
Carrell, residing near Piano, Illinois. The de-
voted mother entered into etemal rest in 1873.

Dr. Darling was reared in the home of his
maternal grandparents, in Marion county, lowa,-
and his early educational advantages were such
as were aflforded in the public schools of that lo-
cality, while he began to depend upon his own
resources prior to attaining his fifteenth year,
having thus been the architect of his own for-
tunes. For four years he worked as a clerk and
general utility boy in a grocery at Pella, Iowa,
and at the expiration of this period his employer
failed in business and a local buyer offered to
purchase the stock and place our subject in
charge of the enterprise, but he considered it
expedient to refuse the overtures thus made and
went to Des Moines, that state, where he secured
a clerical position in a leading dry-goods estab-
lishment. The sedentary occupation finally made
serious inroads on his health and he accordingly
determined to remove farther to the west. In
the spring of 1892, therefore, he resigned his
position and proceeded to western Nebraska,
where for the first few months he worked on a
ranch, receiving his board in compensation for
his services but having in view the recuperation
of his energies by the outdoor life. Later he
secured a position as bookkeeper for an irrigat-
ing company, receiving a nominal salary. In
July, 1893, he went to Denver, Colorado, arriv-
ing in that city in the midst of the severe finan-
cial panic of that year, and there he remained
for a period of six weeks, by which time his
available financial resources had reached a low
ebb, being represented in the sum of twelve
(Inllars. \\^ith this capital he purchased a ticket
for Omaha, Nebraska, and thence went to
Pacific Junction, Iowa, where his elder sister
was then living. Shortly afterward he secured
a position in an abstract ofifice in Plattsmouth,
Nebraska, where he remained until the ist of
March, 1894, when he came to Huron, South
Dakota, and entered the dental office of his uncle.
Dr. William H. Barker, under whose direction

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

he made a careful study of operative and labo-
ratory dentistry, continuing to be thus engaged
for one year, at the expiration of which he went
to Austin. Minnesota, in company with a Huron
merchant, whom he assisted in establishing his
business in the town mentioned. He remained
in Austin until October, 1895, when he was
matriculated in the American College of Dental
Surgery, in the city of Chicago, the institution
being now a department of the Northwestern
University, of Evanston, Illinois. Dr. Darling
continued his studies in this college for two years
and then opened an office in South Chicago, and
in 1899 he resumed his studies in the same col-
lege, where he was graduated in the spring of
1900. During the last year of his college course
he worked at night in his little office in South
Chicago, often remaining until the morning
hours, and while he was thus able to gain finan-
cial success in his chosen profession the dual
strain caused a distinct impairment of his health,
and he was compelled to remain for a short time
in a local hospital, after which he returned to
his home in South Chicago for a short rest. The
exigencies of his business, however, did not per-
mit him to secure the needed quiet and he ac-
cordingly removed to South Dakota, taking up
his residence in DeSmet, where he passed the
winter of igoi, and in the following spring he
came to Tyndall. where he has since been
actively engaged in the practice of his chosen
profession, having built up a large and repre-
sentative business and being known as one of
the able members of his profession in the state.
Dentistry implies both a science and a mechanic
art, and in all phases of the same Dr. Darling is
amply fortified for the highest order of work, so
that his success has come as a natural sequel,
while he has attained distinctive personal popu-
larity in his chosen field of endeavor. He gives
his allegiance to the Republican party and he
is a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal
church. Fraternally the Doctor is identified with
Capital Lodge, No. no. Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, Des Moines,' Iowa, and Des Moines Lodge,
No. 68, Knights of Pythias.

On the nth of Julv, i8g8. Dr. Darling was

united in marriage to Miss Hattie Sturgeon, of
DeSmet, this state, and of their three children
two are living, namely : Stephen Foster and
Paul Eugene, both of whom remain at the
parental home. Mrs. Darling is a communicant
of the Catholic church.

CHARLES M. STILWILL, one of the able
and successful young members of the bar of the
.state, established in the practice of his profes-
sion at Tyndall, Bon Homme county, was born
in Hopkinton, Delaware county, Iowa, on the
8th of November, 1875, being a son of Charles
H. and Marion (Kirkwood) Stilwill. His
father is now postmaster of Tyndall and is in-
dividually mentioned on other pages of this
work, so that a recapitulation of the family his-
tory is not demanded at this juncture. The
subject has passed practically his entire life in
South Dakota, since he was a child of about five
vears at the time when his parents removed here
from Iowa, and here his early education was
received in the public schools, after which he
continued his studies in Yankton College. In
1892 he began reading law under the preceptor-
ship of James D. Elliott, of Tyndall, United
States district attorney at this time, and in 1894
he was matriculated in the law department of
the Iowa State LTniversity, at Iowa City, where
he was graduated in the spring of 1896. After
his graduation Mr. Stilwill associated himself
with the law firm of Shull & Farnsworth, of
Sioux City, Iowa, remaining with .this concern
until April i. 1897, when his former preceptor,
J. D. Elliott, was appointed LTnited States dis-
trict attorney and the subject accepted a part-
nership with him, and here he has since remained
as a partner to Mr. Elliott, while through his
ability and discrimination he has gained dis-
tinctive prestige in his chosen profession, to
which he gives his undivided attention. In
politics he gives an inflexible allegiance to the
Republican party and .has been an active worker
in its cause. For the past four years he has been
secretary of the Republican committee at Tyn-
dall. He is a member of the Congregational

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

church at Tyndall, and is treasurer of the church
at the time of this writing, taking a zealous in-
terest in all departments of its work. Fra-
ternally he is a member of Bon Homme Lodge,
No. lOT, Free and Accepted Masons, of which
he is secretary; and he is also identified with
the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the
Modern Woodmen of America.

On the 27th of December, 1899, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Stilwill to Miss Mary
A. McAuley, of Tyndall, and they are the par-
ents of three children, Helen C. Ruth M. and
Giarles Frederick.

JOSEPH ZITKA, cashier of the Security
Bank at Tyndall, is a native of Bohemia, where
he was born on the 21st of March, 1850, being
a son of Joseph and Anna (Riha") Zitka, of
whose three children he is the elder of the two
surviving, the other being Frances, who is the
wife of Charles Vaulk, of Bon Homme county,
this state. The father of the subject was a
fanner in his native land, where he continued
to reside until 1867, when he immigrated with
his family to the United States, locating in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, where he remained about tliree
years, after which he came as a pioneer to South
Dakota, which was then still a portion of the
great undivided territory- of Dakota. He lo-
cated in Bon Homme county, where he took up
a homestead claim and again turned his atten-
tion to agricultural pursuits. He was a man of
energy and excellent business judgment, and
through his well-directed efforts he attained a
definite success in connection with his industrial
enterprise as a pioneer of this state, while he
so lived as to command the respect of all who
knew him. At the time of his death, which oc-
curred in September, 1902, he was a resident
of Bon Homme county. South Dakota, and his
political faith was that of the Democratic party.

The subject of this sketch received his early
educational discipline in his native land, being
accorded the advantages of the excellent schools
in the vicinity of his home, and being about
seventeen years of age at the time of the family's

emigration to the United States. After locating
in South Dakota he continued to be associated
with his father in his farming enterprises until
1883, a partnership relation having been main-
tained. He early became interested in matters
of public concern and eventually became a
prominent factor in the local councils of the
Democratic party, of whose principles and poli-
cies he has ever been a stalwart advocate. In
1872 he was elected a member of the board of
county commissioners of Bon Homme county
and in the ensuing year he was still further
honored by being chosen to represent his district
in the legislature of the territory, while in 1876
he was again elected a member of the board of
county commissioners. In 1883 Mr. Zitka was
elected register of deeds of Bon Homme county,
having become a resident of this county in 1870,
and this office he held for three consecutive
terms of two years each. In 1889 he was a
member of the constitutional convention, at
Sioux Falls, which formulated the present ad-
mirable constitution of the state. In 1898 he
was elected treasurer of Bon Homme county,
and thereupon became a resident of Tyndall, the
county seat having been removed to this place
from Bon Homme in 1885.

In 1889 was effected the organization of the
Security Bank in Tyndall and Mr. Zitka was
chosen cashier of the new institution, a position
of which he has ever since remained incumbent,
while his discriminating management of its af-
fairs has shown him to be an able executive and
through his efforts the institittion has become
one of the popular and solid ones of the state.
He is the owner of about fifteen hundred acres
of valuable fanning land in Bon Homme county.
He and his wife are communicants of the
Catholic church and fraternally he is a member
of Bon Homme Lodge, No. loi. Free and Ac-
cepted Masons.

On the 8th of June, 1877, Mr. Zitka was
united in marriage to Miss Mary Bohac, of
Crete, Nebraska, and of this union have been
born eight children, concerning whom we enter
the following brief record : Hattie is the wife of
Frank Chladek, of Hawarden, Iowa; Rose is

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the wife of John Herman, of Tabor, South Da-
kota; and ]\Iary, Charles, Anna, Agnes, Fran-
ces and George still remain at the parental home,
which is a center of refined hospitality.

CHARLES H. STILWILL, the able and
popular incumbent of the office of postmaster
at Tyndall, is a native of the old Empire state
of the Union, having been born in Genesee
county. New York, on tlie 7th of February,
1843, a son of Hiram R. and Melinda (Drake)
Stilwill, of whose four children three survive,
namely: Kesiah, who is the wife of John P.
Dickey, of Cherokee, Iowa; Charles H., subject
of this sketch ; and John G., who is superintend-
ent of the Emma mines, at Alta City, Utali.
Hiram R. Stilwill was likewise bom in Genesee
county, of stanch Holland ancestry, and in his
native county he received a good English edu-
cation, having been for a number of years a
successful teacher in the district schools, while
later he gave his attention to the nursery busi-
ness. He died of typhus fever, in 1853, at the
age of thirty-seven years, our subject having
been a lad of ten years at the time. His widow
subsequently contracted a second marriage, be-
coming the wife of Joseph B. Craft, and of this
union was born one child, George H., who is
now a resident of Oakfield, New York, The
mother was summoned into eternal rest in 1871.
Her father, John Drake, was an active partici-
pant in the war of 181 2. William Stilwill, the
paternal grandfather of bur subject, was born
in Cattaraugus county, New York, whither his
parents immigrated from Holland, and theie he
took up a tract of land in what was commonly
known as the Holland Purchase,

Charles H. Stillwill, whose name introduces
this sketch, was reared in his native county and
received his early educational training in the
common schools. In 1865 he severed the home
ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in the west.
He came to Iowa, arriving in Dubuque the day
following the assassination of President Lincoln,
and he thence carried the news of this lamentable

tragedy into Delaware county, that state, where
he devoted his attention to farm work for the
ensuing three years. He was married in 1868
and shortly afterward engaged in the manu-
facture of fanning mills, at Hopkinton, Iowa,
and one year later he removed to a farm which
he had previously purchased, in Delaware county,
and there he continued to be engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits until the spring of 1879, when
he disjrosed of his farm and came to the terri-
tory of Dakota, passing the first summer in
Yankton, and arriving in Bon Homme county,
on the 7th of September, 1879. For about six-
teen months thereafter he served as deputy regis-
ter of deeds of the county, and in 1881 he was
appointed clerk of the courts, which incum-
bency he retained for the long period of eleven
years, giving most capable and satisfactory
service. Within this time he also gave his at-
tention to the real-estate business, becoming one
of the leading representatives of this line of en-
terprise in this section. He associated himself
with G. W. Roberts, of Yankton, and Thomas
Thorson, of Canton, in the organization of the
Corn Belt Real Estate Association, which has
accomplished so great a work in furthering the
settlement of the state and the development of
its industrial resources, Mr. Stilwill has been
called to other offices of public trust, having
served as deputy sheriff and as deputy county
treasurer, and in all positions he has held the
implicit confidence of the people of the county.
In 1897 he was appointed postmaster at Tyndall,
and in 1902 he received a reappointment under
President Roosevelt. He is still largely inter-
ested in real estate, owning valuable property in
Tyndall and extensive tracts of farming land in
the count}', and he has done much to promote the
general welfare and material progress of this
favored section of our great commonwealth. In
politics Mr. Stilwill gives an unequivocal al-
legiance to the Republican party, and fraternally
he is affiliated with Bon Homme Lodge, No.
loi, Free and Accepted IMasons ; Scotland Chap-
ter, Royal Arch Masons ; Springfield Lodge,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and Tyn-
dall Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He is a mem-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

145

ber of the Congregational church, as was also
his devoted and cherished wife.

On the nth of February, i8fi8, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Stilwill to Miss
Marian Kirkwood, of Ho]ikinton. Iowa, who
proved to him a true helpmeet until her death,
which occurred on the 12th of March, 1903.
She was held in affectionate regard by all who
knew her, being a woman of gracious and
noble character, and she is .survived by her four
children, namely : Agnes, who is the wife of
James D. Elliott, United States district attorney,
residing in Tyndall ; Dr. Hiram R., who is a
practicing physician in Dfenver, Colorado:
Qiarles M., who is a well-known attorney of
I Tyndall, being individually mentioned on

I another page of this work, and Hayes K., who

is bookkeeper in the Security Bank, of Tyndall.

REV. EDWARD M. FIEREK, the able and
popular priest in charge of St. Leo's Catholic
church in Tyndall, Bon Homme county, is a
native of the state of Wisconsin, having been
born in Stevens Point, Portage county, on the
13th of October, 1874, a son of August and
Johanna (Kropidlowski) Fierek, both of whom
were born in Poland, where they were reared
and educated, having come thence to the United
States about 1873, locating in Wisconsin, where
their marriage was solemnized. August Fierek
rendered valiant service in the Franco-Prussian
war, and he came to America shortly after the
expiration of his term of service. After his
arrival in Wisconsin he was for a short time
engaged in farm work, after which he became
identified with railroad work, in which he con-
tinued, in various capacities, until about 1898,
when he met with an accident which necessitated
the amputation of his right leg, and since that
time he has lived retired, maintaining his home
in Ironwood, Michigan, and still having the
companionship of his devoted wife, both being
communicants and zealous workers in the
Catholic church.

Rev. Father Fierek passed his boyhood days
in his native state of Wisconsin, and his earlv

education was secured in the parochial schools of
Stevens Point, after which he took a classical
and philosophical course of study in St. Joseph's
College, at Dubuque, Iowa. Thereafter his
studies were interrupted for an interval of about
three years, at the expiration of which he was
enabled to carry forward his long cherished
plans of preparing himself for the priesthood,
entering St. Mary's Seminary, in Cincinnati,
r)hio, where he completed his theological course,
being graduated in June, 1901, and in Septem-
ber of the same year he was ordained to the
priesthood, at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, under
the episcopal offices of Bishop O'Gorman. Soon
after his ordination Father Fierek was assigned
to the parish of Sts. Peter and Paul church, in
Pierre, as assistant to Father John J. O'Neill,
and there he remained until June 15, 1902, when
he was sent to his -present charge, where he has
gained the aft'ectionate regard of his parishioners
and the high esteem of all who know him. Father
Fierek is a young man of genial and gracious
personality, earnest in the work to which he has
consecrated his life, kindly and tolerant in his
judgment, and one well adapted to the noble
calling to which he has given himself in the full-
ness of faith and self-abnegating humility.

PATRICK WILLIAM McKEEVER, chief
of the well-equipped fire department of the city
of Sioux Falls, is a native of the state of Illinois,
having been born in the city of Diixon, Lee
county, on the nth of January, 1868, and being
a son of Patrick and Alice McKeever, who re-
moved thence to St. Louis, Missouri, when he
was a mere child, his father being a tailor by vo-
cation. The parents are now living in St. Louis,
Missouri. The subject passed his early youth in
the metropolis of Missouri, and there received
the advantages of the parochial and public
schools. In 1884, at the age of sixteen years,
he left St. Louis, and went to Kentland, Indi-
ana, where he served an apprenticeship at the
tailor's trade, at which he was employed in
various parts of the Union until 1887, when he
came to Sioux Falls, where he followed his trade

146

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

until 1892, when he engaged in the hotel busi-
ness, to which he continued to give his attention,
as proprietor of the Winsor and Central hotels,
finally leading to his appointment to his present
office as chief of the local fire department. He
joined the volunteer fire department soon after
coming to Sioux Falls, and continued with the
same after the department was acquired by the
municipal government, his ability and fidelity
finally leading to his apopintment to his present
position. He is a man of genial nature and
enjoy.s the esteem and confidence of the people
of the city, who realize that he is ever watchful
of their interests and ever ready to respond to
the call of duty in offering protection to life and
property. In politics the chief was formerly af-
filiated with the Democracy, but at the time of
the first nomination of the late lamented Presi-
dent McKinley he transferred his allegiance to
the Republican party, of whose principles he
has since been a stanch advocate. In 1897-98 he
represented the first ward on the board of alder-
men of the city. Religiously he is a Catholic,
while his fraternal relations are with the Ancient
Order of United Workmen.

On the 2d of June, igoo, Mr. McKeever was
united in marriage to Miss Josephine Houser, a
daughter of Adam Houser, of Salem, this state,
and their pleasant home is one in which a gra-
cious hospitality is ever in evidence.

THOMAS J. BUSHELL, junior member of
the well-known firm of Roberts & Bushell, pro-
prietors of the White Seal cigar factory in the
city of Sioux Falls, the largest concern of the
sort in the state, is one of the popular and repre-
sentative business men of the state, and has been
a resident of Sioux Falls for more than a score
of years, while for seventeen years he held the
position of engineer at the state penitentiary
here.

Mr. Bushell is a native of Binningham,
England, where he was born on the 4th of July,
i860, being a son of J. G. and Sarah (Bell)
Bushell. who still remain in England, his father
being a saddler by vocation. The subject se-

cured his educational training in the excellent
schools of his native land, and in the city of
Birmingham learned the trade of steam-fitting,
having become a skilled artisan in the line prior
to his immigration to America. He came to
the United States in 1879, in April of which
year he located in the city of Milwaukee, Wis-
consin, where he was employed at his trade for
some time, and later was similarly engaged in
the city of Chicago. In 1882 he came to Sioux
Falls, under contract with a leading Qiicago
concern, to take charge of the steam-fitting in
the South Dakota penitentiary and the Cataract
hotel, and after the completion of the work he
was appointed engineer at the penitentiary-,
where he continued to give most effective service
for the long period of seventeen years, at the
expiration of which he resigned in order to en-
gage in his present line of business. In JXIay,
igo2, Mr. Bushell entered into partnership with
John H. Roberts, a practical cigarmaker, and
organized the firm of Roberts & Bushell, and in
the comparatively brief intervening period they
have built up a large and prosperous business,
their trade ramifying throughout the state, while
they manufacture cigars of the highest grade,
employing the most skilled workmen and utiliz-
ing select stock. Their large and well-equipped
factory is located at 328 South Phillips avenue,
and the concern figures as one of the important
commercial and industrial enterprises of the
city, while the members of the firm are known
as reliable, wide-awake and progressive business
men, commanding the confidence and esteem of
all with whom they have dealings.

In politics Mr. Bushell accords an uncom-
promising allegiance to the Republican party, in
whose ranks he has been for a number of years
a most active and effective worker, being promi-
nent in the party councils in the state, and being
at the present time a representative of Minne-
haha county on the state central committee, while
for the past several years he has been a delegate
to the successive state conventions of his parts',
as well as to minor conventions. In 1900 he
was elected a member of the city council, and
was chosen as his own successor in 7902, so that

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

at the time of this writing he is serving his sec-
ond term, doing all in his power to further the
interests of clean and conservative municipal
government and being animated by a distinctive
public spirit, so that he proves a valuable mem-
ber of the body. He is one of the leading mem-
bers of the Ancient Order of United Workmen
in the state, being affiliated with Jasper Lodge,
Xo. 21, and in 1900 and 1 901 he had the distinc-
tion of serving as department grand master of
the order in the state. He is also identified with
Sioux Falls Lodge, No. 9, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows; and with Sioux Falls x\erie, No.
318. Fraternal Order of Eagles, of which he is
president at the time of this writing.

On the 28th of May, 1884, Mr. Bushell was
united in marriage to Miss Lena Haugen, a
daughter of Otto and Anna Haugen, her father
being one of the prominent farmers of Turner
county, this state, while she was born in Nor-
way. Mr. and Mrs. Bushell have one child,
Florence Belle,' who was born on the 5th of
Atigust, 1889, and who is one of the popular
\onng women in her social circles.

JACOB SCHAETZEL, Jr., one of the best
known citizens of Sioux Falls, and who has the
distinction of having been the first mayor of the
city after its incorporation as such, is a native
of the state of Wisconsin, having been bom on
a farm in Washington county, on the i6th of
May, 1850, and being a son of Jacob and Kathar-
ine (Kissinger) Schaetzel, both of whom were
born in Darmstadt, Germany, the father having
been a farmer by vocation and having passed
the closing years of his life in Freeport, Illinois,
where he died in 1899, his devoted wife passing
away in 1885, while all of their eight children are
living at the present time. After completing the
curriculum of the district schools the subject
continued his studies in the Lawrence University,
at Appleton, Wisconsin. At the age of nineteen
years he secured employment as clerk in a store
at Freeport, Illinois, where he remained for a
period of six years, gaining practical knowledge,
which proved of great value to him in his later

and independent business operations. Mr.
Schaetzel became one of the pioneers of Min-
nehaha county, South Dakota, where he took up
his residence on the 22d of February, 1876, set-
tling in Sioux Falls, which was at the time a
straggling little village of about two hundred
and fifty population. In the intervening years
he has left an indelible impress upon the civic,
industrial and business affairs of the city, county
and state, while to him has come a due measure
of success as the result of his well-directed en-
deavors along legitimate lines of enterprise. For
the first few years after his arrival in the state
Mr. Schaetzel gave his attention principally to
the real-estate and insurance business and to the
shipping in of horses, for which he found a
ready demand as the tide of immigration set in.
For two years he conducted a livery and sales
stable in Sioux Falls, and since that time his
name has been associated with a large number
of important and varied business enterprises,
while he has accumulated a competence. He is
the owner of valuable property in the city and
county and is a stockholder in various industrial
and financial concerns, having been at one time
a stockholder in the German Bank, and a mem-
ber of its directorate. As has been well said of
him, "There are no negative elements in his
makeup ; he is energetic and enterprising, and is
a good citizen."

In politics Mr. Schaetzel accords an uncom-
promising allegiance to the Republican party, in
whose cause he has been an active worker, being
one of the wheelhorses of the party in Min-
nehaha county. In 188 1, upon the death of
Thomas T. Cochran, who has been incumbent
of the office, he was elected president of the vil-
lage council of Sioux Falls, and forthwith
showed his progressive ideas and strong power
of initiative by vigorously agitating the question
of securing to the place a charter as a city, its
population and commercial prestige at the time
entitling its incorporation as such. He called a
meeting of the citizens for the consideration of
the matter, and within the autumn of that year
definite steps were taken toward the accomplish-
ment of the desired end. a city charter being

148

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

drafted and other necessary preliminary work
accomplished. The president of the village then
went to the territorial capital and presented the
claims of Sioux Falls to the legislature, which
duly passed the bill authorizing the incorpor-
ation as a city. At the first general election un-
der the new charter, in 1882, Mr. Schaetzel was
further honored by his fellow citizens by being
elected the first mayor of the city, receiving a
most gratifying support and continuing in tenure
of the office for a term of two years, while he
gave a most able, careful and business-like ad-
ministration, the burdens imposed upon him in
the connection being heavy, as his term of office
was one marked by reorganization and readjust-
ment in municipal affairs, but his vigorous policy
was such that harmony and wise administra-
tion marked the course of his official career. He
was county commissioner for the fifth district
during the years 1893-4-5, and was a very active
and influential member of the board, while his
aid and influence have at all times been loyally
given in support of all measures and under-
takings for the advancement of the best interests
of the city and state.

On the 7th of September, 1871, Mr. Schaetzel
was united in marriage to Miss Catharine Bren-
ner, who was born and reared in Washington
county, Wisconsin, being a daughter of Peter
and Christina (Kissinger) Brenixer, both of
whom died in Polk, Washington county, Wis-
consin. Mr. and Mrs. Schaetzel have two chil-
dren, Marie, who is the wife of Ernest D. Skill-
man, of Irene, this state, and William A., who is
engaged in business at Elk Point. The subject
is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which
he has passed the degrees of lodge and chapter.

BENJAMIN L. WALKER, fanner and
stock raiser and since 1893 treasurer and tax
collector of Lyman county. South Dakota, is a
native of Pennsylvania and the son of Abner and
Lucinda (Risling) Walker, now living in
Hutchinson county. South Dakota, the father
being a retired farmer and stock raiser. .A_bner
Walker moved his family to South Dakota in

1870 and located on a homestead near Yankton,
where he lived a few years, subsequently chang-
ing his abode to Bon Homme county. He be-
came a large land holder and well-to-do farmer
and stock raiser in Bon Homme and after ac-
quiring a competence moved to the town of
Olivet, where, as stated above, he is now passing
the evening of a well-spent life in honorable re-
tirement. Of his four children all are living.

Benjamin L. Walker was born March 26,
1866, in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and at
the age of four years was brought by his parents
to South Dakota, where he grew to maturity
and has since lived and in the public school of
which he received a fair education. Reared,
amid the stirring scenes of farm life and early
taught the varied duties of agriculture, his train-
ing has been mostly of a practical character, ac-
quired in the stern school of experience, by com-
ing in contact with the world in different busi-
ness capacities. The family came to this state
when scattering settlements were few and far
between, and he experienced his full share of
the vicissitudes incident to life on the frontier.
He spent his youth on the homestead near Yank-
ton, later assisted his father develop and im-
prove the latter's land in the county of Bon
Homme, and on reaching the age when young
men are expected to leave home and form their
own plans for the future, he turned his atten-
tion to agriculture and stock raising, both of
which callings he followed with success and
financial profit until 1 900, when he was elected
treasurer and tax-collector of Lyman county,
since which time he has lived in the town of
Oacoma. the county seat.

Mr. Walker owns a fine ranch of two hun-
dred acres, a part of which is under cultivation,
the rest being devoted to live stock, in the prose-
cution of which business he has met with most
encouraging results, making a specialty of the
noted Hereford breed of cattle, for which there
is always a strong demand at liberal prices. He
has made a number of substantial improvements
on his place, having good buildings, including a
comfortable and attractive residence, which
while he occupied was furnished with all the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

149

comforts and conveniences calculated to make
rural life desirable. The better to attend to the
duties of his office, he changed his residence,
shortly after his election, to the seat of justice,
where he now has a commodious home and with
the material growth and prosperity of which
town he has been actively identified. Air.
Walker is one of the leading Republicans of
L\inan county, and as an energetic and able
counsellor he has contributed greatly to the suc-
cess of Republican principles in the county of
Lyman and elsewhere.

In the year 1894 Mr. Walker and Miss Leila
Brown, of Iowa, were united in marriage, Mrs.
Walker's parents at this time being residents of
Lyman county, South Dakota. Her father is
a farmer and stock raiser, owning a valuable
ranch and devoting especial attention, not only
to raising cattle and horses, but to the buying
and shipping the same, doing a large and thriv-
ing business and rapidly becoming one of the
wealthy men of the section of country in which
he lives. Mr. and Mrs. Walker have an in-
teresting family of six children whose names
are Loretta, Maude, Edyth, Viola, Ivan and
Florence, all living and those old enough at-
tending the public schools of Oacoma.

RICHARD L. SMITH is a native of Jen-
nings county, Indiana, where he was born on
the 26th of April, 1833, being one of the eleven
children born to James P. and Eliza A. (Beech-
am) Smith. His father was a farmer and each
of the eight sons assisted in the work of the
homestead place, while during the winter terms
they were able to attend the district schools.
At the age of eighteen Mr. Smith proved himself
eligible for pedagogic honors, securing a license
to teach school. He proved successful in his
work as a teacher and devoted his attention to
this profession for three successive years, while
during this time he relegated the work of the
fami to his younger brothers and worked at the
carpenter's trade during the summer vacation
periods. During this time he was giving as
much attention as possible to the study of

medicine, first carrying on his studies under the
direction of his older brother, a successful prac-
ticing physician, and then passing two years un-
der the effective preceptorship of Dr. William
F. Riley, of Omega, Indiana, who took a great
interest in the young man and aided him in
more ways than one. The subject, during this
time, made his home with his preceptor and in
the fall of 1835 he obtained from Dr. Riley a
certificate of qualification which enabled him to
practice medicine under the laws of Indiana.
After a short time he removed to Illinois, being
engaged in practice at Decatur for two years
and then taking up his residence in Salem, that
state, while in the following year he entered the
office of Dr. Stephen F. Mercer, of that place,
and devoted two years to a systematic review
of his professional studies.

At the outbreak of the Rebellion Dr. Smith
was among the first to tender his services in
defense of the Union. On May 9, 1861, he en-
listed as a private in Company G, Twenty-first
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and for the ensuing
four years and nine months the history of his
regiment is coincident with his personal career a"?
a valiant and loyal soldier. He participated in
many of the most important battles incident to
the progress of the great fratracidal conflict, his
regiment being for the greater portion of the
time a part of the Army of the Cumberland, and
it was his good fortune to escape wounds and
sickness, while he never asked for or received a
furlough or a leave of absence. He was always
present for active duty or for detached service
and his fidelity and zeal never wavered during
the long and arduous service which he rendered
in behalf of the nation's honor and integrity. He
was made first lieutenant of his company in Oc-
tober, 1862, prior to the battle of Stone River, in
which he was an active participant. He was
promoted to captain after the capture of Atlanta
in 1864 and received his honorable discharge, at
Springfield, Illinois, on the 6th of February,
1866.^

After the close of his military service Dr.
Smith returned to his former home, in Marion
county, Illinois, for the purpose of securing a

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

much needed rest, and there he purchased a
farm, which he operated by proxy. In 1868 he
made a vigorous campaign for the office of clerk
of the circuit court, and he states that in the
connection he was "defeated by a respectable
majority." In June, 1869, he was appointed by
President Grant as superintendent of Indian
schools for the northwest, Nez Perces, of Idaho;
Sho.shones, of Wyoming; and Red Clouds, of
South Dakota, resigning in February, 1872. In
October, 1872, Dr. Smith entered the employ of
the great publishing house of Lippincott & Com-
pany, of Philadelphia, and was assigned the man-
agement of their educational department for the
northwest. In the following year he wa's ap-
pointed steward of the Illinois state prison, at
Joliet, retaining this office until 1874, after which
he devoted his attention to his profession until
1882, when he came to South Dakota and took
up a claim in township 113, range 70, Hand
county, where he has ever since maintained his
home and where he has developed and improved
a valuable farm of six hundred and forty acres.
Five acres of his ranch are under cultivation and
the remainder is devoted to the raising of hay
and to grazing purposes. He raises an excellent
grade of live stock, giving special attention to
the breeding of horses, in which he has met
with marked success. He has not been actively
engaged in the practice of his profession for a
number of years, but still takes a deep interest in
the science and keeps in touch with the advances
made in the same.

Dr. Sinith has been an active factor in public
affairs ever since coming to the territory and
the state of South D&kota can find no one more
loyal to its interests than is he. He has been
a stanch supporter of the principles of the Re-
publican party from the time of its organization.
He was the first superintendent of schools for
Hand county and a member of the first state
constitutional convention, and in 1891 he was
"elected a member of the board of county com-
missioners of Hand county, serving three years,
during the last of which he was chairman of the
board. In 1892 he was the nominee of his party
for the state senate, but met the defeat which

attended the ticket in general throughout the
state. In 1902 he was elected to represent his
district in the lower house of the legislature,
serving during the ensuing general assembly
with marked ability and to the satisfaction of his
constituents who had honored him by their
preferment. He was chairman of the committee
on public health and also a member of the im-
portant committees on ways and means and edu-
cation. In March, 1902, the Doctor was made
the recipient of a beautiful gold-headed cane,
which was presented by the Aberdeen District
Medical Society, in recognition of his valuable
services as chairman of the house committee
first mentioned. The Doctor is a member of
Masonic fraternity and of the State Historical
Society. In religious matters he is liberal and
tolerant, having the deepest respect for the es-
sential spiritual verities.

On the 15th of July, 1872, Dr. Smith was
united in marriage to Miss Emma D. White, of
luka, Illinois. She was born in Bond county,
Illinois, and is a daughter of Robert F. White,
who was an honored pioneer of Illinois. Dr.
and Mrs. Smith have two sons, Lawrence N.
W., born in prison, Joliet, Illinois, April 6,
1874, and who is now on the home farm, and
Clarence I. W., who was born in Marion
county, Illinois, December 7, 1876, and is also
on the home farm.

LIZZIAM ARCH AM BEAN, who resides
in the pleasant village of Geddes, Qiarles Mix
county, is of English extraction and was born
in Canada, in the year 1833, being there reared
to the age of seventeen years and securing
limited educational advantages in his youth,
while he has been dependent upon his own re-
sources from his boyhood days and is worthy of
the honored American title of self-made man.
At the age noted he located in the lumbering dis-
trict of Wisconsin, where he secured employ-
ment in rafting logs down the Wisconsin river,
working in the great timber forests during the
winter months. He remained in Wisconsin
about four years and then went to St. Louis,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

where he met a fellow countryman, with whom
he remained some time, having been employed in
the city and vicinity for two and one-half years,
at the expiration of- which he went down the
Mississippi river to Vicksburg, Mississippi,
where he remained one year. He then made the
trip up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers into
the territory of Dakota, arriving here in the year
1859. He found employment for two years at
Fort Randall, and he then began to contract for
the cutting of logs for use at the garrison, and
also got out considerable timber for use in the
building of boats. The white settlers were few
and far between during those early years, and
the great plains vvere swept by great herds of
buffaloes, while elk, deer and bears roamed
about almost unmolested, save as hunted by the
Indians. In 1862 Mr. Archambean was united
in marriage to Miss Adaline Vassor, and they
are the parents of ten children, Battia, Joseph,
Mary, Julia, Moses, Louis, Annie, Adeline, Josie
and Sophia. Mr. Archambean began farming
in South Dakota as early as the year 1867, and
he is at the present time the owner of two hun-
dred and forty acres of land, of which eighty
acres are under effective cultivation, while the
remainder is utilized principally for grazing
[lurposes. He rents the farm and is living prac-
tically retired in Geddes. He is a stanch ad-
lierent of the Democratic party, and served for
some time as road overseer, and both he and
his wife are communicants of the Catholic
church.

MARTIN HARRIS, of Clark, Clark county,
is a native of the old Buckeye state, having been
born in Portage county, Ohio, on the 2d of De-
cember, 1 83 1, and he is a son of Hosea and
Caroline (Skinner) Harris, the former of whom
w^as born in the state of New York and the lat-
ter in Massachusetts, while both families were
early founded in America. The father of the
subject removed to Ohio in the pioneer era in
that state, and there passed the remainder of his
life, having been a mason by trade and vocation.
Both he and his wife were persons of lofty integ-

rity, living earnest and worthy lives. Of their
four children one is now living, the subject of
this review, he having been the second in order
of birth. His mother died when he was a lad
of twelve years, and his father passed to his final
rest about six years later.

Martin Harris remained at the parental home
until the same was broken up by the death of his
mother, having in the meanwhile secured such
advantages as were afforded in the common
schools of his native county. At the age of
twelve years he became largely dependent upon
his own resources, and thus began the stern bat-
tle of life when a mere boy. He was employed
at farm work for several years, and then learned
the carpenter trade, as well as that of cabinet-
making, while thereafter he was employed as a
builder and in car shops, learning to be a skilled
draftsman in the meanwhile. About 1866 he
purchased a farm in Geauga county, Ohio, de-
voting his attention to its cultivation about seven
years, after which he was similarly engaged in
Marshall county, Indiana, until he came to South
Dakota. In 1S85 he disposed of his farm in the
Hoosier state, and came to Dakota territory, lo-
cating in Clark county, where he has ever since
resided. He took up two hundred acres of gov-
ernment land, in Merton township, and reclaimed
the same from its primitve condition, making it
a fertile and productive farm, while to the orig-
inal claim he added until he was the owner of a
well-improved ranch of two hundred acres,
equipped with high-grade buildings, in distinct
contrast to those which he built upon first com-
ing to the county, for his original dwelling was a
primitive sod house. Mr. Harris devoted him-
self zealously and indefatigably to the cultiva-
tion and improvement of his land, and with the
passing of the years gained a competency, which
enables him to pass the evening of his life in that
quiet and dignified repose which constitute the
just reward for his long years of earnest toil and
endeavor. In the spring of 1901 he disposed
of his farm and purchased a good residence
I property in the county seat, where he has since
lived retired from active business. In politics
Mr. Harris was formerly a Republican, but in

IIS2

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

later years has given his support to the Prohi-
bition party, being- a zealous advocate of the
temperance cause. He and his wife are mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, and
have been active in good works and kindly deeds.
On the I2th of November, 1865, in Kent,
Portage county, Ohio, was solemnized the mar-
riage of Mr. Harris to Miss Eliza Ferris, who
was born in New York on the 31st of Januars-,
1832. being a daughter of John and Hannah
(Black) Ferris, the former a native of New
York and the latter of Massachusetts. They
removed to Ohio in 1834, and there passed the
remainder of their lives, Mr. Ferris having been
a shoemaker by trade and vocation. Mrs. Har-
ris was the youngest in a family of ten children,
of whom she is the only one yet living. The
subject and his estimable wife, who has been to
him a devoted companion and helpmeet, have
three children : Emma is the wife of Albert Bull,
who is engaged in the creamery business in
Parkston; Grant, who married Miss Ora Page,
deals in farm machinery in Clark, and Frank,
who married Miss Sadie Keling, now deceased,
is employed in the real-estate business in Clark.

HON. E. D. WHEELOCK is one of the pio-
neers of South Dakota, and has been actively
identified with the industrial and general busi-
ness interests of Codington county since its or-
ganization. He is now one of the oldest settlers
in the eastern part of the state, and it is but jus-
tice to say that few, if any, have been more prom-
inent than he in public affairs or have exerted
greater influence upon its material, political and
business history.

E. D. Wheelock combines in his physical and
mental make-up the best elements of New Eng-
land manhood, coming of that good old colonial
stock that figured so prominently in the struggle
for independence and in the war of 1812. The
Wheelock family is of English descent and was
represented in this country at an early period,
the American branch locating in Massachusetts,
when the few scattered settlements were but
niches in the almost impenetrable forests. Cyrus

Wheelock was a son of Henry Wheelock, a
farmer and cooper, who spent all his life in
Massachusetts. Cyrus Wheelock, also a native of
that state, was reared to agriculture, which he al-
ways followed. He married Lois Ober, whose
father, Peter Ober, also a descendant of an old
Massachusetts family, served in the war of 1812,
as did also Henry Wheelock, brother of Cyrus.
Cyrus and Lois Wheelock reared a family of five
children, three sons and two daughters.

E. D. Wheelock. son of Cyrus, was born April
5, 1847, in Johnson, Lemoille county, Vermont,
and in 1854 was taken to McHenry county, Illi-
nois, where he grew to maturity on a farm. After
attending the common schools he entered an acad-
emy at Wauconda, but soon laid aside his studies
and, though but a youth of sixteen, enlisted in
September, 1863, in Company G, Seventeenth
Illinois Cavalry, and served until honorably dis-
charged, in February, 1866, taking part in the
campaigns in Missouri and the southwest, his
command toward the latter part of the war being
sent to quiet the hostile Indians in Kansas and
Colorado.

In 1866 Mr. Wheelock went to Iowa, thence
the year following, to Steele county, Minnesota,
locating near Owatanna, where he engaged in
farming, which, with teaching, occupied his atten-
tion during the ensuing ten years. ^leanwhile he
learned the miller's trade, and followed the same
at intervals, but his chief employment was agri-
culture, which he prosecuted until 1878. In that
year he came to Codington county and took up
a homestead about three miles north of Water-
town, but for the last fifteen years his principal
business has been buying grain for the Atlas
Elevator Company, of Minneapolis, in connection
with which he carries on an extensive store at
Kampeska, of which place he is also postmaster,
having been appointed to the position in 1884,
when the office was established.

]\Tr. Wheelock carries a full line of general
merchandise and commands a lucrative trade.
He took an active interest in the organization of
the county, served for nine years as a member of
the board of coimty commissioners, and in 1805
was elected to the upper house of the state legis-

E. D. WHEELOCK.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

lature, where he earned the reputation of an able,
discreet and judicious member. Mr. Wheelock
has been prominent in the Repubhcan party, and
his efforts have made him one of the party leaders
in the count\-. He is a wide-awake, enterprising
and progressive business man, and his public
work has won him more than local repute. His
loyalty is of that kind which subordinates other
considerations to the puljlic good. He has been
successful in his business and has an ample com-
petence.

Mr. Wheelock was married April lo, 1869. to
]\Iiss Eliza McClelland, of Maine, but at that time
a resident of Freeborn county, Minnesota. She
is the daughter of William J. McClelland, one of
the pioneers of that state, and has borne her hus-
band eleven children, namely: Ruby L., wife of
O. M. Brown, of Watertown ; Bertha S. married

; Robert Lewis and lives in North Dakota ; Edwin
I\I.. a traveling salesman; Nellie G., now Mrs.
Fred 'SI. Ray, of North Dakota ; Emery F. ; Cy-
rus J. : Dickinson O. ; Benjamin H. died Febru-
ary 6. 1902, at the age of fourteen years: Clif-
ford R. and Warren W., the last two still mem-

! ters of the home circle.

Mr. Wheelock is an enthusiastic member of
the Grand Army of the Republic. In this connec-
tion it may be proper to state that his father also

j served from the beginning of the Civil war to

I its close as a member of Company F, Ninety-fifth
Illinois Infantry, and a brother. L. C. Wheelock,
was also in the same command and distinguished
himself.

CHARLES K. THOMPSON, whose finely
improved fann is located one and a half miles
-north of Northville, Spink county, was born in
Burlington, Kane county, Illinois, on the 2d of
February, i860, and is a son of T. J. and Han-
nah A. Thompson, both of whom were born in
^^'est Virginia, the former being of English and
Irish ancestry and the latter of English and
W^elsh. When they were children they accom-
panied their respective parents on their immigra-
tion to Illinois, making the overland trip from
West Virginia with wagons and becoming num-

bered among the early settlers of Kane county,
Illinois, where both were reared to maturity and
where their marriage was solemnized. There
the father of the subject continued to be
identified with agricultural pursuits until 1881,
when he came to South Dakota, where both he
and his wife passed the residue of their long and
useful lives, having been honored pioneers of
Spink county. They were accompanied by their
four sons and one daughter and all are still liv-
ing in the state except the youngest son, who
died in 189 1 in Northville, to which he had been
removed while sick.

Concerning the early experiences of the fam-
ily in South Dakota we are gratified to be able
to offer the following interesting little narrative,
contributed by the subject of this sketch: "I
came to the territory of Dakota in December,
1880, and first set my font on the ice-fettered
surface of the 'roaring Jim' river on Christmas
day. I came through from Watertown by team,
accompanied by my brother, J- R- Thompson,
who is now engaged in the practice of medicine
in Northville, and who had been in Spink county
with our father during the preceding summer
and broken a small portion on one of the claims
which had been taken up, while they had erected
a sod house and stable. Father desired to re-
turn to the old home in Illinois for the winter,
in the meanwhile making preparations for
bringing the remainder of the family to the new
home in the spring, together with the household
effects and other requisite supplies. He thus re-
quested me and my brother to come out and take
care of the stock and keep the primitive little
home cheerful during the intervening winter
months. Well, I discovered forthwith that this
was a big country and that the wind not only
had a great sweep but also that it swept! The
house had been roofed with boards covered with
tarred paper, and to keep the latter in place
stones had been placed on the corners. These
were not, however, sufficient to hold the roof so
closely to the sod as to prevent the gentle zephyrs
from sifting the 'beautiful snow' under the edge
of the roof and waking us from dreams of home
and loved ones. This was the season known as

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the winter of the big snow, and the snow covered
our stable so completely that we were often
compelled to feed our stock through an opening
in the roof. As it was quite impossible for
horses to travel in the snow nearly all travel was
done on foot, by means of snow shoes. The
snowfall being unusual, the settlers had not pre-
pared for it, and their supply of flour was con-
sumed long before spring opened, and in many
cases wheat was taken miles to a neighbor who
was fortunate in possessing a coffee-mill in which
the cereal could be partially ground and thus
made available for food. As for my brother
and myself, we had buried near our house a
quantity of potatoes which were being reserved
for seed, and when necessity came we unearthed
these tubers and fared on the same ven.' well for
two or three weeks, having only salt to lend rel-
ish. It is my opinion that at that time we were
located farther to the west than any other settler
in the county. At least we saw nothing to the
west save occasionally a wolf or coyote. How-
ever, on a certain day about a hundred antelope
visited our ranch, and we succeeded in catching
one of the number, being unable to shoot any of
them as we had loaned our only gun to a neigh-
bor. \\'e attempted to domesticate the animal
which we had captured, endeavoring to teach it
to eat hay and adapt itself to the customs of civ-
ilization. Its refusal to comply with our in-
structions brought it to an untimely end, as we
were soon compelled to kill it. Finally came the
advent of spring : floods came ; folks came ; flow-
ers came; harvest came, and Dakota demon-
strated that she was a land of glorious possibili-
ties. All seemed to fall in love with their
adopted homes and felt that this land of sun-
shine had much to commend it to favor. While
in the early days many stories went forth to
frighten prospective settlers, the people of this
vicinity have had but one genuine scare, which
occurred in 1882. I remember that I had been
to Watertown and having secured a ride back as
far as the James river was proceeding thence on
foot to my home, when I met a man and woman
who were driving rapidly from the west with
their team and wagon and who stopped long

enough to inform me that the Indians were
southwest of Northville and moving toward the
town, on the warpath. This was somewhat dis-
quieting news and I hurried along to Mellette,
where I found the populace gathered at the
postoffice. listening to the many rumors which
were afloat concerning the Indian depredations.
I flien hastened on to my parents' home and
found some of the neighbors assembled there
and provided with divers sorts of firearms, good,
bad and indift'erent, while complete arrange-
ments were being made for defense, so far as
possible, against an attack. Northville sent out
scouts and it was soon found that the alarm
was without foundation, and peace and quiet
soon reigned again. All these scares are things
of the past and our section of the state is settled
in the main by good, substantial citizens, who
are in comfortable circumstances."

Mr. Thompson received his early educational
discipline in the public schools of Kane county,
Illinois, having attended the high school in
Geneva, and having supplemented this dis-
cipline by effective study in Pingree Seminary
and the Elgin Academy. He was -associated with
his father in the management of the home farm
until he had attained his legal majority, since
which time he has been engaged in the same
vocation for himself, having been prospered in
his efforts and now having one of the attract-
ive and well-improved farms of Spink county.
He gave his support to the Republican party
from the time of attaining his majority until the
close of the first administration of President ]\lc-
Kinley. since which time he has exercised his
franchise and lent his influence in support of the
Prohibition party. As a Republican, he was
elected to represent his county in the state legis-
lature in 1897, and in the session of the general
assembly had the honor of assisting in the elec-
tion of Hon. James H. Kyle to the United States
senate. He was reared in the faith of the Wes-
leyan Methodist church, of which both he and
his wife are members.

On the 2d of July, 1885. ]\Ir. Thompson was
united in marriage to Miss Flora B. Torrence,
who was born in Noble count^•, Ohio, on the 21st

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

155

of ]\Iav, 1869, being a daughter of James and
Sarah Jane Torrence, who were early settlers in
Spink county. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have
five children, namely: Theos J., J. Gail, Lois H.,
Cita M. and John R.

JOHN W. SCHULTZ. one of the leading
merchants and representative citizens of Wes-
sington, Beadle county, is a native of Germany,
where he was born on the 23d of February,
1835. After his father's death the widow came
with her two sons and two daughters to America,
the family locating in Cincinnati. Ohio, where
she passed the remainder of her life, while of
the children our subject is now the only sur-
vivor. The early educational discipline of Mr.
Schultz was secured in the excellent schools of
his fatherland, and he was about fourteen years
of age at the time of the family emigration to
America. He thereafter attended the common
schools in Cincinnati, Ohio, and effectively sup-
plemented the training he had previously re-
ceived. After attaining years of maturity he
devoted his attention to farming in the old Buck-
eye state until 1855, when he came west as a
pioneer of the state of Iowa, locating in Du-
buque, Dubuque county, where he was engaged
in the mercantile business until 1882, in which
year he came to what is now the state of South
Dakota and became one of the early settlers of
Wessington, where he was engaged in the gen-
eral merchandise business until 1885, when he
removed to Hand county, which lies contigu-
ous on the west of Beadle county, and there suc-
cessfully continued farming until 1897, when he
returned to Wessington, where he now controls
the most extensive mercantile business in this
section, drawing his trade from a wide radius
of country and having the confidence and esteem
of the people of this locality, where he has made
his home for so many years. He is a straight-
forward and reliable business man, urbane and
courteous at all times and his name is a synonym
of honor and integrity wherever he is known.
He has ever been a stalwart advocate of the prin-
ciples and policies for which the Republican

party stands sponsor, and has been an active
worker in its cause. In 1894 he represented
Hand county in the state senate, where he made
a most creditable record. Though he was can-
didate on the Republican ticket in the preceding
election his personal popularity was such as to
enable him to overcome the large Populist ma-
jority which was normally given in Hand county
at that period, and his election was a merited
tribute of popular esteem and good will. He
also served one term as a member of the board
of commissioners of Hand county. He is
identified with the Masonic fraternity and the
Ancient Order of I'nited Workmen.

DUNC.A.N EARL, one of the successful
farmers and honored citizens of Davison county,
is a native of the dominion of Canada, having
been born in the province of Ontario, on the
20th of August, 1848. and being a son of Hiram
and .'\nn (Thompson) Earl, both of whom were
likewise native of Canada, the former being of
English lineage and the latter of Scotch. They
became the parents of twelve children, eight of
whom arc living, while the subject of this sketch
is the only representative of the family in South
Dakota.

Duncan Earl received his educational disci-
pline in the schools of his native province, where
he was reared to manhood and where he con-
tinued to follow various pursuits until August 13,
1882, when he came to the territory of Dakota
and took up government land in Davison county
and also purchased deeded lands, now having a
farm of six hundred and forty acres of most ara-
ble and valuable land, and having three hundred
and fifteen acres under eiTective cultivation, while
the permanent improvements are of substantial
nature, indicating the progressive spirit and
good management of the owner, who has ever
been known as a man of indefatigable industry
and sterling character. He is a stanch Repub-
lican in politics, and both he and his wife are
devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, in whose work he takes a very active
interest, being a member of the board of trus-

1 156

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

fees of the church of this denomination at Mount
Vernon, which is his postoffice address.

On the i8th of February, 1885, Mr. Earl
was united in marriage to Miss Abigail Higgin-
son, who was born in the province of Ontario,
Canada, being a daughter of William and Can-
dace (Atcheson) Higginson, her father having
been a prominent farmer and miller and having
accumulated a fortune through his own efforts,
iiis estate being valued at twenty thousand dol-
lars at the time of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Earl
have one son, Lome Talmage, who was born on
the 27th day of February, 1891, and who has
been afforded excellent educational advantages.
Mr. Earl is public-spirited and progressive, his
name is a synonym of honor and integrity and
he commands the implicit confidence of the com-
munity in which he has resided for more than
a score of vears.

OLAl'S L. HANSON, a successful farmer
of Yankton county, is a native son of the state
and a representative of one of its honored
pioneer families. He was born in Yankton
county, territory of Dakota, on the 12th of Oc-
tober, 1867, and is a son of Lars and Anne Han-
son, jDoth of whom were Ixim in Norway. Lars
Hanson was born September 22, 1836, and in

1865 was solemnized his marriage to Miss Anne
Olson, who was born February- 10, 1839. In

1866 they emigrated to America and came forth-
with to the territory of Dakota, locating on the
faim which has ever since remained their home,
the same being on section 19, range 54, township
94, Yankton county, about two miles northeast
of the village of Mission Hill. They were
among the early settlers in the county and Mr.
Hanson secured his land by government entry,
while by well-directed industry he has attained
success and is one of the highly esteemed citizens
of the county.

The subject of this review received his early
education in the public schools of Yankton
countv and continued to assist in the work and
management of the home farm until he had at-
tained the age of twentv-one vears, when he en-

gaged in drilling artesian wells, to which line of
enterprise he devoted his attention for three
years, after which he farmed on rented land until
1898, when he purchased a farm of one hundred
and sixty acres, in township 94, range 34, where
he continued in agricultural pursuits for the en-
suing three years, at the expiration of which he
sold the property and purchased another farm of
equal area, in townsliip 94, range 55, about one
and one-half miles distant from Mission Hill,
where he is now successfully engaged in general
farming and stock growing.

In politics Mr. Hanson is a Republican and
from his youth up he has been a member of the
Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran church at Mis-
sion Hill, of which his wife likewise is a devoted
member.

On the 14th of October, 1896, Mr. Hanson
married Miss Hulda Matilda Hanson, who was
born in Yankton county, July I, 1878, being a
daughter of Nicholas and Ingeborg Hanson, and
of this union have been born three children,
whose names with respective dates of birth are
here entered: Norman Ixroy, July 19, 1897;
Agnes Isabel, June 17, 1899; ''"'^ Hannah Olivia,
September 22, 1901.

CHARLES W. McDonald, who is the
honored judge of Jerauld county and a dis-
tinguished member of the bar of the state, was
born in St. Joseph county, Indiana, on the 23th
of July, 1845, being a son of Jeremiah and Elea-
nor (Almeda) McDonald, to whom were born
three sons and one daughter. The father of the
subject was a master ship carpenter, and was
born and reared in the state of Vermont, whence
he removed to Indiana prior to the advent af rail-
roads in the middle states. He died at Abilene,
Kansas, while his wife died in the Hoosier state.
The subject of this review completed the cur-
riculum of the common schools of his native state
and then entered the celebrated University of
Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he continued his
studies for two years. He studied law under
an able preceptor in Mishawaka, Indiana, and
has ever lieen a close reader in a technical line,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1157

so that he is thoroughly well informed in the
science of jurisprudence, having not only gained
I precedence as a strong trial lawyer and con-
servative counsel, but having also been signally
I fair and impartial in his rulings on the bench,
his decisions being based upon the proper ap-
plication of the law and equity involved. He
' came to what is now the state of South Da-
' kota in 1873 and in the year 1877 was admitted
to the bar of the territory of D&kota. He lo-
i cated in the city of Sioux Falls, where he con-
tinned in the practice of his profession until
1882, and in that place he was also the editor
and publisher of the Sioux Falls Independent,
which was subsequently merged into the Daily
Press, which remains one of the important papers
of the state. In March, 1882, Judge McDonald
': came to Wessington Springs, where he has since
I maintained his home and where he has been in
the active practice of his profession save for the
period which has represented his service on the
j bench. Upon the organization of Jerauld
j county, in 1884, he was appointed clerk of the
1 district court, and continuously held this office
I until the admission of South Dakota to the
i Union. He was elected state's attorney for
! Jerauld county in 1890, again in 1896 and re-
I elected in 1898. During two years, 1877-8, he
was probate judge of Minnehaha county. He
j was elected county judge of Jerauld county in
1900 and in 1902 he was again elected to this
, dignified and responsible office, of which he is
in tenure at the time of this writing. The Judge
; is a stalwart advocate of the principles and
\ policies of the Republican party and has been a
prominent figure in its councils in the territory
and state. He is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, his wife of the Free Methodist
i church, and fraternally he is identified with the
: Masonic order. It may be noted at this juncture
that Jerauld county was organized and settled
by temperance people, and there had never been
a saloon within its borders from the time of its
' erection until 1903. The subject is an uncom-
promising advocate of temperance and of the
prohibition of the liquor traffic through legal
measures.

In 1866 Judge McDonald was united in mar-
riage to Miss Clara P. Burr, of Mansfield, Ohio,
who died in 1879, being survived by one son,
Willis P)., who is now a resident of California.
( )ii the 17th of August. 1882. the Judge wedded
Miss Fanny M. Tofflemire, of Wessington
Springs, South Dakota, and they are the parents
of five children, namely : Robert F., Qiarles E.,
Walter H., Leigh L. and Almeda.

GEORGE AMASA PERLEY is a native of
the state of Wisconsin, having been born near
the village of Marquette, in what is now known
as Green Lake county, on the i8th of Novem-
ber, 1849. His father, Stephen Bartlett Perley,
was born in North Sanbornton. Merrimac
county. New Flampshire, and his wife, whose
maiden name was Sarah E. ^^'ells. was born in
P.radford, Susquehanna Cdunty. Pennsylvania,
both being of Puritan ancestry. The father of
the subject began his independent career as a
fanner on his own land, on which now stands
the village of Clinton Junction, Rock county,
Wisconsin, of which state he was a pioneer
settler. The subject relates appreciatively the
following incidents in regard to his honored
father : "When I was a child my father was
often spoken of as 'Old Ironsides,' by reason of
his physical prowess and agility. We had a
large horse, weighing sixteen hundred pounds,
and so great was its height that a young man
employed by my father found it impossible to
spring on the back of the animal from the
ground. Father was a man of about six feet
in height and at that time was fifty-five years
of age. He stepped to the side of the horse,
gave a spring and passed clear over the steed,
with perfect ease, landing squarely on his feet
on the opposite side. Near Schoolcraft, Michi-
gan, in 1845, he mowed with a scythe forty
acres of timothy hay in thirteen straight days, —
an average of more than three acres a day. He
was an accomplished vocalist, possessing a fine
tenor voice, and he was for some time a member
of a church choir in the city of Albany, New
York, where he was at the time employed in a

t58

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

spike factory, in which were made the spikes
used in the construction of the first railroad
built in the United States."

M. \'. B. Perley, of Georgetown, Massa-
chusetts, has traced tlie genealogy -of the Perley
family, through church and railitarv' records,
back to the middle ages and into Hungarv'. The
coat of arms shows a shield embellished with a
depiction of some sort of fruit, and the motto
used in the connection is "E fructibus noscitis
eos," meaning "By their fruits ye shall know
them." Allen Perley, a native of Wales, landed
at Charlestown, Massachusetts, July 12, 1630,
and from him the direct line of descent to the
subject is traced through Thomas,. Jacob, Jacob
(2d), John (who was killed in the war of the
Revolution), Nathaniel and Stephen B., the last
mentioned being the father of the subject of this
review. There are today about one thousand
Perley descendants in the United States.

George A. Perley received an academic edu-
cation in the Wesleyan Methodist Seminary, at
Wasioja. Minnesota, the greater portion of this
discipline having been secured after he had at-
tained manhood. Having been previously in the
employ of an experienced English editor and
appreciating the handicap entailed by ignorance,
he devoted a few years to arduous study and
found thereby a new world of thought and a
wider sphere of existence and action. He gave
up his studies, however, in the spring of 1876,
having succumbed to a vigorous attack of
"western fever." In April of that year he ar-
rived at the conclusion that the life of the
farmer was the most independent of all, if the
fortunate individual could own his own farm and
be free from debt. He made a prompt decision
one evening, and the next morning started on
foot for the nearest railway station, that of
Dodge Center, Minnesota, whence he started for
the great territory of Dakota. After reaching
Worthington, Minnesota, he went farther inland
on foot, and by securing an occasional ride with
freighters' teams, finally reached what is now
Moody county, the locality being then seventy
miles distant from any railroad, while there were
onlv three white families settled at Flandreau

at the time. He took up a homestead and a tree
claim, and has developed the property into one
of the best farms in this section of the state,
while he also owns an additional eighty acres of
school land, which he purchased a number of
years later, his homestead being located in
Grovena township and four miles southeast of
the thriving city of Flandreau. Of his life and
labors here we can not do better than to quote
the words of our subject himself: "Here I have
tried to live as independently as possible, even
to the part played in the field of politics. In the
early days a political nomination was equivalent
to an election, and party managers carried offices
in their vest-pockets. Public improvements
were extravagantly forwarded by shouldering
bonded indebtedness on those as yet unborn.
These principles I considered radically wrong,
and I joined with others in bringing about a
reformatory movement through the organiza-
tion of the Populist party, which finally became
defunct, through the compromising work of a
few who were willing to sacrifice principle for
the sake of the possibility of securing office at the
hands of fusion. During the Civil war the prices
of labor and all kinds of commodities were ven.^
much above the usual level, and after the close
of the great conflict a reaction naturally ensued.
At this time, for the conservation of their own
interests, an organized eflEort was advocated
among the farmers and resulted in the establish-
ing of the Patrons of Husbandry and the Grange.
'Pay as you go, and buy less' was the title of
my first paper read before a local assembly of one
of these organizations, and by following the plan
I thus advocated it has been possible for me
to keep on safe ground ever since. I had not
been long a resident of the territory before we
organized a Farmers' Alliance, while later we
organized a citizens' constitutional association,
having in view the interests of sta'tehood. In
this connection we voiced our sentiments at Can-
ton, on the occasion of the first general meeting
for the consideration of the matter of securing
admission to the Union. In the last of the ter-
ritorial days we had a Moody county legislative
association, the same having been projected

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

"59

mainly for the purpose of making an organized
effort against the everlasting bonding system
which townsite proprietors were so inconsist-
ently using at that time, prejudicial to the best
interests of the people. In September, 1889, I
was assigned work as local observer in connec-
tion with the United States signal service, and
have ever since held this position. I have been
secretary of the Farmers' Mutual Fire and
Lightning Insurance Company of Moody county
from the time of its inception, in 1889, and also
hold a similar position in the Co-operative Grain
Elevator Company. In 1903 a farmers' tele-
phone system has been installed, the lines cover-
ing a distance of twenty-six miles, and -this
service, owned and controlled by the farmers,
meets with marked appreciation and affords
facilities of great convenience and practical value,
effectively supplementing the rural free mail de-
livery and standing in marked contrast to the
advantages we enjoyed in the pioneer days."

In politics Mr. Perley maintains an independ-
ent attitude, and while he has a deep reverence
for the spiritual verities he is an avowed agnos-
tic, showing in this regard the courage of his
convictions, as does he in all other relations of
life. His family attend the Methodist Episcopal
church and contribute to its support. Of his life
and labors Mr. Perley has further spoken as fol-
lows : "As a young man I decided to try to do
something as a teacher in the public schools and
to thus make the world better for my having
existence. The continual strife for a position
and the dependent nature of the profession in-
clined me to adopt the noble vocation of farm-
ing, since in that I could tell the truth and ask
no favors. I found an open field that needed
working, in both politics and finance, and have
occasionally endeavored to lift some of the bur-
dens resting on the people. There is a grand
opportunity for labor on both sumptuary and
religious questions affecting the human welfare,
but the task looks so hopeless that one hesitates
to devote his energies to work along these lines.
As labor becomes more irksome I shall use my
poetic genius in the field of song. At present I
will close with this inspiration as a finale good

to sing over the grave of this portion of the
great American desert of my boyhood :

This old desert of a plain,
With its many fields of grain,
With its horses, hogs, and cattle yet
unsold.
Causes me to sing the strain,
While in plenty falls the rain,
We are happy with our grasses, grain
and gold.

On the 20th of July, 1880, in the city of
Sioux Falls, this state, Mr. Perley was united
in marriage to Miss Emma Rebecah Irish, who
was born and reared in Dbdge county, Min-
nesota, and who was for a number of temis a
successful teacher in the public schools of
Woodbury county, Iowa, holding a first-grade
certificate, and who is a sister of the noted
orator, Hon. John B. Irish, of Downieville, Cali-
fornia. The first American ancestor of the Irish
family came to this country from Wales, and he
was for a time in the employ of Miles Standish,
whose name is so well known in history and
story. :\Ir. and Mrs. Perley have two children,
namely: A daughter. Iva Chrysoma, born July
14, 1881, who is in her third year at the State
University at Vermillion. The son, Stephen
Elton, who was born March 12, 1883, has ended
his first year's study at the Brookings Agricul-
tural College.

JOHN CRAIGON BAIRD is a native of
Green Lake county, Wisconsin, the son of John
and Mary (McAdam) Baird, and he dates his
birth from the 8th day of February, 1858.
Reared on a farm and early taught the lessons of
industry and thrift which makes that pursuit
successful, he grew up with a full appreciation
of life and its responsibilities, and after acquir-
ing a fair education in the common schools, he
entered at the age of eighteen a store, where he
spent three strenuous years, during which time
he became familiar with the varied details of the
mercantile business. Resigning his clerkship at
the expiration of the period noted, he came to
South Dakota and settling in Hanson county.

ii6o

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

spent some time as manager of a branch store
belonging to William Van Epps, of Sioux Falls,
South Dakota. Severing his connection with
those gentlemen, he changed his abode to
Douglas county and filed on a homestead, chos-
ing for his location a fine tract of land about
three and a half miles east of Armour, which
he at once began to improve and for which in
due season he acquired a title from the govern-
ment. Shortly after selecting his homestead Mr.
Baird revisited his native state, and while there
was married, in 1879, to Miss Ella Whittemore,
who was also born and reared in Wisconsin.
Returning to South Dakota a little later, he took
up, in 1880, his permanent abode on the land
already referred to and since that time has
greatly improved the same, besides adding at
intervals to its area, until he now owns a fine
tract of four hundred and eighty acres, one hun-
dred and sixty of which are in a successful
state of cultivation.

Mr. Baird is an up-to-date agriculturist, well
acquainted with the nature of soils and their
adaptability to different crops, and. employing
modern methods and the latest and most ap-
proved implements and machinery, he realizes
bountiful returns from the time and labor ex-
pended on his farm. He is also engaged quite
largely in the live-stock business, raising large
numbers of cattle, horses and hogs, from the
sale of which is derived no small part of his in-
come. He has made many valuable improve-
ments on his place, has a substantial and at-
tractive residence and good outbuildings and his
home, situated in one of the finest sections of
Douglas county, indicates the dwelling place
of not only a man of enterprise and progressive
ideas, but a gentleman of intelligence, sound
judgment and excellent taste, as well. Person-
ally, he enjoys great popularity among his neigh-
bors and friends and as a citizen he is public-
spirited and a leader in all laudable movements.
He served eight or nine years as school clerk,
also held the office of township supervisor for a
considerable length of time and is now town-
ship treasurer.

Politically he is a pronounced Democrat, and

fraternally is identified with the Masonic brother-
hood, the order of Maccabees and the Ancient
Order of United Workmen.

Mr. and Mrs. Baird have a family of eight
children, whose names in order of birth are as
follows : Grace, \\'alter. John R., Maude, Rob-
ert. Agnes, Frank and Pearl, all living.

PAUL HEINTZ, one of the successful
farmers and representative citizens of Moody
county, comes of stanch German lineage and
is himself a native of the state of Minnesota,
having been born in Stearns county, on the 15th
of October, 1859. He is a son of Peter and
Margaret (Till) Heintz, the former of whom
was born and reared in Luxembourg, Germany,
and he continued to be there engaged in farm-
ing until his emigration to America, at the age
of twenty-five years. He was for a number of
years engaged in farming in Minnesota, whence
he came to Moody county. South Dakota, in
1874. here taking up a half section of govern-
ment land and improving the same, becoming
one of the prominent and successful fanners of
this section, where he passed the remainder of
his long and signally useful life, being eighty-
two years of age at the time of his death, which
occurred May 16, iqoi. He originally gave his
allegiance to the Democratic party, but in later
years supported the principles and policies of
the Republican party. His religious faith was
that of the Roman Catholic church, of which his
venerable widow is likewise a devoted member.
She now resides in Flandreau and is eighty-four
years of age at the time of this writing, in 1903.
Of this union were born ten children, and six
of the number are still living.

The subject of this sketch received his early
educational training in the public schools of
his native state and was a lad of fifteen years at
the time of the family removal to what is now
the state of South Dakota. He was reared to
maturity on the home farm in Moody county
and eventually engaged in farming on his own
account. He now has a finely improved and
valuable ranch of one hundred and sixtv acres.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

in Grovena township, his home being located
four miles south and one east of the thriving
village of Flandreau, which is his postoffice ad-
dress. Nearly the entire acreage of his fann is
under cultivation and he also devotes no little j
attention to the raising of a fine grade of short- ■
horn cattle and other live stock. In politics he
is found prominently arrayed in the ranks of the
Populist party, and takes a public-spirited inter-
est in the issues of the day and particularly in
local affairs. He has served as director and
treasurer of his school district, as a member of
the board of township trustees and as overseer
of roads, these various preferments indicating
the high esteem in which he is held in the com-
munity in which he has passed the major por-
tion of his life. He is a communicant of the
Roman Catholic church, his wife belonging to
the Methodist, and fraternally he is identified ]
with the lodge of the Ancient Order of United
Workmen at Flandreau.

On the 5th of January, 1890, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Heintz to Miss Rosa

Belle Roberts, daughter of Asahel and

(Hawkins) Roberts, well-known residents of
this county, and they are the parents of four
children, namely ; Beulah, Doris, Wallace and
Marv.

FRANK H. CRAIG, supervising mechanic
in connection with the Indian school maintained
at Greenwood, Charles Mix coimty, is a native
of the domain of Canada, having been born near
the city of Toronto, on the 28th of December,
1845, ^nd being a son of Davis C. and Mary J.
(Witherel) Craig, both of whom were born and
reared in the state of New York, whence they
removed to Canada, where they maintained their
home about eleven years, the father having been
a farmer and mechanic. In 1854 the family re-
moved to Elliota, Minnesota, locating in Fill-
more county, where the parents continued to re-
side until 1881, when they came to South Da-
kota, where the father of our subject took up
government land, in Fillmore county, there pass-
ing the remainder of his life. He died in June,

1901, his devoted wife having passed away in
September of the preceding year. They became
the parents of seven children, of whom four
are living, all being residents of South Dakota.
In early life Davis C. Craig was a Whig in
politics, but he identified himself with the Re-
publican party at the time of its organization
and was ever afterward a supporter of its cause.
He "enlisted as a member of Company C, Third
Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, at the outbreak
of the Civil war, and was in active service about
four years. It may also be noted in the connec-
tion that the subject of this sketch enlisted in
Company A, Second Minnesota Cavalry, with
which he served about two and one-half years,
principally under General Sully and in connec-
tion with the Indian warfare in the northwest.
He received his honorable discharge on the 4th
of April, 1866, having made an excellent record
as a valiant and loyal soldier.

Frank H. Craig received a common-school
education and was about nine years of age at
the time of his parents' removal to Minnesota,
where he was variously employed for a number
of years, finally becoming identified with railroad
work, in which he was engaged up to the time
of coming to South Dakota, from Chicago, in
1879. He took up a homestead claim in Spink
county, on the i6th of June of that year, and
there continued to reside until 1891, having been
one of the early settlers of the county and one
of its popular and influential citizens. He
erected the first frame house in the county, and
the same was -used for some time as a court
house. He served for five years as a member
of the board of county commissioners and held
other local ofiices of trust, including those of
justice of the peace, while he was for many years
a school official. In politics he gives an un-
wavering allegiance to the Republican party and
has been an active worker in its cause. Fra-
ternally he is identified with Frankfort Lodge,
No. 7y, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons;
Redfield Chapter, No. 20, Royal Arch Masons;
Frankfort Lodge, No. 83, Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, and to Sol Meredith Post,
Grand Army of the Republic.

Il62

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

In 1891 Mr. Craig disposed of his interests
in Spink county and took up his residence in
Greenwood, where he has since held the posi-
tion of government mechanic at the Indian
school, in which connection he has accomphshed
a most satisfactory work. He is the owner of
a fine ranch of five hundred and eighty-five
acres in Boyd county, Nebraska, and he is also
the owner of a fine herd of cattle on his ranch in
Nebraska. He has attained success since com-
ing to Dakota and is one of the loyal and public-
spirited citizens of the state.

On the 4th of July, 1868, at Harmony, Fill-
more county, Minnesota, Mr. Craig was mar-
ried to Miss Eliza M. Craig, who was born and
reared in Canada, being a daughter of John and
Elizabeth Craig, the former being a farmer by
vocation. Of this union were born eight chil-
dren, namely: Leslie, Herbert, Qaud and Neva,
who are deceased; Harold, who remains at the
parental home, as do also James E., Bessie and
Earl F.

ELISHA K. THOMPSON, one of the
honored pioneers of Charles Mix county, was
bom in Meigs county, Ohio, on the i8th of
March, 1822, being a son of Reuben and
Falindie (Kent) Thompson, both of whom were
born in the state of New York, while they be-
came the parents of five children, of whom two
are living. The father of the subject devoted
his life to agricultural pursuits, and both
he and his wife died in Ohio. The pa-
ternal ancestors on both sides were of
colonial stock and both families were rep-
resented by valiant soldiers in the war of
the Revolution, assisting in gaining the boon of
independence. Elisha K. Thompson received a
common-school education and was reared on the
homestead farm to the age of seventeen years,
when he came west to Illinois, where he worked
as a farm hand and ran on the Mississippi river
until his marriage, in 1847. He resided on his
farm in Ohio until 1861, when he went to White-
side county, Illinois, where he purchased land,
to whose cultivation he devoted his attention

about eight years. He then moved to Lyndon,
Illinois, where he invested in a pump works. In
1877 he disposed of the property and moved to
Iowa, where he purchased a farm in Sac county,
where he continued to follow agricultural pur-
suits for the ensuing five years, or until 1882,
when he came to South Dakota and took up a
homestead claim in Charles Mix county, and
on this property, now finely improved, he has
ever since continued to reside. When he came
to the county the settlers were few, and the In-
dians were found in the vicinity in considerable
numbers, but he found them at all times peace-
able and kindly. During the first season of
his residence in the county Mr. Thompson states
that he secured the best sod crops ever raised in
any locality, but the several years of drought
which followed brought financial ruin to many
of the settlers in this section. A radical change
later ensued, the rainfall being more copious
and regular, so that crop failures are practically
a thing of the past. Mr. Thompson has one
of the most attractive homes in the county, hav-
ing a substantial and commodious residence,
around which he has succeeded in raising some
very fine maple and cedar trees, which he per-
sonally planted and which have now attained
such a size as to make the home a picturesque
and beautiful one. In politics he was originally
a supporter of the Whig party, but upon the
organization of the Republican party he trans-
ferred his allegiance to the same and has ever
since been a stalwart advocate of its principles.
He has been a zealous member of the Methodist
Episcopal church for the past sixty years, and
his loved and devoted wife has also been a zeal-
ous worker in and a member of the church.

On the 13th of June, 1847, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Thompson to Miss Nancy

1 Oilman, who was born and reared in Meigs
county, Ohio, being a daughter of Henry Gil-

! man, a prominent farmer of that locality, where
he also conducted a large saddlery business for
many years. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson became
the parents of six children, one of whom died in
infancy. Of the others we ofifer the following
brief record : Reuben died at the age of eleven

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1 163

years; Nancy died at the age of ten years;
Emma is the wife of Henry Van Schoonhoven,
a prominent farmer of Charles Mix county ;
Edward, who married Miss Luki Tenny, is en-
gaged in the livery business at Platte, this
county; and Josephine is the wife of Clarence
Vermillion, the leading dry-goods merchant in
the citv of Mitchell, this state.

ROBERT GORDON, a well-known farmer
and stock raiser of Yankton county, was born
in northern Ireland on the 15th of September,
1833, his parents being John and Mai^ (Cane)
Gordon, who spent their entire lives on the
Emerald Isle, the father there devoting his
energies to farming. In 1856 Mr. Gordon of
this review came to the new world. He had been
educated in his native country and he was
trained to habits of industry and frugality. As
a young man of twenty-three years he crossed
the Atlantic and settled in Rhode Island, where
he was first employed in a sugar refinery, oc-
cupying a position for four years. On the ex-
piration of that period he removed to Lenawee
county, Michigan, where he purchased forty
acres of land, continuing its cultivation for four
years. He next spent one summer upon a farm
in Wisconsin and afterward removed to Porter
count}', Indiana, locating near Valparaiso.
Twelve years covers the period of his connection
with the farming interests of the Hoosier state
and the year 1878 witnessed his arrival in South
Dakota. Pie has since lived in this portion of
the country and as the years have gone by he
has gradually advanced until he now occupies an
enviable position upon the plane of affluence.

In 1856 Mr. Gordon was united in marriage
to Miss A. J. Barnes, a daughter of David and
Hannah (Speers) Bames, who were natives of
Scotland and spent their entire lives in the land
of the hills and heather. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon
have become the parents of eight children:
John, who married Lucy Robinson and is a
farmer; David, who is represented elsewhere in
this work; James, who married Anna Barnes
and is also engaged in farming: William, who

wedded Mary Christopherson and is operating
the home place; Mollie, the deceased wife of W.
J. Mann, an agriculturist ; and three, who have
passed away.

Mr. Gordon owns three hundred and twenty
acres of rich land, of which one hundred acres is
pasture land. He is a general farmer and also
raises stock, handling Hereford cattle and
Poland-China hogs, of a high grade. He has
also bought and sold stock, having all of his farm
products raised for this purpose. In his business
he has prospered because of his unremitting dili-
gence and his honorable methods. He is straight-
forward in all of his dealings and has never been
known to take advantage of the necessities of
his fellow men in any trade transaction. He has
planted all of the trees upon his place and his
splendidly developed property stands as a monu-
ment to his thrift and enterprise. For four
}ears he lost all that he raised because of the
grasshoppers and though many a man of less
resolute spirit would have been utterly discour-
aged he continued in his labors, working dili-
gently year after year until success has now
crowned his labors. He is a member of the Con-
gregational church and at all times his life has
been in consistent harmony with his professions
so that he is a gentleman of sterling worth, his
name being synonymous with integrity.

GEORGE BEATCH, one of the success-
ful representatives of the agricultural and stock-
growing industries of Hanson county, is a native
of Houston county, Minnesota, where he was
born on the i6th of October, 1871, being a son
of John and Annie (Goetzinger) Beatch, both of
whom were born and reared in Gennany. The
father of the subject came to America in 1854
and located in the state of Ohio, where he was
engaged in farming for four years, at the ex-
piration of which he removed to Minnesota, tak-
ing up government land in Houston county and
becoming one of the successful pioneer farmers
of that section, where he continued to make his
home until 1882, when he came with his family
to Hanson county. South Dakota, where he and

1 164

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

his sons took up government land under the
homestead laws, being now associated in the
ownership of a fine farm of two hundred and
forty acres, of which one hundred and ten are
under cultivation. The subject is also one of
tJie successful stock raisers of the county, where
he has been indefatigable in his efforts, assist-
ing in developing the great resources of this sec-
tion of the state. His boyhood days were passed
on the homestead farm in Minnesota, in whose
public schools he secured his early educational
training, later attending the schools in South
Dakota. He is one of a family of eight children,
the others being Fhilip, Maggie, Kate, John,
Mary. Minnie and Annie, and the parents and
all the children are residents of South Dakota.
Mr. Beat ch is a Democrat in his political pro-
clivities ; fraternally is identified with Spencer
Lodge, No. 47, Ancient Order of United Work-
men, at Spencer, South Dakota, of which his
brother John is likewise a member, while the
familv are valued members of the Lutheran
church.

DAVID S. GORDON, a native of the mid-
dle west, manifests in his life the spirit of
activity and energy so typical of this section of
the country. He was born in Lanawee county,
]\Iichigan, July 20, 1863, ^"d is of Scotch-Irish
lineage, the family originating in Scotland,
although Robert and Jane (Barnes) Gordon,
the parents of the subject, came to America from
the north of Ireland. It was in the year 1857
that the father crossed the Atlantic and took up
his abode in Rhode Island, where he remained
for four years, removing then to Michigan in
1861. Purchasing a farm in Lenawee county he
continued its cultivation for two years and then
he sold his property and went to Wisconsin.
After a short time, however, he removed to In-
diana in 1865 and bought a farm in Porter
county, making it his home for a few years. For
four years he lived in Lake county, that state,
where he also carried on agricultural pursuits
and in 1878 he brought his family to South
Dakota, establishing: his home in Yankton

county. Here he purchased three hundred and
twenty acres of government land, upon which
not a furrow had been turned or an improve-
ment made. He built a shanty and also a dug-
out and four years later he erected a nice resi-
dence. He has also built large barns upon his
place and still occupies the old homestead, which
he has developed into a splendid farming prop-
erty, its rich fields and excellent improvements
giving evidence of his careful supervision and
enterprising spirit. Both he and his wife are
members of the Congregational church and in
its work he takes an active and helpful part.
His political faith is that of the Republican party.
Unto Mr. and ^Irs. Gordon have been born
seven children : Hannah, who died in infancy,
as did the second child ; R. J., who married Miss
Dunlap and after her death wedded Lucy Robin-
son, his home being now in Viborg, South Da-
kota. He has a family of four children and he
owns eleven hundred and twenty acres of land,
but is living retired in the enjoyment of the
fruits of his former toil. Mary J., born Novem-
ber 3, 1861, became the wife of M. J. Mann, who
has resided in South Dakota since 1886 and is
now a farmer of Yankton county. They had
four children and on the 15th of May, 1902, Mrs.
Mann departed this life. David is the next
younger. James B. wedded Mrs. Mallons and is
a farmer of Edwards county. South Dakota. He
had three children, of whom two are now de-
ceased. William C. married ]\lary Qiristoperson
and has three children, their home being on the
old homestead. All of the children were pro-
vided with good educational privileges and three
of the number have been successful teachers.
]\Irs. Gordon died November 2, 1903.

Like the others of the family, David S.
Gordon attended the public schools and _ in his
youth he was also trained to the work of the
home farm, remaining with his father until
nineteen years of age, when he began teaching
school. When twenty years of age he rented a
farm and thus continued to operate land for
several years. In the spring of 1884 he bought
one hundred and sixty acres on Clay creek,
Yankton countv, all of which was wild, but he

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

165

has placed many improvements upon the land,
has built a fine residence, a large and substantial
barn, has planted trees and now has a very de-
sirable property, attractive in appearance. His
farm comprises altogether two hundred acres
and in connection with the cultivation of the
fields he raises high grades of cattle and hogs.

On the 20th of April, 1899, Mr. Gordon was
uniteil in marriage to Miss Bertha, a daughter of
John H. and Elizabeth (Hormel) Rinker, both
of whom were natives of Iowa and at an early
day came to South Dakota. The father was
identified with agricultural interests for many
years and became a well-known farmer but is
now living in Sioux Falls. His wife, however,
has passed away. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gordon
have been born three children : Ethel E., whose
birth occurred January 15, 1901 ; Adaline M.,
who was born September 20, 1902, and Robert
J., born July 10. 1903. Mr. Gordon endorses
the principles of the Republican part\- by cast-
ing his ballot for its candidates.

FRED JACOBS.— The sons of Switzerland
have ever been noted for courage and fortitude
and for loyalty to their honest convictions and
the life record of Fred Jacobs exemplifies those
sterling traits of character which have ever
marked the sons of the Swiss nation. He was
born in Berne on the 15th of April. 1844, and is
a son of John Jacobs, who never left his native
country. The subject acquired a good education
there and lived a life of energy and activity, but
believing that his labors would prove more ef-
fective in gaining succes in the new world, he
came to the United States in 1884. Yankton
county was his destination and he made his way
by the Missouri river until he reached this sec-
tion of the state. He rented land for nine years
and then with the capital he had acquired through
his own energy and determination he purchased
three hundred and twenty acres of land. Since
that time he has sold a portion, but still retains
possession of two hundred and forty acres. He
has planted all of the trees upon his farm and
has made all of the improvements, including the

erection of splendid buildings. His fields are
well tilled and he raises good grades of stock.
One hundred and eighty acres of his land is
under cultivation and the remainder is devoted to
pasturage purposes. Each year he raises a large
number of hogs and also makes a specialty of
Hereford cattle.

In 1866 Mr. Jacobs was united in marriage
to Miss Magdalena Kupfer, a daughter of Jacob
Kupfer, who was a stone-mason and spent his
entire life in Switzerland. This worthy couple
have become the parents of nine children : Rob-
ert, who married Bertha Ezely and is a fanner
and dain-man : Emil, deceased; Fred, who
wedded Eliza Nordheck, and is a harness maker
of Yankton ; Alfred, who married Carrie Thomp-
son and served in the Philippine war as a mem-
ber of Company M, First Regiment of South
Dakota Volunteers, while now he is engaged in
farming; Max, who wedded L. Peterson, now
deceased, and who is a cook in Montana; Ida,
the wife of Leonard McCone, a liveryman of
Nebraska ; Herman, who is assisting in the oper-
ation of the home farm ; and Paul and Edward,
who are under the parental roof. The children
have attended the public schools and have been
carefully trained in habits of industry and up-
rightness. In his political views Mr. Jacobs is
an earnest Republican and all of his sons support
the same party, while five of them belong to the
Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mr.
Jacobs holds membership in the Congregational
church and has ever been interested in the move-
ments and measures pertaining to general prog-
ress and improvement. The cause of education
has found in him a warm friend and he has co-
operated in many measures for the public good.

FREDERICK RITTER, a prosperous
farmer and stock raiser of Jefiferson township,
Bon Homme county, is a native of Germany,
born in the kingdom of Hanover, August 22,
1 84 1. His father, also named Frederick, died in
Hanover, at the age of forty-two, and later the
mother came to America and settled in Iowa,
where her death occurred some years ago.

1 66

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Frederick and Catherine (Bloom) Ritter reared
a family of three children, one son, the subject of
this review, and two daughters, the older of
whom, Christina, married Henry Rhoderwolt
and the younger, Louisa by name, having died
in the land of her birth.

Frederick Ritter was reared and educated in
Hanover and at the age of twenty began life
for himself as a carpenter. Shortly after leav-
ing home he came to America, arriving in this
country in 1864 and settled at Richton, Cook
county, Illinois, where he worked at his trade
during the ensuing eight years, meanwhile ac-
cumulating a handsome property, consisting of
several lots and five and a half acres of valuable
land in the vicinity of the town. Disposing of
these possessions in 1871, he started west and
in the spring of the following year settled in
Butler county, Iowa, where he followed his
chosen calling until 1881. In the spring of the
latter year Mr. Ritter came to Bon Homme
county, South Dakota, and took up a quarter sec-
tion of land in Jefferson township, which he still
owns and on which he has made a number of
substantial improvements, converting it into one
of the most productive and desirable farms in the
neighborhood. He has also added to his realty
from time to time and now owns five hundred
and sixty acres of as fine land as the county of
Bon Homme can boast, the greater part of which
is under a high state of cultivation, besides con-
taining good buildings, fences and many other
evidences of prosperity. He is an enterprising
farmer and since coming west has taken advan-
tage of every opportunity to improve his financial
condition, ranking at the present time with the
leading agriculturists and stock raisers of Bon
Homnie county, as well as enjoying high stand-
ing as an energetic, public-spirited man of af-
fairs.

Mr. Ritter not only erected all the buildings
on his own place, but has also done considerable
mechanical work in the neighborhood and
throughout the county. He is a skillful carpenter
and for several years after coming to this state
his services were in great demand, many of the
best residences, barns and other buildings in the

surrounding country bearing evidence to his
efficiency as a master of his trade. In politics
Mr. Ritter votes for the man instead of party
and advocates principles which in his judgment
make for the best interests of his countn'. In
religion he subscribes to the Lutheran creed and
for a number of years has been a faithful and
consistent member of the church, contributing
liberally of his means to the support of the local
congregation to which he belongs.

In the year 1862 Mr. Ritter was united in
marriage with Miss Dorothee Deerking, also a
native of Hanover, the union being blessed with
ten children, namely : Fred, Jr., a fanner and
stock raiser of Charles Mix county, South Da-
kota ; Charles, who is interested with his father
in farming and the live-stock business ; Henry,
also at home and a partner of his father and older
brother; William, a resident of Charles Mix
county, and a farmer by occupation ; Annie, wife
of Fred Rabece. of the above county ; Frank,
a member of the home circle ; Dora, now Mrs.
Henry Evers. of Charles Mix ; Helen, Walter and
George.

FRANK GABRIEL HERRON. one of the
successful business men of Sioux Falls, where
he conducts a well-equipped grocery establish-
ment, was bom on a farm in Vernon county,
Wisconsin, on the i6th of August, 1857, and is
a son of William A. and Mira Herron, both of
whom are now living in Sioux Falls, while both
were natives of Athens count}', Ohio, and repre-
sentatives of pioneer families of the old Buckeye
state. When the subject was about twelve years
of age his parents removed to Warren county,
Iowa, and in the public schools of Indianola, the
county seat, he received his early educational
training. In 1875 he entered upon an apprentice-
ship to the printer's trade, in the office of the
Indianola Herald, becoming a skilled workman
and being engaged in the work of his trade for
several years. In 1883 he came to South Da-
kota and took up his residence in Huron and was
in business there for five years. In 1888 he re-
moved to Sioux Falls and until March, 1902, he
was employed as foreman in the Brown &

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Saeng:er printing establishment, but gave up that
position and, with his son, Bert, established his
present prosperous business enterprise, and they,
under the firm name of Herron & Son, have
gained a place of prominence in the commercial
life of the city. In politics Mr. Herron is a
stanch Republican but has never sought official
preferment, and fraternally he is identified with
the local organization of the Masonic order and
its adjunct, the Order of the Eastern Star, and
also with the Royal Arcanum, the Ancient Order
of United Workmen and the Fraternal Order of
Eagles.

On the 28th of November, 1883, Mr. Herron
was united in marriage to Miss Ida A. Tisdale,
who was born and reared in Lake City, Minne-
sota, being a daughter of Luther J. and Adaline
Tisdale, and of this union have been born four
children, of whom three are living: Bert F. was
born October 11, 1884; Roy was born January
II, 1888, and died on the 7th of February of the
following year; Mabel R. was born January 2,
1889; and Charles L., March 6, 1890.

GEORGE SPURRELL, one of the repre-
sentative farmers and stockmen of Bon Homme
county, is a native of the Hawkeye state, having
been born in the city of Sabula, Jackson county,
Iowa, on the 3d of January, 1855, and being a
son of James and Eliza (Ward) Spurrell, both
of whom were born and reared in England,
where they were married and where four of their
children were born. In 1854 they emigrated
thence to the United States and located in Jack-
son county, Iowa, thence in 1855 removed to
Clinton county, Iowa, where Mr. Spurrell be-
came a prominent and successful farmer, being
one of the honored pioneers of that section and
one who wielded no little influence in the com-
munity. He continued to reside on the old home-
stead until he was summoned from the scene of
life's endeavors, his death occurring on the 15th
of May, 1900, at which time he was seventy-
seven years of age. He was a Republican in
his political proclivities, and was a consistent
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as

is also his widow, who still resides on the old
home farm. Of their six children we enter tlie
following brief record : Anna died in childhood,
before the removal of the family to America ;
Walter, who was a soldier in the Second Iowa
Cavalry Regiment during the war of the Re-
bellion, died in 1901 ; John is a resident of Wall
Lake, Sac county, Iowa; Arthur has the man-
agement of the old homestead farm in Iowa, and
also owns six hundred and forty acres in South
Dakota ; George is the immediate subject of this
sketch ; and Ellen is married to Seth L. Collins,
of Goose Lake, Iowa.

George Spurrell was reared to manhood on the
home farm and secured his educational discipline
in the excellent schools of Iowa. At the age
of twenty-one years he initiated his independent
career, becoming at that time dependent upon his
own resources, and he has worked his way to
success through the medium of energy, industry,
integrity of purpose and good management. He
purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land
in Sac county, Iowa, and was there engaged in
farming for three years, after which he was en-
gaged in the same line of enterprise in Plymouth
county, that state, until 1891, when he sold his
farm of one hundred and sixty acres and re-
moved to Rock county, Minnesota, where he pur-
chased land and also engaged in the real-estate
business, retaining his residence there about eigh-
teen months. He then, in August, 1893, came to
South Dakota and purchased a ranch of two hun-
dred and forty acres in Springfield township,
Bon Homme county, where he has since re-
mained. He has made many improvements on the
place, including the remodeling of the house, and
the ranch is one of the most attractive and valu-
able properties in this section, being devoted to
diversified agriculture and to the raising of excel-
lent grades of live stock, including shorthorn
cattle, sheep, swine and horses. Mr. Spurrell is
also the owner of two hundred and forty acres of
land in Wilson county, Kansas, the same being
located in the oil district, and this property he
rents. He has owned property in several other
states, and has traveled somewhat extensively,
having visited various sections of the Rocky

ii68

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

mountains and owning interests in the gold fields
of Colorado. In politics Mr. Spurrell is a stanch
advocate of the principles of the Republican
party. While a resident of Iowa he served as
justice of the peace, but he has never been ambi-
tious for official preferment.

On the 8th of April, 1882, Mr. Spurrell was
united in marriage to Miss Christine Kruser, of
Wall Lake. Iowa. She was born and reared in
Denmark, being a daughter of Maren and Peter
P. Kruser, who eiuigrated to the United States
in 1881, and who are now dead. Of the five
children of Mr. and Mrs. Spurrell we enter the
following brief data : Melvin J. died at the age
of sixteen months ; Marvin is at the parental
home; Cora and Ida are attending the Spring-
field State Normal School, and Elmer J. is the
youngest member of the family, being nine years
of age at the time of this writing, and is also at-
tending the Normal School. Mrs. Spurrell and
Cora are members of the Congregational
church.

WILLIAM J. ROBINSON.— No better in-
dex of the material prosperity and general status
of any community can be found than in its news-
paper press, and in this respect South Dakota
is favored in having ably conducted and progres-
sive papers in its various cities and towns, the sub-
ject of this review being the editor and publisher
of the Avon Qarion, at Avon, Bon Homme
county, and having made his enterprise one of
successful order as representative of the interests
of the attractive town and its surrounding coun-
try. He is a thorough newspaper man and the
Clarion maintains a high standard of excellence
from both an editorial and mechanical standpoint,
being a five-column quarto and being issued on
Thursday of each week.

Mr. Robinson was born in Delaware county,
Iowa, on the 14th of November, 1854, being a
son of James and Mary A. (Gregg) Robinson,
of whose twelve children he is the eldest of the
nine surviving, a brief record concerning the oth-
ers being here incorporated : Margaret is the wife
of Christy Bleakly, of Galva, Iowa ; Dr. Thomas

is a practicing physician at Gallup, New Mexico ;
Robert R. is a prominent capitalist and promoter
of Manchester, Iowa, a-nd served for twelve years
as auditor of Delaware county, that state ; Eliza
is the wife of Rev. James P. Perry, a clergyman
of the Methodist Episcopal church ; Alexander
has charge of the old homestead farm, in Dela-
ware county, Iowa ; John B. is a successful ranch-
man near Oakdale, Nebraska : Henry E. is a
member of the Hollister Lumber Company, of
Manchester, Iowa, and is manager of its yards
at Elkport, Illinois ; and Gregg C. is likewise
a member of that company and resides in Man-
chester, Iowa. The parents of the subject were
both born in the north of Ireland, whence they
came to the LTnited States when young, their
marriage having been solemnized in the city
of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1853. Immediately
afterward they removed to Delaware county,
Iowa, becoming pioneer settlers of that state, and
there he invested his available cash in land, be-
ing able to buy only forty acres. James Robinson
was a man of ability and had received excellent
educational advantages for his day, having at-
tended school in Pittsburg after coming to the
L'^nited States and having been there reared in
the home of his uncle, who took much interest in
the young man. He had the prescience to recog-
nize the possibilities in store for Delaware county
through its agricultural development, and upon
locating in Iowa in the early days he was able
to secure land for about one dollar and a quarter
an acre, and after securing his original tract he
bent every energy to developir>g his property,
investing every dollar which he could spare in
adding to the area of his landed property and fin-
ally becoming the owner of ten quarter-sections
of the best land to be found in Delaware county,
and how his faith has been justified needs no fur-
ther voucher than to state that the land is now
worth one hundred dollars or more per acre. He
is now one of the substantial and successful citi-
zens of the county, retaining possession of all the
land which he has acquired, while he still resides
on the old homestead farm, being about eighty-
five vears of age and being one of the honored
pioneers of the state. He lias done much to as-

WILLIAM J. ROBINSON.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

169

sist his friends in a financial way and has con-
tributed in large measure to the development and
progress of Delaware count), where he is held
in the highest confidence and esteem. While he
has never sought political preferment he has been
called upon to serve in the various local offices of
trust and responsibility. He is a man of strong
individuality and pronounced views and wields
a marked influence in his community, while his
inflexible integrity has gained to him the respect
of all who know him. He is a stanch Republican
in his political proclivities, and both he and his
wife are consistent members of the Methodist
Episcopal church. His ancestors were prominent
in the early wars in which England was involved,
representatives of the family having been with
Cromwell in the battle of Waterloo, having been
members of the Enniskillen Dragoons, one of the
regiments held in reserve to combat Napoleon's
life guards, whom they defeated in a fierce con-
flict.

\\'illiam J- Robinson, the immediate subject of
this sketch, was reared on the old homestead
farm in Iowa, attending school during the win-
ter months and assisting in the work of the farm
during the summer seasons. In the autumn of
1869, when fifteen years of age, he was matricu-
lated in the Upper Iowa University at Fayette,
Iowa, where he continued his studies about five
years, being there graduated as a member of the
class of 1875, and having received from his alma
mater the degrees of Bachelor and Master of
Arts. The year prior to and that following his
graduation he was employed as a teacher in the
imiversity, having full charge of the department
•of mathematics, in which science he excelled.
After leaving the university he taught in the pub-
lic schools of Iowa until 1889, when he took
charge of a small college in Tennessee, but he
was not pleased with the outlook and retained
the incumbency only one year, at the expiration
of which he came to Bon Homme county, South
Dakota, and purchased a quarter section of land,
in Albion precinct, where he was engaged in ag-
ricultural pursuits and stock growing until 1901,
when he sold his property and purchased a quar-
ter section in Sanborn countv. In the autumn of

1902, he left the ranch and took up his abode in
Avon, where he purchased the plant and business
of the Clarion, which newspaper he has since con-
ducted with marked ability and discrimination,
making it one of the best county papers in the
state. While residing on his ranch he devoted
special attention to the live-stock industry, leasing
large tracts of land from the Indians and util-
izing the same for the grazing grounds for his
cattle. He is a man of high intellectuality and
much business acumen, and the town of Avon is
fortunate in having secured his interposition as
editor and publisher of its local paper. In poli-
tics Mr. Robinson gives his allegiance to the Re-
publican party, of whose interests his paper
proves an efifective exponent. In the autumn of
1894 he was elected superintendent of schools of
Bon Homme county, and was returned to this of-
fice as his own successor in i8q6, while in 1902
he was again a candidate for the position, but
through a technicality several votes cast in his
favor were thrown out, giving the victorv to his
opponent, who was elected by a majority of only
two votes. Fraternally he is identified with Avon
Tent, No. 66. Knights of the Maccabees.

On the 4th of August. 1875, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Robinson to Miss Emma E.
Glasner, who was a fellow student at the Univer-
sity of Upper Iowa, her home being in Favette,
that state, and of this union have been born four
sons — William L. and Robert R., who are editors
and publishers of the Tyndall Tribune, at Tyndall,
this county ; and Leon A. and Earl V., to whom
their father will transfer the control of the Avon
Clarion in the near future. On August 18, 1903,
Mr. Robinson was appointed postmaster at Avon,
which position he still holds.

JOSIAH SHELDON.— For a number of
years the subject of this review has been very
closely identified with the history of Lincoln
county. South Dakota, being one of the early
settlers and substantial citizens of this part of
the state and the founder of the thriving town of
Lennox, in which he now resides. Josiah Shel-
don embodies many of the sturdy elements of New

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

England manhood and traces his genealogy to an
early period in the history of Vermont, of which
state his parents, Samuel and Lavina (Ballard)
Sheldon, were natives, both born, reared and
married in the old county of Franklin. About
the year 1850 Samuel Sheldon migrated to Dane
county, Wisconsin, of which he was an early
settler, and there took up a tract of government
land which he cleared and converted into one of
the most productive farms in that part of the
state. He was a successful agriculturist, a worthy
citizen and lived on the place he originally
located until his death, which occurred in 1876,
his second wife, the subject's mother, departing
this life in 1858. By a previous marriage with
Permelia Martin, who died in Vermont, he had
one child, a son, by the name of Nelson, and to
his union with Lavina Ballard four children were
born, namely : Harmon, who, with the subject, laid
out the town of Lennox, South Dakota, but who
is now living a retired life in Wright county,
Minnesota ; Polly, wife of Sebastian Basford,
of Qear Lake, Iowa ; Josiah. of this review, and
Desire, twins, the latter, who married William
Dunlap, dying in the year 1887. By his third
wife, Emma Ross, Mr. Sheldon was the father
of one child that died in infancy.

Josiah Sheldon is a native of Franklin county,
Vermont, where his birth occurred in the year
1842. He enjoyed but limited educational ad-
vantages, never attending school after his six-
teenth year, and when old enough to work he
took his place in the fields, where he labored
early and late, helping to run the farm and con-
tributing to the support of the family. After re-
maining at home until attaining his majority he
started out to make his own way and from 1850
to 1876 followed agricultural pursuits in Minne-
sota, removing the latter year to South Dakota
and taking up a claim in the northern part of
Lincoln county, where the village of Lenno.x now
stands, this thriving town being a part of the
original quarter section which he purchased from
the government. In addition to this land he also
entered one hundred and sixty acres about one
and a half miles west of Lennox and in 1890, in
partnership with his brother, laid out the town and

began a series of improvements which in due
time attracted a thrifty class of people to the lo-
cality, many of whom purchased lots and became
permanent residents.

Mr. Sheldon moved to the present site of the
village before the advent of the Chicago, Mil-
waukee & St. Paul Railroad in 1879 and donated
about forty acres of his land for town purposes,
selling all the rest except two lots which he re-
served for his own use. He was a member of
the first board of trustees of Lennox and in that
capacity did much to advance the interests of the
town and promote its growth, lending his influ-
ence to every enterprise calculated to stimulate
business and industry, at the same time giving
an earnest and whole-hearted support to meas-
ures having for their object the social, intellec-
tural and moral well-being of the community.

In his political affiliations Mr. Palmer is a
Republican and he has long been a factor of con-
siderable importance in local party circles, be-
sides manifesting an active interest in district and
state affairs, laboring diligently during cam-
paigns and contributing not a little to the success
of the ticket as an organizer and worker. His
fraternal relations are represented by the Ma-
sonic order, belonging to Lodge No. 35, at Len-
nox, and the Grand Army of the Republic Post,
No. 2T, which meets at Elsworth, his right to
membership in the latter organization depending
upon the three years which he gave to the serv-
ice of liis country during the dark and troublous
period of the Civil war. Mr. Palmer, on October
18, i86r, enlisted at IMt. Pleasant, Iowa, in Com-
pany C, Fourth Iowa Cavalry, which was as-
signed to duty in the Army of the Southwest,
where he took part in several noted battles, in-
cluding, among others, the siege of Vicksburg,
and many minor engagements, to say nothing of
the long, tiresome marches in which he took
part and the numerous vicissitudes and hardships
endured while defending the flag and upholding
the integrity of the Republic. He was discharged
December 5, 1864, at Memphis, Tennessee, with
an honorable record, and since leaving the army
he has been as earnest and loyal to the govern-
ment as when fighting in its behalf on Southern

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

battlefields. Mr. Palmer is one of the well-known
and widely respected men of Lincoln county, who
has dignified every station to which called and
whose influence has ever been exercised on the
right side of every moral issue. Those who
know him best speak in complimentary terms of
his many excellent characteristics and his record
in the past may be taken as an earnest of con-
tined usefulness and prosperity in years to come.

HARRY L. BRAS, educator, legislator, pub-
lisher, postmaster, promotor, politician and all-
round good citizen, is a leader among the repre-
senative young men who have brought South
Dakota to its present high place in the union of
states. Energy and persistence are the prime
qualifications which have won for him a most en-
viable position in the state. Few indeed are the
enterprises for state development either upon ed-
ucational or material lines in which he has not
been 'prominently identified. As teacher, school
superintendent and publisher of the state's leading
educational journal he has made his impress upon
the educational policy of the state for all of the
period of statehood and before. As a legislator
he introduced and pressed to passage the pres-
ent efficient law for the inspection of food stuflfs
and dairy products, as well as many other im-
portant pieces of legislation. As a loyal citizen
of his own city he organized the movement for
the removal of the capital from Pierre to Mitchell
and was by his neighbors made the manager of
the pending campaign for capital removal before
the people.

Mr. Eras is the son of Leonard Bras, a suc-
cessful lawyer, and Mary Hannah DeMott,
of South Bend, Indiana. He therefore possesses
that mixture of French and German blood
which has produced so many strong and notable
men. His parents located at Toolsboro, Louisa
county, Iowa, where Harry was born October
i6, 1862. In 1867 his family removed to New
Boston, Illinois, and there he received a thorough
common and high-school education and then
took a course in the Illinois State Normal

University and later completed his studies in
the Lfniversity of South Dakota. For three years
he engaged in teaching in Illinois and then,
locating at Mount Vernon, Davison county.
South Dakota, he took up a tract of government
land, but continued to teach for three years, at
the end of which period he was elected county
superintendent of schools. The country was
new, the school system crude, lacking in uni-
formity and coherence, but he set to work
promptly to reduce it to a practicable working
system and soon secured the adoption of a uni-
form course of study, free text-books, raised
the standard of teaching and gave to the schools
and the teachers an enthusiastic interest in the
work. He held the position three terms and de-
clined a fourth nomination to engage in the
publication of the South Dakota Educator, the
official organ of all the state educational bodies.
He still is the publisher of this journal, as well
as of the South Dakotan, the organ of the State
Historical Society, and the School Board Journal.
By his energy and industry he has built up a
large and profitable printing establishment and
publishing house. From 1890 to 1896 he was a
member of the board of trustes of the Madison
Normal and for a portion of the time president
of the board. From 1898 to 1902 he was a
member of the state legislature. He has from the
beginning been an active member of the State
Educational Association and of the Teachers'
and Pupils' Reading Circles and much of the
time one of the administrative officers of these
bodies. Since 1892 he has been postmaster of
Mitchell and is also the treasurer of the Com-
mercial Fire Insurance Company.

On September 2. 1885, Mr. Bras was mar-
ried to Miss Hattie Betts, of Mount Vernon,
and to them iotir daughters have been bom,
Elsie Louise, Lillian, Florence and Sarah. Mrs.
Bras died in December. 1903. In the prime of
his manhood, Mr. Bras, with state-wide acquaint-
ance and unstinted popularity, is still but at the
beginning of that career of usefulness and honor
which his unflagging industry, integrity and
ability give assurance that the community will
require at his hands.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

HOWARD BABCOCK, attorney-at-law, and
for a number of years a leading member of the
Sisseton bar, and the present mayor of Sisseton,
was born in Waterloo, Wisconsin. December 21,
1867, being the son of Seth C. and Sarah C.
(Cole) Babcock, both natives of New York.
Seth C. Babcock, a farmer by occupation, was
descended from old colonial stock, his family hav-
ing been among the earliest settlers of York
state, and not a few of the name participating in
the struggle for independence. He was a vet-
eran of the late Civil war, serving in Company
H, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Infantry, and made
an honorable record as a brave and gallant sol-
dier. The Coles also belong to an old family.
the early history of which dates from a remote
period in the time of the colonies, and the name
is still familiar in New York, where they orig-
inally located. Seth and Sarah Babcock were
the parents of four children who grew to ma-
turity, three sons and one daughter, all living.

Howard Babcock remained in his native town
until about eight years of age and in 1875 ^^'
moved with his parents to Racine, Mower county,
Minnesota, where he worked on a farm and at-
tended the public schools and the Spring Valley
high school until his eighteenth year. After
teaching two terms of school, he spent the en-
suing three years in the Cedar Valley Seminary
at Osage, Iowa, and at the expiration of that
time began the study of law with Judge C. C.
Willson. of Rochester, Minnesota, under whose
instruction he continued until his admission to
the bar in 1892. Mr. Babcock began the prac-
tice of his profession at Wilmot, South Dakota,
in 1892, and two years later was elected state's
attorney, which position he held the constitutional
term of four years, proving an able, faithful and
untiring official. Retiring from office, he resumed
the general practice and when the county seat was
moved to Sisseton he changed his residence to
that place, and has built up a large and lucra-
tive practice in the courts of Roberts and neigh-
boring counties. Mr. Babcock is one of the lead-
ing lawyers of the Sisseton bar, stands high in
the esteem of his professional associates and the
public, and has earned an enviable reputation in

his chosen calling. His success has been as
pronounced financially as professionally and he
is today one of the well-to-do men of his city
and county, owning valuable real estate, besides
his interests in the First National Bank and Res-
ervation State Bank, of Sisseton, the First State
Bank of Summit and the Citizens' Bank at White
Rock. He helped to organize these institutions
and has been a member of the directorate of each
bank ever since, and at this time he is president
of the First State Bank of Summit. He also or-
ganized the Sisseton Loan and Title Company
and is heavily interested in the Roberts County
Land and Loan Company, being president of
both institutions. Mr. Babcock owns one of the
finest residence properties in Sisseton and a half
section in Roberts county, which is under a high
state of cultivation and well improved • in the
way of buildings, fences, etc. He is essentially
a self-made man, his professional success and
financial prosperity being the result of his own
untiring efforts and industry, and it is eminently
fitting to claim for him a prominent place among
the representative citizens of his adopted state.
Mr. Babcock is a member of the Masonic frater-
nity and at the present time holds the office of
junior warden in Sisseton Lodge. No. 31 : he is
also identified with the Pythian brotherhood, be-
longing to Reservation Lodge, No. 66.

Mr. Babcock, on January 22, 1895, contracted
a matrimonial alliance with Miss Ella Jones, of
Mitchell, Iowa, and their union has been blessed
by three children, Dana B.. Gordon C. and Carroll
H., who are sturdy examples of the boys they
raise in South Dakota.

TR.\ C. HILL, coimty treasurer of Roberts
county and a gentleman of high standing in the
business and social circles of Sisseton. is a na-
tive of New York, born in the citv of EIniira.
on March 9. 1848. His father, Felix Hill, was
also a New Yorker bv birth, being descended
from one of the old families of that common-
wealth, and his mother, who bore the maiden
name of Julia Hoover, came of old New Eng-
land stock, her father having served with dis-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1 173

tinction in the war of 1S12. Felix and Julia
Hill were the parents of eight children, five sons
and three daughters, all living, the majority well
settled in life and greatly esteemed in their re-
spective places of residence.

Ira C. Hill spent the first eight years of his
life in the state of his birth and in 1856 accom-
panied his parents on their removal to Wiscon-
sin, where he lived until 1863. He was reared
on a farm, with the rugged duties and whole-
some discipline of which he early became famil-
iar, and when old enough he entered the district
schools which he attended of winter seasons
until a youth in his teens. In 1863 he went
with the family to Minnesota, where a little later
lie tendered his services to the government to
help put down the rebellion, enlisting in Com-
pany D. Ninth Minnesota Infantry, with which
he shared the fortunes and vicissitudes of war
for a period of eighteen months, the meanwhile
taking part in -several campaigns and in a num-
ber of hard-fought battles. At the expiration
of his period of service he returned to Minne-
sota, where he folIoAved agricultural pursuits
until 1892, when he disposed of his interests in
that state and came -to Roberts county. South
Dakota, where he purchased land and engaged
in farming. Later, 1897, he moved to Sisseton.
and started a hardware store, to which line of
business he devoted his attention until 1900, when
he was elected treasurer of Roberts county, which
position he still holds, having been re-elected in
1902. Mr. Hill's career has been eminently sat-
isfactory and it is universally conceded that the
countv has never been served b}- aniore capable
or obliging official. He has handled the public
funds judiciously, and as a custodian of one of
the people's most important trusts has so de-
ported himself as to gain the confidence of his
fellow citizens of all parties and shades of polit-
ical opinion. He has also served two terms as
county commissioner and during his incumbency
in that office was untiring in his efforts to promote
public improvements, but at all times careful and
even conservative in the matter of expenditures.

Mr. Hill is still engaged in agriculture on an
extensive scale, owning a finely improved farm

of four hundred acres in the northern part of
Roberts county, all under cultivation, in addition
to which he has various other interests, being a
heavy stockholder in the First National Bank of
Sisseton and in the Citizens' State Bank at White
Rock. He has been quite successful in all of
his enterprises and is now regarded as one of the
financially strong and reliable men of his city and
county. He is a member of Sisseton Lodge, No.
31. Free and Accepted Masons, and his name is
also found on the records of Reservation Lodge,
No. 66, Knights of Pythias, being a zealous
worker in both orders, besides at all times exem-
plifying their principles and precepts in his rela-
tions with his fellow men.

Mr. Hill was married in Minnesota, May
2-], 1878, to Miss Jennie Rhodes, daughter of
Elica Rhodes, of New York, the union resulting
in the birth of a daughter. Susie J., at home, and
Felix, who is married and lives on the home
farm.

JOHN HOLMAN, of the law firm of Gam-
ble, Tripp & Holman, and distinctively one of
the leading attorneys of the Yankton bar, is a
native of Wisconsin and the son of Sjur and
Ragrilda Holman, both parents born in Norway.
Sjur Holman came to the L^nited States in 1849,
and settled near Deerfield, Wisconsin, where he
shortly afterward married Ragrilda Aase, who
was brought to this country by her parents in
1845, when about thirteen years of age. After
his marriage, Mr. Holman turned his attention
to agricultural pursuits and, though beginning
in a modest way with but limited capital, he suc-
ceeded by good management and consecutive in-
dustry in accumulating a handsome compet^ce,
so that he is now enabled to spend the closing
years of his life in comfortable and honorable
retirement in the town of Deerfield. Of the chil-
dren born to this estimable couple, eight are
living at the ])resent time, namely: Mrs. Martha
Sterricker, of Omaha, Nebraska : Andrew, who
lives in Copper Center, Alaska, of which place
he was the first settler and founder : Nel, a grad-
uate of the law department of Wisconsin Uni-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

versity, but now publishing a paper in Deerfield,
that state ; Lewis, who is stationed at the Oknago
Indian Mission in British Columbia; John, of
tliis review ; Gerina, at home ; Edwin, editor and
proprietor of a newspaper in Minnesota, and
Ella, who is still with her parents.

John Holman was born February lo, 1867,
in the town of Deerfield, Wisconsin, and grew
up at home, attending for some years the com-
mon schools and later talcing a full course in the
seminary at Red Wing, Minnesota, from which
institution he was graduated in the spring of
1887. In the following fall he entered the law
department of the University of Wisconsin, and
after prosecuting his legal studies for the greater
part of two years, was graduated with the class
of 1889, immediately after which he accepted a
clerkship in the office of one of the leading at-
torneys of Madison. Young Holman spent
about one and a half years in clerical work at the
nominal salary of fifteen dollars per month and
board, but becoming restive under such manner
of living he resigned his position at the expiration
of the time noted, and in January, 1891, came to
Yankton, South Dakota, where, with something
like fifty dollars saved from his meager earnings
and about two hundred and forty dollars of bor-
rowed capital, he opened an office and entered
upon his career as a lawyer. His first year in this
cit}- was one of struggle and self-denial, clients
being few and expenses by no means light. By
husbanding his resources, however, he managed
to acquire sufficient business to keep his bark
afloat until the fall of the following year, at
which time he was induced by his Republican
friends to announce himself a candidate for the
office of state's attorney. Arrayed against the
candidate for the Republican ticket in that cam-
])aign were the combined forces of Democracy
and Populism, a fusion which its members confi-
dently believed would sweep the country and cap-
ture every office, state, district and county. Not-
withstanding the strong opposition, Mr. Holman
accepted the nomination and, entering upon the
campaign with the determination of doing his
best, made a thorough, systematic and brilliant
canvass, the result of which was his election by

a very handsome majority over a popular com-
petitor. During his first term as prosecutor he
formed a law partnership with L. L. F. Cleeger,
and opened a branch office at Centerville, Mr.
Qeeger looking after the business at the latter
place, the subject taking charge of the office in
Yankton. At the expiration of his term Mr.
Holman was chosen his own successor and at the
same time his associate was elected state's attor-
ney of Turner county, in consequence of which
their partnership was dissolved, the subject
shortly thereafter becoming a member of the law
firm of Cramer & Holman, which continued for
a period of two years.

After practicing alone for one year, Mr. Hol-
man entered into a partnership with Robert E.
McDowell, present private secretary of Senator
Gamble, which lasted until the formation of the
present legal firm of Gamble, Tripp & Holman
in the year 1901. Actuated by a spirit of intense
patriotism, Mr. Holman, in May, 1898, sacrificed
his law practice, which in the meantime had be-
come large, far-reaching and lucrative, to enter
the service of his country in its war with Spain.
Enlisting in Company C, First South Dakota
Volunteer Infantry, he was soon on his way to
the Philippines, where he experienced the vicis-
situdes and hardships peculiar to warfare with a
barbarous foe in a hot and trying climate. Soon
after joining the army he was made corporal,
subsequently was promoted quartermaster ser-
geant and still later rose to the rank of lieutenant,
which position he held until his discharge, in Oc-
tober, 1899. Returning home, he assumed his
law practice, which soon regained its former
magnitude, and from tliat time to the present he
has devoted his attention closely to his profession,
with the result that he today commands an ex-
tensive business and occupies a conspicuous place
among the leading members of the Yankton bar.

In the spring of 1900 Mr. Holman was elected
niayor of Yankton, and the ensuing fall he was
further honored by a third election to the office
of state's attorney, in which position he is now
serving his fourth term, having been re-elected
in the fall of 1902. Mr. Holman's frequent elec-
tion to important official station demonstrates not

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

only superior professional ability, but a trust-
worthiness and popularity with members of all
political parties such as few attain.

In December, 1900, Mr. Holman was married,
in Yankton, to Miss Alice Flanagan, of this city,
the union being blessed with two children, a
daughter by the name of Susan R. and a son
named Bartlett. Mr. Holman is a member of the
Masonic order, in which he has risen to a high
degree, and he is also identified with the Knights
of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen. He was reared a Lutheran and,
though still adhering to that faith, he has at-
tended of recent years the Episcopal church of
Yankton, to which his wife belongs. He con-
tributes liberally to the support of both these re-
ligions, is also alive to all kinds of charitable and
benevolent work, and assists to the extent of his
ability any laudable enterprise having for its ob-
ject the social advancement of the community
or the moral good of his fellow men.

HARRY L. SPACKMAN, president of the
Reservation State Bank, Sisseton, and manager
of the Roberts County Land and Loan Company,
was born in Stephenson county, Illinois, May 3,
1866, the son of Jonathan W. Spackman, a na-
tive of Pennsylvania and by occupation a con-
tractor and builder. Harry L., who is one of six
children, three sons and three daughters, was
reared to his seventeenth year in the town of
Dakota, Illinois, the m.eantime_ acquiring a good
education in the public schools. Fie came to this
state in 1883, and from the latter year until t888
he lived in St. Lawrence, Hand county, devoting
the greater part of the time to agricultural pur-
suits, and then went to Sioux Falls, where he
clerked in a store until his removal to Sisseton
m 1892. Mr. Spackman was one of the propri-
etors of Sisseton, and to him also belongs the
credit of being the pioneer merchant of the town.
He opened a general store shortly after his arri-
val and conducted a very profitable business until
1896, when he disposed of his mercantile inter-
ests and engaged in banking and real estate. He

was one of the organizers of the Reservation
.State Bank of Sisseton, and has since been presi-
dent of the same, and also took a leading part in
establishing the Sisseton State Bank, of which
he is still an official and heavy stockholder. In
addition to this enterprise he is connected with
the Roberts County Land and Loan Company,
being its business manager, and to his energies
and executive ability is due much of the success
which has marked the history of the company
from its organization to the present time. As
already indicated, Mr. Spackman was one of the
founders of Sisseton and to him as much as to
any other individual may be attributed the rapid
growth of the town and its favorable prospects
of becoming at no distant day one of the most
important commercial and industrial centers in
the northeastern part of the state.

Mr. Spackman is a Republican in politics,
and a faithful worker for the success of his
party. He was chairman of the Republican
county committee four years and served six
years as county commissioner, to which office
he was elected by an overwhelming vote irre-
spective of party. He is a clear-headed, far-
sighted man, knows how to take advantage of
opportunities and bend them to suit his purposes,
and all of his undertakings have resulted greatly
to his financial advantages.

Mr. Spackman holds membership with Sisse-
ton Lodge, No. 38, Ancient Order of United
Workmen, Reservation Lodge, No. 66, Knights
of Pythias, and is also a zealous worker in the
Odd Fellows order, besides lending his influence
to other organized agencies for the promotion of
benevolence, charity and fraternal relationships.
Public-spirited, he hesitates at no difficulty and,
optimistic in all the term implies, he has an abid-
ing faith in himself and in his fellow citizens to
make South Dakota one of the greatest common-
wealths in the galaxy of states.

Mr. Spackman was married, April 10, 1889,
to Miss Dora Wampler, or Elsvvorth, Illinois,
daughter of A. J. Wampler, who is now an hon-
ored resident of Sisseton. To Mr. and Mrs.
Spackman have been born three children, namely:
Vera A., Hazel M. and Harrold B.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

WILLIAM H. TURKOPP, M. D., is a na-
tive of the old Buckeye state, having been born
in Columbus, Ohio, on the I2th of April, 1857,
and being a son of Henry and Sophia (Thalke)
Turkopp. Three other of their children are liv-
ing, namely : Henry, who still resides in Colum-
bus, as are also Christian and Alwine. die latter
of whom is a teacher in the high school of Ohio's
capital city. The father of the Doctor was born
in Germany, about the year 1828, and came to the
LTnited States when he was a lad of about six-
teen years of age, locating in Columbus, where
he has ever since maintained his home, having
eventually engaged in the commission business
and having acquired a fortune through his well-
directed efforts. His wife was born in Wiscon-
sin and died in 1895.

Dr. Turkopp was reared to maturity in his
native city, where he received his preliminary
educational discipline in the public schools. 'In
1876 he began the work of preparing himself for
his chosen vocation, taking up the study of medi-
cine and finally entering the Starling Medical
College, now the medical department of the Ohio
State L^'niversity, in his home city, where he was
graduated in the spring of 1879, receiving the
degree of Doctor of Medicine. Prior to enter-
ing the medical college he bad passed three years
in Europe, where he pursued a special course in
chemistry, as a preliminary to taking up the
other essential branches of the medical and sur-
gical science. After his graduation he again
went to Europe, where he took post-graduate
medical study in the universities at Berlin, Leip-
sic, Munich and Vienna, being absent three years
and thoroughly fortifying himself for the work
of his chosen profession. He then returned to
the LTnited States and soon afterward took up
his residence in Yankton, where he has since
been engaged in the practice of his profession,
and where he has attained a high reputation as
one of the skilled and successful members of his
profession in the state, securing a supporting
patronage of representative order. So insistent
have become the demands upon his time and at-
tention that he has of late confined himself to an
office practice, and he is frequently called in con-

sultation on cases of critical character, his judg-
ment in- matters of diagnosis, treatment and sur-
gical exigencies being held in high regard by
his confreres, while such is his strict observance
of professional ethics that he has the esteem
and good will of all.

The Doctor is independent in his political
views, having originally been aligned with the
Democratic party, but his convictions in regard
to matters of public polity led him to support
McKinley on each occasion of his candidacy for
the presidency. He served one year as coroner
of Yanlrton, having been elected on the Demo-
cratic ticket and having the distinction of being
the only candidate of that party to attain vic-
tory at the polls on that occasion. He is a man
of scholarly attainments, is genial and sincere
in his intercourse with his fellow men and. is
held in unequivocal esteem.

In the year 1882 Dr. Turkopp was united
in marriage to Miss Anna Peiffer, of Lakeport,
this state, and they are the parents of five chil-
dren, namely: William, Nora, Sophia, IMinnie
and John, all of whom are acquiring their educa-
tion in Columbus, Ohio, their father's native citv.

A. W. LINDOUIST.— As the name indi-
cates, the subject of this sketch is of foreign
blood, although a native of the United States,
having been born near Alma, Wisconsin, on the
4th day of September, 1869. John and Chris-
tina (Westling) Lindquist, his parents, both na-
tives of Sweden, came to America in 1850 and set-
tled in Wabasha county, Minnesota. Later he
moved to Alma, Wisconsin, and from there to
Ortonville, Minnesota, in 1877, where the father
engaged in farming. He died December 24.
1902, at the age of seventy-two years, the mother
being still a resident of Ortonville. John and
Christina Lindquist reared a family of six chil-
dren, five living, the subject of this review being
the oldest of the number. A. W. spent his early
years on the homestead near Ortonville. and re-
ceived his education in the public schools of that
place, after which he accepted a clerkship in a
mercantile house, holding the same for a period

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of eight years. Resigning his position at Orton-
ville in 1891, Mr. Lindquist came to Roberts
county, South Dakota, and in February of the
same year estabhshed himself in the mercantile
business at Wilmot, which line of trade he has
since conducted, the meanwhile greatly enlarg-
mg his stock by adding a general assortment of
goods, including all kinds of agricultural imple-
ments and farm machinery, and meeting with
most gratifying success in his undertaking. His
patronage, which includes a wide range, is cpiite
lucrative, and in his well-stocked establishment
is found every article of merchandise demanded
by the general trade. As a business man he is
familiar with the underlying principles of com-
mercial life, being a careful buyer, an accom-
plished salesman and progressive in the manage-
ment of his affairs, yet sufficiently conservative
as to make few errors of judgment, steering clear
of unwise speculations and being satisfied with
the sure gains that come from legitimate trad-
ing.

In addition to his commercial interests, Mr.
Lindquist is a large real-estate holder, owning
and personally managing the farms in Roberts
county, besides holding a half interest in the
old family homestead in Big Stone county, Min-
nesota. He belongs to the public-spirited class
nf men that have done much to promote the ma-
terial advancement of Wilmot and Roberts
counties, and he has also achieved considerable
reputation as a shrewd, resourceful and far-see-
ing politician, having torne quite a prominent
])art in bringing about the re-election of Hon.
J. H. Kyle to the United States senate. His in-
fluence in municipal, county and state politics
has given him considerable prestige among the
leaders of his party, not only in the county and
district in which he resides but throughout the
state as well. Mr. Lindquist is a thirty-second-
degree Scottish-rite Mason, belonging to the
blue lodge at Wilmot, the consistory at Aber-
deen and the Mystic Shrine at Minneapolis,
Minnesota. He is a zealous member of this an-
cient and honorable brotherhood, is well versed
in its mystic work and his sterling manhood
proves that its principles and precepts had not a

little to do in guiding and controlling his daily
life and conduct.

Mr. Lindquist was married on May 31, 1893,
to Miss Edna Knappen, of Minneapolis, and
IS the father of two children, Muriel and Phvllis.

HOSMER H. KEITH was born at North
Brookfield, Madison county, New York, July 12,
1846, his father having been a farmer and of
Scotch ancestry. Besides receiving instruction
in the common schools, Mr. Keith was gradu-
ated at Whitestown Seminary and afterwards re-
ceived the honorary degree of Master of Arts
from Colgate University at Hamilton, New
York. During his young manhood he not only
worked on the farm, but, like many other ener-
getic young men of his time, he also engaged in
school teaching. He studied law for two years,
and then entered the Law School at Albany,
New York, graduating in 1870. He was admit-
ted to the bar at a general term of the supreme
court in New York in June, 1870, and has since
then, first in New York and subsequently in
South Dakota, been in the active practice of his
profession. He came to Sioux Falls in the spring
of 18S3. At the election of officers for the pro-
posed state of South Dakota, under the Sioux
Falls constitution, he was elected judge of the
circuit court of the second district. At
the election in the fall of 1888 he was
elected a member of the territorial ' legis-
lature from the counties of Hanson, McCook and
Minnehaha, receiving a majority of four hun-
dred and ninety-eight votes over his competitor,
J. T. Gilbert, who had been elected to the pre-
vious term by a majority of one hundred and six-
ty-five votes. Mr. Keith was elected speaker of
the house of representatives and filled the posi-
tion with marked ability. He took a prominent
part in the division of the territory and the ad-
mission of the southern ,half as a state. He
stands high as a public speaker and is always lis-
tened to with marked attention. As a lawyer
he ranks among the best in the state. When
he is employed in a case, his opponents know
there is to be a contest from the beginning to the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

end. He is a sagacious trier of cases, a good
advocate and when summoned to a court of last
resort he is well equipped and able to make tlie
best presentation of his case. As a citizen he is
independent and enterprising and takes an active
part in all public matters. For several years he
was president of the Commercial Club and Busi-
ness Men's League of his city.

Afr. Keith is a prominent member of the
Baptist church, and is also well known in fra-
ternal circles, belonging to Masonic blue lodge
No. 5, the Scottish Rite consistory, the Mystic
Shrine and the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks, all at Sioux Falls. In politics he has al-
ways actively supported the Republican party.
He was elected city attorney of Sioux Falls in
1 901 and has since been retained in that office.

On the 9th of August, 1870, he was united
in marriage to Mary Katherine Spear, the daugh-
ter of Philitus B. Spear, D. D., of Hamilton, New
York, and to them have been born three children,
namely ; Flora Belle, who was graduated from
a ladies' seminary at Hamilton, New York ; Ed-
win Spear, who graduated from Pillsbury Acad-
emy, Owatonna, Minnesota, and took two years
in Chicago University, is now a successful mer-
chant in Bremerton, Washington ; Albert Jack-
son, who was graduated from Sioux Falls College
and the law department of the University of
Minnesota, is now practicing law with his father
at Sioux Falls.

EDWARD MOSCRIP, son of Thomas and
.Sally (Reynolds) Moscrip, was born in Dela-
ware county. New York, October 14, 1838. His
early years were spent in his native state, where
he grew to manhood on a farm, and in the sub-
scription schools of Delaware county he received
a fair education, his principal training, however,
being of an intensely practical nature, obtained
by coming in contact with the world in various
capacities. Mr. Moscrip followed agricultural
pursuits in New York until the year 1857, when
he went to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and engaged
in lumbering, continuing that line of business
tmtil 1S61. In the spring of the latter year he

responded to President Lincoln's call for volun-
teers by enlisting in Company E, Second Wis-
consin Infantry, which was part of the celebrated
Iron Brigade, the only brigade of western troops
in the Army of the Potomac, being the First
Brigade of the First Division, First Army Corps,
Army of the Potomac, with which he shared all
the realities of war in several of the southern
campaigns, taking part in some of the bloodiest
battles of the Rebellion, among which were the
first Bull Run, Gainesville, second Bull Run,
Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Antietam, Get-
tysburg, the Wilderness and many others, in all
of which his conduct was that of a brave and
heroic soldier who never hesitated when duty
called and whose record is one of which any
veteran might well feel proud. On May 10,
1864, in the battle of Spottsylvania Court House,
he was shot in the hip, the injury being such as
to render him almost helpless for a year, during
which time he received hospital attention at
various places, remaining for some time at the
Soldiers' Home in the city of New York. Mr.
Moscrip was discharged at Providence, Rhode
Island, in April, 1865, and immediately there-
after returned to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where in
the spring of the following year he resumed lum-
bering in the pineries of that state. He was quite
fortunate in this business and followed it about
seven years, during which time he realized con-
siderable wealth and laid the foundation of his
subsequent success as a farmer and stock raiser.
In the month of March, 1868, Mr. Moscrip was
united in marriage to Miss Margaret Gilmore,
of Illinois, and four years later, with his wife and
two children, drove from Wisconsin to Lincoln
county. South Dakota, and purchased a quarter
section of land in La Valley township, which he
improved and which he made his home during
the ensuing five years. Disposing of his place at
the end of that time, he bought the southwest
quarter of section 2, La Valley township, which he
still owns, converting his land the meanwhile into
j a finely cultivated and splendidly improved farm,
1 his dwelling and barn, erected in 1900, being
among the best buildings of the kind in the com-
i munity. As a farmer Mr. Aloscrip ranks with

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

179

the most enterprising and successful of Lincoln
county agriculturists, and he also has an enviable
reputation as a raiser of live stock, his horses,
cattle and hogs being carefully selected from the
most approved breeds and he seldom fails to
realize every year handsome profits from the sale
of these animals. Not only as an up-to-date
farmer and stock man is Mr. Moscrip known,
but he has long been before the people as a leader
in various public enterjirises, among which may
be noted the locating and laying out of high-
ways, the building up of the local school system,
also his activity and usefulness as chairman of
the town Ijoard. He is a Republican in politics,
and in 1890 represented Lincoln county in the
lower house of the legislature, a position un-
sought on his part, but filled with credit to him-
self and to his constituents. Mr. Moscrip be-
longs to several secret fraternities and benevolent
societies, among which are the Masonic lodge at
Sioux Falls, the L'''nion Veterans' LTnion at the
same place, and the Grand Army post, which
holds its sessions in Canton. The family of Mr.
and Mrs. Moscrip consists of one son and two
daughters, whose names in order of birth are ,
Annie. Elva and William G. The oldest daugh- j
ter married Joseph Shebal, a farmer and stock
raiser of LaValley township; Annie is the wife 1
of Charles Davey and lives on a farm in Wis- 1
consin, and William G., who married Miss Eva ,
Messner. is a resident of LaValley township and
a prosperous tiller of the soil.

A. JAMES GH-^FORD. M. D., one of the
popular and able young physicians and surgeons
of the state, living in the attractive little city of
Alexandria, Hanson county, was born in Carroll
count}', Iowa, on the 26th of July, 1871, being a
son of A. J. and S. M. Gififord, the former of
whom was born in the state of Pennsylvania
and the latter in England, the father being a
farmer by vocation. The subject secured his
early educational training in the public schools
of his native county, and in April, 1882, removed
to Miller. South Dakota, where he remained until
1807, when he was matriculated in the medical

department of the Iowa State LTniversity, at Iowa
City, where he completed the prescribed course
and was graduated as a member of the class of
igoi, when the degree of Doctor of Medicine was
duly conferred upon him. He came forth well
fortified for the work of his chosen profession,
and soon after his graduation came to Alexan-
dria, where he entered into partnership with
Dr. Maytum, concerning whom individual men-
tion is made on another page of this work, and
they were coadjutors in their professional work
under the firm name of Maytum & GifTord, until
the dissolution of the partnership, February i,
1904. Dr. Clifford is most appreciative of the
responsibility and the exacting duties of his pro-
fession and is devoted to its work, in which he
has been most successful. He is a member of the
South Dakota State Medical Society and takes
a deep interest in its work and deliberations, and
fraternally he is affiliated with the Ancient Order
of United Workmen and the Knights of the
Maccabees.

On the 20th of May, 1897, was solemnized
the marriage of Dr. Gifford to Miss Edith
Coka^iie, a daughter of Charles Cokayne, of St.
Lawrence, this state, and of this union has been
born one child, a winsome little daughter, Mar-
jorie.

JOHN E. UHRICH is a native of Alsace,
Germany, but since the year 1868 has been a.n
honored resident of South Dakota, consequently
he can legitimately claim to be one of the old
settlers of the state. Christian Uhrich, the sub-
ject's father, was a well-known teacher in Alsace
and in addition to educational work, in which he
spent twenty-four consecutive years, he was also
employed for a considerable time in the office of
the treasurer of state. He married in his native
land Louisa Zabe, and in 1866 came to America,
settling in Genesee county. New York, thence
two years later moved to Hutchinson county,
South I>akota, where he took up land on which
he spent the remainder of his days in retirement,
dying in the year 1886, his companion depart-
ing this life in 1895. To Christian and Louisa

i8o

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Uhrich were born eight children, seven of whom
are Hving, namely : Joseph, a farmer residing
in Hutchinson county. South Dakota : John B.,
of this review; Reichart, of Yankton, this. state:
Aladelinc, Qiristine and Christian, also living
in that city, and Victor, whose home is in Hutch-
inson county. Paul, the only member of the fam-
ily deceased, was the seventh in order of birth.

John P.. Uhrich spent his early life in his
native country and grew up pretty much after
the manner of the majority of lads in the father-
land. In 1865 he came to the United States and
after spending the ensuing two years in Genesee
county. New York, came to South Dakota and,
in partnership with his brother Joseph, engaged
in the draying business at Yankton. Two years
later he was united in marriage to Miss Eliza-
beth Rapsch, a native of Bohemia, and shortly
thereafter moved to Hutchinson countv and en-
tered a quarter section of land in township 99,
range 59, in which he now lives and which under
his labors and efficient management has been
brought to a high state of cultivation and other-
wise improved. ^Tr. Uhrich increased his real
estate from time to time until his farm now con-
tains five hundred acres of excellent land, in ad-
dition to which he recently gave two hundred
acres to his son. He has about two hundred
acres in cultivation and, in connection with gen-
eral farming, devotes a great deal of attention to
cattle, horses and hogs, having met with most
encouraging success both as an agriculturist and
a breeder and raiser of fine live stock. It is not
too much to claim for Mr. Uhrich distinctive
prestige as an enterprising farmer and public-
spirited man of affairs. He is a friend of edu-
cation and for a period of eighteen years was a
member of the local school board, in addition to
which he has also given his influence and support
to all measures having for their object the moral
and social, as well as the intellectual advance-
ment of the community.

Politically Mr. Uhrich is a Republican, but
he has steadily avoided position in partisan af-
fairs and refrained from seeking the honors or
emoluments of office. He and his estimable wife
have a large circle of friends and acquaintances

and their pleasant home is the abode of an open-
hearted hospitality. Mr. and Mrs. Uhrich have
a family of four children, the oldest of whom,
Mctor A., married Tillie Harnisch and lives on
the home farm ; Rehard, the third in order of
birth, is the wife of Charles Peshak, of Spokane,
Washington, a tinner by trade ; Joseph married
Mary Stoberal and lives at Petersburg. \'ir-
ginia, and Louisa, the youngest of the number,
IS still with her parents.

ROBERT S. PERSON is one of the hon-
ored citizens of the state, of which he has been
a resident since 1884. He has been identified
with public, educational and civic affairs, and at
the present time occupies the responsible position
of auditor of the United States treasury for the
interior department. He is a resident of Howard,
Miner county.

Mr. Person was born in Sheldon, Wyoming
county. New York, on the 14th of May, 1857.
and is a son of Solomon H. (1820-1861) and
Mary (Hamilton) Person (1825-1881), the for-
mer of English and the latter of Scotch lineage,
while both families became established in Amer-
ica in the colonial epoch. The father of the sub-
ject was a farmer by vocation, and both he and
his wife died in the state of New York. Robert
S. Person received his rudimentary discipline in
the district schools of his native county, and later
continued his studies in turn in the East Au-
rora Academy and Chesbrough Seminary, in the
Empire state, and in Beloit College, Wisconsin ;
he is also a graduate in law, having taken the de-
gree of Bachelor of Laws at Columbian I'niver-
sity, in the city of Washington.

Mr. Person's father died when the son was but
four years old. At the age of fourteen year.s
Robert severed home ties and after that he was
thrown largely upon his own resource's and be-
came the architect of his own fortunes. For the
next six years such education as he acquired
was with the proceeds of his own earnings,
either as a hired farm hand in summer or as a
teacher of country schools in winter. For pev-
eral vears he was successfullv engaged in teach-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ing, liaving been thus employed in New York,
Wisconsin and Dakota territory. In 1884 he or-
ganized the first public schools in Woonsocket,
Sanborn county, in the then territory of Dakota,
and was the principal of the high school at that
place for two years. He was also a member of
the board of trustees of the State Normal School
at Madison for several years.

While he was a student at Beloit College, Mr.
Person earned his way by tutoring and by repor-
torial work for the local press. The latter
opened a new and congenial vocation, which af-
forded him pleasure as well as a source of needed
revenue. In 1886 he engaged in newspaper work
at Woonsocket, and in 1888 he again located at
Howard, Miner county, where he was editor and
publisher of the Howard Press until September,
1807, when he disposed of the plant and business
to enter upon official duties at Washington, D. C,
in connection with the federal government. From

1895 to 1897, inclusive, Mr. Person held the po-
sition of secretary of the state senate, and from

1896 to 1898 he was secretary of the Republican
state central committee. He has rendered effi-
cient service in the promotion of the interests
of the party in South Dakota, and has been an in-
fluential factor in the party ranks ever since tak-
ing up his residence in the state. In June, 1897,
President McKinley appointed him deputy audi-
tor of the United States treasury for the depart-
ment of the interior, and after having filled that
office for a term of four years the late lamented
President appointed him auditor for the same de-
partment. This appointment was made in May,
1901, and in December of the same year Presi-
dent Roosevelt renewed the appointment, and
Mr. Person is still incumbent of the office, in
the administration of which it is acknowledged
he has demonstrated exceptional efficiency as a
public officer. His duties involve great respon-
sibilities, as about two hundred million dollars of
public funds annually are advanced through him
to agents, whose disbursements in turn must be
accounted for to him.

Among the cherished memories of Mr. Per-
son's associations with public men is the fact
that for seven years he enjoyed the personal

friendship of the late Jilarcus A. Hanna, United
States senator from the state of Ohio and chair-
man of the Republican national committee.

Mr. Person is a man of public spirit and
progressive ideas, and has ever shown a lively
interest in all that makes for the advancement
and material prosperity of South Dakota, of
which he may consistently be termed a pioneer.
In politics he is a Republican. His family are
comnuuiicants of the Protestant Episcopal
church.

On the 7th of August, 1884, Mr. Person was
united in marriage to Miss Ellen A. Persons,
who was born in Forbeston, Butte county. Cali-
fornia, on the 23d of February, 1857, being a
daughter of Dr. Horace T. and Jane (Fenton)
Persons. ^Ir. and Mrs. Person have had six-
children, of whom four are living, namelv : El-
len Bertha, who was born in 1885 : Ethel Marion,
who was born in 1892 : Horace Hamilton, who
was born in 1893, and Mary Katharine, who was
born in 1897. Helen Hamilton, who was born on
the fith of June, 1888, died on the 23d of Febru-
ary, 1889, and Robert S., Jr.. who was born De-
cember 17, 1889, died March 29th, 1S96.

PHILIP PFATLZGRAFF.— The name of
the subject of this review indicates his foreign
birth, also the part of the old world from which
he came. Philip Pfatlzgraff was born November
28, 1852, in Alsace Loraine, at that time under
the dominion of France, but now a part of the
German empiie, being the son of Frederick and
Magdalena (Schnaberger) Pfatlzgraff, both par-
ents natives of the same province. Bv occupa-
tion the father was a farmer, which trade he fol-
lowed the greater part of his life, both in Ger-
many and the United States. When a young man
he entered the French army and devoted sixteen
years to the military service, spending a part of
the time as a member of the band, having been
an accomplished musician, especially on his fa-
vorite 'instrument, the clarionet. Leaving the
army, he resumed his trade and continued to
work at the same in his native land until 1854.
when he came to the United States and located in

Il82

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Rochester, New York. After spending two
vears at nursery work in that city, he removed
to Cook county, IlHnois, where he purchased land
and devoted the ensuing fifteen years to agricul-
tural pursuits, changing his abode at the expira-
tion of that time to Butler county, Iowa, where
he also developed a farm and continued to live
the life of a contented and prosperous tiller of
the soil for a period of eighteen years, dying in
tlie town of Dumont on the 6th day of March,
1898. Mrs. PfatlzgrafT, who is still living at Du-
mont, Iowa, bore her husband seven children, the
subject of this sketch being the oldest of the
number. The others are George, a farmer of
Butler county, Iowa ; Fred, a hardware merchant
in the town of Dumont; Jacob, who is engaged
with his brother in the hardware business ; Mrs.
Elizabeth Schmitz, of Dumont ; Lena, whose
husband, Ernest Schmitz. is a general merchant
in the above town, and Qiarlotte. who married
William Ahrens. a grain dealer of the same
place.

Philip Pfatlzgraff was but two years old
when his parents came to this country, conse-
quently he has no recollection of the land of his
birth, being to all intents and purposes as much
a citizen of the United States as if he had been
born on American soil. During his youthful
years he attended the district schools of Butler
county and having been reared to agricultural
pursuits he early became familiar with the rug-
ged duties of the farm and grew up strong of
body and with a well-defined purpose to make
the most of his opportunities. Being the oldest
of the family much of the labor of the homestead
fell to him and he discharged the duty faithfully
and well, working early and late in the fields
and taking from his father's shoulders a great
deal of the work and responsibility of running
the farm. After remaining with his parents and
looking after their interests until twenty-five
years of age, he left home to make his own way
in the world and in February, 1877, came to
Bon Plomme county. South Dakota, locating at
the town of Loretta, where in due time he en-
gaged in general merchandising.

Air. Pfatlzgrafif's business proved prosperous

from the beginning and at this time he is pro-
prietor of one of the largest and most successful
mercantile establishments in the town, carrying
a full stock of all articles demanded by the gen-
eral trade, in addition to which he also handles
all kinds of produce, which he ships in large
quantities to the leading markets of the country.
He has an extensive patronage, which is becom-
ing larger every year and at this time the mag-
nitude of his trade will compare favorably with
that of any other merchant in the county out-
side the more populous centers.

Air. Pfatlzgraff possesses supreme financial
ability and has seldom if ever made any but for-
tunate investments. He owns fine town property,
improved and well cared for, and in addition
tliereto has purchased from time to time valuable
farm lands in dififerent parts of the county, in-
cluding the Henry Tjark place of eighty acres
and a quarter section in Jefferson township, half
of which is in cultivation. He leases the latter
tract, but cultivates his eighty-acre farm, raising
large crops of wheat, oats and corn, besides de-
voting considerable attention to live stock, spe-
cially to a fine grade of hogs, in the raising of
which he has-been quite successful and the pro-
ceeds from which add very materially to his in-
come. Mr. Pfatlzgraff has been postmaster at
Loretta for over twelve years and manages the
office with the same care and consideration mani-
fested in his individual business affairs. He
maintains an abiding interest in the growth and
development of the town, encouraging all meas-
ures for the general good of the community and
welfare of the people.

Politically he wields a potent influence for
the Republican party, the principles of which he
has advocated ever since old enough to exercise
the right of ballot, and fraternally holds member-
ship with the Odd Fellows lodge in Dumont,
Iowa. He has profound religious convictions
and is a firm believer in the truths of the German
Lutheran church, with which he has been iden-
tified since childhood.

The married life of Mr. Pfatlzgraff' dates from
1870, in September of which year he was wedded
to Aliss .\nna Aliller, of Dumont. Iowa, who has

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1 183

borne him two children, a daughter by the name
of Dora M. and a son, George W., both of whom
reside under the parental roof.

LAWRENCE H. WILLRODT, one of the
most prominent and successful farmers and stock
growers of Brule county, is a native of the prov-
ince of Schleswig, Germany, where he was born
on the 17th of May, 1845. He received a good
education in his native land, where he prepared
himself for the pedagogic profession, and after
coming to the United States he completed a
course in a commercial college at Davenport,
Iowa. At the age of twenty-two years he emi-
grated to America and took up his residence in
the city of Davenport, Iowa, where he taught a
German-American school about five years, being
very successful in his efforts. He then opened a
book and stationery store in that city, continuing
in this line of enterprise nearlv a decade, at the
expiration of which, in 1880. he came to what
is now Brule county. South Dakota, where he
entered homestead and timber claims, while later
he purchased one and one-half sections additional,
having at the present time a fine estate of twelve
hundred and eighty acres, of which about three
hundred and twenty acres are maintained under
a high state of cultivation, while the balance is
devoted to the raising of hay and to grazing
purposes, as our subject gives special attention
10 the raising of high-grade live stock, conduct-
ing operations on a quite extensive scale. He has
shown marked taste and discrimination in the
improvement of his farm, and has one of the
finest residences in this section, the house and
incidental improvements about the same repre-
senting an expenditure of about six thousand
dollars.

On the 1st of April. 1871, Mr. Willrodt was
united in marriage to Miss Mary P. Wagner,
who was born and reared in the city of St. Louis.
Missouri, she being a niece of ETon. John F.
Darby, who was a member of congress from
Missouri for a number of years and one of
the most eminent members of the bar of St.
Louis, while he was also one of the Icadinar bank-

ers of Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Willrodt are
the parents of three children, namely : Clara L.,
who is the wife of John O. Anderson, a prom-
inent stock raiser of Lyman county, this state ;
and L. Henry and Laura A., who remain at the
parental home, the latter being a student in the
high school at Chamberlain.

In his political adherency Mr. Willrodt is
stanchly arrayed in support of the principles of
the Democratic party and he has long been known
as one of its wheelhorses in this section of the
state, attending the various conventions as a dele-
gate and being an influential factor in the party
councils. In 1901 he was elected a representa-
tive of Brule county in the state senate, this be-
ing the second general assembly of the state and
one whose work tended to make history rapidly
for the new commonwealth. He served with abil-
ity and his course was such as to gain him un-
qualified endorsement on the part of his con-
stituents. He is identified with the Legion of
Honor in Iowa, of which he became a membei
in 1879.

WELLINGTON J. M.'VYTUM. M. D., is
engaged in the practice of his profession in the
city of Alexandria, Hanson county, and is known
as an able and successful ph^-sician and surgeon.
He is a native of the state of New York, having
been born in Penn Yan, Cayuga county, on the
nth of December, 1864, and being a son of
Charles and Emma Maytum. When he was
five years of age his parents removed to Wayne
count}', Iowa, where his father engaged in mill-
mg, and there the Doctor secured his earlv edu-
cational discipline in the public schools, being
graduated in the high school at Humeston, as a
member of the class of 1885. In 1888 he was
matriculated in the medical department of the
state university of Iowa, at Iowa City, where he
completed a thorough technical course and was
graduated in 1891, receiving his degree of Doc-
tor of Medicine. Shortly after his graduation
the Doctor came to South Dakota and took up
his residence in Alexandria, where he has since
been actively engaged in the practice of his

ii84

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

profession, the marked success and prestige which
have attended his efforts standing- as the best
voucher for his ability and earnest devotion to
the exacting duties of his chosen vocation. In
1896 he took a post-graduate course in the Chi-
cago PoIycHnic, and in 1900 he again took a
course of special study in this well-known insti-
tution, from which it is evident that he at all
times keeps in touch with the advances made
in the sciences of medicine and surgery. The
Doctor is a member of the South Dakota State
Medical Society, and was for six years secretary
and treasurer of the same. In 1894 he was elected
to the office of superintendent of schools of Han-
son county, and in the connection did much to
systematize and vitalize the work of education
in his jurisdiction, holding the position for two
years and making an enviable record. He is
a stanch adherent of the Democratic party and
takes a lively interest in public affairs of a local
nature. Fraternally he is identified with the
Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Work-
men, the Modern Woodmen of America, the
?\Iodern Brotherhood of America and the Yeo-
men. He is a skilled and successful physician,
a loyal citizen and a man who commands unqual-
ified confidence and esteem in the community in
which he has lived and labored to so goodly ends.
On the 18th of November, 1895, ^^- May-
tuni was united in marriage to Miss Lillie May
Svferd, who was born and reared in Wayne
county. Iowa, being a daughter of John and Eliza
Syferd, while she was a resident of Warsaw,
Iowa, at the time of her marriage. Of this union
have been born five children, namely: Charles K.,
Genevieve, Cecil, Thelma and Crvstal.

HARRIS FRANKLIN. — The qualities
which command the largest measure of material
success in human affairs are a clearness of un-
derstanding that brings into definite view from
the beginning the end desired and the most
available means of reacliing it ; a force of will
tireless in its persistency : and a quickness of de-
cision that instantly utilizes the commanding

points in any case. In the ratio in which they
possess these qualities men are great according
to their bent, and are the leaders of their fellows
from the rightful sovereignty innate in their indi-
vidual nature. There may be oratorical power —
depth of thought and grace of diction — in the
conjunction. Subtlety- in dialectics and copious-
ness of technical learning may not be wanting.
Social culture and masterful grace in all the
bland amenities of life may be present in abundant
measure. If so they are only added powers —
helpful, but not necessary. For it is the men
of action who move the world forward in its
destined course, especially in this intensely prac-
tical age. Where such men hail from, and the
circumstances of their birth and breeding, are
usually matters of little moment. Nature has no
favored spots for the creation of her choice
products. According to her needs and occasions
she is all Athens, all Stratford-on-Avon, all Wall
street. When a man is required for any specific
purpose, she produces him apparently without re-
gard to circumstances and fearlessly flings him
into the crisis. She knows her brood, and those
she singles out for great events never disappoint
her. Sometimes she even proves them in the
alembic of stern adversity, and then they come
forth from the trial only purified and strength-
ened for the work before them,

Harris Franklin, of Deadwood, is essentially
and notably a ^man of this character — clear in
perception, resolute in pursuit, quick and firm in
decision. These qualities have given him force
and leadership among men, and wrought out for
him a record in commercial and industrial life
creditable alike to himself and to the people in
whose service it has been made. He was l)orn in
Russian Poland on March 18, 1849, the son of Z.
and Ellen Franklin, also natives of that country.
His ancestors had resided there for countless
generations, had flourished and thriven there with
the flight of time, had borne their part in the
honorable history of their native land in peace
and war, and had been content to be numbered
among its ujeful citizens who faithfully per-
formed every public and private duty. It was
reserved for him to carrv the familv name and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

:i<\S

the qualities that gave it distinction into a dis-
tant country and the service of another people.
And for this duty his preparation, while neither
extensive nor showy, was consistent and sufficient.
His mother died in his infancy and he was reared
to the age of fifteen by hjs father, a busy exporter
of seeds, principally flax. He received a slender
education in the common schools, and was
thrown much on his own resources from boyhood.
In 1864 his father came to the United States and
located at Syracuse, New York. Four years
later he died at Des Moines, Iowa. In the mean-
time the son, in 1866, came to this country alone,
and also settled at Syracuse. He began his career
in his new home by carrying for two years
through western New York a peddler's pack,
weighing 100 pounds, and conducting the small
traffic it made possible. In 1868 he located at
Burlington, Iowa, and opened a small store
which he kept with profit until 1871. He then
sold out and moved to Nebraska City, Nebraska,
where he engaged in a wholesale and retail liq-
uor business, and became one nf its traveling
representatives and salesmen. He built up an ex-
tensive trade, but owing to extraordinary condi-
tions in 1873 he lost all he had. He then went
■on the road in the interest of a Oiuncil Bluffs
(Iowa) cigar company, in whose employ he re-
mained two years. At the end of that period he
gave up the job and going to Laramie, Wyo-
ming, he again embarked in the wholesale liquor
trade. His success in this venture was such that
in 1877 he opened a branch store at Gicyenne.
The year before this he spent a month in the
Black Hills inspecting the business conditions and
outlook, with the result that in 1878 he started
another branch at Deadwood. The next year he
i^old all his interests in Wyoming and took up his
residence at Deadwood permanently, having
passed the greater portion of the time in the
Hills after his first visit in 1876. The big fire
of September 26, 1879, swept away all his pos-
sessions and left him twenty thousand dollars in
debt. In this disaster he even lost all his extra
clothing except one shirt that happened to be at
a Chinese laundry in a portion of the town not
A'isited bv the fire. In the following November

he again started his liquor business, which he
carried on with increasing magnitude until 1890
when the prohibitory law went into eflfect. Be-
fore this, however, in 1881, having been taught
by experience that it was unwise to have all his
eggs in one basket, he started a cattle industry
on a small scale which he gradually enlarged and
promoted. In this he was on the highway to big
.success when the severe winter of 1886-7 caused
him considerable loss. But he did not abandon the
industry and is still extensively engaged in it.
In 1886 he became interested in mining and the
next year organized the Golden Reward Mining
Company, of which he served as president until
1896. He then sold the greater part of his in-
terest in the company to New York capitalists,
gave up the presidency to E. H. Harriman, and
became vice-president, a position he still holds.
In 1895, turning his attention to finance, for
which he has peculiar fitness, he organized the
.\merican National Bank of Deadwood, with a
capital stock of fifty thousand dollars. That this
bank has flourished vigorously under his manage-
ment is shown by the fact that it now has a sur-
plus and undivided profits amounting to two
hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. He
was its president until 1902, when he bought a
controlling interest in the First National Bank of
Deadwood, and since then he has been president
of that institution. It has a capital of one hun-
dred thousand dollars, with a surplus of ninety
thousand dollars. But he is still one of the direc-
tors and the active manager of the American
National. When Mr. Franklin organized the
Golden Reward Mining Company the Ruby basin
district was almost valueless because there was
no way of extracting the precious metals from the
ore at a profit. He then passed four years in
efiforts to overcome this difficulty, and was finally
rewarded with the discovery of a chlorination
process which greatly cheapened the work and
made it pay. In 1890 his process was put in op-
eration with complete machinery, and his became
the first successful chlorination plant in the world
in practical use. Previous to this some such pro-
cess 'had been used in Grass Valley. California,
but it was never able to bring the cost of treating

ii86

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ores below twenty-five dollars a ton, whereas,
during the last two years his plant worked it
treated them at a cost of but three dollars and fif-
ty-one cents a ton. This enterprise was the mak-
ing of the Black Hills as a permanently profit-
able mining center, but the plant was destroyed
by fire in 1899. Since then the company has
owned and operated an extensive smelter, and
also built a well equipped cyanide plant on the site
of the burnt property. In addition to his interest
in this company Mr. Franklin has extensive hold-
ings in other mining properties, among them the
Deadwood & Delaware smelter, of which he is
the head and controlling spirit, and which has
recently largely increased its capacity. He is de-
voted to his various business interests, and has no
time or taste for public life. He is therefore in-
dependent of party control in politics, and has
never sought or desired public office. He is, how-
ever, earnestly and intelligently interested in the
advancement and general welfare of his city,
county and state, and withholds no effort needed
on his part to promote them.

On Januan' i, 1870, Mr. Franklin was mar-
ried to Miss Anna Steiner, a native of Hanover,
Germany, who came to the United States with
her parents when she was one year old, and was
reared and educated in New York state. She
died on January 10, 1902, leaving one child, a
son, Nathan E. Franklin, who received his scho-
lastic education in the public schools of Deadwood
and was afterward graduated from the depart-
ment of pharmacy in the University of Notre
Dame, in Indiana. , He is now cashier of the
American National Bank, of Deadwood.

In 1893 a movement was started by the busi-
ness men of Deadwood to build a first-class mod-
ern hotel in the city. Mr. Franklin took a great
interest- and a leiading part in the project, and the
result is the splendid hostelry known as the Hotel
Franklin, which was named in his honor. The
sum. of forty thousand dollars was expended in
purchasing the site and laying the foundation,
then on account of the general depression of busi-
ness the enterprise lay dormant for about nine
years. But two or three years ago, mainly
through Mr. Franklin's influence, it was revived

and the building was completed. In addition to
the expense already incurred, the sum of one
hundred and ten thousand dollars more was in-
vested in it, and of this Mr. Franklin put in fif-
ty thousand dollars. The hotel was opened for
business in July, 1903, and is one of the most ele-
gant and complete in the Northwest. ^Ir. Frank-
lin has contributed liberally to other enterprises
for the improvement of the town and the advan-
tage of its people, and has probably done more
than any other person for the development and
progress of the whole Black Hills region. In
1881 he was the promoter and carried to success-
ful completion the first flour mill of Deadwood,
'■•ith a capacity of two hundred barrels of flour
per day. The mill burned, however, in 1897 a^f^
vas not rebuilt. An electric light plant had been
installed and operated a couple of years, when it
was abandoned as an unsuccessful enterprise. In
18S7 Mr. Franklin came forward with others
and bought the plant and put it upon a permanent
and successful basis with modern methods. In all
the relations of life and in every field of labor in
which he has engaged he has exemplified in a.
signal degree the best attributes of American
citizenship, and he has the satisfaction of not
onh' seeing the results? of his energy and public
spirit blooming and fructifying around him, but
of being securely established in the lasting regard
and good will of his fellow men wherever he is
known.

WIULIAM H. MARTIN.— The city of
Sioux Falls is signally favored in having at the
head of its police department so able an execu-
tive as Chief Martin, who has shown the ut-
most discrimination and force in the discharge
of the executive duties of this important branch
of the municipal government. Mr. Martin is a
native of the state of Wisconsin, having been
born in the town of Ashippun, Dodge county,
on the 17th of February, 1850, and being a son
of John Duncan Martin and Caroline (Wilks)
Martin, both of whom were born and reared in
Dundee, Scotland. The future chief received
his early educational training in the public schools

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1 187

of his native town, and was reared to the sturdy
discipline of the homestead farm. When but
fifteen years of age he gave significant evidence
of his patriotism and youthful valor by going
forth in defense of the Union, whose integrity
was then jeopardized by armed rebellion. He
enlisted as a private in Company I, Forty-eighth
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which he
proceeded to the front, where he proved him-
self a faithful young soldier, being mustered out
on the 24th of June, 1865, and receiving his hon-
orable discharge. He then returned home and
soon afterward entered upon an apprenticeship
at the carpenter's trade, becoming a skilled artisan
in the line and continuing to follow his trade
as a vocation for several years. When twenty-
one years of age he was elected constable of his
native town, in which capacity he gained his first
experience in the handling of malefactors, proving
himself a capable officer and remaining incum-
bent of the position for a period of six years. In
1876 he removed to Waukesha county, Wisconsin,
where he was engaged in contracting and build-
ing until 1882, when he was appointed deputy
sherifif of the county, being inducted into this of-
fice on the 1st of January and serving until
1888, making an excellent record. He then came
to South Dakota and located in Sioux Falls,
where he was engaged in building until May 7,
1890, when he was appointed a member of the
police force of the city, serving two years as pa-
trolman and being then, on the ist of May, 1892,
appointed to the position of chief of the police
department, giving a most able administration
of the office and being reappointed on the 3d of
November, 1895, for a term of two years. In
1897-8 he was a guard at the state penitentiary,
in this city, and on the 2d of May, 1900, there
came a distinctive hark of the popular apprecia-
tion of his abilit}^ and former services, in his
reappointment to the position of chief of the
police department, of which he has since re-
mained in tenure. In politics the chief is a
stanch Republican, and fraternally is identified
with Unity Lodge, No. 130, Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons; Sioux Falls Lodge, No. 262.
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks ; Toe

Hooker Post, No. 10, Grand Army of the Repub-
lic ; and Jasper Lodge, No. 9, Ancient Order of
United Workmen.

On the 13th of December, 1876, Mr. Martin
was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Best,
daughter of John and Margaret Best, of Dous-
man, Wisconsin, and they have one child, Stella
M., who remains at the parental home, being one
of the popular young ladies of the city.

CHRISTIAN ,C. FLEISCHER, D. D. S.,
whose finely equipped offices are located in the
Van Eps buildino;, Sioux Falls, is a native of the
state of Wisconsin, having been born in the city
of La Crosse, on the 13th of November, 1875,
and being a son of Frederick and Josephine
(Johnson) Fleischer, the former of whom died
November 12, 1878, while the mother now makes
her home with the subject. The Doctor com-
pleted the curriculum of the public and high
schools of his native city, and in 1892 was matric-
ulated in the Chicago College of Dental Surgery,
in the citv of Chicago, where he was graduated
as a member of the class of 1898, receiving his
degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery, and being
thoroughly well equipped for the active work of
his chosen profession. He initiated the practice
of dentistry in his home city of La Crosse, where
he remained thus engaged until September, 1901,
when he came to Sioux Falls and here estab-
lished himself in practice. He has gained a rep-
resentative support and has already built up an
excellent business, which shows a constantly
cumulative tendency, as his abilities and devotion
to his work become the better recognized. His
office is supplied with the best mechanical devices
and laboratory appurtenances, while the opera-
tive department is thoroughly modern in its
equipment and facilities. Dr. Fleischer has ever
given his allegiance to the Republican party, and
his religious views are in harmony with the ten-
ets of the Norwegian Lutheran church. He is a
1>achelor. The father of the Doctor was a native
of Norway and was a man of high intellectuality
and sterling character. He was for many years
prominentl}- engaged in the newspaper business.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

having- been editor and proprietor of the Fedre-
landent oq- Emegranten, which exercised marked
power and influence in connection with the colo-
nization and material development of the west-
ern states. The subject is a charter member
of the Psi Omeea dental fraternity.

JOHN A. BOWLER was born April 8, t86i,
in North Adams, Massachusetts, and at the age
of six vears remioved with his parents, William
and Bridget (Malvey) Bowl,er, to Sparta, Wis-
consin, near which place he grew to maturity on a
farm, and in the public schools of which he re-
ceived his educational training. He remained
at home assisting his father until his twentieth
year, and then engaged in the implement busi-
ness at Sparta, but after spending about one year
in that town, he, in 1882, came to South Dakota,
locating at Groton, where he became a member
of the well-known implement and machinery
firm of Short & Bowler. This relationship con-
tinued until 1884, when the subject purchased
his partner's interest and since that time he has
carried on business at the old stand, in connec-
tion with which he also conducted a branch es-
tablishment at Sioux Falls from i8q6 to 1899.
In 190.-^ Mr. Bowler bought an interest in the
Western Security Company, of Sioux Falls, and
from that time to the present he has been actively
engaged with the enterprise as president and
g-eneral manager, its continued success and pros-
perity being largely the result of his energy and
correct business methods.

Mr. Bowler has won a conspicuous jilace in
the business circles of SiouK Falls and Groton
and has also been influential in all that concerns
the material advancement of the two places, be-
ing a forceful factor in promoting all legitimate
enterprises and to no small degree a leader in
public afifairs. He is a zealous and uncompro-
mising Democrat and for a number of years has
been pro~minent in the councils of his party, both
locally and throughout the state, his ability as an
organizer tog'ether with his judicious leadership
gaining him such wide and favorable recogni-
tion that in 1894 'i*-' was chosen chairman of

the state central committee. In this responsible
and exacting position he demonstrated ability and
resourcefulness of a high order and so thor-
oughly was the party organized under his man-
agement and so earnestly and effectively did he
conduct the campaign of the above year, that for
the first time in its history the state \vas carried
by the Democracy. In the year 1902 Mr. Bowler
was the choice of his party for United States
senator, and received the full vote of the Demo-
cratic side of both houses of the legislature, but
failed of election by reason of the large Repub-
lican majority. He made a gallant and dignified
fight, however, and in addition to receiving' the
endorsement of the Democracy of the state, won
many warm friends among those opposed to him
by political ties. He held the chairmanship for a
period of six years and the meantime. May, 1899,
was appointed by Governor Lee warden of the
state penitentiary, the duties of which position
he discharged in an able and business-like man-
ner until 1901, his administration being one of
the most creditable and satisfactory in the his-
tory of the institution.

Mr. Bowler is a man without an enemy,
for his large humanity embraces all his race
and neither party feuds nor religious dififerences
are able to separate him from his kind nor mar
the cordiality of his social relations. Fraternally
he is a member of the Benevolent and Protec-
tive Order of Elks, belonging to the lodee at
Sioux Falls, and at various times he has held im-
portant official positions in the organization. He
is also a Knight of Columbus, at Sioux Falls,
being grand knight of the local lodge, and dis-
trict deputy.

ATr. Bowler was married at Sparta. Wiscon-
sin. December 31, 1883, to ATis? Mary F. Line-
ban, of that place, a lady of valued culture and
.sterling character and a favorite in the best so-
cial circles of lier present place of residence.

JOHN C. Mc\^\Y.— This honored citizen of
St. Lawrence, Hand county, where he is now liv-
ing practically retired from active business, was
born on a farm in Knox county, Ohio, on the i8th

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

189

of October, 1834, so that he has nearly attained
the age of three score years and ten. He is a
son of Wilhani 1!. and Sarah (Love) Mc\'ay.
both representatives of old and prominent fami-
lies of Pennsylvania. The McVay family is of
Scotch-Irish extraction and the original American
progenitors came to this country in the crilonial
days, while the name early became linked with
the history of the old Keystone state. Our sub-
ject is one in a family of ten children, whose
i names in order of birth are as follows : Byram
B., John C, Mary A., Emily P., William AL.
Leonard S.. Rebecca J., Malinda, Thomas R. and
Columbia. Oi the number eight are living at the
present time. The subject secured his early ed-
ucation in the common schools of his native state
and then took a course in an excellent academy
at Chesterville. the same being conducted under
the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal church,
lie taught and attended school alternately until
he had attained the age of twent3'-two years.
He then, in company with his parents and other
members of the family, removed to Illinois, where
he passed about one year looking about for an
eligible location, and removed to Garden Grove,
Decatur county, Iowa, where the honored par-
ents passed the remainder of their long and use-
ful 'lives. There the subject devoted his atten-
[ tion principally to teaching until he felt that a
[ higher duty called him, the nation being en-
gaged in the great civil war. In August. 1862,
he accordingly enlisted in Company A, Thirty-
fourth Iowa A'olunteer Infantry. His regiment
was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland
and saw much hard service, participating in a
number of the notable battles incident to the prog-
ress of the great conflict. In the engagement at
Arkansas Post Mr. McVay was wounded in the
right foot, being permanently disabled. He took
part in the first attack on the city of Vicksburg,
under General Sherman, and later was on de-
tached duty for some time, being finally dis-
charcred in April, 1863, bv reason of disabilities
resulting from the wounds which he had re-
ceived. After the close of his military career
]\Ir. McVay returned to his home in Iowa, where
he continued to be engaged principallv in the in-

surance business until his removal to the territory
of Dakota, in 1882. He settled in Hand county,
where he took up three quarter sections of gov-
ernment land, which he improved and brought
under a high state of cultivation, giving his at-
tention chiefly to sheep raising. The family
now own twi) entire sections of land in the
countx' and the name is one which is honored in
this section of the state, with whose development
and progress it has been so intimately linked
from the formative period to the present time,
Mr. McVay has continued to reside on his farm
until the present time, his home being practically
in the village of Miller. He was for many years
prominently identified with the insurance busi-
ness, in which he met with marked success.
From this source he laid the foundation for his
present competency, and also secured the means
to provide exceptionally good educational ad-
vantages for his large family of children, whose
lives have been such as to amply compensate him
for his solicitude and care. In politics Air.
McVav has given a stalwart support to the Re-
publican party from the time of its organization
to the present, but he has never had any ambition
for public office and has never held such. He
has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church for the past fifty years, and his wife was
likewise a devoted communicant of the same.
Fraternally he is affiliated with the Grand Army
of the Republic, at Wessinglon, South Dakota,
On the 4th of July, 1859, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Mc\'ay to Miss Hattie Coffin,
of Newton, Illinois. She was born in Pennsyl-
vania on the 14th of August, 1834-, and was a
successful and popular teacher in Godfrey, Illi-
nois, for a number of years prior to her marriage,
having been educated in Oberlin College, Ohio,
Mrs, McVay was a woman of noble character
and gracious presence, endearing herself to all
with whom she came in contact, while she proved
a devoted wife and helpmeet during the long pe-
riod of nearly a half century, being summoned
into eternal rest on the nth of August, 1899.
To her loved husband and children the memory
of her pure and gentle life rests like a parma-
nent benediction and thus is granted a measure

1 190

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of compensation for her loss. Of this union were
born nine children, concerning whom we enter
the following- brief record: Horace M. died at
the age of four years; Herbert H. died at the
age of two and one-half years ; and William
L. passed away at the age of nine months.
Bruce graduated at Mitchell University and is
principal of the public schools at Highmore,
Hyde county ; Louise, who was formerly a pop-
ular teacher in the public schools, is now the
wife of George B. Lincoln, a special agent of the
government, in New York City; Winifred is a
graduate of Mitchell University and took the
state oratorical prize and second in the inter-
state contest at Fargo, South Dakota. She was
likewise a successful teacher and is now the
wife of Llewellyn Sage, who is an extensive
ranchman nfear Salida, Colorado ; Ward B. took'
a business course at Mitchell Lfniversity and is
engaged in fanning and stock growing in Hand
county, South Dakota ; Emma Maude is a grad-
uate of Highland Park College, Des Moines,
Iowa, and is now pursuing her fourth year as
a teacher in the primary department of the pub-
lic schools of Miller ; and Mary Abigail is a suc-
cessful teacher of music in St. Lawrence, using
the famous Burrows kindergarten system in her
work with children. The family is one of prom-
inence in the social, religious and educational
life of the county and it is eminently gratifying
to present this sketch in a work which has to do
with those who have wrought well in the great
state to which this historv is devoted.

LEVI STONE TYLER, secretary of the
Retail Merchants' Fire Insurance Company, of
South Dakota, whose home offices are in the
city of Sioux Falls, was born in Green-
field, Massachusetts, on the 7th of June, 1847,
and is a son of Levi and Sarah C. (Harring-
ton) Tyler, representatives of prominent old fam-
ilies of New England. He secured his educa-
tion in the public schools of his native town, be-
ing graduated in the high school as a member
of the class of t86i, after which he was for a
short interval employed in a clerical capacity

in a mercantile establishment in Greenfield. He
then became identified with the express business
and in the connection was finally advanced to
the position of local agent in his home town,
where he remained until 1868, when, at the age
of eighteen years, he determined to follow the
advice of Horace Greeley and "go west and grow
up with the country." He visited Cheyenne,
Wyoming, and Omaha, Nebraska, and finally
located in Des Moines, Iowa, where he clerked
in a store about one year, at the expiration of
which he removed to Dallas county, that state,
and located in Xenia, where he opened a gen-
eral store, where he built up a successful busi-
ness, while for two years he served as post-
master of the village. When the first railroad
was completed through that section the new
town of Perry sprung- up on its line, Xenia be-
ing a number of miles distant from the railroad,
and Mr. Tyler removed his stock of goods to the
former place, where he successfully continued
business for the ensuing four years, at the expi-
ration of which he disposed of his interests there
and returned to Des Moines, where he was again
engaged in clerking about two years. He then
accepted the position of messenger for the Amer-
ican Express Company on the run between Fort
Dodge and Minneapolis, while later he was as-
signed to the run between Tracy and Pierre.
In the spring of 1881 he filed entry on a pre-
emption claim in Hand county, this state, and
remained on the same until he had perfected his
title. He then returned to Tracy, Minnesota, and
again became a railway express messenger, in
which capacity he was employed until June, 1887,
when he was appointed agent for the American
Express Company at Tracy, Minnesota, of which
office he was incumbent until October 12, 1892.
In that year he was elected a member of the
^Minnesota legislature, representing the six-
teenth district, and he proved a valuable working
member of the assembly, while he takes justifi-
able pride in the work he there accomplished in
connection with providing for the erection of
the new state capitol. in the city of St. Paul.
At the close of his term as a member of the legis-
lature he became traveling auditor for the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1191

American Express Company, and at the expira-
tion of a year became agent for the company in
the city of Duluth, where he remained a short
time, being then made the company's agent in
the city of Sioux Falls, in 1894. He continued
in tenure of this position until 1898, when he
was elected to the state senate, being nominated
as a silver Republican. After the expiration of
his term in the senate he became bookkeeper at
the state penitentiary, in this city, retaining the
office until 1901, when a change in political dom-
ination led to his retirement. In the autumn of
that year he opened a general store at Harrisburg,
Lincoln county, where he effected the organiza-
tion of the T^'ler Mercantile Company, of which
he has since been secretary and treasurer, the
business having already grown to be one of very
considerable scope and importance. At the con-
vention of the Retail Merchants' Association held
in Sioux Falls in January, 1903. he was one of
those prominently concerned in the organization
of the Retail Merchints' Fire Insurance Com-
piny. of which he was chosen secretary at the
time, while he is also a member of its board of
directors. Through his executive and adminis-
trative ability the work of the company has been
signally advanced and its affairs are in a most
prosperous condition. He is one of the liberal
and progressive citizens of the state and is held
in high regard in both business and social cir-
cles. In politics he was originally a Republican,
but in 1896 identified himself with the Bryan
Democracy, being convinced that the financial
policy of the party as defined in the Kansas City
platform is best calculated to further the public
prosperity of the nation, and he has ever taken a
lively interest in political affairs. Fraternally
be is identified with the Sioux Falls lodge of the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

On the i8tb of February, 1873, Mr. Tyler
was united in marriage to j\liss Josephine Alice
Perkins, who was born and reared in Indian-
apolis, Indiana, while their marriage was solem-
nized in Dallas Center, Iowa, of which place she
w^s a resident at the time. Mr. and Mrs. Tyler
have three children, Persis Uretta, who is the
Avife of Wellington Andrews, of .Sioux Falls :

Nathaniel Stone, who is a resident of Cherokee,
Iowa ; and Josephine Alice, who is the wife of
Sioux K. Grigsby, of Sioux Falls.

HENRY M. JONES, general manager of
the extensive business of the B.' C. McClossan
Fruit Company, of Sioux Falls, and one of the
enterprising and popular business men of the
state, is a native of Utah, having been born in
Wasatch, that state, on the loth of March, 1870,
and being a son of William and Ellen M. (Keli-
her) Jones, who came to South Dakota in 1877.
The father died at Spearfish, this state, in 1886.
while the mother is still living, maintaining her
home in Lead, this state. The subject of this
review secured his preliminary scholastic train-
mg in the public schools and then entered the
normal school at Spearfish, this state, where he
was graduated as a member of the class of 1887,
which was the first class graduated in the insti-
tution. His father had become prominently iden-
tified with the cattle industry in this section, and
until 1886 the subject worked on the great ranges
during the summer months, spending the win-
ters in school. In 1886 he secured employment
in the office of the Homestake Mining Company,
at Lead, where he remained until 1888, when he
became traveling salesman for B. C. McClossan,
wholesale fruit dealer in Sioux Falls, being thus
engaged until 1897, and thereafter he was em-
ployed about one year as traveling salesman for
a cigar manufactory in Sioux City. In the
spring of 1898 Mr. Jones again entered the em-
ploy of B. C. McClossan and in the fall of the
same year the business was incorporated, under
the present title of the B. C. McClossan Fruit
Company, Mr. Jones becoming one of the stock-
holders of the concern and being chosen secre-
tary and treasurer of the company, while later
he was made general manager, in which ca]5acity
he has since continued to render most effective
service, doing much to promote the expansion of
the successful enterprise with which he is thus
identified. In politics he has always given his
allegiance to the Republican partv, but he has

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

never sousjlit nor desired the honors or emolu-
ments of pubhc office.

On the Jth of June. 1899, Air. Jones was
united in marriage with Miss Lois Ray, of Salem,
;\Iissouri. and they have a winsome little daugh-
te", Linne Lois, who was born on the 19th of
I\Iay. 1901.

CHRISTF.X C. IIRATRUD was born on a
farm on Root prairie, Fillmore county, Minne-
sota, on the 27th of December. 1855. and was
thus reared amid the scenes of pioneer life in
that state, being a son of Ole C. and Ambjor
Bratrud, the former of whom was born in Sigdal
and the latter in Eggedal, Norway, from which
fair Xorseland they came to America and be-
came pioneers of Fillmore county, Minnesota,
where by industry and honesty the father attained
a position of independence, becoming one of the
successful and highly honored farmers of that
section. The subject was reared on the home-
stead farm and early began to assist in its work,
while his educational advantages were such as
were afiforded in the common schools of the
locality and period. In 1883 he came to South
Dakota and located in Estelline. Hamlin county,
where he was engaged in the buying and ship-
ping of grain for the ensuing four A^ears. In the
autumn of 1887 he removed to Bryant, in the
same county, where he became identified with
mercantile pursuits, having an interest in a gen-
eral store. In the following year he effected the
organization of the Merchants' Bank, of that
place, and had the supervision of its afifairs until
1893. In 1894 he closed out his interests in Bry-
ant and came to Sioux Falls, where he has since
been successfully engaged in the real-estate and
loan business, his books at all times showing
most desirable investments, particularly in choice
lands in the southeastern part of the state and
residence and business property in the city of
.Sioux Falls. He is a loyal citizen and takes an
active interest in all that makes for the progress
and material prosperity of the .state of his adop-
tion, the state in which he has attained success
through his own well-directed efforts, while he

has so ordered his life in all its relations as to
merit and receive the unqualified esteem of his
fellow men. In politics he exercises his fran-
chise in support of the Republican party and its
principles ; he is an appreciative member of the
Masonic fraternity and both he and his wife are
prominent and valued members of the Norwe-
gian Evangelical Lutheran church in their home
city.

On the 20th of November, 1897, Mr. Bratrud
was united in marriage to Miss Ellen i\Iarie
Strom, who was born in the beautiful old city of
Giristiania, Norway, on the ist of January, 1873.
being a daughter of Feodor and Elizabeth
Strom.

OLIVER S. PENDAR. the virtual founder
of the town of Salem, McCook county,
which he named in honor of his native place, and
one of the popular and well-known citizens of
Sioux Falls, where he holds the responsible of-
fice of clerk of both the United States circuit
and district courts, was born in the historic old
city of .Salem, Massachusetts, on the 29th of
September, 1857, and comes of stanch old colo-
nial stock. He secured his early education in the
public schools and was graduated in the Salem
high school, where he was reared to manhood.
In 1877, at the age of twenty years, he started
for the west, believing that better opportunities
were here afforded for advancement through
personal effort. He was located in the citv' of
]Minneapolis for one year, at the expiration of
which, in 1878. he cast in his lot with the pio-
neers of what is now the state of South Dakota,
taking up his residence in McCook county, where
he took up a timber and a pre-emption claim, in
due tiiTie perfecting his title to the propertv, to
whose improvement he gave his attention. In
1879 a postoffice was established at the point
now occupied by the flourishing little city of
Salem and the subject was appointed the first
postmaster, while he gave the name of Salem
to the same in grateful memory of his home town,
while the title was retained by the village which
eventually grew up on the site. In connection

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

with his official duties as postmaster he estab-
Hshed a general store, in 1879, and continued to
conduct the same until 1886, having been the first
merchant of Salem and having built up an ex-
cellent trade. In the year last mentioned he
turned his attention to the real-estate and loan
business, in which line he successfully conducted
operations until 1890, when he was appointed
clerk of the United States district court and re-
moved to the city of Sioux Falls, having re-
ceived this appointment on the 30th of January,
at the hands of Judge Edgerton, who was then
presiding on the bench of the district court for
tJie district comprising the state. On the 17th of
the following June, Mr. Pendar received from
Judge Caldwell the appointment of clerk of the
United States circuit court for the same district,
which office he still holds. The district clerkship
lie retained until October, 1891, when he retired
from ihe same, but on the 26th of Deccmlier,
1896, Judge Garland reappointed him to the of-
fice and he has since been in tenure of both, giv-
ing a service which has been satisfactory to all
concerned. As has been said of him in another
pulilished article he is "a genial good fellow,
well liked by everybody, and is a competent offi-
cial." In politics he has ever been an uncom-
promising Republican, and up to 1888 he took an
active part in the political affairs of the territory,
having served as a delegate to several territorial
and state conventions. He is a Knight Templar
Mason and is also identified with the auxiliary
organi:^ation, the Ancient Arabic Order of the
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

In 1883 Air. Pendar was united in marriage
to Miss JMary E. Flint, who was born and reared
in his native town of Salem, Massachusetts, the
date of the marriage having been November ist
of the year mentioned. She died in July of the
following year (1884.)

ERWIN J. TRACY, son of Squire and
Graty P. (Leonard) Tracy, is a native of New
'^^ork. born in St. Lawrence county, that state,
on the 2 1st day of July, 1846. When ten years

old he was taken by his parents to Sterling, Illi-
nois, where he entered the public schools, the
training thus received being afterwards supple-
mented by a classical course in the Mt. Morris
Seminary, from which institution he was gradu-
ated at the age of twenty-four. After finishing
his education, Mr. Tracy, in 1871, went to Wis-
consin, where he engaged in teaching, spending
in all about two and a half years in that line of
work, divided about equally between the states
of Wisconsin and Illinois. Abandoning the
school room, he next embarked in the mercantile
business at Arcadia, Wisconsin, where he re-
mained three and a half years and built up a lu-
crative trade, but at the expiration of that time
he disposed of his establishment and in the fall
of 1877 came to .South Dakota, locating on a
quarter scctipn of land near the city of Sioux
Falls. During the ensuing twenty years Mr.
Tracy devoted his attention exclusively to agri-
culture, with a large measure of financial suc-
cess, accumulating the meanwhile a sufficiency of
this world's goods to place him in independent
circilmstances. In the fall of 1897 he quit the
farm and, moving to Sioux Falls, engaged in the
real-estate and insurance business, which he still
carries on and in which he has built up a large,
far-reaching and lucrative patronage.

Lentil 1888 Mr. Tracy was a Republican, but
that year he cast his lot with the Populist party,
and became one of its active and influential work-
ers in Minnehaha county. He was chosen dele-
gate to four state conventions, was prominent in
local politics, but put forth no efforts to advance
his own interests, never having been an aspirant
for public office. Subsequently he became dis-
satisfied with the principles and policies of Popu-
lism and this disaffection continuing to grow
in intensity, he finally withdrew from the move-
ment and returned to the folds of the Republi-
can party, of which he has since been a zealous
and uncompromising supporter.

Mr. Tracy, in 1879. was one of the organizers
of the town of Wayne ; he served as township
clerk for some years, also held the offices of
township treasurer, justice of the peace and road
overseer, and took a leading part in forwarding

[194

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the various interests of his community, mate-
rially and otherwise.

Mr. Tracy is in every respect a representative
man, and his present commendable standing in
business circles is the result of sound intelligence
and clear judgment, directed and controlled by
wise forethought. Fraternally he belongs to the
Order of Home Guardians and the Improved
Order of Red Men, in both of which organiza-
tions he has been honored with important official
positions. Mr. Tracy was married in 1871 to
Miss Flora O. Kipp, the union resulting in the
birth of two sons, Lloyd E., of Tacoma, W-ash-
ington, and Earle H., who makes his home at
Hibbing, Minnesota.

WILLIS R. WOOD, who is engaged in the
lumber business at Parker, Turner county, is a
native of the Badger state, having been born on
a farm in Columbia county, Wisconsin, on the
23d of October, 1859, a son of Norman I. and
Julia A. (Welliver) Wood, who were pioneers
of that state, where the former was a successful
farmer. The parents are now living in Green
Lake county, Wisconsin. After completing the
curriculum of the public schools the subject sup-
plemented this discipline by a course of study, in
the Wisconsin State Normal School at Oshkosh,
this being in the year 1880. He thereafter taught
school for a short time in his native state, after
which he removed to Winterset, Iowa, where
he was identified with the lumber business until
August, 1884, when he came to Parker, South
Dakota, as manager of the local interests of the
Oshkosh Lumber Company, of Oshkosh, Wis-
consin, which then maintained a number of lum-
ber yards along the line of the Chicago, Milwau-
kee & St. Paul Railroad. He thus continued in
the employ of this company about five years, at
the expiration of which he became associated
with Charles W. Davis, of Oshkosh, in the pur-
chase of the interests of the afore mentioned
company in Parker and Alexandria, South Da-
kota, and since that time the enterprise has been
continued under the firm name of W. R. Wood
& Company, the business having become one

of no inconsiderable scope and importance. In
1895 Mr. Wood purchased of Vale P. Thielman
his abstract, land and loan business, at Parker.
This enterprise was established by Mr. Thielman
in 1870 and was conducted by him for a quarter
of a century, thus having the prestige of being the
oldest of the sort in the county, its foundation
having been contemporaneous with the issuing
of the patent of the first quarter section of land
in the county, so that it figures as a distinctively
pioneer institution. In politics Mr. Wood has
ever been stanchly arrayed in support of the
Republican party and its principles, and while
he takes a deep interest in public affairs of a local
nature he has never been a seeker of official pre-
ferment. Fraternally he is identified with Parker
Lodge, No. 30, Free and Accepted Masons ;
Parker Lodge, No. 88, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows; and Monitor Lodge. No. 57,
Knights of Pythias, all of Parker. On January
19, 19D4, Mr. Wood was united in marriage to
Miss E. Belle Waterburv. of Nashua. Iowa.

JOSEPH P. GRABER, the able and popu-
lar superintendent of schools of Turner county,
was bom in Waldheim, Wolinska Gubemia, Rus-
sia, on the i8th of October, 1868, a son of Peter
and Frances (Waltner) Graber, both of whom
came of stanch German lineage. The parents of
our subject emigrated to America in 1874, arriv-
ing in the new world in September of that year.
They came forthwith to the territory of Dakota
and the father filed entry on government land
one mile south of the present town of Freeman,
Hutchinson county. South Dakota, becoming one
of the pioneer farmers and stock growers of this
section and still residing on his old homestead,
one of the honored and influential citizens of the
county. His devoted wife died in 1879, and of
their six children two are still living.

Joseph P. Graber has passed practically his
entire life in South Dakota, being reared to the
sturdy discipline of the pioneer farm and early
beginning to assist in its work, in the meanwhile
attending the public schools during the winter
months and showing a distinctive predilection

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

"95

for study and a marked appreciation of the value
of education, so that his ambition led him to
carry forward his studies into the higher
branches. He attended Yankton College and
later was a student in the University of Dakota,
at Mitchell, pursuing- a normal course. He con-
tinued to work on the home farm during the
summer seasons and attended school winters un-
til the autumn of 1887, when he began teaching
in his home district, receiving twenty-five dol-
lars a month, and from that time forward his
interest in educational work has never waned
but has been manifested in an insistent and help-
ful way. He continued actively engaged in teach-
mg for eight years, being employed in the coun-
try schools except the last three years of this
period. For two years he was principal of the
public schools of Freeman and for one year was
assistant principal of the schools at Menno,
Hutchinson county. In 1893 ^^i"- Graber pur-
chased a farm in the western part of Turner
county and was there engaged in agricultural
pursuits until the autumn of 1896, when he was
elected to the office of auditor of Turner county,
serving two terras and with marked acceptability.
On the 7th of January, igoi, he was appointed
county superintendent of schools, and at the reg-
ular election in the following year was chosen
as his own successor in this responsible^ office,
whose affairs he has administered with consum-
mate discretion and ability, sparing no pains or
effort in bringing the work of the schools up to
the highest standard and having shown much
executive tact in unifying and systematizing this
work. Early in 1902 Mr. Graber became prom-
inently identified with the organization of the
First National Bank of Freeman, of which he
was made the first president, retaining this in-
cumbency until January, 1903, when he retired,
finding that his official duties as superintendent
of schools demanded his undivided attention. In
politics he has ever been stanchly arrayed in sup-
port of the principles of the Republican party.

On the 15th of November, 1893, Mr. Graber
was united in marriage to Miss .^nna Waltner.
of Childstown, this county, and they have four
children, whose names are here given, with re-

spective dates of birth: Edwin, October 31,
1894; Melvin Victor, June 4, 1897; Rex Edgar,
April 4, 1899, and Max, December 29, 1901.

WILLIAM HENRY HOLT was born in
Willington, Tolland county, Connecticut, on the
13th of July, 1846, and is a son of William Holt,
who was likewise a native of the Nutmeg state
and a scion of a family long identified with the
annals of New England, whither the original
progenitors in America came from England in
the colonial days. When he was ten years of
age his parents came to the west and were num-
bered among the pioneers of Delaware county,
Iowa, where they passed the remamdef of their
lives, the father having been in the hotel busi-
ness. In 1863 he moved to Lama county, Iowa,
where he was in the drug business. Later he
moved to Cherokee county, Iowa, where he died
in 1883. The subject's mother died in 1861. The
subject completed the curriculum of the public
schools and then continued his studies for some
time in the Bowen Collegiate Institute, now
known as Lenox College, in Hopkinton, that
state. He initiated his independent career in
1865 and continued to be engaged in the drug
business in Iowa until 1869. In that year he
located at Cherokee, Iowa, and was employed
in the merchandise business. Two days after his
twenty-fifth birthday anniversary he came to
Sioux Falls, where he has ever since maintained
his home and where he has been successfully en-
gaged in the real-estate business, handling both
farm and town property and being the owner of
valuable realty in a personal way. He is a liberal
and progressive citizen and has ever done his
part in furthering enterprises tending to en-
hance the general welfare and advancement. In
politics he gave his allegiance to the Republican
party until 1896, when he exercised his franchise
in support of Hon. William J. Bryan for the
presidency. He is a prominent and appreciative
member of the time-honored Masonic fraternity,
in which he has not only completed the circle of
the York-rite bodies but has also attained to the
thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, being

iig6

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

affiliated with the consistory at Yankton, while
he is also identified with the auxiliary organiza-
tions, the Order of the Eastern Star and the
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mys-
tic Shrine. For a number of years he was the
recorder and secretary of all the subordinate
Masonic orders in Sioux Falls, and in 1884 was
grand recorder of the grand commandery.

In politics Mr. Holt is a Republican and was
deputy register of deeds for about two years.
In 1873 he was appointed sheriff of Minnehaha
county to fill an unexpired term, filling the posi-
tion for two years, while at the same time he was
deputy United States marshal. In 1881 he
was elected city auditor of Sioux Falls and held
the office for thirteen years.

In 1886 Mr. Holt commenced the collection
of Masonic publications in the United States and
over the entire world, having now one of the
best collections in the Union. He also com-
menced, in 1894, a collection of the literature and
publications of the Dakotas, intending to make
of it a historical library for the state.

On the 15th of July, 1873, Mr. Holt was
united in marriage to Miss Martha Helen Ray-
mond, who was born in the city of Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, on the 26th of November, 1847, be-
ing a daughter of Frank and Martha Raymond,
who were early settlers in the "Cream City." Mr.
and Mrs. Holt have two children, Martha Etta,
wife of Lieutenant E. E. Hawkins, of Seattle;
and Edmund R.

GEORGE H. FULFORD, ^I. D.. one of
the distinctively representative physicians and
surgeons of the state, being actively engaged in
the practice of his profession in the city of Sioux
Falls, is a native of the state of New York, hav-
ing been born in Chittenango, Madison county,
on the 1 8th of July, 1854, and being a son of
Rev. Daniel and Clara A. Fulford. His father
was a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal
church and a member of the northern New York
conference. He was born in England and ac-
companied his parents to America when a lad
of fourteen years, his wife having been born in

the state of New York. He was a man of ripe
scholarship and noble character and accomplished
a goodly work in his high calling. Dr. Fulford
received his early education in the public schools
of the various towns to which his father's voca-
tion called him, through the itinerant system of
the church of which he was a clergyman, and our
subject was thus reared in a dozen or more
towns in his native state. In 1872 he was grad-
uated in the Ogdensburg Commercial College,
and in 1876 was graduated in Ives Seminary, a
literary and collegiate in.stitution at Antwerp,
New York, winning the gold medal offered for
the best development in scholarship and deport-
ment in that year. During the session of 1876-7
the Doctor attended the Syracuse University, and
then entered the school of medicine of Boston
University, where he completed the prescribed
three years' course and was graduated as a
member of the class of 1880, receiving his degree
of Doctor of Medicine. He always took delight
in his studies, which he never found irksome,
even as a boy, and his early desire was to become
a locomotive engineer, but before his graduation
in Ives Seminary he had determined to prepare
himself for the profession in which he has met
with so notable success. During the winter term
of 1874-5 he taught in the public schools of Pa-
melia. New York. In 1888-9 he took a full post-
graduate course in the New York Polyclinic,
and in 1893 farther fortified himself for the work
of his profession by a clinical course in Chicago.
He began the practice of his profession in New
Haven, New York, in 1880, and two years later
removed to Henderson, that state, where he con-
tinued in practice until December, 1885, when
he came to Sioux Falls, arriving here the day
before Christmas. He has here built up a very
large and lucrative practice and is held in high
regard in professional, business and social cir-
cles. He has been very successful in a financial
way since casting in his lot with the state. In
politics the Doctor is a stanch advocate of the
principles of the Republican party, and was nom-
inated for the office of county coroner in 1898,
but met defeat with the balance of the ticket.
He and his wife are valued members of the First

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Methodist Episcopal church, of whose board of
trustees he has been a member for the past seven-

teen years, while in

he was treasurer of

the church, as was he also from 1899 to igoi, and
in 1902-3 he was treasurer of the building fund
of the church. He has been identified with the
American Institute of Homeopathy since 1893,
with the South Dakota State Homeopathic Med-
ical Society since 1892, and was president of the
same in that and the followins: year, while fra-
ternally he is affiliated with the ^lasonic order,
the .\ncient Order of I'nited Workmen, the
\\'(MHliiH'n lit .\mcric:i. the Woodmen of the
^^'orld. the Mutual r.cnefit Association, the Yeo-
men, the Court of Honor and the Home Guar-
dians. He is at the present time president of
the board of directors of the City Rescue Mis-
sion (now called Union City Mission.)

On the 15th of November, 1 88 1, in Hender-
son, New York. Dr. Fulford was united in mar-
riage to Miss Katie E. Thompson, her parents
having been natives of Vermont, while her fa-
tlier was for many years a prominent merchant
and influential citizen of Henderson. Dr. and
Mrs. Fulford have two children, Allen Thomp-
son, who was born January 4, 1895, and Sydney,
who was born February 10, i8g6. On Decem-
ber 15, 1903, they adopted a girl twelve years
of age, named Ida Florence Fulford.

LEWIS VICTOR PEEK, of Wilmot, was
born near Portage City, Columbia countv, Wis-
consin, September 26, 1862, being one of a fam-
ily of four children, whose father, William H.
Peek, a native of N'ew York, was an early set-
ler of W'isconsin, and by occupation a tiller of
the soil. Lewis V. was reared to agricultural
pursuits, acquired a strong physique under the
rugged but wholesome discipline of the farm and
grew to young manhood in Minnesota, to which
state his parents removed when he was but a
child. Later, in 1882, he accompanied the fam-
ily to South Dakota and subsequently began
clerking in a store at Milbank, but after spend-
ing a short time in that town he accepted a sim-

ilar position in Wilmot, where he sold goods for
one year.

In 1887 Mr. Peek was appointed deputy
county treasurer and two years later succeeded
to the officf of treasurer to fill out the unex-
pired term of William McKissick, discharging
the duties of the position until 1893, having been
elected for a full terni in i8gi. Retiring from
the office at the expiration of his period of serv-
ice, he took a claim in the northern part of the
countv, where the name \'ictor was given to a
township in compliment to him, and a little later
he secured the postoffice at \'ernon, to accommo-
date people of that locality. After residing on his
claim until the fall of 1894 :\Ir. Peek was elected
cashier of the First State Bank of Wilmot, ac-
cordingly he returned to the town and entered
upon his duties, discharging the same to the
satisfaction of all concerned until January, 1902,
when he resigned. He is still interested in the
bank, however, being a stockholder and a mem-
ber of the board of directors, in addition to which
he is secretary and treasurer of the Wilmot Land
and Loan Company, the organization of which
was brought about mainly through his agency
and influence. He is also interested in agricul-
ture and stock raising, and owns considerable
valuable farm land in Roberts county, which he
personally manages, also a fine residence in
Wilmot and other city property, his various en-
terprises having succeeded so well that he is
now numbered with the financially strong and re-
liable men of the community honored by his citi-
zenship.

Mr. Peek has been and is still one of the
leading men of Wilmot and since locating in the
city he has been very closely identified with its
history and development. He served several
terms as trustee and mayor under the original
municipal government and after a city charter
was secured he was also honored with official
station, being mayor at the present time. Like
the majority of enterprising men, Mr. Peek
is a Mason and stands high in the order, belong-
ing to the blue lodge at Wilmot, the chapter at
Milbank, the commandery at Watertown, the
Scottish Rite at Aberdeen and the Mystic Shrine.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

which holds its session in the city of Sioux Falls.
He is also a member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, and
their several auxiliaries, and an active worker in
the local lodge of the Modern Woodmen of
America, with which he is connected.

Mr. Peek, on February 17, 1887, was mar-
ried to Miss Ida C. Bailly, daughter of Alexan-
der P. Bailly, of Minnesota, and is the father of
one child, Stewart Irving Peek, whose birth oc-
curred on April 18, 1896. As already indicated,
Mr. Peek is one of Wilmot's valued and highly
esteemed citizens. He has borne well his part
in life and is now conducting a flourishing busi-
ness and meeting with the success that is justly
deserved.

T. J. HARRIS, postmaster of Wilmot. and
one of the early settlers of Roberts county, was
born in Illinois, July 28, 1848. His father,
Thomas Harris, a native of Philadelphia, Penn-
sylvania, emigrated to Illinois in 1830, became
prominently identified with the community in
which he lived and spent the remainder of his
life in that state, dying some years ago at the
advanced age of ninety-three. T. J. Harris is the
youngest of nine children that grew to maturity,
six of whom are still living. He was reared in
his native state, enjoyed the advantages of a
common-school education and after beginning
life for himself followed different occupations in
Illinois and Minnesota until the year 1880, when
he came to South Dakota, locating in Roberts
county, where he engaged in buying and ship-
ping wheat for several firms, continuing the
business until the fall of 1889, at which time he
took charge of a large elevator at Wilmot. After
managing the latter enterprise for a period of
eight years, he resigned his position for the pur-
pose of entering upon his duties as postmaster of
Wilmot, to which office he was appointed in 1897
and which he has since held, proving an efficient
and popular official and performing his func-
tions creditably to himself and satisfactorily to
the public.

In addition to his official relations, Mr. Har-

ris has large agricultural interests in Roberts
county, owning two finely improved fanns
six miles south of Wilmot. He devotes consid-
erable attention to these places, has reduced the
greater part of his land to cultivation and real-
izes from it no small share of his income. Ener-
getic and public-spirited he manifests a lively re-
gard in the affairs of his city and county and be-
ing one of the leading Republicans of the same,
has achieved much more than local repute as a
politician, being widely and favorably known
as a judicious party organizer and successful
campaigner.

Mr. Harris is a member of the Pythian fra-
ternity, but his acts of charity and benevolence
are by no means confined to this order, being a
liberal donor to all worthy objects and free to
assist those who have met with misfortune or dis-
couragements. Mr. Harris has a fine home in
Wilmot and, with his wife, moves in the best
social circles of the city. He was married in
September, 1900, to Miss Emma A. Stowell, of
Massachusetts, whose father, J. T. Stowell, was
one of the pioneers of South Dakota, moving his
family to the territory in 1880 and taking a prom-
inent part in its subsequent history.

WALLACE S. LeCOUNT, like many of
the best citizens of this country, traces his ances-
try to early French Huguenots, who, leaving their
native home to escape religious prosecution,
found a refuge in New England. His paternal
grandfather was a Revolutionary veteran and
also served in the war of 1812. On the mother's
side, Mr. LeCount is also of colonial stock, being
descended from the old Stark family of Glasgow,
Scotland, representatives of which became closely
identified with the history of New England, es-
pecially of Vermont, where the name of Gen.
John Stark, who added lustei" to the American
arms during the Revolution by his signal victory
at Bennington, is still held in reverence and re-
spect. W. J. LeCount is a resident of Wisconsin,
and for a number of years has been revenue
collector for the first district of that state. Nellie
Fowler, who became his wife, bore him six chil-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

"99

dren, two sons and four daughters, five of the
number still living, Wallace L. being the eldest
of the family.

Wallace S. LeCount was born January 9,
1869, in Hartford, Wisconsin. After finishing
the high-school course he engaged in newspaper
work in Wisconsin, came to South Dakota, and
in 1884 established, at Wilmot, the Roberts
County Republican. He has a well-equipped
office, and issues one of the best and most popu-
lar local sheets in the state, it being Republican
in politics and an able and fearless party organ.
Typographically it is a creditable example of the
art preservative, neat in its mechanical makeup,
and is devoted to local and state happenings, and
is a clean and exceedingly interesting family
paper. The circulation is constantly increasing,
the ad\ertising patronage is liberal, and with a
valuable plant its future influence and prosperity
appear fully assured.

Through the medium of his paper, as well as
by personal influence, Mr. LeCount has become
known as a politician, and has been a member
of the Republican state executive committee since
1899.

Mr. LeCount lives in the thriving town of
Wilmot and is active in the interests of the mu-
nicipality and the general welfare. He is a mem-
ber of the Ancient Order of United Workmen,
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the
Knights of Pythias, being past chancellor of the
last named.

Mr. LeCount was married on May 2, 1891,
to Miss Emily M. Heimes. of Michigan, daugh-
ter of August Heinics.

REV. ULYSSES GRANT LACEY, the
able and popular pastor of the Presbyterian
church of Miller, claims the fine old Buckeye
state as the place of his nativity, having been
born near the city of Columbus, Franklin county,
Ohio, on the 27th of May, 1867, and being a son
of George W. and Mary J. (Patterson) Lacey.
the former of whom was born in the state of
Ohio and the latter in Virginia. The father of
the subject was a farmer by vocation, and both he

and his wife live a retired life in Maitland, Mis-
souri. When the subject was but a child his
parents removed to Holt county, Missouri, in
which state he was reared to maturity. After
duly availing himself of the advantages of the
public schools and after serving a five-years ap-
prenticeship as teacher, he entered Highland Uni-
versity, in 1893, in northeastern Kansas. After
two years of college work he was recommended
by Highland presbytery to the seminary. He had
in the meanwhile determined to prepare himself
for the work of the ministry, and his consecra-
tion to this noble calling has been of the most
insistent and objectively prolific nature. In 1895
Mr. Lacey was matriculated in the Omaha Theo-
logical Seminary, a Presbxiierian institution, and
there he completed his ecclesiastical course of
study and was graduated in i8g8. His first
charge was in South Dakota, his ordination to
the ministry having been subsequent to his grad-
uation by Central Dakota presbytery. Shortly
after leaving the seminary in Omaha he became
a member of the presbytery of Central Dakota
and accepted the pastoral charge of the church
organizations in Wentworth, Coleman and
Bethel, this state. In this connection he labored
zealously and effectively for nearly five years,
within which time, with the devoted co-operation
of his people, he effected the erection of a church
edifice in each of the villages mentioned, and
none of these buildings represented an expendi-
ture of less than fifteen hundred dollars. The
membership was doubled in the churches in
Wentworth and Bethel, while in Coleman the roll
of members was augmented by three times the
original number represented. During his earn-
est labors in this attractive but exacting field Mr.
Lacey resided in the village of Wentworth, and
there the church erected for his use a beautiful
cottage parsonage. In September, 1902, Mr.
Lacey resigned these pastoral charges to accept
the call extended by the church in Miller, and
his' resignation was a cause of deep regret to his
former parishioners, but they released him in or-
der that he might continue his good work in a
wider field. Since assuming the pastorate of the
church in Miller he has succeeded in increasing

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

its membership near one hundred per cent., while
all departments of the church work have been
vitalized, the progress in both a spiritual and
temporal sense being most gratifying. At the
time when he came to Miller Mr. Lacey also had
a call to the pastorate of a church in northeast
Minnesota, at a salary larger than that ofTered
by the church in Miller. Learning of this status
of affairs, the society called a meeting and vol-
untarily agreed to offer the same compensation
as that offered by the Minnesota church, while
Mr. Lacev was also most earnestly and insistently
urged to remain here, which he did. He is a
man of rare pulpit ability, a forceful and logical
speaker and one who is thoroughly fortified and
grounded in the faith which he exemplifies in
his daily walk and conversation as well as in his
sacred ecclesiastical functions. He is untiring
in his efforts, has unbounded zeal and enthusiasm
and his personality is such as to win and to re-
tain to him the high regard of all with whom
he comes in contact. While a resident of Went-
worth Mr. Lacey drove thirty miles each Sun-
day in order to hold services in each of the three
places assigned to his charge, and in all other
portions of his work he has shown the same self-
abnegation and the same solicitude for the up-
lifting of his fellow men. In politics he gives his
support to the party for which his father fought
for four years and received an honorable dis-
charge in 1865. Fraternally he is a member of the
Ancient and Accepted Order of Scottish Rite
Masons.

On the 23d of December, i8qi, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Lacey to Miss Minnie
Noland. who was born and reared in Holt county,
Missouri, and to them were born two children,
Glenn D. and Helen F., born February 14, 1893,
and May 23, 1896, respectively.

ROBERT L. MI'RDY. M. D., who is suc-
cessfully engaged in the practice of his profession
in the attractive city of Aberdeen, Brown county,
was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, on
the 31st of May. 1869, and is a son of Andrew
and Rliza .Murdy, the lineage being of Scotch-

Irish derivation. He received his early educa-
tional discipline in the public schools of Iowa,
having completed a course of study in the high
school at Moulton, while later he attended a busi-
ness college in the city of Keokuk. In i88g he
was matriculated in the Keokuk Medical College,
where he completed the prescribed course and
was graduated as a member of the class of 1892,
receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. In
i8g6 he was graduated in the Missouri Medical
College, at St. Louis, Missouri, from which in-
stitution likewise he secured a degree. In 1901
he took a post-graduate course in a clinical school
in the city of Chicago; in 1902-3 he took post-
graduate work in surgery and gynecology- in Vi-
enna, Austria, and upon his return to America, in
the spring of 1903, he took a post-graduate
course in the New York Polyclinic, so that he is
most admirably equipped for the work of his ex-
acting and noble profession. In 1892 the Doctor
located in Bowdle, Edmunds county. South Da-
kota, where he was engaged in practice until
September of the following year, when he went
to the city of St. Louis for further study. In
January, 1898, he returned to South Dakota and
located in Aberdeen, where he has since been most
successfully engaged in practice save for the
intervals given to post-graduate study in various
prominent institutions, as previously noted. He
is a member of the American Medical Associa-
tion, the State Medical Societ}f'of South Dakota
and the .Aberdeen District Medical Society, and is
held in high esteem in professional circles as well
as in the business and social circles of his home
city. He has read several interesting and prac-
tical papers before the local and state medical so-
cieties. He is surgeon for the Chicago, Milwau-
kee & St. Paul Railroad Company and visiting
surgeon to St. Luke's Hospital at Aberdeen. In
politics he is a conservative Democrat, believing
firmly in the generic principles of the party, and
fraternally is identified with the Knights of Pyth-
ias, Ancient Order of United Workmen and the
Modern Woodmen of America. He is not for-
mally a member of any religious body but is an
attendant of the Protestant Episcopal church,
with whose faith and impressive ritual he is in

ROBERT L. MURDY, M. D.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

sympathy, Mrs. Miirdy being a communicant of
the same.

On the lyth of April, 1806, Dr. Munly was
united in marriage to Miss Pearl Colliver, who
was born in Davis county, Iowa, being a daugh-
ter of John and Martha Colliver. Of this union
have been born two children, Robert C. and Ber-
nice, who lend cheer and brightness to the family
home.

P. D. KRIBS was born in the city of Elgin,
Illinois, on the 5th of July, 1846, being a son of
Paul and Sarah A. Kribs, who removed thence
to Trempealeau county, Wisconsin, in 1865, his
father there engaging in farming, to which he
continued to devote his attention until his death.
The subject, was thus reared to manhood in the
county noted and there received his early edu-
cational discijjline in the public schools, after
which he prosecuted a course of study in the
Galesville University, at Galesville, that county,
while it is interesting to recall in the connection
that among his fellow students was Hon. Charles
N. Herreid, the present governor of South Da-
kota. After leaving school Mr. Kribs was en-
gaged in teaching until March, 1886, when he
came to South Dakota and located in the village
of Leola, McPherson county, where he engaged
in the drug business. He also became the pub-
lisher of the Northwest Blade, which he con-
tinued in Leola for three years, then removing
the plant and business to Eureka, in the same
•county, where he continued the publication until
April, 1894, when he sold out to his partner. In
July, 1893, Mr. Kribs came to Columbia, and
liere established himself in the drug business,
which he has since continued.

Mr. Kribs is a stalwart advocate of the prin-
ciples and policies of the Republican party and
has taken an active part in ])oIitical affairs. In
the autumn of 1902 he was elected to represent
Erown county in the lower house of the state leg-
islature. He was assigned to the committees on
education, public health, libraries and printing.
]\Ir. Kribs has ever been a stanch friend of the
cause of popular education and has rendered most

effective service along this line since coming to
South Dakota. Before a meeting of the board of
directors of Brown county he read a timely and
able article touching the matter of centralizing
the work of rural schools in the interest of effect-
ive service, advocating the establishing of cen-
tral high schools in the various townships and
thus bringing the higher school advantages ac-
cessible to a greater number and materially im-
proving the system as a whole. This article was
published by the state department of education
and largely circulated throughout the state.

In Leola, McPherson county, this state, on
the 8th of November, 1887, Mr. Kribs was united
in marriage to Miss Hattie M. Cavanagh, who
was born in the province of Ontario, Canada,
being a daughter of P. and Mary A. Cavanagh,
who came to South Dakota in 1886. Mr. and
Mrs. Kribs have three daughters, Edith, Olive
anrl Ruth, who remain at the parental home and
who are to be afforded the best of educational
advantages.

NELSON LEE FINCH, president of the
Citizens' State Bank of Andover, Andover,
Day county, is a native of the Empire state of the
Union, having been born in Broadalbin, Fulton
county. New York, on the 12th of January, 1873,
a son of William W. and Carrie (Lee) Finch,
both of whom were likewise born in the state of
New York, being of English and English-French
lineage respectively. The subject of this sketch
attended the public schools of his native town
until he had attained the age of ten years, when,
in 1883, he accomjjanied his parents on their re-
moval to South Dakota, the family locating in
Andover, Day county, where the father engaged
in the mercantile business. Here Nelson con-
tinued to attend the public schools until 1889,
during which year and that following he was a
student in the South Dakota State Agricultural
College, at Brookings, as a member of the class
of 1893. In 1890 he continued his educational
discipline in the Curtiss Commercial College, in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, being graduated in July
of that vear. He then returned to his home in

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Andover and was thereafter associated with his
father in the management of his business affairs
until 1895. In January of that year his par-
ents removed to New York state, our subject pur-
chasing at that time his father's general mer-
chandise business in Andover. This enterprise
he successfully conducted until June, 1897, when
he sold the same to E. C. Toy and soon after-
ward effected the organization of the Citizens'
Bank, of which he continued proprietor and
manager until July, 1902, when the institution
was reorganized and incorporated as the Citizens'
State Bank, and Mr. Finch has been its president
from its inception, while Wallace Finch, of Glo-
versville, New York, is vice-president, and J. W.
Krueger, cashier. The bank has a capital and
surplus of twenty-five thousand dollars and is
one of the solid and well-managed financial con-
cerns of the state. The bank building is a sub-
stantial and attractive brick structure and the
counting rooms are modern in their equipments
and facilities, a ])ortion of the building being
utilized for the ofiices of the Day County Land
Company. Of this latter corporation Mr. Finch
was one of the organizers, in 1898, and when
it was incorporated, in 1902, he was elected sec-
retary and treasurer, which dual office he held
until November i, 1903. In December of the
same year Mr. Finch disposed of his stock and
retired from the institution.

Mr. Finch was the first president of the
Andover Hotel Company, owners of the mag-
nificent Hotel Waldorf, recently erected in
Andover, and for several years was a director
and executive officer in two other corporations
there. He is president of the board of education,
and has ever taken a deep and helpful interest
in educational affairs and in all else that makes
for the well-being of his home town, county and
state. Mr. Finch is a member of the Baptist
church, and fraternally is a Knight Templar, a
thirty-second-degree Mason and a Noble of the
Mystic Shrine. In politics he is a stanch Re-
publican, and while he has taken an active part
in the promotion of the party cause he has never
sought or held official preferment, except that of
city treasurer, of which he has been continuously

incumbent since 1897. He enjoys the highest
j popularity in business and social circles and is
I one of the progressive and able young business

men of South Dakota. Mr. Finch is a bachelor.

WILL>IAM H. BAYNE was born near Me-
dina, Orleans county, New York, on December 30,
1840. His father was a farmer and William H.
devoted his early life to the rugged outdoor labor
so conducive to health, physical development and
the formation of industrious habits. His educa-
tion embraced the common-school course and he
grew to young manhood well prepared for the
duties that awaited him as an industrious and
intelligent American citizen. He was a young
man in his twenty-first year when the country
became alarmed by the threat of civil war and
when the rebellion broke out he tendered his
services to the government, enlisting in November,.
1861, in Company D, Twenty-eighth New York
Infantry. He accompanied his command to the
front and saw considerable active duty in Mary-
land and along the Potomac river, but after a
few_ months a severe attack of typhoid fever
caused him to be sent to the hospital at Winches-
ter, where he remained under treatment until his
discharge, just six months and ten days after
entering the army.

In the sprin'g of 1864 Mr. Bayne went to
Toledo, Ohio, for the purpose of helping his
uncle run a boat on the Miam.i canal, but soon
reaching that city he changed his mind and again
entered the military service, joining Company C,
of the One Hundred and Thirtieth Ohio National
Guards, with which he continued for a period of
four months and twenty days. During a part
of that time his command was stationed at John-
son's Island, and from there was sent to Vir-
ginia, where it did grtard duty principally until
the expiration of the subject's period of enlist-
ment. On leaving the army Mr. Bayne went
to Michigan and, purchasing a small tract of land
near the city of Coldwater, engaged in the pur-
suit of agriculture. After spending fifteen years
in that state, he disposed of his land and other
interests and in 1880 came to South Dakota and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[203

located a claim near Rondel, Brown county. Im-
mediately following this he went to Chicago and
began working at carpentry, which trade he had
previously learned, and for a considerable length
of time he was employed in the town of Pullman,
at various kinds of mechanical labor.

Returning to Dakota in 1880, Mr. Bayne se-
cured a tree claim and homestead, which he has
since improved and on which he now lives, de-
voting his original homestead to the raising of
live stock. He carries on farming and the live-
stock business quite extensively and has made
a success of both, owning at this time one of the
best improved places in the township of his resi-
dence, in addition to which he rents considerable
land for the prosecution of his agricultural inter-
ests. He pays considerable attention to live stock,
making a specialty of cattle and hogs, and from
this source derives a liberal share of his income.

Mr. Bayne is an enterprising man and a cred-
itable representative of that large and respectable
class of yeomen that in a quiet, imostentatious
way have done so much to improve the great
west and develop its resources. A gentleman of
pleasant manner and mien, courteous in his rela-
tions with others, he makes friends of all he
meets and exercises a wholesome influence among
his neighbors and fellow citizens. His sound j
judgment, practical common sense and correct
ideas of right led to his election to the office of
justice of the peace, which position he held for
a period of ten years, proving an able and dis-
creet dispenser of justice, as is attested by the
fairness of his rulings and the impartial manner
in which he rendered his decisions. Mr. Bayne
is a Republican in politics and remained true to
the principles of his party when it was threat-
ened with disruption by the Populist movement
of a few years ago. He has never been a seeker
after public position, but labors earnestly for the
success of the party's candidate, preferring to
work for others rather than claim official hon-
ors for himself.

Mr. Bayne was married while living in Michi-
gan, but his wife died in California a few years
ago. Her maiden name was C. A. Kingsley
and she bore him children as follows : Alice

S., who lives in Sioux City, Iowa; Georgia M.,
wife of John Humphrey, also of that place ;
Pearl, now Mrs. John Meesh, of California, and
Mrs. Ella E. Gay, whose home is in California.
In 1884 Mr. Bayne was married to Jennie F.
Cool, of Grand Detour, Illinois. Fraternally Mr.
Bayne belongs to the Grand Army of the Re-
public and at different times has filled official
position in the local post with which he holds
membership.

JOHN H. BOCKLER is a native of Wash-
ington county, Wisconsin, where his birth oc-
curred on the 27th day of November, 1861. Born
in the country and reared on a farm, he grew up
with well-defined ideas of life and its responsibil-
ities, and while still young he laid plans for the
future and has liA'ed to carry out the same. He
attended school in Winona county, Minnesota,
and on attaining his majority came to South Da-
kota, arriving in Brown county in the year 1882.
-Shortly after reaching his destination Mr. Bock-
ler pre-empted a claim in Rondel township, seven
miles southeast of Warner, and, addressing him-
self to its improvement, in due time had a good
farm under cultivation, from the proceeds of
which he has since been enabled to add to his
realty until he now owns land to the amount
of four hundred and eighty acres, all well situ-
ated and valuable. He has devoted his attention
to general farming and stock raising and is to-
day classed with the enterprising and successful
men of the community in which he lives, being
well situated financially and an influential factor
in the affairs of his township and county.

Mr. Bockler has achieved an enviable reputa-
tion by reason of his success as a raiser of fine
stock, his horses, cattle and sheep being of su-
perior breeds and among the best to be found
in this part of the state. He pays especial atten-
tion to the Percheron horse, in the breeding and
raising of which he has gained more than local
repute; his cattle are of the finest blood and he
has also been fortunate in the raising of the
famed Cotswold breed of sheep, having been
among the first to introduce those valuable ani-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

mals among the farmers of Brown county. Mr.
Bockler's various business enterprises have suc-
ceeded according to his expectations and his ca-
reer since coming west presents a succession of
advancements such as few would have achieved
under similar circumstances. He has taken an
active interest in public affairs, served two terms
as county commissioner and was a member of
the board that planned and contracted for the
new court house. In politics Mr. Bockler is what
may be termed an independent, reserving the
right to exercise his own judgment as to candi-
dates and principles instead of obeying the dic-
tates of party leaders.

Mr. Bockler. on December lo. 1891, entered
the marriage relation with Aliss Ida Pansegrau,
of Aberdeen, and his family at this time consists
of four children, namely : Nora, Herbert, Edna
and Ethel. Mr. and Mrs. Bockler are among the
highly esteemed people of their community, re-
s])ected hv a large number of friends for their
many sterling qualities.

until March, igoi, when he entered upon the
duties of the office as auditor, having been elected
in the fall of the preceding year. His experience
as deputy had well fitted him for the work as-
signed to him and he has proved a most able
executive, gaining unqualified commendation
throughout the county. He was elected first on
the Populist ticket, and in November, 1902, was
elected, received the nomination on both the Re-
publican and Populist tickets, being elected prac-
tically without opposition. He is now a stanch
advocate of the principles of the Republican
partv. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran
church and fraternally he is identified with the In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights
of Pythias, the ^Modern Woodmen of .\merica
and the Yeomen.

AMLLIAM ECELAXD. the present auditor
of Day county and one of the popular young men
of Webster, the county seat, was born in the city
of Fargo, North Dakota, on the 7th of Alay, 1876,
and is a son of B,ertinius H. and Martha Ege-
land, the former of whom was born in Wiscon-
sin and the latter in Norway, while their mar-
riage was solemnized in the state of Wisconsin.
In 1880 they came to Da}- county. South Dakota,
locating in what is now Egeland township, in the
southwestern part of the county, said township
being named in honor of Mr. Egeland. who died
January ig, 1898. He was elected county
auditor in 1894 and at the expiration of his first
term was chosen as his own successor, serving
one year of his second term.

The subject of this sketch received his early
education in the public schools of North and
South Dakota, and supplemented this by taking
a five-years course in the Augsburg Seminary,
at Minneapolis, Minnesota. In March, 1895, he
became deputy county auditor under his father's
administration and served continuouslv as such

HENRY A. PEIRCE, of Wessin.gton,
Beadle county, is a native of Cliautauqua county.
New York, where he was born on the nth of
October, 1844, being a son of Austin and Mary
Ann Peirce, representatives of old and honored
families of that section of the Empire common-
wealth. The subject passed his boyhood on the
homestead farm and after attending the common
schools continued his studies in the academy at
Fredonia, while later he took a course in the
Buffalo Commercial College, being there gradu-
ated as a member of the class of 1863, after which
he ser\'ed in the Union army and was a witness
of the battle of Gettysburg. After the close of
the war he followed mercantile business and farm-
ing.

In 1883 ^Ir. Peirce came to what is now the
state of South Dakota, and located in Jerauld
county, where he engaged in stock raising, to
which line of industry he devoted his attention
about five years, being successful iii his efforts.
He then disposed of his interests in this line and
in 1889 came to Wessington and established the
Bank of Wessington, which is known as one of
the solid financial institutions of the state and
which has met with representative popular sup-
port and appreciation from the time of its in-
ception. Mr. Peirce is president of the bank and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

as executive head of the same has directed its
affairs with marked abiUty and discrimination.
In poHtics he gives an unwavering allegiance to
the Republican party hut has never sought or
desired the honors or emoluments of public office.
Fraternally he is affiliated with the Ancient Or-
iler of United Workmen and the Royal Arcanum.
Air. Peirce has one daughter, Julia L.. who is
now a successful and popular teacher in the pub-
lic schools of the state of Washington.

JACOB H. COLE, a successful and honored
member of the bar of Hand county, is a native
of the Hawkeye state, having been born on a
farm near the town of Pella, Marion county.
Iowa, on the 3d of February, 1859, and being a
son of Aart and Hendrika (DeBooy) Cole, of
whose ten children seven are living at the pres-
ent time. The father of the subject was one of
a colony of fourteen hundred persons who left
Holland, their native land, as a protest against
the attempt of the Holland government to estab-
lish a state church whose tenets were antago-
nistic to their faith, and of the number seven hun-
dred settled in Michigan, where they founded
the now flourishing city of Holland and settled
up a large section of Ottawa county. The re-
maining seven hundred colonists, among whom
was the father of the subject — the only one of his
family — proceeded farther west and located in
Clarion county, Iowa, establishing a sturdy col-
ony and founding the town of Pella, the name
being a biblical term, meaning a city of refuge.
Aart Cole there engaged in farming, becoming
one of the prominent and influential men of the
community, and there he married his wife, who
was likewise a native of Holland, coming over
with her parents, all members of said colony ;
she is also now deceased.

Jacob H. Cole acquired his preliminary edu-
cation in the public schools of his native town
and later took a course in the local college, in
which excellent institution he was graduated as
a member of the class of t88o, receiving the de-
gree of Bachelor of Arts and one of the Master
of Arts three vears later. In the fall of 1881 he

entered the law department of Drake University,
in the city of Des Moines, and there completed
the prescribed technical course and was gradu-
ated in 1882, being sinniltaneously admitted to
the bar of the state. In the spring of the follow-
ing year he came to South Dakota and took up
his residence in Miller, where he has ever since
been engaged in the practice of his profession,
being known as an able and skillful trial lawyer
and discriminating counsellor and retaining a cli-
entage of representative order. While he has
been an active worker in the ranks of the Re-
publican party, to which he gives an unwavering
allegiance, he has never sought any office, but
in the fall of 1902 he was by acclamation made
the candidate of his party for the office of state's
attorney, being elected by a gratifying majority
and entering upon the discharge of his official
duties in January. 1903. He is eminently quali-
fied for the office and his labors as prosecutor
can not fail to redound to the best interests of the
people through the conservation of justice.

EDWARD J. MURPHY, the local represent-
ative of the Mississippi Lumber and Coal Com-
pany at Bristol, Day county, was born in Wash-
ington county, Wisconsin, on the 29th of March,
1858, being a son of John and Bridget Murphy,
who are now deceased. He attended the public
schools of his native county and as a youth
learned the art of telegraphy. At the age of
twenty-one years he was given a position as tele-
graph operator on the line of the Chicago, Mil-
waukee & St. Paul Railroad in Iowa and Min-
nesota, where he remained until the spring of
1883, when he was made operator of this system
at Summit, on the Sisseton Indian reservation in
what is now a part of South Dakota. He was
thus identified with railroad work of this nature
in the employ of the company mentioned for a
period of about seven years, at various points in
Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Da-
kota. In 1883 he took up a homestead claim in
Valley township. Day county, this state, and since
that year has consecutively maintained his home
in this county, being one of its early settlers and

t2o6

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

one who is well known and highly esteemed in
the community. He proved up on his claim in
due course of time, and still retains the same in
his possession, while he also has two other ad-
joining farms in the county, all being located
within a short distance of the village of Bristol,
where he has resided since 1901, having become
the local agent of tlie Mississippi Lumber and
Coal Company at the time of its organization, in
1901, and having ably and successfully managed
its business here. He had previously given his
attention to farming and stock growing for a
period of eight years. Mr. Murphy was one
of those prominently concerned in securing the
incorporation of the Day County Co-operative
Creamery Association, of which he was secretary
for two years, the enterprise having proved very
successful. In politics he maintains an independ-
ent attitude, having followed the reform move-
ment. In 1885 and 1886 he served as a member
of the board of county commissioners, while
he has ever shown a deep interest in educational
matters and in all else that has tended to con-
serve the advancement and prosperity of the
community, having held various local and school
offices. He has erected two houses in Bristol,
and in point of consecutive residence here he is
now one of the oldest citizens, there being but
two or three others now here who had anticipated
his location in the village. He is a member of
Andover Lodge, No. 115, Ancient Order of
United Workmen.

In this coun^\^ in August, 1886, Mr. Murphy
was united in marriage to Miss Alice Larkin,
who was born and reared in Green Lake county,
Wisconsin, and they have two children, Edward
J. and Mary Alice.

ALFRED TENNESON, late member of the
firm of Tcnneson & O'Leary. dealers in general
merchandise in the village of Albee, is a native
of Norway, where he was born on the ist of Jan-
nary, 1873, being a son of Tennes and Johannah
Tenneson. who became the parents of five sons
and two daughters, six of whom are living. The
subject secured his early educational training in

the schools of his native place, his father having
there been engaged as a merchant and ship owner,
and when he was a lad of ten years he accom-
panied his parents on their emigration to Amer-
ica, the family locating in the city of Minneapolis,
Minnesota, where he attended the public schools
and later completed a course in the Archibald
Business College, in that city, being graduated
as a member of the class of 1887. In the fol-
lowing year he came to South Dakota' and located
in Grant county, where he was employed in the
lumber and hardware business of his brother,
A. T. Tenneson. until 1892, when he returned
to Minneapolis, where he was employed for one
year as bookkeeper for the Standard Sash and
Door Company. In 1894 he returned to Grant
county and became associated with his brother,
.A.. T., in the general merchandise business in
Albee, the firm having erected a commodious
store building in 1896, in which year he p"ur-
chased the interest of his brother in the enter-
prise and forthwith formed a partnership with
Daniel O'Leary, under the firm name of Alfred
Tenneson & Company. They continued to be
thus associated, J. E. Turback becoming a part-
ner under the name of Tenneson, O'Leary &
Company, until January I, 1904, when the firm
was dissolved. Mr. Tenne,son also had the dis-
tinction of being postmaster of the town, hav-
ing been appointed to the office in 1894 and hav-
ing remained incumbent of the same ever since
that time. In politics he is a stanch Republican.
Fraternally he is identified with the Modern
Woodmen of America, in Albee.

On the 2ist of July, 1895. Mr. Tenneson was
united in marriage to Miss Amanda Petrick,
who was born in Wisconsin, being a daughter of
William Petrick, who was a successful farmer
of Grant county, this state, at the time of his
death, which occurred July 11, 1902. Mr. and
Mrs. Tenneson have one child. Francis A.

CARL J. GUNDERSON, the capable and
popular young- manager of the Union lumber
yards at Irene, Turner county, is a native of
Norwav, where he was born on the 30th of No-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1207

ber, 1876, being a son of Hans Gunderson, who
came with his family to America in 1882, so that
the subject of this sketch has been reared under
the influences of our national institutions. The
family came to South Dakota in 1883 and lo-
cated in .Spring Valley, Turner county, where
the father provided a home and turned his atten-
tion to farming and stock growing until June
20, 1885, when death called him away. Carl J.
received such advantages as were afforded in the
country schools in the vicinity of his home and
continued to assist in the work of the farm until
he had attained the age of fourteen years, when
he began an apprenticeship at the carpenter's
trade, becoming a capable workman and contin-
uing to follow this vocation to a greater or less
extent for the ensuing ten years. On the ist of
March, 1903, he was chosen manager of the
Union lumber yards in Irene, and in this ca-
pacity has given most efficient service, while he
has so ordered his course as to gain and retain
the confidence and respect of all with whom he
has come in contact, and is known as an ener-
getic and progressive young business man. In
politics he gives his support to the Republican
party, and both he and his wife are members of
the Norwegian Lutheran church.

On the 6th of March, 1901, Mr. Gunderson
was united in marriage to Miss Emma Bruget,
who was born in Yankton county* this state, on
the 7th of April, 1878, being a daughter of Jor-
gen and Olina Bruget, who were numbered
among the first settlers in the Mission Hill dis-
trict of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Gunderson
have two children, Olive and Esther.

HARRY E. JONES, cashier of the Bank of
Revillo, Grant county, was born in Owatonna,
Minnesota, on the 23d of November, 1866, and is
a son of Robert E. and Emily K. (Noyes) Jones,
the former of whom was born in Ohio and the
latter in Vermont. His father located in Minne-
sota about 1866, and a few years later removed
to Humboldt, Iowa, where he was engaged in the
hotel business until 1880, when he came to South
Dakota as one of the earlv settlers of Grant

county and was one of the founders of the village
of Revillo, where he operated a hotel and served
as postmaster for a few years. He was one of
the influential and honored citizens of the county,
being public-spirited and progressive and taking
an active interest in the development and material
advancement of the county and state. He died
in Revillo on the 13th of March, 1903, at the
age of seventy years, and his devoted wife sur-
vives him. They celebrated their golden wedding
anniversary on Thanksgiving day, 1902. The
Jones family is of Welsh descent, the paternal
grandparents of the subject being both born and
reared in Wales. The Noyes family is of Eng-
lish lineage, and the original representatives in
America came over in the historic "Mayflower,"
while the name has ever since been one of prom-
inence in the annals of New England. Robert E.
and Emily K. Jones became the parents of five
sons and one daughter. John F. is engaged in
the grocery business in Revillo; Albert D. is
president of the Bank of Revillo; Herbert I. is an
engineer at Los Angeles, California ; Evan died
at the age of thirty years at Revillo, where he
was a partner with his brother, J. F. ; Grace died
in childhood in Iowa ; and Harry E.

Harry E. Jones was. about five years of age
at the time of removal from Minnesota to Hum-
boldt county, Iowa. He later attended school at
Milbank, South Dakota, having been eighteen
years old at the time of the removal to this state.
He attended Marion Business College, in St.
Paul, where he was graduated in 1888. Imme-
diately thereafter he became associated with his
brother Albert in the establishment of a private
bank at Revillo, while in 1891 it was incorpo-
rated as a state bank. It is one of the solid finan-
cial concerns of the state and does an excellent
business, its affairs being conducted upon a basis
of ample capital and the best, of executive man-
agement. In 1904 the present fine brick building,
seventy by fifty feet in dimensions, was completed,
while a portion of the building is occupied by the
hardware establishment of Jones Brothers, of
which Albert D. and the subject are the interested
principals. They also are prominently identified
with the agricultural and stock-growing indus-

208

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

try, owning twenty-five hundred acres of fine
land in this county. Their success is the more
gratifying from the fact that it is the result of
their own efiforts. When Harry came to the
state his financial resources were represented in
the sum of one dollar, having given up one of
the original two dollars which represented his pat-
rimony, in order to keep a prized bird dog
which he brought with him. He read law under
the preceptorship of Judge Keeler, of Milbank,
and was admitted to the bar of the state in 1889.
In politics he is a stanch adherent of the Repub-
lican party, and fraternally is identified with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen, of which
he has been recorder from the time of the insti-
tution of the lodge, in 1897. He and his wife
are members of the Congregational church, he
serving as treasurer.

On the 1st of June, 1889, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Jones to Miss Maude Dunbrack,
who was born and reared in Hennepin county,
Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have six chil-
dren, namely : Robert D., Verna N.. Alta Maude,
Evan R.. Marguerite E. and Lucille Marie.

DAXIEL O'LEARY, one of the prominent
young business men and popular citizens of Al-
bee. Grant county, being a member of the mer-
cantile firm of O'Leary & Cahill, comes of stanch
old Irish stock and is a native of Watford, prov-
ince of Ontario, Canada, where he was born
on the 2 1 St of February, 1 87 1. He is a son of
James and Johanna (Ring) O'Leary, both of
whom were born in the Emerald Isle, whence
they came to America when young, while both
are now deceased. ( )f the ten children all are
living except one, the subject of this review hav-
ing been the youngest in order of birth.

Daniel O'Leary received his early educational
discipline in the public schools of his native prov-
ince, continuing his studies until he had attained
tlie age of seventeen years, after which he devoted
his attention to various pursuits until 1894, when,
as a young man of twenty-three years, he came
to South Dakota and cast in his lot with the peo-
ple of the state. He located in Albce and was

here engaged in the buying of grain until 1896,
when he became a member of the firm of Tenne-
son, O'Leary & Company, the other interested
principal in the enterprise being Alfred Tenne-
son, concerning whom individual mention is made
on another page of this work. This firm was dis-
solved January i, 1904, since when he has been
associated with John C. Cahill, general hardware,
implements and grain. The subject is essentially
an alert and public-spirited citizen, and takes a
deep interest in local afifairs, especially in the ad-
vancement of the thriving town of which he is
a resident. He accords allegiance to the Repub-
lican party, and while he has never been an aspir-
ant for -public office he has been loyal to the
duties of citizenship and has served for a number
of years as a member of the local school board,
being a zealous worker in the cause of popular
education and aiming to secure the best possible
advantages in this line for his home town. He
is a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America,
being affiliated with the local organizations of the
same. January i, 1904. Mr. O'Leary received
the appointment of postmaster of Albee.

On the 5th of November, 1896, in Albee, was
solemnized the marriage of Mr. O'Leary to Miss
Elizabeth Cahill, a daughter of John and Mar-
garet Cahill and a sister of his partner, the fam-
ily being one 'of prominence in Grant county.
Mr. and Mrs. O'Leary have three children,
nanieh : Frank T-. Rov K. and Elmer W.

JOHN C. CAHILL. one of the represent-
ative young business men of Grant county, late
manager of the Northwestern Elevator at Albee,.
was born in Sibley, r)sceola county. Iowa, on the
28th of May, 1873, his parents. John and Mar-
garet (Quirk) Cahill. having removed to that
state from Wisconsin, while shortly after his-
birth they took up their residence in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, whence they later removed to Fox
Lake, Wisconsin, and in 1889 removed to Da-
kota, near Albee. His father died in February,
upi, as the result of disease which was the se-
quel of injuries received during his services in

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[209

the war of the Rebelhon. The mother of the
subject is still Hving and resides with her chil-
dren in Albee. After completing the curriculum
of the public schools in Fox Lake, Wisconsin,
the subject engaged in teaching in the schools of
Grant count}', whither he came with the other
members of the family in 1889. He gained not
little prestige in educational circles in this section,
continuing to be activel}- engaged in teaching
until i8g6, when he accepted a jDOsition as grain
buyer for the Northwestern Elevator Company,
and was made manager of the elevator of the
company at Albee, which position he occupied
till January, 1904. In addition to the position
noted he also owned a feed mill and wood yard
in the village for three years. Since January i,
1904, he has, in company with D. O'Leary. oper-
ated a hardware, machinery and grain business
at Albee. It is gratifying to note that Mr. Ca-
hill has been accorded preferment and distinction
by his election to the office of president of the
village council, of which position he is incumbent
at the time of this writing, having been chosen
at the incorporation, which was effected in 1902.
In politics he is aligned as a stalwart advocate of
the principles of the Republican party, and fra-
ternally is affiliated with Jefferson Lodge, No.
114, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
Albee Camp, No. 3265, Modern Woodmen of
America.

On the 17th of June, 1897, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Cahill to Miss Charlotte
Morback, who was born in Iowa county, Wis-
consin. Mr. and Mrs. Cahill have a winsome
little daughter, Hazel Irene. They are promi-
nent in the social life of the community and their
pleasant home is a center of refined hospitality.

JAMES EWING was born in Washington
county, Illinois, on the 22d of January, 1862, and
is a son of Samuel and Martha (Lackey) Ewing.
They had nine children : Maggie, Mary, Susan,
James, John, Cora, Thomas, Martha and Mamie.
The father carried on farming in Illinois for
twelve years and then turned his attention to the
manufacture of brick and also did a general

I

contracting business in that line. Both he and
his wife have now passed away.

In the common schools of his native state
James Ewing acquired a fair knowledge of the
branches of English learning usually taught in
such institution. He accompanied his parents on
their removal from Illinois to Colorado, where he
resided for four years, at the end of which time
he went to Kansas, remaining there a year. He
next located in Missouri, where he spent about
four years and afterward remained for a similar
time in Texas. On leaving the south he made
his way to Nebraska, where he lived for two
years and thence came to South Dakota. In all
these various localities he purchased land and
then sold his property at a large profit. The
year 1886 witnessed his arrival in this state and
he first purchased one hundred and twenty acres
of land, of which he became the owner in 1896.
Two years afterward he bought an additional
tract of forty acres and again when two years
had passed he bought a similar amount. When
another year had gone by he purchased one hun-
dred and sixty acres near the town of Yankton
and upon this tract he now resides, while the
remainder of his land is rented, bringing to him
a good income. On his home place he is carrying
on general farming and stock raising and his life
record presents a prosperous career, his advance-
ment in the business world having been gained
through untiring diligence, perseverance and
through the capable management of his affairs.

On the 28th of October, 1886, Mr. Ewing
was united in marriage to Miss Edith Grant, of
Yankton, who was born in Canada and was a
daughter of Royal and Jane (Schooler) Grant.
Her father died when she was but a year old
and her mother afterward removed from Canada
to Illinois in 1865 and there became the wife of
H. A. Dunham, now a prosperous farmer of
Yankton county. Her mother died in 1893. Mr.
and Mrs. Ewing have seven children : Maude,
Leila, Pearl, Mabel, Laura, Lyle and Thelma,
aged respectively fifteen, fourteen, twelve, nine,
seven, five and two years. The family circle yet
remains unbroken by the hand of death and Mr.
Ewing is devoted to the interests of this happy

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

household, finding his own happiness in adminis-
tering to the welfare and comfort of his devoted
and loving wife and children.

In his political affiliations Mr. Ewing is an
earnest Republican, never faltering in his al-
legiance to the party when questions of state and
national importance are involved, but at local
elections, when no issue is before the people, he
votes independently. Mr. Ewing was reared in
the belief of the Presbyterian denomination, al-
though he is not at present a member of any
church. His worth as a man and citizen are
widely acknowledged and Yankton county num-
bers him among its valued representatives, re-
specting him for what he has accomplished and
entertaining for him the warm regard which is
ever the logical sequence of genuine personal
worth.

CHARLES BOYD FONCANON, who is
engaged in the real-estate and loan business in
Eureka, and who is a member of the board of
commissioners of McPherson county, was born
in Millard, Missouri, on the 22d of April, 1869.
being a son of Michael B. and Julia S. (Beatty)
Foncanon, both of whom were born in Fairfield
county, Ohio, the former tracing his lineage to
the sturdy Holland Dutch stock which settled
in the state of New York in the colonial epoch
of our national history, while the maternal an-
cestry is of Scotch-Irish extraction, the original
progenitors in America having come hither in
the middle of the eighteenth century and having
served with the Pennsylvania troops in the war
of the Revolution. The parents of the subject
removed to Missouri prior to the war of the Re-
bellion, having been a resident of the state during
the days when it was the center of the border
warfare, while the father served as a valiant sol-
dier in defense of the Union, having been a mem-
ber of the Seventh Missouri Volunteer Cavalry
during the war. Charles B. Foncanon received
his early education in the public schools of his
native place, later attended the North Missouri
State Normal School, at Kirksville. in which he
was graduated as a member of the class of 1890.

and thereafter he took a special course in the
Missouri State University. After leaving col-
lege he was for two years superintendent of
the public schools at La Plata. Missouri, and in
1894 he came to Eureka, South Dakota, where
he was for four years principal of the schools,
and in 1898 he was elected superintendent of
schools for McPherson county, retaining this
incumbency four years, at the expiration of which
he established himself in his present line of en-
terprise, noted in the initial paragraph, being one
of the successful real-estate dealers of this section
of the state and also making a specialty of finan-
cial loans on real-estate security of approved or-
der.

^Ir. Foncanon is a stanch advocate of the
principles of the Republican party, and in the
fall of 1902 he was elected county commissioner
from the fifth district of McPherson counts', in
which capacity he is now serving. He is identi-
fied with the National Guard of the state, being
adjutant of the First Battalion of the First Regi-
ment, with the rank of first lieutenant. Frater-
nally he is identified with Eureka Lodge, No.
58, Knights of P^.'thias ; Acacia Lodge, No. T08,
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons: Batchelder
Lodge of Perfection, No. 6: South Dakota Con-
siston,', No. 4, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite,
at Aberdeen, and El Riad Temple of the Mystic
Shrine, at Sioux Falls.

On the i8th of June, iQoo. was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Foncanon to Miss Ottilia M.
Hinz, who was born in Manchester, Wisconsin.
November 12, 1879, being a daughter of Louis
and Minerva Hinz. Mr. and Mrs. Foncanon
have a winsome little daughter, AHvian Manrine,
born May .[. igoi.

CHRISTOPH GUENTHNER was born in
Crimea, southern Russia, on the 25th of April,
1853, but comes of stanch German lineage, since
his grandparents on both the patemal and ma-
ternal sides were natives of the kingdom of
Wurtemberg, Germany, whence they removed
to southern Russia, the father of the subject hav-
ing been born in Russia, and his wife was bom

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

after the removal of her parents to the same dis-
trict in Russia. Christoph Guenthner is one of the
ten children bom to Jacob and Katharine
(Meyer) Guenthner, and of this number five are
now living, namely: Elizabeth, who is the wife of
Wilhelm Roth, of southern Russia ; Jacob, who
resides in Bridgewater, South Dakota ; George A.
and Mat, who are likewise residents of that place ;
and Qiristoph, who is the subject of this re-
view. The father was a successful farmer in
Russia and was prominent in public aflfairs in his
district, his death there occurring when he was
fifty-two years of age. His widow died at the
age of eighty years, in Bridgewater South Da-
kota.

Christoph Guenthner was reared to maturity
in his native province, growing up under the
sturdy discipline of the farm and securing a com-
mon-school education. In 1874, in company with
his brother Jacob, he emigrated to the United
States, making the present state of South Da-
kota his ultimate destination. Both brothers took
up homestead claims in Hutchinson county, five
miles southwest of the present town of Freeman,
and in the following year they were joined by
their widowed mother and brothers George and
Mat, each of whom took up land in the same
locality as has the subject. Mr. Guenthner con-
tinued to devote his attention to the improvement
and cultivation of his farm during the ensuing
seven years, at the expiration of which, in 1882,
he came to the newly founded village of Free-
man, where he established himself in the hard-
ware and implement business, in which he suc-
cessfully continued for nearly a score of years,
building up a large and prosperous enterprise.
In igoi he disposed of his interests in this line
and purchased the general merchandise business
of the firm of Dobler & Buediler, while in the
same 5^ear he also secured a half interest in the
only drug store in the town, with both of which
concerns he has since been identified. His gen-
eral store is well equipped in each department
and is one of the leading establishments of the
sort in the county, controlling a large trade
throughout the tributary territon.-.

In his political proclivities Mr. Guenthner is

an uncompromising Republican and he has been
an active worker in the party cause. In the fall
of 1893 he was elected a member of the board
of county commissioners, and at the expiration of
his term was re-elected, thus serving four con-
secutive years, being chairman of the board for
three years. In the autumn of 1900 he was made
the nominee of his party for representative in
the state legislature, being successful at the polls
and serving during the next general assembly
with marked credit and honor to himself and
his constituents. He and his wife are prominent
members of the German Lutheran church, in
which he holds the office of elder. In addition
to his other interests Mr. Guenthner is the owner
of four hundred and eighty acres of valuable
fanning land in Hutchinson county, and is
known as one of its substantial citizens.

On the 18th of April, 1876. was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Guenthner to Miss Eliza-
beth Haar, of this county, and they are the par-
ents of ten children, namely : Ferdinand, who is
associated in the management of the drug store
in which his father is interested ; Erhart, who is
a student in the medical department of the
Northwestern University, in the city of Chicago;
and Rosa, Katy, Ella, Charlotte, Alvina, Leah,
Ruth and Irene, all of whom remain at the pa-
rental home.

EDWARD THOMPSON SHELDON is a
native of Berea, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, where
he was born on the 28th of February. 1838, being
a son of Rev. Henry O. and Ruth (Bradley)
Sheldon. The honored father of the subject was
for sixty-three years engaged in ministerial labor,
being a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal
church and being a forceful and eloquent speaker
and a man of high intellectuality. His eldest
son, H. B. Sheldon, was one of the pioneer cler-
gA'men of the Methodist church in California,
where he is still engaged in the work of his
high calling. Major Lemi Bradley, the maternal
grandfather of the subject', was a major in the
war of 1812, while his eldest brother was a ser-
geant in the Continental line during the war of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the Revolution. Edward T. Sheldon received his
early educational training in the district schools
of his native state, and later was for tlaree years
a student in Baldwin University, at Berea, Ohio.
At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion he
was preparing to enter college, but at once sub-
ordinated his personal interests to respond to his
country's call. In 1862, at the age of twenty-
four years, he enlisted as a private in Company
B, Twenty-ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, hav-
ing removed to the Hawkeye state in 1856. He
proceeded to the front with his regiment, which
was assigned to the Army of the Southwest, and
he participated in many of the battles of the
great conflict through which the integrity of the
nation was perpetuated. Mr. Sheldon became
second lieutenant of Company B, and later was
made captain of Company I, in the same regi-
ment and being mustered out with this rank. In
the fall of 1864 he resigned and received his hon-
orable discharge, the illness of his wife being the
primary cause which led to his resignation, while
at the time it was thought that the war was prac-
tically ended.

After the close of his valiant and meritorious
service as a soldier of the republic, Mr. Sheldon
returned to his home in Tabor, Iowa, where he
was engaged in blacksmithing and farming until
1880, when he went to Leadville, Colorado, where
he remained until 1883, when he came as a
pioneer to Hand county. South Dakota, where
he took up government land, in what is now St.
Lawrence township and here improved a valu-
able farm, upon which he still maintains his
home. He now owns four hundred and eighty
acres and his place is well improved, having sub-
stantial and attractive buildings, good fences, etc.,
and being one of the valuable places of this sec-
tion of the state. Mr. Sheldon was one of the
organizers of St. Lawrence township and has
been prominent in its affairs from the time of
taking up his residence here. He devotes a por-
tion of the farm to diversified agriculture and
also gives special attention to the raising of high-
grade live stock, while he has a small number of
registered shorthorn cattle, used specially for
breeding purposes.

]\Ir. Sheldon has been a stanch supporter of
the Republican party from the time of its or-
ganization until the present time and has been
an effective worker in the promotion of its
cause. He served for four years as a member
of the board of trustees of the State Agricultural
College of South Dakota, and from 1895 until
1897 was a valued member of the state board of
regents of education, which has control of all
state educational institutions. He was also chair-
man of the finance committee of this board,, while
he served as secretary of the board for one year.
In 1887 he was a member of the council of the
territorial legislature, and after the admission of
the state to the L-nion he was elected a member
of the first legislative assembly, in which he was
a prominent and able worker for the best inter-
ests of the people of the new commonwealth.
He has ever been one of the leaders in the pub-
lic affairs of his county and is also one of the
prominent men in the councils of the Republican
party in the state. Mr. Sheldon has lived up to
the full tension of life on the frontier, having
been located in the northwest at the time when
the strenuous warfare was waged against the
border ruffians, prior to the Civil war, and he was
personally acquainted with John Brown, the fa-
mous raider whose name is so prominent in the
history of that crucial epoch, having been a room-
mate of Brown's son while attending school in
Tabor. Iowa. Mr, Sheldon and his wife are
zealous members of the Presbyterian church, in
which he has served as elder for the past eighteen
years, and fraternally he holds membership in
Col. Ellis Post, No. 51, Grand Army of the Re-
public, at St. Lawrence : and in St. Lawrence
Lodge. No. 2Q. Ancient Order of United Work-
men.

On the 28th of August, 1862, Mr. Sheldon
was united in marriage to Miss Imogene Ham-
mond, who was at that time a successful teacher
in the schools of Mills county, Iowa, and she
died in 1874, without issue. On the 29th of De-
cember, 1875, the subject wedded his present
wife, whose maiden name was Mattie Hobbs, and
who was born and reared in North Brookfield,
Massachusetts, being a daughter of Frank and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Mercy Hobbs, who were pioneers of Iowa. Mr.
and Mrs. Sheldon have six children, namely :
Henry E., George F., Albert B.. Gladys M.,
Frank H. and Willard B.

\-ERY RE\\ EMMAXT/EL A. BOUSKA
is pa.'^tor of St. Wenceslans' parish at Tabor, Bon
Homme county, where he has erected the largest
church edifice of the state and the largest, most
commodious and with modern improvements
equipped school, and has made his parish one of
the most flourishing and important in the dio-
cese. He was born in Borovany, Bohemia, Aus-
tria, on the i8th of November, 1864, and is a son
of .Anthony and Barbara (Hruska) Bouska, the
former of whom was a native of Borovany,
while the latter was born in Radetice, Bohemia,
the respective dates of birth being November
2Q, 1826, and December 3, 1820. .\nthony
Bou.ska was a son of Joseph and Anna Bouska,
and was the owner of valuable real estate in his
native land at the time of his death, which oc-
curred on the 17th of September, 1886. His
v.'ife, a daughter of Francis and Mary Hruska.
is still living at the old homestead in Bohemia.
Our subject received his early educational disci-
pline in the excellent public schools at Bernard-
ice, Bohemia, and took a classical course at Ta-
bor, that kingdom. He afterward enrolled him-
self in the national army, having parsed the re-
quired examinations, and after one year of serv-
ice was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant.
.\fter The close of his military career Father
Bouska entered the University of N'ienna. where
he studied law for one year, after which he was
matriculated in the University of Graz, Styria.
.\ustria, where he took up his theological studies,
which he later continued and concluded at Chur.
Switzerland, where he passed iour years, at the
expiration of which he was ordained to the
priesthood by Rt. Rev. John Battaglia, bishop of
Chur, on the 14th of July, 1888. He was there-
after an assistant priest in Europe until Novem-
ber, 1889, when he came to America and identi-
fied himself with the diocese of N^ebraska, where
he was assigned to a pastoral charge at Crete.

.Saline county, where he erected a church and
parish house and where he remained until 1892,
in which year he came to South Dakota and was
assigned a parish at Kimball. Brule county. In
1893 he was transferred, by the late Bishop
Marty, O. S. B., to Tabor, Bon Homme county,
where he has since labored with splendid suc-
cess and with unqualified devotion. Here he has
accomplished a notable work, since, as before
stated, there has been erected under his regime
the largest church in the state, the same being
forty-six by one hundred and thirty-two feet in
dimensions and constructed of hydraulic pressed
brick, at an expenditure of twenty-five thousand
dollars. Later he built a day and boarding pa-
rochial school, connected with the academy, of
the same material, the building being fifty-six by
sixty-si.x feet in lateral dimensions and four sto-
ries in height. The school at the time of this
writing is in direct charge of seven Sisters of
St. Benedict, from Vermillion, South Dakota,
who work under the general supervision of Fa-
ther Bouska, while in the school are fifty-two
boarders and one hundred and six daily stu-
dents, making a total of one hundred and fifty-five
who are here receiving instruction. The man-
agement of the school, connected with the acad-
emy, is in the capable hands of Sister M. Clara,
O. S. B. In 1899. in recognition of his ability
and his peculiar eligibility for the office, Rt. Rev.
Thomas O'Gorman. bishop of the diocese of
Sioux Falls, appointed Father Bouska diocesan
consultor, of which position he has since been in-
cumbent. Since coming to the state Father
Bouska has interested himself personally and
prominently in political affairs, believing this ac-
tion to be a duty of citizenship and in harmony
with the precepts of the church, and he is today
one of the most influential figures in public af-
fairs in Bon Homme and is well known and
highly respected by leading citizens throughout
the state. At Tabor he has not only been an in-
defatigable worker in his parish, giving his time
and energies to pastoral duties and also to the
erection of buildings and the infusing of vigor
into all departments of church work, but he has
also been one of the most loval citizens of the

I2I4

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

thriving little town, at whose cradle he stood, as-
sisting in the organization of the village and
having been most influential in its civic and social
growth and development. He has brought
about the organization of several benevolent so-
cieties for his people and is just at present build-
ing for them a society hall at an expenditure of
three thousand dollars and has had at all times
the affectionate regard and earnest co-operation
of those among whom he has so zealously and
effectively labored. He is known as one of the
most able and forceful speakers in his native
tongue in the northwest, and is a man of versa-
tile talent and high scholarship, speaking the
Bohemian, English, German, Latin and Polish
languages and reading with readiness the Greek,
Hebrew, Italian, French, Spaniard and all Sla-
vonic languages. He is a member of the Roman
Catholic Bohemian Union, the Catholic Knights,
the Catholic Foresters and Catholic Workmen.

J. V. DRIPS is a native of the Hawkeye
state, having been born in Clinton county, Iowa,
on the i6th of April, 1871, and being a son of
j. H. and Hannah (Hawkins) Drips, both of
whom were born in the state of Pennsylvania.
They became the parents of ten children, of whom
eight are living. The father of the subject served
with distinction in the Union army during the
war of the Rebellion, passing the major portion of
his term of enlistment in Dakota, under command
of General Sully, in the work of suppressing the
border outlaws and the refractory Indians. He
saw much arduous and perilous service, taking
part in the memorable battle of Whitestone Hill
and many other engagements, while he also as-
sisted in the erection of Fort Sully. He is now
living in the city of Clinton, Iowa.

J. V. Drips received his educational disci-
pline in the public schools of Malone, Iowa, and
after leaving school he turned his attention to
various vocations in Iowa until 1892, when he
came to South Dakota and located in Gann Val-
ley, where he purchased the plant and business
of the Dakota Chief, a weekly paper, of which
he continued as editor and publisher until 1897.

when he sold the property to the firm of Dye &
Hill, who still continue the publication. Mr.
Drips was appointed postmaster at Gann Valley
in 1895, under the administration of President
Cleveland, and served in this capacity until Au-
gust, 1897. In 1901 he was again appointed to
the office, under President McKinley, and has
since remained incumbent, his management of the
affairs of the postoffice having met with distinc-
tive popular endorsement and approval. In poli-
tics he is a stanch Republican and takes an act-
ive part in the local work of the same. Frater-
nally he is identified with the Masonic order and
the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mrs.
Drips is a member of the Congregational church.
The creamery of which the subject is manager
is doing a large and prosperous business and is
a distinct acquisition to the industrial enterprises
of the county.

On the 3d of July, 1897, Mr. Drips was
united in marriage to Miss Rose Miller, daughter
of A. W. and Henrietta Miller, well-known resi-
dents of Buffalo county, and of this union have
been born three children, namely: Joseph H.,
Victor D. and John V. Mr. and Mrs. Drips are
prominent in the social life of the community,
enjoying marked popularity in their pleasant
home village, while their residence is a center of
gracious hospitality.

PETER BARTH is a native of Washington
county, Wisconsin, where he was born on the
6th of September, 1858, being a son of Matthias
and i\Iary Barth, the latter of whom died in 1892.
The father of the subject devoted the major por-
tion of his active life to agricultural pursuits and
is now living retired, making his home witli his
daughter, Mary, who is the wife of J. Simon, of
Grafton, Wisconsin. He was a blacksmith by
trade and followed this vocation for a number
of years, and he has ever held the unqualified
regard of those with whom he has come in con-
tact in the various relations of life. He attained
success in temporal affairs and is now enjoying
the fruits of his many years of earnest toil and
endeavor, having attained the venerable age of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1215

eighty-four years (1904). He has been a stanch
Republican in politics ever since the organization,
and has been for many years a zealous member
of the Lutlieran church, of which his wife like-
wise was a devoted member. They became the
parents of twelve children, of whom seven are
yet living, the subject of this review having been
the sixth in order of birth.

Peter Barth was reared on the homestead
farm and from his boyhood up rendered his
quota of aid in connection with its work, while
he secured his educational training in the public
schools of his native county, making the best use
of the advantages thus afforded him. At the
age of seventeen years he initiated his independ-
ent career, having been for two years employed
as spiker on the Milwaukee & Northern Rail-
road, after which he located in Winnebago
county, Illinois, where he was engaged in farm-
ing for the following three years. He then re-
turned to Wisconsin and took up his residence
in Rock county, where he continued to be
identified with agricultural pursuits until the
spring of 1884, when he came to what is now the
state of South Dakota and purchased one hun-
dred and sixty acres of land in Hancock town-
ship, Bon Homme county, the same having never
been furrowed by the plowsliare and being en-
tirely without improvements. On the place he
erected a small frame house and then bent his
energies to the reclamation and improvement of
his farm, which continues to be his abiding place,
while the entire tract is under effective cultiva-
tion and yields excellent returns for the labor ex-
pended. Mr. Barth also raises excellent grades
of live stock, giving preference to the Hampshire-
down sheep and Durham cattle, while on his
place are also to be found good horses and swine
raised by him. He is energetic -and progressive,
takes an active interest in public affairs of a local
nature and is honored as a loyal and worthy
citizen. In 1893 he erected his present com-
modious and substantial residence, and the other
pennanent improvements on the place are in
harmony therewith. In politics he is not insist-
ently partisan, but votes according to the dictates
of his judgment, giving his support to those can-

didates whom he considers most eligible for the
respective offices. He is not formally identified
with any religious organization, but gives a lib-
eral support to church work, his wife being a
member of the Congregational church.

On the 4th of November, 1885, Mr. Barth led
to the hymeneal altar Miss Frances Snow, who
was born in Rock county, Wisconsin, being a
daughter of Charles D. Snow, who is now one
of the prominent and successful farmers of Bon
Homme county. Mr. and Mrs. Barth have had
four children, Charles, who died at the age of six
months; Grace and Clifford, who are attending
the district school, and Willard, who is three
years of age at the time of this writing, in 1904.

HENRY KLINDT comes of stanch German
lineage and is himself a native of the father-
land, having been born in Holstein, Germany,
on the 29th of May, 1850, and being a son of
Claus and Anna Klindt. He received his early
educational training in the excellent national
schools of his native land, continuing to attend
school at intervals until he had attained the age
of twenty-two years and thus gaining a knowl-
edge of many of the higher branches of learning,
while for some time he was a student in a prom-
inent military school. After leaving school he
turned his attention to fortification work, in
which he was engaged until 1876, when, at the
age of twenty-six years, he severed the ties which
bound him to home and fatherland and set forth
to seek his fortunes in America. He settled in
the city of Rock Island, Illinois, where he se-
cured a position in a paper mill, in which he was
employed for the following three years. He
then, in 1879, came as a pioneer to what is now
the state of South Dakota, locating in Aurora
county, where he was engaged in farming until
1883, when he came to Buffalo county and took
up a tract of government land in Grant town-
ship, where he has ever since made his home
and where he has accumulated a valuable prop-
erty. He at once instituted the improvement of
his embryonic farm, and gradually added to its
area by the purchase of adjoining tracts until he

t2l6

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

is now the owner of a well-improved rancii of
sixteen hundred acres, all of which is available
for cultivation, though the major portion is de-
voted to his live-stock enterprise, in which he
conducts his operations on an extensive scale,
having cattle of the best grade and also raising
swine and horses.

Mr. Klindt is a man of broad views and dis-
tinctive intellectuality, and he is known as a pub-
lic-spirited and enterprising citizen, while he has
received many patent evidences of popular confi-
dence and esteem. He is a Populist in his polit-
ical proclivities and has been an active worker
in the party cause in his section of the state. In
1887 he was elected a member of the board of
county commissioners, in which capacitv he
served four years, and in 1894 he was elected to
represent his district in the state legislature,
where he made an excellent record, serving two
terms, with credit to himself and his constitu-
ency. His religious affiliation is with the Luth-
eran church.

On the 29th of May, 1889, Mr. Klindt was
united in marriage to Miss Mary Schultz, who
was born and reared in Wisconsin, being a
daughter of August and Louise Schultz, who
were numbered among the sterling pioneers of
Green county, that state. The subject and his
estimable wife are the parents of four children,
namely: August, Henry, Hazel and Lydia, all
of whom remain beneath the home roof tree.

ISAAC LINCOLN.— Among those promi-
nent in the banking and financial circles of South
Dakota is Isaac Lincoln, president of the State
Bank of Aberdeen, vice-president of the Aber-
deen National Bank and president of the First
National Bank of Webster, Day county. Mr. Lin-
coln is a native of the state of Maine, and is de-
scended on both sides from colonial stock, his
ancestors having come to New England in 1636,
settling on Cape Cod. Mr. Lincoln was born in
Brunswick, Maine, and is a son of Dr. John D.
and Ellen (Fessenden) Lincoln, who were like-
wise born and reared in Maine, where the re-
spective families were early established. He se-

cured his education in the public schools of his
native town and in Phillips Academy in An-
dover, Massachusetts. Shortly thereafter he came
to the territory of Dakota, where he engaged in
farming and stock raising until 1886, when he
located in Aberdeen. Besides his banking inter-
ests he is engaged in the real-estate business and
in farming, having one of the largest stock and
grain farms in the county, which he personally
supervises. In politics he is a Republican, and
fraternally is identified with the ]Masonic order.

JOSEPH M. PETRIK, one of the successful
and popular business men and influential citizens
of Tabor, Bon Homme county, was born in Spill-
ville, Winneshiek coimty, Iowa, on the i6th of
August, 1869. being a son of Mathias and Mary
Petrik, both of whom were born and reared in
Bohemia, .Austria, where their marriage was sol-
emnized. Tliey emigrated thence to America
and became numbered among the early settlers in
Winneshiek county, Iowa, where the father took
up a homestead claim of government land and set
himself to the task of reclaiming the same to cul-
tivation, meeting with the struggles and hardships
which attended the lot of the average pioneer
on the broad prairies of this now favored and
opulent commonwealth. The subject of this
sketch was a chiUl of about two years at the time
of his parents' removal to this state, and he was
reared to the age of ten years on the home farm,
attending the primitive district school as oppor-
tunity afforded. At the early age mentioned he
went to the city of Chicago, where he completed
liis educational work in the public schools, being
compelled to depend upon his own resources in
prosecuting his studies, as the financial circum-
stances of his parents were such that they coidd
lend him but slight aid. He there continued to
attend school until he had attained the age of six-
teen years, his labors in the connection having
perforce been such as to make him the more ap-
preciative of the advantages which he thus
gained, and he then returned to South Dakota,
and secured a position as clerk in a general store
at Armour, Douglas county, being gradually en-

^^

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

trusted with better and more important positions
imtil 1894, when he went to Yankton Reserva-
tion, Charles Mix coimty, and took up a home-
stead claim of one hundred and sixty acres,
where he remained for three years, during- which
time he was engaged in preparing the land for
farming. A failure of crops on account of a
drought caused him to haul all water used by his
family and with which to water his stock, for a
distance of six miles, the water being procured
from a private well situated on a creek bottom.
About this time a neighbor, Frank Seip, and wife,
were murdered and robbed by one Charlie Basl,
and this naturally made Mrs. Petrik nervous and
dissatisfied with that locality, so it was decided to
dispose of all personal property and allow the
tree claim to revert to the government, and in
1897 the subject came to Bon Homme county.
South Dakota, opening a store in the village of
Tabor, where he has since been successfully en-
gaged in this line of enterprise save for an in-
terim of one year, during which he conducted
n store at Scotland. He is now senior member
of the firm of Petrik & Honner, general mer-
chants, and the firm has built up a prosperous
iDusiness, while both of the interested principals
stand high in the confidence and esteem of the
community. In politics Mr. Petrik gives a stanch
■support to the Democratic party and has ever
shown a proper interest in public affairs, partic-
ularly of a local nature, while in 1900 he was
candidate of his party for the office of county
sheriflF, being defeated with the balance of the
ticket. He and his wife are communicants of the
Catholic church, and fraternally he is identified
v^'ith the Knights of St. George and with the local
lodge of the Western Bohemian Catholic Union.
On the 1 2th of October, 1892, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Petrik to Miss Mary A.
"Novotny. who was born in Bon Homme coimty,
this state, on the 28th of November, 1876, being
-a daughter of Joseph and Rosa Novotny, who
■were early settlers in this section of the state.
Of this union have been born five children,
-namely: George, Louise. Joseph. Edward and
Albina, all of whom still remain beneath the
hon-ie roof.

RUTHERFORD H. FULTON, late post-
master at Avon, Bon Homme county, was a
' native of the state of Illinois, having been born
on a farm in Jo Daviess county on the 2d of
May, 1877, and being a son of Peter and Caroline
(Whitman) Fulton, the former of whom was
born in Pennsylvania and the latter in Illinois.
Of their twelve children six are living at the
present time. Peter Fulton was reared on the
homestead farm in the old Keystone state of the
Union, where he remained until he had attained
the age of eighteen years, when, in 1847, he came
westward to Illinois, where he was employed on
various farms for a number of years, carefully
conservmg his resources and thus being finally
able to purchase a tract of land in Joe Daviess
county, where he continued to be engaged in
agricultural pursuits until the time of his death,
which occurred in 1897, his devoted wife passing
away in the same year. They were worthy
church members, and the father was a stanch Re-
publican in his political adherency.

Rutherford H. Fulton was reared on the
homestead farm and acquired his educational dis-
cipline in the public schools of Jo Daviess
county. In 1896 he went to Plymouth county,
Iowa, where he secured employment in the office
of the Akron Register, a weekly newspaper. In
the following summer he returned to Illinois,
where he remained about one year, at the ex-
piration of which, in the summer of 1897, he re-
turned to Akron, Iowa, and purchased a half in-
terest in the publication in the office of which he
had worked the preceding year, and there he con-
tinued to be actively engaged in the newspaper
business until May, 1900, when he disposed of
his interests and came to South Dakota, purchas-
ing an interest in a newspaper at Alcester, LInion
county, and being identified with its publication
about one year. He then came to Avon and here
established the Avon Clarion, whose publication
he continued until the ist of Februa^^^ 1903,
when he sold the plant and business to W. J.
Robinson, having been appointed postmaster of
the town in December. 1902. In that office he did
much to improve the service and his administra-
tion met with unqualified approval while he en-

1218

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

joyed marked personal popularity in the village
and surrounding country, his death, on July 17,
1903, being deeply regretted by all who knew
him. He was a stalwart Republican in politics
and was chairman of the first board of trustees
of the village after its incorporation, while he
served one term as justice of the peace of the
village, and in 1902 was elected to the same of-
fice as a county official, but did not qualify, on ac-
count of his appointment as postmaster. He was
a member of the ancient-craft body of the Ma-
sonic fraternity ; of Avon Camp, No. 8536, Mod-
ern Woodmen of America, and Avon Tent, No.
61, Knights of the Maccabees.

On the 28th of September, 1898, Mr. Ful-
ton was united in marriage to Miss Alice Myers,
of Akron, Iowa. Two children have been bom,
Leon Ernest, born March 6, 1901, died July 10,
1901, and Ruth Hazel, born July 7, 1903.

JOHN S. HEADLEY was born in Granville,
Mahaska coimty, Iowa, on the 2d of December,
1858, a son of William and Ann (Bowman)
Headley, and he is the only one of their four
children now living. His father was born in the
city of Hull, England, about 1824, his father hav-
ing been a clergj'man of the Baptist church. He
was reared on a farm, in the home of relatives,
as both of his parents fell victim to the dread
scourge of cholera and died while he was a mere
infant. Upon attaining his legal majority Wil-
liam Headley bade adieu to his native land and
set forth to seek his fortunes in America. He
located in the state of \^crniont. where his mar-
riage was solemnized, and later he emigrated to
Mahaska county, Iowa, where he purchased land
and devoted himself to farming until his death,
which occurred on the 6th of March, 1873. He
was a Republican in politics but not an office-
seeker, and was a sincere and consistent member
of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is also
his widow, who now makes her home with the
subject, being accorded that filial solicitude which
is so justly her due.

John S. Headley was reared on the home-

stead farm and after availing himself of the ad-
vantages of the public schools he continued his
educational discipline in Penn College, at Oska-
loosa, Iowa. At the age of twenty-one years he
put his scholastic acquirements to practical test
by engaging as a teacher in the district schools,
continuing to teach during the winter terms for
several years and working on the farm during
the intervening summer seasons. In 1883 he
came to South Dakota and took up a pre-emption
claim of one hundred and sixty acres in Hutch-
inson county, together with a timber claim of
equal area. His mother and younger brother had
preceded him here by one year and both had filed
on claims in this same county. The subject here
gave his attention to teaching during the win-
ter months, and the balance of his time was de-
voted to the improvement and cultivation of his
farm. In 1889 he was chosen principal of the
schools at Parkston, holding this position two
years and then residing on his farm until 1894.
when he came to Menno, where he was principal
of the public schools for the ensuing five vears.
gaining a high reputation in the educational field
here. In the fall of 1898 a fitting recognition of
his ability was given in his election to the office
of county superintendent of schools, and he
served two terms of two years each, making a
most excellent record and doing much to advance
the cause of popular education in his jurisdic-
tion. During his last term he also contributed
the editorial leaders to the Hutchinson Herald,
and on the 15th of December, 1900, he purchased
and assumed control of the publication, which is
one of the leading Republican papers of this sec-
tion of the state and one which is a true repre-
sentative of local interests in all lines. In 1902
he was a delegate to the convention of the Na-
tional Editorial Association at Hot Springs, Ar-
kansas, and in the same year also attended the
meeting of the National Educational Associa-
tion, being held in the city of Minneapolis. He
is an uncompromising advocate of the principles
of the Republican party, and while not ambitious
for official preferment he has served in various
minor offices of trust. He and his wife are prom-
inent members of the Methodist Episcopal

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1219

church, and in the same he served for several
years as superintendent of the Sunday school.

On the 1 2th of August, 1883, Mr. Headley
was united in marriage to Miss Emma E. Wat-
son, who was born in Mahaska county, Iowa,
and of their eight children six are living, all re-
maining at the parental home save the eldest,
Lillian O., who is a student in the normal school
at Madison. The others are as follows : Lulu
A., Georgiana, Muriel, John W. and Frank.

ANDREAS A. WIPE, M. D., was born in
southern Russia, on the 12th of September, 1868,
being a son of Andreas and Susan (Glanzer)
Wipf, to whom were born five children, namely:
Sarah, who is the wife of Joseph G. Gross, of
Hutchinson county; Joseph A., who is engaged
in farming in this county ; Susan, who is the wife
of Andrew R. Hofer, a farmer of this county ;
Anna, who remains at the parental home ; and
Andreas Albert, the immediate subject of this
sketch. The Wipf family traces back to Swiss
origin, but has been established in Russia for
fully a century, representatives of the name hav-
ing removed from Switzerland into Tyrol, Aus-
tria, and thence into southern Russia, where both
parents of our subject were born and reared. In
1875 t'l^y emigrated to America and came to
Hutchinson county. South Dakota, where the
father entered a homestead claim on Wolf creek,
five miles southwest of the present town of
Bridgewater, and there he improved a valuable
farm, upon which he died, and where his esti-
mable wife still continues to make her home,
being numbered among the honored pioneers of
the county.

Dr. Wipf was seven years of age at the time
when the family came from Russia, and he was
reared to maturity in South Dakota, his youthful
days being devoted to working on the home farm
and attending the common schools. Later he
entered the Dakota University, at Mitchell, and
finally was matriculated in the L'niversity of
Sovith Dakota, in Vermillion, where he contin-
ued his scholastic discipline. He then devoted
three winters to teaching in the district schools,

engaging in farm work during the summer sea-
sons. In 1891 he took up the study of medicine,
and in the fall of that year entered that celebrated
institution. Rush Medical College, in the city of
Chicago, where he completed the prescribed
course under the most favorable auspices, being
graduated in the spring of 1894, with the degree
of Doctor of Medicine. Shortly afterward the
Doctor opened an office in Freeman, where he
has since been established in the practice of his
profession and where he has attained distinctive
prestige as an able and discriminating physi-
cian and surgeon. He is a stalwart supporter
of the Republican party, but has never held office,
save that of county coroner, in which capacity he
served four years. He is a member of the South
Dakota State Medical Society and is held in high
esteem by his professional confreres. Fraternally
he is identified with Eureka Lodge, No. 71, Free
and Accepted Masons ; Scotland Oiapter, No. 31,
Royal Arch Masons ; Oriental Consistory, An-
cient Accepted Scottish Rite; El Riad Tem-
ple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the
Mystic Shrine, the latter two being organized in
the city of Sioux Falls, and he is also affiliated
with the lodge of the Ancient Order of United
Workmen at Bridgewater and the camp of the
Modern Woodmen of America at Menno. The
Doctor is the owner of a fine farm of one hun-
dred and eighty-five acres, located three miles
northeast of Freeman, in Turner county.

On the 26th of June, 1894, Dr. Wipf was
united in marriage ip Miss Dorothea Hoellwarth.
of Hutchinson coimty, and they are the parents
of six children, namely : Claudia, Adeline, Alice,
Alfred, Lilly and Kurt.

FREDERICK HAAR, one of the leading
dealers in agricultural implements and machinery
in Hutchinson county, was born in the southern
part of Russia on the 27th of February, 1856,
being a son of Jacob and Frederica (Rop) Haar,
who emigrated thence to the United States in
1875, coming forthwith to South Dakota and lo-
cating in Hutchinson county, where the father
filed entry on homestead, pre-emption and tim-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ber claims of one hundred and sixty acres each,
seven miles southwest of the present village of
Freeman, which had not then sprung into exist-
ence. He resided on this farm about fifteen years,
thence removing to Edmunds county, where he
remained three years, and finally taking up his
residence in the village of Freeman, where he
and his wife have since maintained their home.
Both are devoted members of the Lutheran
church, and he is a Republican in his political
proclivities.

Frederick Haar, the subject of this sketch,
was reared to maturity in his native land, where
he received the advantages of the common schools,
and he was nineteen years of age at the time
when he accompanied his parents to the United
States, in 1875. He shortly afterward entered
claim to a quarter section of government land
near that of his father, in Hutchinson county,
and after his marriage, in 1876, he settled on his
farm and set himself vigorously to the task of
improving the same and bringing it under ef-
fective cultivation. He continued to be thus
identified with agricultural pursuits about six
years, at the expiration of which, in 1882, he took
up his residence in the newly established village
of Freeman, where he entered into partnership
with Hon. Christoph Guenthner and engaged in
the hardware and implement business, in which
they continued to be associated for nearly a score
of years. In 1901 they disposed of the hardware
stock and the partnership was dissolved by mu-
tual consent. Mr. Haar retained the implement
business, which he has since continued as an in-
dividual enterprise, and his reputation as a care-
ful and upright business man is so thoroughly
established that he has continued to control a
large and important trade, having the implicit
confidence of all who know him. He is a stanch
adherent of the Republican party but has never
sought office, and both he and his wife are worthy
members of the Lutheran church, in which he is
serving as elder.

On the 4th of June, 1876, Air. Haar was
iTiarried to Miss Dorothy Schmidtcall, of Yank-
ton county, and of their fourteen children twelve
are living, namely : Gottlieb, who is cashier of the

Merchants' State Bank, of Freeman ; Jacob, who
assists his father in the management of his im-
plement business ; Barbara, who is the wife of
Reinhold Baer, who is engaged in the hardware
business in Freeman ; Mina, who is the wife of
David Ellwine. of this place ; Robert, who is at
the parental home; Theodore, who is attending
college in Minneapolis, Alinnesota; and Lydia,
Caroline, Hella, Albert, Bertha and Hugo, who
remain beneath the parental roof.

JOSEPH WILHELM WIPE.— The subject
of this sketch comes of stanch old Swiss lineage,
though his ancestors for several generations
have been established in the southern portion of
Russia. The original representatives proceeded
from Canton L'nterwalden, Switzerland, into the
Tyrol, Austria, and thence into Russia. Mr.
Wipf is one of the enterprising and prominent
voung business men of Freeman, Hutchinson
county, and has been a resident of South Dakota
since 1879, in which year his parents emigrated
from Russia and became pioneers of this com-
monwealth, the father having become one of the
successful farmers of Hutchinson county.

Joseph W. Wipf was born in the colony of
Huterthal, southern Russia, on the 12th of Au-
gust, 1869, a son of Joseph and Susanna (Wurz)
Wipf, who were reared and educated in Russia,
the former there learning the blacksmith trade,
to which he devoted his attention for a number
of vears, also engaging in farming. He continued
to follow the later vocation after coming to South
Dakota, and he died in Hutchinson county, on
the nth of November, i888, respected by all who
knew him. His wife survived him by nearly a
decade, being summoned into eternal rest on the
6th of November, 1898. Both were devoted
members of the Mennonite church, and the fa-
ther was a stanch Republican in politics, his life
having been one of honest and earnest endeavor.

The subject of this sketch was eight years
of age at the time his parents took up their
abode on the pioneer farm in this county, and here
he was reared to manhood, securing his early
educational training in the public schools and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

supplementing this by a six-months course in
the South Dakota State University, at \'ermilHon
— in 1888-9. In 1896-1897 he was matriculated
in the pharmaceutical department of the Univer-
sity of Iowa, at Iowa City, and was there grad-
uated as a member of the class of 1897. In 1886
Mr. Wipf began teaching in the district schools
of Hutchin.son county, and continued in peda-
gogic work until 1892, in which latter year he
held a clerkship as bookkeeper in the Bridgewater
State Bank, while during the years 1893-4 he was
bookkeeper in the hardware establishment of
Meyer Brothers, in Bridgewater. Since 1897 ^^
has been engaged in the drug business in Free-
man, owning a half interest in the drug store
conducted under the firm name of J. W. Wipf
& Conijiany. He also holds a half inter-
est in the Freeman Telephone Company.
In politics he gives his allegiance to the
Republican party, and his religious faith
is that of the Mennonite church, of which he has
been a member since 1889. Fraternally he is
identified with Eureka Lodge, No. 71, Free and
Accepted Masons, and Menno Camp, No. 3071,
Modern Woodmen of America.

On the 13th of October, 1897, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Wipf to Miss Mary
Graber, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Graber,
of Storkweather, North Dakota, and they became
the parents of three children : Evelina, born No-
vember II, 1898; Elva, born September 8. 1901,
died two days later, and Edmund Filmore, born
January 20, 1902.

CHRISTIAN AISENBRJEY. the able and
popular postmaster at Menno, Hutchinson
county, was born in southern Russia, on the 30th
of January, 1857, a son of Andrew J. and Eliz-
abeth (Bentz) Aisenbrey, of whose five chil-
dren the subject is the elder of the two surviving,
his brother Carl being a successful hardware
merchant of Menno. The parents were both
born in southern Russia, the father on the 28th
of February, 1821, and the mother on the 7th
of July. 1823. The paternal grandfather. Philip
B. Aisenbrey. was a native of Germanv, whence

he removed over the line into Russia in 1803,
being there engaged in agricultural pursuits until
his death. His son, Andrew, likewise followed
farming there until 1874, when he emigrated to
the United States, in company with his wife and
two sons. He came at once to the territory of
Dakota and took up a homestead claim of a quar-
ter section of land in Hutchinson county, there
improving a good farm, upon which he continued
to reside, an honored pioneer of the county, until
his death, in May, 1889. His wife passed away
in 1876, two years after coming to what is now
South Dakota, both having been devoted mem-
bers of the German Reformed church.

Christian Aisenbrey was reared on the old
homestead in Russia, and there he secured his
early education in the common schools, while
his knowledge of the English was gained by ab-
sorption and self-application after he came to the
United States, being seventeen years of age at the
time of his parents' emigration to the new world.
After locating on the pioneer farm in South Da-
kota he there continued to assist his father in the
improvement and cultivation of the same until
the time of his marriage, on the l8th of Novem-
ber, 1877. when Miss Christiana Keck became
his wife. He then took up a tree claim of one
hundred and sixty acres and a homestead of equal
area, improving the property and bringing it un-
der effective cultivation, and there he continued
to reside until 1890, when he rented the farm,
which he still owns, and removed to the town of
Menno, where he served as deputy county treas-
urer in 1 890- 1. In 1892 he was elected to the
office of treasurer, and upon the expiration of his
term of two years was chosen as his own suc-
cessor. In 1896, after the expiration of his sec-
ond term, Mr. Aisenbrey purchased the furni-
ture business of Peter Heil, while in 1901 he also
purchased the business of his only competitor,
David C. Heckenlaible, and he now controls the
exclusive furniture and undertaking business of
the town, having a large and complete stock and
the best of facilities in both departments of his
enterprise. His correct business methods and
personal popularity insure to him a liberal sup-
porting patronage, and he spares no eflfort in ca-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

tering to the demands of his trade. In 1898 he
was appointed postmaster of Menno, under Pres-
ident McKinley, and was reappointed in 1902,
under the regime of President Roosevelt, being
known as one of the most ardent advocates of the
principles of the Republican party that can be
found in this section. He served for eight years
as county assessor, and has been a delegate to the
various state and county conventions of his party.
He and his wife are valued members of the Ger-
man Reformed church, in whose work they take
a deep interest.

WARREN DBIOCK, of Menno, Hutchin-
son county, was born in Iowa county, Wisconsin,
on the T4th of September, 1859, a son of Warren
S. and Lucy J. (Munson) Dimock. of whose
seven children the following named five are yet
living: Harry A., a druggist of Muscoda, Wis-
consin : Almena, the wife of E. G. Schwingle, of
Avoca. that state : Asa B., who is likewise a resi-
dent of that place, being a farmer and manufac-
turer ; Bertha R., wife of Oscar Spicer, of Ma-
son City. Iowa; and Warren, subject of this
sketch, who is eldest of the number.

The father of the subject was born in Sus-
quehanna. Pennsylvania, in 1819, and was there
reared and educated, removing thence to Wiscon-
sin in 1855 and settling on a farm near Avoca,
Iowa county, where he was engaged in agricul-
tural pursuits until the spring of 1903, when he
remcived to the village mentioned, where he is
now living retired, having attained the venerable
age of eighty- four years, and being well pre-
served in mind and physical powers. He is one
of the pioneers of the Badger state, where he
purchased government land soon after his arrival
within its borders, and he resided continuously on
the one farm for forty-eight years. He is a
Democrat in politics and is a man who has ever
commanded the unqualified esteem of all who
know him. His wife, who was born in the same
town as was he, is still by his side, being sixty-
eight years of age at the time of this writing
(1903)-

The subject of this review was reared on the

homestead farm and after completing the curric-
ulum of the public schools he continued his stud-
ies at the Plattville Normal school, at Plattville,
Wisconsin. He taught school for three winter
terms, working on the farm during the summer
seasons.- He continued to be identified with the
operation of the home farm until 1886, but in
the meanwhile had devoted careful attention to
the reading of law. In the year mentioned he lo-
cated in Muscoda, Wisconsin, where he was en-
gaged in the real-estate and insurance business
until 1889, when he came to Hutchinson county,
South Dakota, locating in Menno, where he was
employed for the ensuing year as assistant cashier
in the Menno State Bank. In March. 1890, he
was admitted to the bar and forthwith began the
practice of his profession in Menno. where he
has since resided, having secured a representa-
tive clientele and established a high reputation as
an able advocate and safe and conservative coun-
sel. He is a stalwart adherent of the Republican
party, and in the fall of 1890 he was elected
state's attorney for his county, serving one term,
while in 1898 he was again called to this office,
serving two consecutive terms and making a
most excellent record as prosecutor. He is a
member of Muscoda Lodge, No. 70, Free and
Accepted Masons, at Muscoda. Wisconsin ; of
Scotland Q:apter. No. 31. Royal Arch Masons,
at Scotland, South Dakota ; and of Menno Camp,
No. 3071. Modern Woodmen of America.

On the 15th of December, 1886, Mr. Dimock
was united in marriage to Miss Oara A. Stev-
ens, of Monfort, Wisconsin, and they became the
parents of two children: Murray S., who died
at the age of fifteen months: and Lucy N., who
remains at the parental home.

C. BUECHLER was bom in sontheni Russia,
on April 13, 1843, being a son of Jacob and Bar-
bara (Krauter) Buechler, of whose thirteen chil-
dren only four are now living — Michael, a resi-
dent of Walworth county, this state ; Barbara, the
wife of Jacob Eissenbeiss ; Joseph, who still re-
mains in southern Russia : and the subject of this
sketch. The father was born in France and the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

mother in Germany. As a young- man the former
left his native land to escape military service,
making his way to southern Russia, where he met
and married his wife. He there engaged in ag-
ricultural pursuits, in which he continued until
iiis death, in 1866. His widow came to Free-
man, South Dakota, in 1875, and resided in the
home of our subject until she too was summoned
into eternal rest, her death occurring in 1888.

C. Buechler was reared on the homestead farm
and after completing the curriculum of the com-
mon schools of his native land he entered Schritel
College, at Odessa, Russia, where he was gradu-
ated as a member of the class of 1865. In the
following year he began teaching in a parochial
school, thus continuing to be engaged until 1873,
when he severed the ties which bound him to
home and native land and emigrated to the
Ignited States. He came forthwith to the terri-
tory of Dakota, arriving in its capital city, Yank-
ton, on the 1st of August. He worked one
month in a lumber yard, and in the spring of the
following year engaged in business for himself
by opening a small grocery in Yankton. He suc-
ceeded in building up a good trade and became
the owner of a house and lot in the city. In
February, 1880, he removed his grocery stock to
the present town of Freeman, and being unable
to sell his house for a reasonable price, he showed
liis ingenuity and independence by having the
same removed to the new town. He employed
a carpenter to dismantle the building and at an
expense of only eighty-five dollars removed it
to Freeman, and three weeks later it was once
more ready for occupancy, being used both as a
store and residence. At this time Freeman was
represented oniv by the little railroad station and
one warehouse, our subject's store building be-
ing the only other structure in the embryonic
village. He and his wife experienced no little
loneliness on account of having no neighbors, and
made an earnest effort to induce other families
to settle in the town. .-\ short time later George
and John Schamber, brothers, made to Mr.
Buechler a proposition to purchase his store and
business, on the condition that he remain in the
town and engage in some other line of enter-

prise. After due consideration he accepted their
overtures, selling his building to them for fifteen
hundred dollars. Twenty years later he repur-
chased the building from the Schamber brothers,
who had erected a modern brick building, for the
nominal consideration of two hundred and twen-
ty-five dollars, while he recently sold his house
and lot for twenty-five hundred dollars, said
building being now the oldest in the town. These
transactions indicate the changes which have
been brought about here in the lapse of years.
After disposing of his store Mr. Buechler en-
gaged in the agricultural implement business,
and during the years 1880 and 1881 he shipped
in carload after carload of cattle, from Wiscon-
sin and Iowa and Minnesota, thus giving a great
impetus to the stock industry in this locality.
In 1883 he erected a hotel building and conducted
the business there until 1888. In the preceding
year, 1887, he established the Bank of Freeman,
and the institution has become one of the sub-
stj.ntial and popular ones of the state. In Feb-
ruary, 1902, the business was incorporated, with
Mr. Buechler as president and his son Henry C.
as cashier, while our subject's wife is vice-presi-
dent. In 1894 Mr. Buechler engaged in the mer-
cantile business, in which he continued until 1901,
when he disposed of his interests in this line.
In 1902 he established a bank at Java, Walworth
county, and this is meeting with excellent sup-
port, being in charge of his son, Henry C. In
1896 Mr. Buechler purchased the grist mills of
Freeman, and these he has since continued to op-
erate, while he also owns a well-equipped elevator
here and buys and ships grain upon a quite ex-
tensive scale. He is the owner of valuable farm-
ing lands in Hutchinson county, and also in Vir-
ginia and Christian county, Florida.

In politics Mr. Buechler gives his allegiance
to the Republican party, and while a resident of
Yankton he served two terms as a member of the
board of aldermen. In 1885 he was a member
of the constitutional convention, as was also he of
that of 1889, which framed the present admirable
constitution of the state. He was a representa-
tive of his county in the first and second general
assemblies of the legislature of the new state —

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

in i8qo and 1891, giving- most excellent service
during these important sessions. In 1896 he was
elected treasurer of Hutchinson county, being
chosen as his own successor in 1898, and thus
serving four consecutive years. He has also
been called upon to serve in various village of-
fices. He and his wife are members of the Ger-
man Reformed church, and he is at the present
time a member of the board of trustees of the
church in Freeman.

On the 19th of February, 1867, Mr. Buechler
was united in marriage to Miss Barbara Zum-
baum, who is, like himself, a native of southern
Russia, where their union was solemnized. Of
their five children three are now living: Maria,
who is the wife of G. J. Dabler, of Kulm, La-
more county, North Dakota; August S., who is
a student in the Barnes Medical College, in St.
Louis, ^lissouri : and Henry C. who is in charge
of his father's bank at Java.

ALBERT H. STEFFENS, M. D., D. D. S.,
of Menno, Hutchinson county, is a native of Prus-
sia, where he was born on the i8th of Jime, 1874,
being a son of Frederick and Sophia (Foerster)
Steffens, of whose ten children the seven surviv-
ing are as follows : Mary, wife of August
Gieseke, of Trenton, Illinois ; Gustave, likewise a
resident of that place ; Louisa, wife of Eugene
Lugenbuhl, of Trenton ; Otto, a merchant tailor
at North Manchester. Indiana ; Herman, engaged
in the same line of enterprise at Trenton. Illi-
nois ; Albert H., subject of this review: and Ru-
dolph, a stenographer, residing in St. Louis, j\lis-
souri. The brother August, who died in Cama-
roon, Africa, in 1893, was a missionary of the
Baptist church. The parents of the Doctor were
both l)orn in Prussia, where they continued to
reside until 1880. when they came with their
family to .America, locating in Trenton, Illinois,
where the father lived retired - until his death,
which occurred in 1897, at the age of seventy-
seven years, his object in leaving his native land
liaving been to enable his sons to avoid the com-
pulsory military service in the Prussian army,
while he also was confident that superior oppor-

tunities for individual advancement were to be
had in the new world. He was twice married,
his first wife surviving but a few years after
their union and having borne him two children,
of whom one is living, William, now a resident
of Trenton, Illinois. The mother of the subject
still resides in that place.

Dr. Albert Henry Steffens secured his rudi-
mentary education in his native land, having been
eight years of age at the time of the emigration
of the family to America. He then continued his
studies in the public and normal schools of Illi-
nois, in which state he was successfully engaged
in teaching for a period of four years. In the
autumn of 1894 he began reading medicine un-
der the preceptorship of Dr. T. Gaffner, of Tren-
ton, Illinois, and in the fall of 1896 he was ma-
triculated in the Barnes Medical College, in the
the city of St. Louis, where he was graduated in
the spring of 1900, with the degree of Doctor of
Medicine. Shortly afterward he came to Menno,
South Dakota, and here instituted the active prac-
tice of his profession, soon securing a represent-
ative support as his ability and gracious per-
sonality won him popular favor. After coming
here the Doctor also took up the study of
dentistry and finally completed a course in the
jMarion Sims Dental College, at St. Louis, where
he was graduated in the spring of 1902, receiving
the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. He now
gives his attention to both professions, which sO'
admirably complement each other, while he is
one of the popular young men of the county and
prominent in social circles. He is a Republican
in politics and his religious faith is that of the
Baptist churchr

CHRISTOPH METTLER, one of the
prominent and highly esteemed business men of
Menno, Hutchinson county, was born in south-
ern Russia, on the 15th of August, i860, being a
son of Andreas and Magdalena (Schnaidt) Met-
tler, whose ten children are all living. The par-
ents were likewise born in southern Russia but
represented stanch German stock, since the re-
spective families removed over the line from

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[225

Germany into Russia in an early day. In 1874
Andreas Mettler emigrated with his family to
.America, and forthwith took up his residence in
Hutchinson county, South Dakota, becoming one
of its pioneers. Here he took up homestead and
pre-emption claims, and later purchased ad-
ditional land, eventually becoming the owner of
a landed estate. In the fall of 1879 ^^^ engaged
in the hardware business in Menno, in part-
nership with Jacob Schnaidt, and the subject of
this review likewise became a member of the
firm. In 1888 Mr. Schnaidt assumed the con-
trol of the lumber business, which had become a
department of the enterprise, and our subject and
his father were thereafter associated in the con-
duct of the hardware business until 1888, when
they disposed of the same to give their attention
to operation of their well-equipped flouring mill,
which they had acquired about five years pre-"
viously. Upon the death of his honored father,
on September 26, 1901, the subject purchased
the property and has since successfully continued
the enterprise, which is a most flourishing one,
having marked value as an acquisition to the in-
dustrial interests of this section. Mr. Mettler is
a straightforward, energetic and progressive
business man and public-spirited citizen, and he
is held in the highest confidence and esteem in
the community. He gives his support to the
Republican party but has never been ambitious
for political office, and both he and his wife are
worthy members of the German Reformed
church.

On November 28, 1883, Mr. Mettler was mar-
ried to Miss Christina Pressler, of this county,
and they have six children, all of whom remain
beneath the home roof, namely : Qiristina, Chris-
toph, Emanuel, Edward, Helmuth and Lydia.

MOSES H. CLAGETT. M. D., of Menno,
Hutchinson county, is a native of the fine old
Blue-grass state of Kentucky, having been born
in Grayson county, on the i6th of March, 1861,
and being a scion of stanch old southern stock.
To his parents, John G. and Mary J. (Harrold)
Clagett. were born eight children, and of the

six surviving we enter the following brief record :
Charles W. is sheriff of Grayson county, Ken-
tucky ; John H. is a successful teacher in Bowling
Green, that state ; Mary A. is a missionary of the
Baptist church in Japan, where she has been sta-
tioned for the past fifteen years ; Martha J. is
the wife of Hon. W. O. Jones, of Litchfield, Ken-
tuck)- ; Emma is the wife of W. P. Adams, of
Pleasure Ridge Park, that" state ; and Moses H.
is the subject of this sketch. The father was
born in Maryland, in 1818, the family having
early been established in the state and being of
English extraction. As a 3'oung man he removed
to that portion of Virginia which later became a
portion of Grayson county, Kentucky, and there
he continued to reside until his death, having
been a successful farmer and a man who com-
manded uiiqualified respect and esteem. He was
a Democrat and served about eight years as
sheriff of his county, being incumbent of this
office at the time of the Civil war. He was sum-
moned to his reward on the 28th of December,
1899, in the fulness of years and honors, at the
home of his eldest son ; the widow is still living.
Dr. Clagett was reared on the old homestead
and after completing the curriculum of the com-
mon schools he entered Center College, at Dan-
ville, Kentucky, where he continued his studies
for four years. In 1885 he began reading medi-
cine, his preceptor being Dr. A. J. Slayton, a
prominent physician and surgeon then of Mil-
wood. Kentucky, and now of Litchfield, that
state. In the fall of the same year our subject
was matriculated in the medical dep^irtment of
the University of Louisville, where he was gradu-
ated in March, 1887, receiving his degree of Doc-
tor of Medicine and coming forth well equipped
for the active and responsible duties of his chosen
profession. He entered practice by establishing
an office at Caneyville. Kentucky, where he re-
mained two years, and in September, 1889, he
came to Menno, South Dakota, where he has ever
since retained his home, having built up a large
and representative professional business. In 1893
Dr. Clagett established a telephone system in
Menno. and two years later extended its useful-
ness bv constructing a line to Olivet, while in

1226

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1898 he disposed of the latter Hne to the Western
Electric Company, still retaining and operating
the Menno exchange, which includes about fifty
telephones in the village and several in the sur-
rounding country. He is a nieniber of the State
Medical Society, in politics holds to the faith in
which he was reared, being a stanch Democrat,
and fraternally he is identified with Scotland
lojdge. No. 52, Free and Accepted Masons ; Scot-
land Qiapter, No. 31, Royal Arch Masons, both
of Scotland, Bon Homme county ; and with
Menno Camp, No. 3071, Modern Woodmen of
America. He is held in high esteem in profes-
sional and social circles and is one of the leading
physicians and surgeons of this section of the
state.

In October, 1888. Dr. Clagett was united in
marriage to Miss Suda Frances Porter, of Caney-
ville, Kentucky, daughter of George E. Porter,
whose parents brought him to Kentucky from
Virginia when but a child. Her mother's maiden
name was May Hulda Kennedy, of Kentucky.
Mrs. Clagett was born in Kentucky and was edu-
cated in the public schools there. She has be-
come the mother of four children, all of whom
are deceased but one, Mary, who was born July
16, 1889, and is now attending the public
schools.

JOHN J. DECKER, a prominent grain
dealer of the thriving little city of Menno, is a
native of southern Russia, where he was born
on the 31st of December, 1868, being a son of
John and Katherina (Wallman) Decker, of
whose ten children nine are living, all being
residents of Hutchinson county. The parents
were both born in southern Russia, but the pa-
ternal ancestry is of German origin, the grand-
parents of our subject having removed from
Germany into Russia and there passed the re-
mainder of their lives. In 1875 John Decker emi-
grated with his family to America, making the
territory of Dakota his ultimate destination.
Upon his arrival in Hutchinson county he took
up homestead, pre-emption and timber claims.
while by purchase of additional lands at later

periods he increased the area of his estate until
he became the owner of thirteen quarter sections
of the richest land to be found in the state. He
and his wife still reside on their attractive home-
stead, which is pleasantly located on the James
river, three miles southeast of ]\Iilltown. He is
a stanch Republican, and while never ambitious
for office, he was nominated, without his personal
solicitation, for the office of county commissioner,
in the late 'seventies, and was elected by a gratify-
ing majority, giving excellent service during his
tenure of the position. He and his wife are
consistent and valued members of the German
Baptist church.
I The subject of this review was about seven
years of age at the time when the family came
I to America and took up their residence on the
i pioneer farm in this county, and in the public
schools he secured an excellent training, so that
at the age of twenty years he became eligible for
pedagogic endeavor, having been a successful
teacher in the district schools during eight winter
I terms, while during the intervening season he de-
I voted his attention to farm work. During this
j time he zealously husbanded his resources, and
utilized his earnings in a wise and judicious way,
acquiring three quarter sections of land, of which
he still retains possession, the same being well
improved and greatly appreciated in value. In
1901 he rented his farms and established himself
as a grain dealer in Menno, purchasing at the
time one of the best elevators in the town, after
which he purchased another one at about the
same location, and he is now one of the largest
grain buyers at this point, doing a prosperous
business and commanding the confidence and re-
spect of all with whom he has dealings. He also
owns extensive mining interests in the Black
Hills, and is a substantial and enterprising busi-
ness man. He is a stanch adherent of the Re-
publican party, but has no ambition for public
office, and he and his wife hold membership in
the German Baptist church.

On the I2th of June, 1891, Mr. Decker was
united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Hofer, of
this county, and they have three children, Ed-
ward, .Samuel and Lavina.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ANDREW J. WALTNER, cashier of the
First National Bank of Freeman, Hutchinson
county, was born on a fann in Yankton county,
on the 19th of January, 1877, being a son of John
and Mary (Krehbil) Waltner, of whose thir-
teen children ten are living, the subject being the
only one of the number born in the United States.
Jacob is engaged in farming in Turner county, as
is also John; Benjamin is a resident of Freeman;
Joseph and Jonathan reside in Turner county;
Frances is the widow of Andrew Kaufman, of
that county; Catherine is the wife of John Gra-
ber, of Turner county; Mary is the wife of Jacob
Preheim, of that county; Caroline is the wife of
Peter Graber, likewise of the same county ; and
Andrew J. is the immediate subject of this re-
view. The parents of the subject were both born
in southern Russia, to which locality their re-
spective parents had removed from Germany.
In Russia the father was engaged in agricultural
pursuits until 1875, when he emigrated to
America and cast in his lot with the pioneers of
what is now the great state of South Dakota.
He purchased one hundred and sixty acres of
land in Yankton county, a year later buying an
additional quarter section and eventually becom-
ing the owner of five quarter sections, all being
exceptionally arable and valuable land. He con-
tinued to reside on his farm until his death, which
occurred September 10, 1898, at which time he
was sixty-five years of age. He was a man of
impregnable integrity and was honored by all
who knew him. His venerable widow now re-
sides in the home of her daughter, Catherine, in
Turner county. The father of our subject was a
stanch advocate of the principles of the Re-
publican party, but never sought office in the gift
of his party. In his native land, however, he
filled various offices of trust, having been for a
number of years incumbent of the position simi-
lar to that of representative in the legislature in
this country. He was a man of excellent men-
tality, was active and ambitious, and after com-
ing to South Dakota became an extensive buyer
of live stock, hides, etc., realizing excellent re-
turns from his efforts in this line of enterprise.

Andrew J. Waltner passed his boyhood days

on the homestead farm and after attending the
district schools until he had finished the curric-
ulum he entered Bethel College, at Newton,
Kansas, where he completed the six-years course
in four years' time, being graduated in the spring
of 1899. He then passed one year as a teacher
in the schools of Kansas, teaching six months in
English and the remaining four in German, of
both of which languages he has a thorough and
technical command. In 1900 he engaged in the
grain business at Mound Ridge, Kansas, where
he remained two years, at the expiration of
which, in 1902, he turned his attention to the

I music business, which he followed for seven
months and made a success out of it, his head-
quarters being in Mound Ridge, Kansas. In the
autumn of the same year he disposed of this
business and came to Freeman to accept his pres-
ent position as cashier of the First National Bank,
and he lias proved himself a most faithful and
able executive, being one of the leading young
financiers of this section of the state. He is a
Republican in politics, and his religious faith is
that of the Mennonite church, in which he was
reared.

On the 1 6th of November, 1899, occurred the
marriage of Mr. Waltner to Miss Katie Wedel,
of Mound Ridge, Kansas, and they have two chil-
dren. Richard L. and Medora E.

i

JOHN GROSS, a prominent banker and
capitalist of Freeman, was born in the southern
part of Russia, on the 3d of June, i860, and is
a son of Henry and Christina (Schmall) Gross,
of whose four children he is the younger of the
two surviving, his brother, Philip, being a
prominent citizen of Medina, North Dakota. The
father of the subject died when the latter was
but one year of age, and when he had attained
the age of five years his mother also passed
away, and he was reared by his maternal grand-
parents, attending the common schools of his
native land until he had reached the age of four-
teen, when he accompanied his two elder brothers
on their emigration to America, in 1874. They
made their wav to Yankton, South Dakota, where

1228

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

they separated, the brother returning eastward to
Illinois, since which time all trace of him has
been lost by the other two brothers. When the
subject arrived in Yankton his cash capital was
represented in the sum of fifteen cents, and
though a mere lad and a stranger in a strange
land, he manifested the self-reliant spirit which
has been the conservator of his pronounced suc-
cess in later years. He secured emplo)Tnent in
the grocery store of Christian Buechler, a fellow
countryman, and when the latter removed his
business to the new town of Freeman the sub-
ject accompanied him and here remained in his
employ about one }'ear. In company with Mr.
Buechler he was then concerned in the erection
of a new building, and in this they established
themselves in the hotel and liquor business, in
which they continued about six years, when the
partnership was dissolved. Mr. Gross at that
time purchased his partner's interest and there-
after continued the enterprise until January, j
igo2, when he disposed of the same and estab- I
lished the Merchants' State Bank, to whose man-
agement he has since given his attention, while i
the institution has gained a representative sup-
port and controls a large business, which is con-
stantly increasing. For many years past Mr.
Gross has been prominently and extensively
identified with the farming and cattle industry,
and at the present time he has about five hundred
head of high-grade cattle and owns about twenty- j
four hundred acres of valuable farming land, I
in Hutchinson and Turner counties. He is a Re-
publican in his political proclivities, but has never
sought official preferment, though he is essen-
tially public-spirited in his attitude. He and his
wife are valued members of the Gennan Re-
formed church, and they hold the high regard of
all who know them. Mr. Gross has attained a
high degree of success through his own efforts,
and his straightforward course and inflexible in-
tegrity have marked him as well worthy of all
that he has achieved since coming to the state
as a poor boy.

February 15, i8<S8. Mr. Gross was united in
marriage to Miss Lydia Leyjans, of this county.
she likewise being a native of southern Russia,

whence she accompanied her parents to the
United States in 1885, the family taking up their
residence in Hutchinson county. Of the six chil-
dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Gross one is deceased,
Clara ; the others remain at the parental home,
nnmeh' : Louisa, Amelia, Annetta, Henn', Leona.

WILLIAM R. CLARKE, one of the promi-
nent and representative farmers and honored
citizens of Spink county, has the distinction of
being a native of the great western metropolis,
the city of Chicago, where he was bom on the
2d of November, 1859, being a son of Richard
and Fanny Clarke, both of whom were born
and reared in Manchester, England, where they
continued to reside until 1850, when they came
to America and made their way directly to Chi-
cago, where they took up their residence on the
20th of August of that year. The father of the
subject is a landscape gardener and florist by
vocation, and was long and prominently identified
with work along these lines in Chicago, where
he is now living practically retired, having at-
tained the venerable age of eighty-four years and
still enjoying good health and marked mental
vigor.

The subject of this sketch was reared to the
age of sixteen years in his native city, where he
was afforded the advantages of the public
schools. At the age noted he moved to Alden,
Minnesota, in which state he passed five years,
devoting his attention principally to farming,
and he then, in 1881, came to the present state of
South Dakota, locating in Spink county on the
loth of May of that year. Three and one-half
miles south of the present thriving village of
Northville be entered pre-emption and homestead
claims, which constitute an integral portion of his
present fine landed estate, which comprises eight
hundred acres. He has been very successful in
his operations and has accumulated a valuable
property, hi's farming being improved with high-
grade buildings and other modern accessories and
conveniences, while the place is especially
favored in its supply of water, being one of
marked fertility and yielding large crops of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1229

grain and other products, while Mr. Clarke also
devotes considerable attention to the raising of
live stock of good grade. In politics he accords
a stalwart allegiance to the Republican party, but
has never been an aspirant for public office. He
is prominently identified with the Masonic fra-
ternity, in which he has attained to the thirty-
second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scot-
tish Rite, being identified with the consistory
at Aberdeen, South Dakota, and with El Riad
Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Sioux Falls,
while he is also affiliated with the Ancient Order
of United 'Workmen and the Modern Woodmen
of America.

On the i6th of November, 1887, Mr. Clarke
was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Stewart,
who was born at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, on
the 8th of October, 1866, and whose death oc-
curred on the 14th of October, igoo. She is
survived by two children. Fanny Marguerite and
Richard Stewart.

JAMES T. CA]\IPBELL, county commis-
sioner of Charles Mix county, was bom in Iowa
county, Wisconsin, on the 2d of November, 1855,
and is the eldest of the six living children of
James T. and Wilhelmina (Helmaustine) Camp-
bell, the former of Scotch and the latter of Ger-
man ancestry. Two of their children died in in-
fancy and those living are James T., Jr. (subject
of this sketch), Alexander, Qiarles, Eliza,
Archibald and Frederick. The father was en-
gaged in farming in Wisconsin, and is still liv-
ing, while his wife passed away in 1878.

The subject was reared on the homestead
farm in Wisconsin, assisting in its cultivation
during his youth and securing his early educa-
tional training in the public schools. At the age
of seventeen years he left the parental roof and
went to Iowa, where he worked on a farm and
also learned the carpenter trade, while he there
continued his educational work as opportunity
presented, continuing to attend school at inter-
vals until he had attained the age of twenty
years and thus rounding out a good practical edu-

cation, while he continued to reside in Iowa about
ten years, at the expiration of which he came to
what is now the state of South Dakota, taking
up a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty
acres in Charles Mix county, where he has ever
since maintained his home, having been among
the first permanent settlers within its borders.
Shortly after coming here he also bought a tree
claim of one hundred and si.xty acres, adjoining
his homestead. He is now the owner of a well-
improved and highly cultivated farm of two
hundred and forty acres, while he also rents a
half section not far distant, the greater portion
of the latter being also under cultivation. In ad-
dition to raising the cereals and other products
best adapted to the soil and climate he has been
very successful in the raising of cattle and swine
of excellent grade, and his farm always shows
a goodly array of live stock. When he came to
the county it was practically an unreclaimed
prairie, there being few settlers, while the nearest
market town to his farm at the time he located
thereon was White Lake, forty miles distant. He
has not only witnessed but has materially aided in
the development of this section of the state, which
is now thickly settled, and as a practical and pro-
gressive farmer he considers this as good an ag-
ricultural district as is to be found in any state in
the Union.

In politics ;\Ir. Campbell is one of the leaders
in the local ranks of the Democratic party, and
in the autumn of 1902 he was elected a member
of the board of county commissioners, defeating
the Republican candidate by sixty-five votes,
which fact indicates his personal popularity in the
county, since it has a nomial Republican majority
of about two hundred and thirty, he having been
one of the two candidates on the Democratic
county ticket elected at this time. He has been
for many years a member of the school board of
his district. Fraternally he is identified with the
Modern Woodmen of America, holding mem-
bership in the lodge at Geddes.

On the nth of June, 1883, Mr. Campbell
was united in marriage to Miss Eva Scott, who
was born in the state of Illinois and who is a
sister of ]\Irs. Edward Hennninger, of this

I230

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

county. She is a daughter of. William and
Catherine Scott, both of whom died in Iowa, her
father having been a farmer by vocation. She
was the youngest in a family of seven children,
the others being Erastus, Robert, Edwin,
Minerva, Malinda, Ellen and Charles. Mr. and
Mrs. Campbell have four children, all of whom
remain at the parental home, namely : James W.,
Zclla B., Louise and Bvron F.

HERMAN H. NATWICK was born Sep-
tember 15, 1859, in Dane county, Wisconsin, and
is the son of Henry O. and Elizabeth Natwick,
the father for many years a prosperous farmer
of that state. Herman H. was reared on the
family homestead, where he early formed the
habits of industry and studious investigation
which have characterized his subsequent career,
and after receiving a preliminary education in
the public schools, he prosecuted the higher
l^ranches of learning for three years in Beloit
College. Leaving the latter institution at the age
of eighteen, he began the study of law with Judge
]\Iiller, of Grant county, Wisconsin, subsequently
prosecuting his legal reading and investigation
under the direction of Judge Lyons, of La Crosse,
in whose office he remained until admitted to the
bar in the year 1878.

Mr. Natwick began the practice of his pro-
fession the above year, in Brookings, South Da-
kota, where he built up a large and lucrative busi-
ness, and with the general business and public in-
terests of which place he was actively identified
until 1890. Meantime, in 1884, he was elected to
the territorial council, in which bod}'- he served
two years, was mayor of Brookings from 1886 to
1888 inclusive, and in addition to these public
positions he was for four and a half years register
of the land office at Oiamberlain, having been ap-
pointed to the latter post by President Harrison
in 1889. Mr. Natwick took a leading part in the
organization of the Co-operative Savings and
Loan Association of Brookings, of which he was
made attorney and business manager and which
was moved from that place to Sioux Falls in
June, 1894. Since the latter year it has done

a large and extensive business, being one of the
leading enterprises of the kind in the state and
managed by men of ability and wide experience,
the official roster at this time including the names
of the following gentlemen : R. F. Pettigrew,
president; H. H. Natwick, vice-president; C. G.
Leyse, secretary, and Hon. A. B. Kittridge, gen-
eral counsel.

Mr. Natwick changed his residence from
Brookings to Sioux Falls in June, 1894, and since
that time has made the latter city his home. In
1900 he was one of the originators of the Cen-
tral Banking and Trust Company, of which he
has since been president, and more recently he
became the possessor of the Sioux Falls traction
franchise, with the object in view of soon sup-
plying the city with a fully equipped and thor-
oughly up-to-date street railway system. Mr.
Natwick's progressive spirit has led him to en-
gage in various important business and industrial
enterprises, including, among others, the Queen
Bee Milling Company, the valuable property of
which he and other parties purchased in the fall
of 1902 and which, under the present efficient
management, will ere long be completely re-
modelled and put into successful operation. In
addition to his extensive law practice and the
business concerns noted, Mr. Natwick has large
landed and live-stock interests, owning at this time
a valuable farm of one thousand acres, six miles
from Sioux Falls, which he has stocked with the
celebrated Red Polled breed of cattle, and
a ranch of two hundred and forty acres on which
are some of the finest blooded horses to be found
in the state of South Dakota. In the matter of
live stock he is quite enthusiastic, being an au-
thority on fine grade cattle and blooded horses,
in the raising of which he has met with the most
encouraging success and from the sale of which
he derives no small share of his income.
Politically Mr. Natwick wields a potent influence
for the Republican party, not only in local af-
fairs, but throughout tlie state, being invariably
chosen delegate to state conventions, in which
bodies he has served ever since coming to Da-
kota, and he has also been honored with scats in
national conventions, having been a member of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the one which nominated Benjamin Harrison for
the presidency.

Mr. Natwick is one of the representative men
of his city, and few citizens of the state are as
widely and favorably known. He stands for pro-
gression in all the term implies, has led a very
busy life and discharged worthily the duties of
every station to which called. Mr. Natwick is a
married man, his wife having formerly been Miss
Lizzie M. Haskell, a native of Wisconsin. They
have had one child, a daughter, Mabel, who was
born November 4, 1885, and whose death oc-
curred on the 24th day of December, 1901.

CYRUS WALTS is of sturdy German
lineage, the name having originally been spelled
\\^alz, and is a native of the state of New York,
having been born in Watertown, Jefferson county,
on the 24th of March, 1844, being a son of Wil-
liani and Louise Walts, both of whom were like-
wise born and reared in the Empire state, the
respective families having there located in an
early day. The subject was reared on a farm
and early became familiar with the strenuous toil
of tilling the soil, while his educational training
in his youth was secured in the common schools
of northern New York. This has been most ef-
fectively supplemented by personal application
and judicious study in later years, as well as by
the valuable lessons gained in the great school of
experience.. He remained identified with farm
work until he had attained the age of twenty-two
years, when he set forth to seek his fortunes in
the west, having arrived in Sioux Falls, South
Dakota, in 1869, and having here followed for
a number of years his profession of surveyor and
civil engineer, for which he had fitted himself
while still a resident of New York. In 1872 he
was chosen clerk of the United States district
court, retaining this position for the long period
of fifteen years, and being a valued and trusted
official. For fourteen years he was a member of
the board of education of Sioux Falls, having
been its president for one year and having taken
a deep interest in forwarding educational inter-
ests here, while for two vears he served as countv

superintendent of schools. He was admitted to
the bar of the territory in 1887, having given
much time to the technical reading of the law and
having thus fitted himself for the active work of
the profession, though he has not practiced di-
rectly to any considerable extent. In 1898 he
was elected city justice of the peace, and re-
elected in 1902, of which office he has since been
incumbent, and in this capacity he has gained a
high reputation for fair and impartial rulings. In
politics Mr. Walts gives his allegiance to the
Republican party. Fraternally he is affiliated
with Minnehaha Lodge, No. 5, Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons ; of Sioux Falls Chapter, No. 2,
Royal Arch Masons; Cyrene Commandery, No.
2, Knights Templar, and El Riad Temple of the
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mys-
tic Shrine.

On the isth of May' 1873, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Walts to Miss Mary A. Benton,
who was born in the city of Columbus, Ohio, on
the 13th of September, 1853, being a daughter of
Porter W. and Harriet (Phelps) Benton. She
has the distinction of having been the first teacher
in the first public school in Sioux Falls, having
been thus employed here during a portion of the
years 1870-71. Mr. and Mrs. Walts have three
children, Charles C, who is now engaged with
R. G. Dun & Company Mercantile Agency as
assistant manager at Buenos Ayres, South
America; Harriet L., wife of George W. Stearns,
managing editor of the St. Louis Globe-Demo-
crat, and Hope V., wife of M. J. Gochey, of Du-
luth, Minnesota.

HENRY BRANDON, one of the successful
farmers of Lincoln county, was born in Norway,
on the 29th of September, 1851, and is a son of
Peter and Mary Brandon, who emigrated from
the fair land of their birth to the United States
in 1866, "at which time the subject was a lad of
fifteen years, his early education having been
thus received in the fatherland. The family lo-
cated in Fayette county, Iowa, where they re-
mained two years, at the expiration of which the
father came to South Dakota and took up a tract

1232

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of wild government land in what is now Canton
township, Lincoh: county, \Vhere he was joined
by his family in the following year. They came
through with a wagon and ox-team, the trip con-
suming three weeks, while in the company's out-
fit on the journey were sixteen wagons. Peter
Brandon built a primitive sod house for the ac-
commodation of his family, and seats in the
dwelling were provided by digging down the
earth along the sides of the interior to a depth of
eighteen inches. Later' a small log house was
built and finally a frame dwelling of more pre-
tentious order and signifying the prosperity which
was attending the efforts of the sturdy pioneers.
The father continued to reside on the homestead
until his death, xfi the autumn of 1881, while his
widow passed away in June, 1900, both having
been persons of sterling integrity and having
been held in high esteem in the county. They
were devoted members of the Lutheran church,
and in this faith reared their seven children,^ — two
sons and five daughters, — all of whom are well
placed in life and a credit to their parents. The
subject has had charge of the farm from the time
of the arrival of the family in the county and the
entire quarter section is under excellent cultiva-
tion, yielding good returns for the labors ex-
pended. He erected his present substantial
residence in 1894, this being the fourth dwelling
built on the old homestead. He is a Populist in
j)olitics and while taking a deep interest in the
advancement of local interests has never been an
aspirant for office.

HENRY CLAY ANDRUS is a native of ,
the state of Michigan and a scion of one of its
honored pioneer families. He was born in High-
land township, Oakland county, on the 26th of
September, 1844, being a son of Justus L. and
Sarah W. (Smith) Andrus, and as his father
was a great admirer of Henry Clay th^ honored
name was given to our subject. Mr. Andrus was
reared on the old homestead farm, and his edu-
cational advantages were such as the common
schools of the time and place afforded. In the
spring of 1864, at the age of nineteen years, he j

tendered his services in defense of the Union,
enlisting as a member of Battery H, First Michi-
gan Light Artillery, and joining the command
at Chattanooga, Tennessee. He thereafter re-
mained in active service until the close of the war.
He was an active participant in the ever mem-
orable Atlanta, campaigns, and later his com-
mand came back to Nashville, Tennessee, in pur-
suit of Hood's forces, and it remained in that
state until the news of the surrender of Lee was
received. Mr. Andrus proved a loyal and val-
iant young soldier and made a record which will
ever redound to the honor of his name. He was
mustered out at Jackson, Michigan. July 22,
1865, and then returned to the old home farm in
Michigan. He thereafter continued to be actively
engaged in agricultural pursuits in his native
county until the spring of 1S83, when he deter-
mined to cast in his fortimes with what is now the
state of South Dakota. He came with his family
to Aberdeen and shortly afterward took up a
honustiad chiini in what was then New Hope
townshi]i. his farm being in that portion which
was afterward segregated and named Highland
township, this title having been suggested by
him, in honor of the township in which he was
born, in the old Wolverine state. He located on
his claim and forthwith began its improvement
and cultivation, and today he is the owner of one
of the finest farm properties in this favored and
attractive section of the state. He not only im-
proved the original claim, but also took up tree
claims, and the landed estate now comprises two
hundred and forty acres, the major portion being
under cultivation while the place is equipped
with suljstantial buildings, good fences, an or-
chard of apple and plum trees, which are bear-
ing each year, and all represent the tangible
results of the well directed efforts of the sub-
ject of this sketch. He was, however, not satis-
fied to thus look only to his personal interests,
but from the start evinced a lively public spirit
and gave his aid and influence and service in
the promotion of all measures and enterprises
for the general good. He served for thirteen
}-ears as township and school treasurer, and con-
tinued to be treasurer of the school Ijoard of his

HENRY C. ANDRUS.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1233

district until his removal to Aberdeen. He took
up his residence in this city in November, 1897,
having a pleasant home and amidst a host of
stanch friends he is enjoying the rewards of his
former toils and endeavors. He is now a mem-
ber of the board of education in Aberdeen and
is a member of its building committee. Mr. An-
drus has ever been a stanch advocate of the prin-
ciples and policies of the Republican party, and
has been an active worker in behalf of its cause.
In i8g6 he was' made the nominee of his party
for representative in the state legislature, but met
the defeat which attended the party ticket in gen-
eral throughout the state in that campaign, there
being a veritable landslide in favor of the Popu-
list party. He is a member of Robert Anderson
Post, No. 19, Grand Army of the Republic.

In Highland township, Oakland county, Mich-
igan, on the 15th of January, 1867, Mr. .\ndrus
was united in marriage to Miss .\melia Aim
Curdy, who was born and reared in the above
township, and was a schoolmate of her future
husband. Her parents, Thomas and Sarah J.
(Lockwood) Curdy, were natives of New York
state, from whence they removed to Michigan,
and were early settlers of Oakland county, that
state, where they continued to reside until their
deaths, the father dying March 17, i8g8. and the
mother on ]\Iarch I, 1904, at Milford. To Mr.
and Mrs. Andrus two sons have been born : Er-
nest Curdy, who died January 3, 1879, aged nine
years, and Homer S., born April 3, 1879.

Mr. Andrus and wife are members of the First
Baptist church of Aberdeen, of which he is a
deacon, a trustee and superintendent of the Sab-
bath school. ]\Trs. Andrus has ever been active
in the difTerent lines of church work, has served
for four years as organist, is teacher of the
}-oimg ladies' class in the Sabbath school, and is
president of the Woman's Relief Corps. Mr.
Andrus has led a busy and active life, and his
work has not been without success. The world
is better for his having lived in it, as his endeav-
ors have been set to a high standard of citizen-
ship, and the communities in which he has re-
sided have felt liis influence and been benefited.
Perhaps his greatest and most beneficial influence

was felt in the pioneer community with which
he cast his lot when he came to Brown county,
this state. At that time what is now Highland
township was without church or .Sunday school
organization of any kind, and but little, if any,
attention was given by the people to the projier
observance of the Sabbath day. Sunday was the
same as any week day. Aided by a few kindred
spirits, I\[r. Andrus, in 1884, organized a Sunday
school. This was followed in 1892 by the or-
ganization of a church, services being lield in
school houses. The result of this missionary
work in Highland township is appreciable today,
and ]\tr-. Andrus has his reward in the knowledge
that that community stands with any other in the
state in regard to law-abiding, religious and God-
fearing people. Truly, Mr. Andrus has proven
himself a pioneer of South Dakota in the broad-
est and best sense of the term.

Mrs. Andrus is one of the pioneer school
teachers of Brown county. She received a nor-
mal school training in Michigan, and upon com-
ing to South Dakota and finding a dearth of
school teachers over the country she became a
teacher in the district schools of Highland town-
ship and taught for nine terms, and then in New
Hope township.

Homer A., son of the subject, was educated
in the public schools of Aberdeen and at the
Agricultural College at Brookings, South Da-
kota, where he spent two years.. He served as a
sergeant in Company F, First Regiment South
Dakota National Guard, and then became ser-
geant in Company L, Second Regiment, and is
now on detail as sergeant major of the regiment.
He is a fireman in the employ of the Chicago.
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company at .Ab-
erdeen.

OSHEA A. FOWLER, judge of the police
court in the city of Sioux Falls and recognized
as a representative member of the bar of the
state, is a native of the old Green Mountain
state, having been born in the^ vicinity of the
town of Pownal, Housic county, Vermont, on
the 25th of April, 1851, and though' a pioneer of

HISTORY OF- SOUTH DAKOTA.

a great state he is )^et in the very prime of vigor-
ous manhood. When he was but three years of
age his parents emigrated from Vennont to Ilh-
nois, becoming pioneers of that state, where they
continued to reside until 1865, when they re-
moved to Rochester, Minnesota, passing the re-
mainder of their lives in that state, the father
having devoted the greater portion of his active
Hfe to agricultural pursuits. , Judge Fowler se-
cured his elementary educational training in the
district schools of Illinois. He was about four-
teen years of age at the time of the family re-
moval to Minnesota, and he continued his studies
in the public schools of Rochester, that state,
being graduated in the high school in 1869. He
then set forth to seek his fortunes in the west,
arriving in Sioux Falls, Dakbta, on the 22d of
December, 1870. Here he worked at whatever
employment he could secure, incidentally putting
his scholastic attainments to practical test, having
successfully taught school in the old barracks of
the government military post in 1871 and having
been for some time successfully engaged in the
pedagogic work in Alinnehaha county. In the
centennial year, 1876, he went to Sibley, Iowa,
where he was for one year employed as clerk in
a hotel, later traveling about in the interests of a
nursery company until 1880, when he re-
turned to Dakota and located in what is
now the city of Aberdeen. He erected the
first building in the town and opened
the same as a hotel, the caravansary- being
known as the Alpha House. The following
spring Judge Fowler disposed of this property
and business and became associated with John
Hazzard in the erection of a more pretentious
hotel, known as the Hazzard House. He disposed
of his interest in the property in the ensuing
autumn, and his eldest son was the first child
born in the town, the date of his nativity having
been September 3, 1881. After retiring from the
hotel business the subject took up the study of
law, under the preceptorship of M. J. Gordon,
a pioneer attorney of Aberdeen, continuing to
devote his attention to such specific reading for
two years, at the expiration of which he establish-
ed himself in the practice of his profession at

Frederick, Brown county, also conducting a land
and loan business. In this town he also founded
the Frederick Herald, the first newspaper in the
town, but he soon disposed of the same. He was
admitted to the bar in 1884 and in 1886 returned
to Sioux Falls, where he engaged in the general
practice of his profession and also acted as at-
torney for the Insurance Company of Dakota, re-
taining this incumbency, with the exception of a
brief interval, until the company retired from
business. Thereafter he continued to devote his
attention to the practice of law until he was
called to assume his present office, having gained
marked prestige in his profession and had to do
with much important litigation. In 1896 he was
elected police judge of Sioux Falls, and by suc-
cessive re-elections has ever since remained in
tenure of the office, having gained a high repu-
tation for the expeditious handling of business
and for just and impartial rulings. In politics
Judge Fowler is a stalwart advocate of the
principles and policies of the Republican party,
in whose interests he has been an active and zeal-
ous worker. Reverting to his labors as a peda-
gogue, it may be stated that the Judge taught the
first district school established in ^linnehaha
county, while he has ever continued to take a
lively interest in educational affairs. Fraternally
he is identified with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows.

On the 26th of April, 1880, Judge Fowler
was united in marriage to Miss Emma M. Smith,
of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and they are the par-
ents of three children, James O., Lewis M. and
Fannie P.

CASPER KENNEDY, editor and proprietor
of the Sisseton Standard, also postmaster of Sis-
seton, was born in Aylmer, Ontario, December 5.
1863, and is one of six children, four sons and
two daughters, whose parents, James and Phoebe
Kennedy, were also natives of Canada. He was
reared in the town of Aylmer, received a high-
school education there and in 1882 came to
Watertown, South Dakota, and accepted a posi-
tion on the Courier-News, published by Doane

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1235

Robinson, remaining with that paper until 1892.
When the reservation was opened that year he
became a citizen of Sisseton and began tlie pub-
lication of the Standard, which is recognized as
one of the best and most influential local news-
papers in South Dakota, and which under his
able management has contributed greatly to the
building up of the town. Mr. Kennedy is a
politician of much more than local repute, and
through the medium of his paper has done much
to promote the success of the Republican party in
Roberts county and throughout the northeastern
part of the state. In recognition of valuable
services rendered his party, he was appointed
postmaster by President McKinley in 1898, and
has since discharged the duties of the position to
the satisfaction of all concerned, proving a ca-
pable, accommodating and most obliging public
official. Mr. Kennedy is deeply interested in the
welfare of the community in which he resides
and is untiring in his eiTorts to advance the in-
terests and prosperity of his fellow citizens of
Sisseton and Roberts county. He served several
years on the local board of education, during
which time the schools of Sisseton were brought
to a high standard of efficiency, and he has also
given his influence and encouragement to all
enterprises making for the public good along so-
cial, intellectual and moral lines, as well as in
material affairs. Fraternally he is an active
worker in the Masonic order. Ancient Order of
United Workmen, Modern Woodmen of America
and Knights of Pythias, and religiously is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church of
Sisseton and deeply interested in all of the con-
gregation's activities.

RICHARD F. BROWN, M. D., is a native
of Seneca county, Ohio, where he was born on
the 9th of March, 1858, being a son of Abrani
G. and Lucretia (Gray) Brown, both of whom
were born in the state of New York. The Doc-
tor received his earl}- educational discipline in
the public schools of the old Buckeye state, and
in 1879 was matriculated in Starling Medical Col-

lege, at Columbus, Ohio, where he completed the
prescribed technical course and was graduated as
a member of the class of 1882, receiving his de-
gree of Doctor of Medicine and coming forth well
equipped for the active work of his chosen pro-
fession. In February, 1882, he located in Plank-

j inton. South Dakota, where he was successfully
engaged in the general practice of medicine and
surgery until the spring of 1891, having gained
a high reputation in his chosen field of endeavor
and having been one of the leading practitioners
of that locality. Upon retiring from practice, at
the time just noted, he came to Sioux Falls,
where he established himself in the retail drug
business, while in November, 1901, he established
a wholesale department, in which the business
increased in scope and importance to such an ex-
tent that in 1901 he withdrew from active part
in the retail trade, still owning his fine retail
store, to devote his entire attention to the whole-
sale business. December i, 1903, the Brown
Drug Company was reorganized, with increased

! capital and facilities, with B. F. Brown as presi-
dent; Thomas H. Brown, vice-president; O. A.
Brown, secretary, and F. H. Hollister, treasurer.
Their building is three stories high, one hundred
and twenty feet long and forty-four feet wide
and will make one of the best equipped wholesale
houses in the county. Their trade territory now
comprises nearly all sections of the state and the
business is a large and constantly increasing one,
while he is known as a straightforward, reliable
and progressive business man, commanding the
confidence of all with whom he has dealings or
comes in contact. In politics the Doctor gives
his allegiance to the Republican party, and fra-
ternally he is identified with the lodge, cliapter
and commandery of the Masonic order, as well
as with the allied organizations, the Ancient
Arabic Order of , the Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine.

In November, 1884, Dr. Brown was united
in marriage to Miss Minnesota Cook, of Minne-
sota, who died December 8, 1893, in Sioux Falls.
To this union were born two children, Mary R.
and Rush A., both of whom remain at the pa-
rental home at the time of this writing.

1236

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

MICHAEL UGOFSKY, one of the pro-
gressive and successful agriculturists of Yank-
ton county, was born in Prussia in 1840 and was
there reared and educated, obtaining; liis mental
training in the public schools. The favorable re-
ports which he heard concerning the new world,
however, attracted him and bidding adieu to
friends and native land he sailed for the United
States in i8fi8, making his way into the interior
of the country. He settled first at Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, where he remained for four years,
being employed in a tannery there. On the ex-
piration of that period he came to South Dakota
and, establishing his home in Yankton county,
he secured one hundred and sixty acres of land,
which he entered from the government. Not a
furrow had been turned or an improvement made
on the place, but he at once began the task of
plowing and planting and in course of time he
gathered rich harvests. As he has prospered in
his work he has added to his possessions until
he now has three hundred and twenty acres, his
property holdings being valuable. He, however,
suffered many hardships and trials in the earlier
years. He lived here during the time in which
the grasshoppers destroyed the crops, leaving the
settlers almost penniless, because they had no
farm products to sell.

Mr. Ugofsky was married to Miss Mary
Tooczek and has a family of five children : Val-
entina, Julia, Annie, August and Xavier. The
boys operate a thresher and also a corn sheller
and shredder and are energetic young men.

In his political affiliations Mr. Ugofsky is a
Democrat and. becoming well informed on the
issues of the day, has given a loyal support to
that party, which he believes is best calculated to
promote the welfare of the nation. He belongs
to the Catholic church and is interested in all that
pertains to public progress and improvement
along social, material, educational and moral
lines. He assisted in building schools and
churches here and his co-operation has been a
helpful factor in many lines of progress. In the
development of his farm he has been energetic
and industrious and now has a very good prop-
erty. He planted trees about his home, erected

good buildings and in fact has made all of the
improvements upon his property. He carries on
mixed farming, raising shorthorn cattle, horses
and sheep and in addition produces good crops,
his fields being planted to the cereals best adapted
to the soil and climate.

A. J. NORBY is a native of Appleton, Min-
nesota, and the son of John J. and Sarah (Thomp-
son) Norby. He is one of a family of five chil-
dren, two sons and three daughters, and was
born January 3, 1877. At the age of four years
he was brought to Wilmot, South Dakota,
where he spent his childhood and youth and re-
ceived his preliminary education. After attend-
ing the public schools until finishing the usual
studies, he fitted himself for active life by taking
a full commercial course in a business college,
later attending a school of pharmacy in Minne-
apolis, Minnesota, after which he engaged in the
drug business at South Shore, South Dakota.
After a short experience at that place he disposed
of his establishment and accepted the position of
cashier with the Warren Scharf Asphalt Paving
Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, holding the same
for only a brief time, when he resigned and came
to Sisseton, where he was soon chosen bookkeeper
and assistant cashier of the State Bank at this
place, which relation he sustained until promoted
cashier. He held the latter position until August
14, 1902, when he resigned and organized the
Citizens' National Bank, of which he was made
cashier and a member of the directorate, both of
which places he still holds, and in addition
thereto is also stockholder in the Farmers' State
Bank of Wilmot. While primarily interested in
banking, Mr. Norby is connected with several
other important business enterprises, notable
among which are the Iowa and Dakota Land and
Loan Company, the Roberts County Abstract and
Title Company and the Sisseton Lumber Com-
pany, being secretary and manager of the first
named organization, treasurer and director of
the second, and vice-president and a director and
large stockholder in the lumber company.
Although a young man, Mr. Norby has forged

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

rapidly to the front in business circles and now
occupies a position in the world of affairs such
as few of his age and experience attain. Aside
from his relations already referred to, Mr. Norby
has been an influential factor in the general busi-
ness and industrial affairs of Sisseton, every
movement calculated to advance the city, mate-
rially or otherwise, receiving his co-operation and
support. All agencies for the promotion of edu-
cation find in him a friend and patron, and he is
unwavering in upholding whatever he believes to
be right and for the best interests of the com-
munity. Mr. Norby belongs to the' Kjiights of
Pythias, in which he holds the position of chan-
cellor commander, and is also a member of the
Modern Woodmen of America and the Improved
Order of Red Men. His married life dates from
the 13th of January, 1900, at which time he was
united in the bonds of wedlock with Miss Effie
r.rown, of ^Minneapolis, Minnesota, a union
blessed with two children, Rocheford J. and
Ruth.

HENRY S. MORRIS is not only one of the
leading btisiness men and representative citizens
of Roberts county, but also one of the earliest
settlers of this part of the state and, as his father,
W. K. JXIorris, bore an important part in the early
liiston,- of eastern Dakota and was one of the
first white men to locate within the present limits
of Roberts county, it is appropriate that a brief
review of his life be given in this connection. W.
K. Morris was born in Hartford. Connecticut,
September 11, 1842, the son of a city missionary
who moved to Washington county, New York,
when his son was an "infant. In the latter state
]\Ir. Morris grew to maturity and received his
education and he moved thence to Minnesota, in
1864, locating in Blue Earth county, where he
made his home until 1870. In that year he was
selected to take charge of the Good Will Mission
in South Dakota, and on December ist he set
forth with two yolce of oxen and a yoke of cows
hitched to two wagons containing his family and
a modest outfit of household goods. After a
journey of fourteen days he arrived at his des-

tination, seeing no white men after passing the
town of New Ulin until reaching the mission.
Mr. Morris had never seen any Sioux Indians
until he reached his field of labor, and at that time
could neither speak nor understand their lan-
guage. In due time, however, he acquired a thor-
ough knowledge of the same and from the be-
ginning his work among the Indians was blessed
with beneficial results. He taught at Good Will
Mission under the supervision of Rev. S. R.
Reggs until 1873, when he was placed in full
charge of the school, holding the position dur-
ing the ensuing seventeen years. In 1890 he
went to the Omaha and Winnebago reservation,
where be had charge of a school until 1894, at
which time he transferred to the church at Pine
Ridge agency, when he was licensed a minister.
After preaching at the latter place until July.
1897, 1'^ gave up his missionary work and settled
at Sisseton, Roberts county, near which town he
engaged in farming and stock raising, but is now
living a life of retirement. Mr. Morris was mar-
ried in 1876 to Miss Martha T. Riggs, sister of
Thomas Lawrence Riggs, of the South Dakota
State Historical Society, the union being blessed
with five children, of whom Henry S. of this
review is the first in order of birth. Mr. Morris
is a man of intelligence and culture, and having
de\ote(l nuich attention to South Dakota, its set-
tlement and various interests, he is considered an
authority on all matters relating to the histor\- of
the state.

Henr}- Morris, cashier of the First National
Bank of Sisseton and president of the Citizens'
Bank at White Rock, was born at Stirling, Min-
nesota, June 21, 1868. At the age of two years
he was brought to South Dakota and from that
time until a youth in his teens lived with his par-
ents at Good Will Mission, where he received
his early educational training. Later he entered
the State University of Minnesota and after being
graduated from the academic department of that
institution in 1891, spent one year as special agent
of the government, making land allotments to the
Indians on the reservation. At the expiration of
the time he was elected clerk of the Roberts
county court, which position he held four years.

1238

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

and then came to Sisseton and organized the
State Bank, serving as cashier of the same until
April, 1900. In the latter year he resigned his
position and estabHshed the First National Bank
of Sisseton, of which he has since been cashier,
and is now its vice-president, and in addition
thereto he is president of the Citizens' Bank at
White Water, an institution he also helped to or-
ganize. Politically Mr. Morris is a zealous sup-
porter of the Republican party, and as such has
been prominent in its councils and a successful
leader in a number of campaigns, He was chair-
man of the Roberts county central committee in
i8g6, and rendered valuable service in that ca-
pacity.

. Mr. Morris is identified with the time-honored
Masonic order, and still retains membership with
a college fraternity which he joined while pur-
suing his studies in the State University.

On December 20, 1892, he was united in the
bonds of wedlock with Miss Mary Strangsway,
and is now the father of four children, whose
names are Martha D., Wyllys K., Esther F. and
Elizabeth R.

EDMUND COOK was born in the province
of Saxony, Germany, on the 20th of March, 1847.
After receiving a thorough academic training he
entered a commercial establishment and later be-
came a bookkeeper until entering the Prussian
army in 1865. In common with all able-bodied
young men of Germany, he was obliged to devote
a certain number of years to military service, and
it so happened that shortly after entering the
army the war between Prussia and Austria broke
out and it fell to him to take an active and by. no
means unimportant part in that celebrated strug-
gle. He went through the one campaign of the
war, that of 1866, during the greater part of which
he was on the staff of General Von Barneco, com-
manding the Twelfth Regiment of Hus?ars, and
saw much active service. When hostilities
ceased Mr. Cook was honorably discharged, after
which he re-entered mercantile life and continued
to give it his attention as long as he remained in
the fatherland. According to the custom which

requires every soldier to report for duty at cer-
tain times, young Cook, at the age of twenty, was
thus called upon and in due time presented him-
self at the proper place. To the great surprise
and astonishment of the officers, however, the
young man came into their presence decorated
with the cross of honor, won for brave and
meritorious conduct, and with a discharge in his
pocket, which fact exempted him from further
military duty. Shortly after this he came to the
United States, intending to be absent but one
year, but after spending some months in this
country he became so attached to it and so pleased
with the advantages it held out to young men
with ambition to rise in the world, that he con-
cluded not to return to Germany. Mr. Cook
reached America in 1868 and some time after-
wards located at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where
he accepted the position of traveling salesman for
a wholesale house. He later represented a St.
Paid firm on the road for several years. In 1882
he came to Wilmot, South Dakota, and es-
tablished the general store which he has con-
ducted with success and financial profit to the
present time. Recently he began closing out this
establishment, the better to devote his attention to
his other business enterprises, being vice-president
of the First State Bank of Wilmot and a director
of the Wilmot Land and Loan Company, besides
having large landed interests in various parts of
Roberts county.

For several years Mr. Cook devoted con-
siderable attention to live stock and farming and
achieved quite a reputation as an importer and
breeder of Oxford-down sheep and other high-
grade domestic animals. While not so much in-
terested in stock raising as fonnerly, he now
farms quite extensively and to this vocation he
proposes to devote the greater part of his time
hereafter, finding it not only greatly to his taste,
but quite profitable as a source of income. Among
his lands is a fine farm of three hundred and
thirty acres, contiguous to Wilmot, ten acres
within the city limits, and on this place he has
made many valuable improvements, including one
of the handsomest modern residences m the
county, which, surrounded bv beautiful grounds,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1239

tastefully laid out in gardens, shade trees, walks,
smooth lawns, interspersed with flowers, etc., be-
speaks the home of a man of wealth, elegant
leisure, refined taste and decidedly progressive
ideas.

\lr. Cook was married in Plainview, Minne-
sota, June I, 1875, to Miss Martha Brooks,
daughter of Reuben Brooks, a pioneer of that
state and for many years a leading citizen of his
community. Mr. and Mrs. Cook have one child,
a son by the name of Arthur W. They are among
the most highly esteemed people of Wilmot, take
an active interest in everything pertaining to the
growth and development of the city, are alive to
all charitable and benevolent enterprises, and the
hospitality of their beautiful home is unbounded.

Tn his political affiliations Mr. Cook is a
prominent Democrat and has perhaps as much
influence in his party as any man in northeastern
Dakota. He has been a delegate to nearly every
county, district and state convention in the last
twenty years, and in 1896 was a delegate to the
Chicago national convention, in addition to which
he has also been nominated for a number of im-
portant offices, his election being made impossible
bv reason of normally overwhelming Republican
majorities. Mr. Cook is a thirty-second-degree
Scottish-rite Mason, also a Knight Templar, be-
sides belonging to various other branches of the
order and he has long been a familiar figure at all
the meetings of the grand lodge.

CHARLES WEDDELL, an esteemed citizen
of Bon' Homme county, engaged in the ])ursuit
of agriculture, was born in Aurora, Illinois, Feb-
ruary II, 1848. Andrew Weddell, his father,
a native of Scotland, came to the United States
"when young and lived for some time in Cleve-
land, Ohio, where he worked at the blacksmith

trade. He married in this country, Louisa ,

a native of England, and later they moved
to Aurora, Illinois, where they both spent the re-
mainder of their days. Andrew and Louisa
AVeddell were the parents of seven children, two
of whom died in early childhood : those growing
to maturity were William : Abbie, now Mrs.

Frank Campbell, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota ;
Bell, Robert and Charles, of which mnnber Bell,
William and Robert are deceased.

The early life of Charles Weddell was spent
in his native state and after receiving a good
practical education in the public schools, he en-
tered his father's shop to learn blacksmithing.
On attaining his majority he left home and in
1870 came to Verniillion county, South Dakota,
where in due time he became a driver on the
Hedge Stage line, later accepting a similar posi-
tion with Cheny & Haskall. While thus employed
Mr. Weddell drove as far as Ft. Randall and
other distant points, managing a four-horse team
and a large stage, which carried both passengers
and express matter, and his experiences during
the seven years in which followed this kind of
free out-door life were interesting and at times
thrilling and adventurous.

Resigning his position at the end of the period
noted, Mr. Weddell entered the employ of the
government at the Yankton agency and spent
two years at that place, during the greater part
of which time he rode the range and looked after
the cattle and other live stock belonging to the
post. At the expiration of his term of service
he took up a claim of one hundred and sixty acres
in Bon Homme county, the same on which he
has since lived, and, addressing himself to the task
of its improvement, he soon had a goodly part of
his land under cultivation, besides erecting sub-
stantial buildings and making a number of other
improvements. His farm is now regarded one
of the best in the township and as a tiller of the
soil he has been uniformly successful, ranking at
this time with the leading agriculturists in his
part of the country. Like the great majority of
progressive men throughout the west, he does not
only rely entirely upon crops for his livelihood
and incom.e, but devotes a great deal of attention
to live stock, raising cattle, good hogs and horses,
being familiar with everything relating to the
breeding and proper care of all kinds of domestic
animals.

Although a man of domestic tastes and greatly
attached to his family, Mr. Weddell has not been
neglectful of his duties as a citizen nor of his

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

obligations to the public. He manifests a lively
interest in politics, voting the Republican ticket,
but has never asked for office nor sought recog-
nition as a party leader.

Mr. Weddell, in the year 1886, took to him-
self a wife and helpmate in the person of Miss
Kate Quatier, a native of Germany, but of Rus-
sian descent, the marriage being blessed with
seven sons, whose names in order of birth arc as
follows : Henry, Andrew, William, Charles, Jo-
seph, John and Benjamin, all living.

GLAUS BRANDT is a native of Hanover,
Germany, and dates his birth from March 7,
1858. His parents, Glaus and Annie (Brede-
hoeft) Brandt, spent their lives in the kingdom
of Hanover and reared a family of six children,
the subject of this review being the fifth of the
number ; the others are Angelus, who lives in
(3ermany; John, a resident of Bon Homme
county. South Dakota; Maggie, who has never
left Hanover ; Martha, deceased, and Annie,
whose home is in the st.ite of Kansas.

The earlv life of Glaus Brandt was spent in
his native land and he received a good educa-
tion in the public schools of the same. In 1873,
when fifteen years of age, he came to America
and, settling in Missouri, engaged in farming,
which vocation he followed in that stafe until
1884, when he changed his abode to Bon Homme
county. South Dakota, locating in Jefferson town-
ship, where he bought a quarter section of land,
to which he subsequently added a similar amount
by purchase. Still later he bought an additional
quarter section and in the fall of 1903 purchased
an additional eighty acres, making his realty
at this time four hundred acres, nearly all of
which he has reduced to cultivation and im-
jiroved with good buildings, and from the pro-
ceeds of which he has realized a handsome com-
petence.

Mr. Brandt has devoted his attention exclus-
ively to farming and stock raising and his success
has been encouraging, he being at this time one
of the leading agriculturists of the township in
which he resides as well as one of its most enter-

prising and progressive citizens. In politics he
is a decided Republican and an active worker for
his party, but he has never asked office at the
hands of his fellow citizens, nor aspired to pub-
lic station of any kind.

On the 3d day of October, 1886, was sol-
emnized the marriage of Mr. Brandt and Miss
Annie Kringer, the latter a native of Prussia and
the daughter of John and Mary Ernestine
(Schulz)) Kringer, who came to the United
States in 1869 and settled in Hardin county,
Iowa, later removing to Bon Homme, South
Dakota, where their deaths subsequently oc-
curred. To Mr. and Mrs. Brandt have been
born six children, whose names are as follows :
.A.ngelus, John, Henry, Anna, Edward F. and
Helena, all living and giving every promise of
useful and honorable careers.

JOHN S. SHERIDAN is one of the repre-
sentative citizens and successful farmers and
stock growers of Brown county, his finely im-
proved estate being located three and one-half
miles northeast of Golumbia. John Stinson
Sheridan traces his genealogy in the agnatic line
back to stanch Irish stock, his great-grandfather
having emigrated with his family from the
Emerald Isle to America about the year 1812.
and having settled in Rochester, New York,
where was born his grandson John, father of the
subject of this sketch. This honored founder of
the family in America died prior to the family's
coming west in 1834. The grandfather, Thomas
Sheridan, was married in Rochester, New York.
He and a brother, and their families, came west
in 1834, locating near Gommerce, later called
Nauvoo, in Hancock county, Illinois, and while
there they mingled with the ]\Iormons, who lived
there at that time, and found them to be very
good neighbors.

John S. Sheridan was born near Nauvoo,
Hancock county, Illinois, on the 19th of Decem-
ber, 1852, being a son of John and Jane (Middle-
ton) Sheridan. John Sheridan was bom in 1820,
married in 1850. and died in February, 1853.
Jane, his wife, was born in Pennsylvania in 1826

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

and died in November, 1894. From their child-
hood both were residents of IlHnois. The sub-
ject of this sketch received his early educational
training in the public schools of Illinois, Fort
Madison Academy and at Notre Dame, read
law in Keokuk, Iowa, and was admitted to the
bar of that state in 1881. He continued to there
maintain his residence until August, 1882, when
he came to Columbia, Brown county, South Da-
kota, where he established himself in the lumber
business about the time of the completion of the
line of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad
through the place. He continued to be identified
with this line of enterprise until 1886, and then
located on his present fine farm, three and one-
half miles north of Columbia. He is now the
owner of a well-improved landed estate of eight
hundred and eighty acres, nearly all being in the
home fann, and of this four hundred and fifty
acres are devoted to the raising of grain.

Oiaracteristics of the Sheridan family are
moderate thrift, industry and temperate habits,
and today the subject's motto, in reference to his
farming operations, is not quantity nor extent,
but method and thoroughness and all stock the
equal of the best. The subject is known as a
man of marked public spirit and has taken a deep
interest in local aflfairs, while he has long been
prominent in the councils of the Populist party in
the state, though being independent in his views
and ever manifesting the courage of his convic-
tions. On the Populist ticket he was elected to
membership on the board of county commission-
ers in 1898, and served in this capacity for four
years, proving a most loyal and able public of-
ficial. During the period of his service the county
court house and jail were erected. He has been
a delegate to the various conventions of his party
and ever shown a deep interest in its cause. In
religion the subject is a Roman Catholic, while
fraternally he is a member of the Ancient Order
of United Workmen.

In his native town of Nauvoo, Illinois, on the
26th of September. 1883. Mr. Sheridan was
united in marriage to Miss Eunice Golden, who
was there born and reared, and they are the par-
ents of four children, all of whom are still at

home, namely : Genevieve R., Kathleen E., John
Leo and Golden Thomas. The Golden family
were pioneers of Hancock county, Illinois.

WILLARD H. HUFF, one of die pioneers
of Lincoln county, South Dakota, also one of its
successful farmers and representative citizens, is
a native of New York, and the son of Gabriel
and Sarah Huff, who were born in Canada.
When about twenty-one and twent)' years of age,
respectively, they came to New York. W. H.
Huff was born in Orleans county, New York, in
1852. When a year old he moved with his par-
ents to Green Lake county, Wisconsin, and sub-
sequently to Dover, Minnesota, where his father
purchased a half section of land, which he im-
proved, and on which he has lived and prospered
to the present time. In 1873 he came to Lincoln
county, South Dakota, and entered a quarter sec-
tion of land and after proving up on the same, re-
turned to Minnesota, where he is now living a
life of retirement, having reached the age of
seventy-three years. Mrs. Huff, who died in
1897, bore her husband four children : Sarah, who
died in 1896; Willard H., whose name introduces
this sketch ; Ida. living in Minnesota, and George,
who lives with his father and runs the old family
homestead in Minnesota.

Willard H. Huff was reared amid the rugged
duties of the farm, attended of winter seasons,
during his minority, the district schools of Min-
nesota and remained with his father until attain-
ing his majority. Leaving home at the age of
twenty-one, he came to Lincoln county. South
Dakota, and took up one hundred and sixty acres
of land on section 18, Lynn township, which he
at once proceeded to improve and which, through
his industry and persevering efforts, has been
converted into one of the best and most valuable
j farms in the locality in which it is situated. Mr.
Huff came west with but a meager capital, the
sum total of his available cash upon his arrival
amounting to only five dollars, but with an energy
born of a determination to succeed, he addressed
himself to the task of making a home, met and
successfullv overcame the manv vicissitudes and

[242

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

hardships incident to pioneer life and in due time
rose superior to every obstacle in his way until
acquiring the handsome competency now in his
possession. He is an up-to-date farmer, familiar
with everv detail of agricultural science, raises
good crops according to the most approved
methods and has expended considerable of his
means very judiciously in improvements, among
which are a comfortable and commodious
residence, good barns and outbuildings and many
odier evidences to prove his place the home of a
man of modern ideas and progressive tendencies.
In 1901 Mr. Huff increased his realty by the pur-
chase of an additional quarter section, making
him at this time the owner of four hundred acres
of fine land, admirably situated in one of the
richest agricultural districts of the country, and
which, in all that constitutes good farm land and
pastorage, is not excelled by any like number of
acres in the township.

In politics Mr. Huff is a Republican and for
a number of years past he has been one of the
leaders of his party in Lincoln county. He served
twelve years as supervisor and in 1903 was elected
to the lower house of the state legislature, in
which body he has already made a creditable
record, proving an able and judicious lawmaker,
and by his earnest desire to benefit his constitu-
ents and the state at large winning the good will
of the people of the county, irrespective of po-
litical ties.

Mr. Huff, in 1884, was united in marriage
widi Miss Alice McKillip. of Naperville, Illinois,
the union being without issue. Mrs. Huff died
on the 20th of September, 1903. Mr. Huff is
public-spirited in all the term implies and has en-
couraged every enterprise having for its object
the material advancement of the community and
the good of his fellow men, and his influence has
alwavs been on the right side of every moral issue.

GEORGE J. CHASE, who is one of the rep-
resentative farmers and stock growers of Brown
county, was born in Steuben county. New York,
on the .Sth of .Vngust, 1853, and is a son of Ez.ra
and .Adelaide C. Chase, the former of whom is

deceased, while the latter is still living and
makes his home in Michigan. As a child the sub-
ject accompanied his parents on their removal
to Wisconsin, his father engaging in the lumber-
ing business near Palmyra and later at Oshkosh,
where he took up his residence in 1862, so that
the son George early became familiar with the
strenuous life in the lumber woods, while his ed-
ucational privileges were confined to a somewhat
irregular attendance in the common schools.
Mr. Chase remained in Wisconsin until 1882,
when he came to Columbia, South Dakota, to
join his uncle. General Charles B. Peck, who
was one of the first to take actively and energet-
ically in hand the work of building up the town,
where he erected both the Grand Hotel and the
State Bank building, besides having other im-
portant interests, including a large tract of land
in tlie county and the best residence in the new
town. He remained here about five years and
did much for the upbuilding and prosperity of
the village and county, being a man of much
enterprise and executive ability. He now re-
sides in Houston. Texas, being general manager
of the Texas Car Association. He served four
years during the war of the Rebellion and after
the war took an active interest in political affairs.
While a resident of Columbia he served as quar-
termaster general on the staff of Governor
Pierce. He became identified with railroad build-
ing when a young man. He was general mana-
ger of the Grand Trunk Railroad at Port Huron.
Michigan, before coming to South Dakota and
was general manager of the Atlantic & Danville
Railroad at Portsmouth, Virginia. Upon com-
ing to South Dakota he constructed the line from
Ordway to Columbia, at an outlay of eleven thou-
sand dollars. The failure of the new town, which
has since regained its prestige and greatly aug-
mented it, changed all his plans and he finally
withdrew from the field. He donated the lots
for the erection of the county buildings in Co-
lumbia, which was then looked upon as the even-
tual county seat, and his name is one which well
merits a place of honor in this history. For three
vears the subject took charge of his imclc's farm-
ing interests here and after the removal of tlie

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

latter was placed in charge of all his local inter-
ests until the same were closed out. Mr. Chase
came to his present farm, two and one-half miles
north of Columbia, in March, 1885, and here he
now owns an entire section of valuable land,
which is devoted to the raising of grain and live
stock, both departments of the enterprise being
made successful through his able management.
Three hundred acres are given over to the raising
of grain, and upon the farm may be always found
a fine herd of shorthorn cattle, together with
sheep, swine and good horses.

Mr. Chase gives a stanch allegiance to the
Republican party, and has frequently served as
delegate to state and county conventions, though
he has never been personally ambitious for public
office of any description. Fraternally he is identi-
fied with the Ancient Order of United Work-
men.

Tn Clintonville. Wisconsin, in 1878, ^Tr. Qiase
was united in marriage to Miss Edith Phen, who
was summoned into eternal rest on December
26, 1894. She is survived by her two sons.
Percy, who is in the employ of the Chicago, Mil-
waukee & St. Paul Railroad, and Charles B.,
who remains with his father on the home farm.
On the 9th of December, 1895, Mr. Chase mar-
ried his present wife, whose maiden name was
Carrie L. Russell. She was born and reared in
Wisconsin and was a successful and popular
teacher in the puljlic schools prior to her mar-
riage. Of this union has been born one son, Ezra
Clifford.

EMIL KREBER, a leading farmer and rep-
resentative citizen of Bon Homme county, is a
native of Alsace-Loraine, Germany, and was
born on November 21, 1869, being one of twelve
children, whose parents were John and Magda-
lene (Schindele) Kreber. These parents immi-
grated to the United States in 1878 and settled in
Iowa, \vherc the father purchased land and en-
gaged in agriculture, in connection with which
he also carried on blacksmithing, having learned
the trade in his native country. Mr. Kreber did
not live long to enjoy the advantages and privi-

leges he found in the new world, as he died about
three and a half years after rpoving to Iowa.
His widow survives and at this time makes her
home in Plymouth county, Iowa, in which city
she is well known and has a large circle of
friends.

Emil Kreber was about nine years old when
he came to America and until the age of twenty-
one he lived at home, assisting with the work
of the farm and at intervals attending the public
schools. In 1891 he came to Bon Homme county,
South Dakota, and, purchasing one hundred and
sixty acres of land in section 12, Springfield
township, addressed himself to the task of devel-
oping a farm and establishing a home, in both
of which respects he has been remarkably suc-
cessful, as is attested by his present high standing
as an agriculturist and stock raiser and the com-
manding position he occupies in business circles
and in the domain of citizenship. In the summer
of 1899 Mr. Kreber purchased an additional
quarter section of land in Springfield township,
which -he has since developed and otherwise im-
proved, and his farm of three hundred and
twenty acres is now considered one of the finest
and most attractive country homes in the county
of Bon Homme. He raises all the grain crops
grown in this part of the state, but makes hay a
specialty, devoting a great deal of attention
to timothy and clover, besides curing everv year
many tons of native grass, which he puts up for
his live stock. As a raiser of fine cattle and hogs
he has achieved enviable repute and he stands
today among the leaders of the industry in Bon
Homme county, his domestic animals of all kinds
being of superior breeds and of as high grades
as any in the southeastern part of the state. In
addition to agriculture and stock raising Mr.
Kreber was engaged for some time in the mercan-
tile business at Tyndall and Springfield. He
conducted his stores from the farm, however, in
order to give personal attention to all of Iiis af-
fairs, but after a few years disposed of his mer-
cantile establishments, the better to look after the
large and steadily growing agricultural and live-
stock interests which he now commands.

^Ir. Kreber takes a keen and intelligent inter-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

est in politics and public affairs and for a number
of years he has been considered one of the Demo-
cratic leaders in Bon Homme county, being a
judicious adviser in the councils of his party,
an influential worker and a successful cam-
paigner. While ready at all times to work for
the success of the party and its candidates, he is
not an aspirant for office, preferring to labor for
others rather than accept public honors at the
hands of his fellow citizens. He is well informed
on the leading questions of the day, his opinions
have weight among his friends and associates
and in many respects he may be considered a
leader of thought in his community.

Mr. Kreber was married in Bon Honmie
county, in 1896, to Miss Mary Guckeisen, who
has borne him four children, Carrie, George.
Julia and Napoleon. Mr. and Mrs. Kreber are
Catholics in religion and staunch and loyal sup-
porters of the Holy Mother church. They enjoy
high social position, are popular with a large
number of friends and give their influence to all
good work and charitable enterprises and to
whatever makes for the material and moral wel-
fare of the neighborhood in which thev live.

ELIAS S. BECIv.— Among the old and well-
known families of Lancaster county, Pennsyl-
vania, is the one of which the subject of this re-
view is an honorable representative. David Beck,
grandfather of Elias S., was one of the earliest
settlers of the above county and spent the greater
part of his life there, dying a number of years
ago at the ripe old age of ninety-four. His wife,
Nancy Groff, whose ancestors were also among
the first pioneers of Lancaster, departed this life
on the old Beck homestead, after bearing her
husband six children, whose names were as fol-
lows: Martin, David, Abraham, Levi, Eliza and
Anna, the majority of whom have joined their
ancestors in the life beyond death's mystic stream.

Martin, the oldest of these children, was born
and reared in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania,
and there spent about thirty-four years of his life,
as a miller; he also followed the same vocation
for six years in the county of Berks, after which

he went to Chester, where he engaged in dairy
farming for a period of two years, returning to
his native county at the expiration of that time
and dying in the latter at the age of sixty-seven.
When a young man Martin Beck married Miss
Rebecca Stone, whose father, David Stone, was
an early resident of Lancaster county, also a large
land owner and successful farmer, and a man of
local prominence. He served a number of }'ears
as county commissioner, took an active interest in
public affairs and was a politician of consider-
able note, having been one of the early Whig
leaders in the township of his residence. Mr.
Stone was one of a committee to secure signatures
to 'a petition to the Pennsylvania legislature for
free schools in that state and one of the prin-
cipal reasons that gave strength to the petition
was that so many that signed it had to make their
mark. Mr. Stone was the father of seven chil-
dren : Jacob, for many years a prominent real-
estate dealer and business man of Chicago ; Elias,
a farmer who departed this life in Ohio; Daniel,
formerly of Ohio, now a resident of Kansas ; Mrs.
Rebecca Beck; Mrs. Barbara Reiter; Mrs. Daniel
Breniser and Mrs. Samuel Rettew.

Martin and Rebecca Beck reared a family of
six children, the oldest of whom was Mary
Emma, whose death occurred in Lancaster
county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1902 ; Lavina
R., the second, is still living in that county, and
the third in order of birth is Elias S., whose
name appears at the beginning of this article;
Ambrose is a successful contractor and builder,
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Alice is living
in the county of Lancaster, and Jacob, the young-
est of the number, is in the mercantile business at
Parker, South Dakota.

Elias Stone Beck was born in West Earl
township, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, on
September 6, 1852, His mother died when he
was quite young, which event, with other dis-
couraging circumstances, threw him upon his
own resources at an early age, consequently his
educational advantages were considerably limited,
the greater part of his knowledge of books hav-
ing been obtained by devoting his spare time to
i studv, both at home and in his fathers mill.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1245

where he began working as soon as old enough to
be of any sendee. After assisting his father until
reaching his majority he took a course in the
Clnester Valley Academy at Downingtown. Penn-
sylvania, after which he left home and went to
Union county, Pennsylvania, where he spent the
ensuing five years, teaching school of winter sea-
sons and devoting the summer time to agricul-
tural pursuits. In the month of December, 1877,
he was married, in the above county, to Miss
Adelia Klapp, whose parents, Peter and Cather-
ine Klapp, were early pioneers of their county
and who raised a family of twelve children,
Adelia being the eleventh in their order. There-
after he located in the county of Northumberland,
where he taught two years, at the end of which
time he sold out and came to Lincoln county.
South Dakota, settling in Dayton township on the
southeast quarter of section 5, which land he
homesteaded, securing a patent from the United
States government. Mr. Beck improved his
place by erecting substantial buildings, planting
orchards and other trees, and now has one of the
best cultivated, as well as one of the most valu-
able farms of its area in the township, besides
being quite extensively interested in stock rais-
ing, which in connection with agriculture he has
prosecuted with a large measure of success ever
since coming to Dakota.

Mr. Beck has been honored with a number
of public positions of trust, having been a member
of the school board for a number of years, also
justice of the peace, besides serving in 1898 as
clerk of the circuit and county courts of Lincoln
county, which position he held for a period of
four years, his son succeeding him. He has de-
voted much of his time and attention to the duties
of these and other local offices, also manifests a
lively interest in whatever concerns the material
advancement of his township and county, and as
a zealous supporter of the Republican party,
makes his influence felt in the political circles of
this part of the state. An enthusiastic friend of
education, he has done much to arouse and keep
alive a commendable interest in behalf of the
public schools, and for a period of twenty years
he devoted his attention largely to teaching, dur-

ing which time he earned the reputation of being
one of the most capable and popular instructors
in Lincoln county.

The family of Mr. and Mrs. Beck consists of
nine children, the oldest being Martin Harrison,
who at this time fills the responsible post of as-
sistant excursion agent for the Chicago, Milwau-
kee & St. Paul Railroad, with headquarters at
Arnold's Park. Iowa ; he is also an expert teleg-
rapher and had charge of the important office of
city ticket agent of Sioux City, Iowa, on the
above line before being promoted to the position
he now so ably holds ; his wife was formerly Miss
Alma Donaldson, and he has a pleasant home in
the city where he is located. Ambrose Brady,
the second son, is a young man of intelligence,
filling, at the present time, the position of clerk of
the Lincoln county courts : Warren Elsworth. the
next in order of birth, is in the railway service,
being operator and assistant agent at Yankton ;
Estella L., a graduate of the Lincoln county pub-
lic schools and a young lady of culture and wide
intelligence, is still a member of the home cir-
cle, as are also the rest of the children, whose
names are Ernest S., Mary Ella, William K.. Da-
vid R. and Charles Robert.

JOHN SCHERER was born January 23,
1836, in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, of which
province his parents, John and Catherine (Yager)
Scherer, were also natives. His father devoted
the greater part of his life to various kinds of
public work and was a man of industry and
thrift. These parents died a number of years
ago in the land of their birth, leaving six chil-
dren whose names are as follows : John, of this
review, Lizzie, Andrew, Mary, Kate and Carl,
of whom the subject and Andrew came to Amer-
ica, the others remaining in their native country.

John Scherer attended school in Hesse
Darmstadt during his youth and remained at
home until eighteen years of age. He then de-
cided to go to America, being fully convinced
that he could do better in the great country be-
yond the sea than in his own land, where privi-
leges were few and the opportunities for rising in

[246

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the world limited. In due time he landed at
New York and from that city proceeded as far
west as Henry county, Iowa, where he spent the
ensuing year and a half as a farm laborer, after
which he went to the southern part of the state,
where he remained one year. At the expiration
of that time he went to Scott county, Iowa, and
engaged in farming for himself until 1866, when
he came to Dakota territory, locating east of
Yankton, where he entered a quarter section of
land which he improved and on which he lived
during the three years following. In 1869 he
disposed of his real estate in Yankton county
and moved to the county of Bon Homme, where
he has since resided, purchasing the meanwhile
a valuable tract of land in Tabor township, which
under his efficient labors has been brought to a
high state of cultivation and otherwise im-
proved, being one of the most productive farms
and desirable homes of the locality in which it is
situated.

Mr. Scherer is a progressive farmer and his
influence has done much to promote the agricul-
tural interests in the township of his residence.
He has also achieved considerable reputation in
the matter of live stock, which he now makes his
chief business, paying special attention to horses,
cattle and hogs, in the breeding and raising of
which his success has been encouraging and his
income liberal. He came west in an early day,
has kept pace with the growth and development
of the country, and contributed of his labor and
influence to introduce civilization into Bon
Homme county and to bring about results that
are now obtained in this highly favored part of
South Dakota. In politics he votes for the best
qualified candidates regardless of the party to
which they belong, and while manifesting a lively
interest in public affairs and always standing for
good government, he has never departed from
his business to seek office or aspire to leader-
ship.

Mr. Scherer, in 1862, married Miss Agnes
Congleton, of Butler county, Pennsylvania, who
bore him nine children, namely : William, a lum-
berman living in Dunwoody county, Virginia;
Adelia, wife of George Biittler, a fanner of Bon

Homme county; Fred, who is engaged in farm-
ing and stock raising in Charles Mix countv', this
state; Mary, now Mrs. Wade Glenn, of Spring-
field, South Dakota ; John a resident of Peters-
burg, Virginia, and a cabinetmaker by trade;
George, a fanner and stock dealer, living in
Charles Mix county, South Dakota; Maggie, a
member of the home circle ; Lee, who died in the
year 1902, and Charles, who assists his father in
running the farm. The mother of these children
departed this life in 1885, since which time Mr.
Scherer has kept up his home with the aid of his
children, the meanwhile providing well for those
leaving the parental roof to start in life for
themselves.

ALBERT J. KUHXS is a native of Ohio,
born in the city of Mansfield, on April 6, 1856.
His parents, Joseph and Sarah (Dickinsin)
Kuhns, were also born and reared in the Buck-
eye state, and lived in the county of Richland
until the year of the subject's birth, when they
removed to Elkhart county, Indiana, settling
in the woods near the town of Goshen, where in
due time the father cleared and developed a small
farm. Mr. Kuhns was one of the pioneers of
Elkhart county and experienced many of the
hardships incident to early life in the back
woods, having been poor in this world's goods,
but industrious and energetic. He improved
forty acres of land and after living on the same
until 1862, sold out and migrated to Black Hawk
county, Iowa, where he purchased land and fol-
lowed the pursuit of agriculture during the
twelve succeeding years, removing at the end of
that time to Grundy county, in the same state.
Mr. Kuhns bought a farm of one hundred and
sixty acres in the latter county, made many
improvements on the same, but in 1880 dis-
posed of his interests there and came to Lincoln
county. South Dakota, settling in Lynn township,
where he purchased a quarter section of land,
on which he lived until the death of his wife,
in June, 1895, since which time he has made his
home with his children. Joseph and Snrah
Kuhns reared a family of seven children, namely :

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Esmeldora, who died in 1902 ; Arminda, wife of
F. A. Ballon; Mrs. Huldah Bothwell ; Esther,
who married J. W. Wood ; Albert J., of this re-
view ; Charles, and Artemissa, the latter the wife
of J. Elliott.

Albert J. Kuhns was an infant when his par-
ents moved to Indiana, and he spent his early
life on the little farm in that state. When about
six years old he was taken to Iowa, where he
grew to maturity and received his educational
training in the district schools, remaining with
his parents as long as they lived in that state and
bearing his share in cultivating the farm and
contributing to the general support of the fam-
ily. In 1882 he came to South Dakota and the
same year bought a farm of one hundred and
sixty acres in Lincoln county, which he improved
and which, under his energetic labors and suc-
cessful management, has been converted into one
of the best and most valuable farms in the town-
ship of Lynn. He still lives on this place and in
addition thereto owns a quarter section of fine
land in Davison county, besides having large min-
ing interests in Wyoming, where he spent two
years prospecting and locating valuable mineral
property.

\[r. Kuhns took an active part in (jrganizing
the Worthing Elevator Company at Worthing,
and served eleven years as president of the same,
during which time he realized handsome returns
from the enterprise, as it proved a very success-
ful and profitable undertaking. He owns an
interest in the Enterprise, one of the leading
newspapers of Lincoln county, published at
Worthing, and for several years was a member
of the municipal board of that town, also a mem-
ber of the school board, having been identified
with the latter body ever since its organization.
Mr-. Kuhns is one of the leading Republicans
of Lincoln county, and has taken a prominent
part, not only in local affairs, but in state politics
as well. From 1891 to 1893 inclusive he was
clerk of the lower house and in 1895 was chosen
as representative, discharging the duties of the
office in an able and satisfactory manner and
proving under all circumstances faithful to his
party and loyal to the best interests of the public.

He was again, in 1897, elected to represent his
county in the legislature. He is a charter mem-
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
lodge at Worthing, and has held nearly every
position within the power of the organization to
bestow and is also identified with the insurance
society known as Woodmen of the World, which
holds its meetings at the same place.

Mr. Kuhns spent about two years in Colo-
rado and in January, 1882, was married at
Grundy Center, Iowa, to Miss Bell Robinson, a
native of Mt. Carrol, Illinois, and for a number
of years a successful teacher in the public
schools. To Mr. and Mrs. Kuhns eight chil-
dren have been born, viz: Nellie, a student
of Canton College, South Dakota; Frank, who
was educated at St. Augustine College,
served as postmaster of the lower house
of the legislature in 1902-3, and is now
manager of the home farm ; the other members
of the family are Joseph, Edith, Mae, Charles,
Lloyd and Forrest, all at home. Mr. Kuhns is a
friend of education and has given his children
every advantage in this direction obtainable, be-
sides taking a prominent part in promoting the
efficiency of the schools of Worthing and Lin-
coln county. He is a man of strong mentality,
decided in his purposes, determined in carrying
out any undertaking to which he addresses him-
self, and it is a compliment worthily bestowed
to class him with the intelligent, broad-minded
and progressive citizens of the state in which he
has chosen his permanent place of abode.

PATRICK HEALEY comes of stanch Irish
lineage on the paternal side, while the maternal
ancestry was of Scottish extraction. He was
born in the province of Ontario, Cornwall,
Canada, in the year 1838, being a son of Edward
and Mary (McDougall) Healey, of whose nine
children two are living at the present time.
When our subject was a mere child his father
met his death in a blizzard on the St. Lawrence
river, and this threw the care of the family upon
the shoulders of the widowed mother, who sur-
vived him bv many years, her death occurring- in

1248

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1862, at the age of sixty years. When the sub-
ject of this review was a lad of ten years his
mother removed with her children to the city of
Chicago, Illinois, which was at that time scarcely
more than a village, and as each of the boys
necessarily found it his duty to contribute to tlie
support of the family, it is needless to say that
Patrick received rather limited educational ad-
vantages in his youth. In 1861. when the in-
tegrity of the Union was thrown into jeopardy
by armed rebellion, he showed his intrinsic
loyalty by tendering his services in its defense,
enlisting as a private in Company K, Twenty-
third Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which pro-
ceeded to Missouri, our subject being taken pris-
oner by the Confederate forces near Lexington,
that state. He was later released upon parole,
upon the expiration of which he re-enlisted, be-
coming a member of Company K, Illinois Vol-
unteer Infantr\, the command going into the
Shenandoah valley of Virginia, where it served
under General Sigel and General Sheridan. In
1864 the regiment was sent to Richmond, Vir-
ginia, the Confederate capital, and Mr. Healey
was still in active service at the time of Lee's
surrender. He received his honorable discharge
in July, 1865, having served during practically
the entire period of the war and having taken
part in many spirited engagements, including
some of the most notable battles incident to the
progress of the great fratracidal conflict. He
was discharged in Richmond and then returned
to Illinois. There, in 1869, was solemnized his
marriage to Miss Bridget Lamb, who was born
in County Mayo, Ireland, and of this union have
been born six children, all of whom are living,
namely: John, Edward, Joseph, Maggie, Julia
and Mamie.

In 1881 Mr. Healey came to Brule county,
where he took up a homestead claim of one hun-
dred and sixty acres, and on the same he has
ever since resided, having developed the farm
into one of the valuable properties of the county
and being held in high esteem in the community
in which he has so long made his home. In
politics he is a stanch Republican and his re-
ligious faith is that of the Catholic church, of

which both he and his wife are members, while
fraternally he is a comrade of Kinzie Post, No.
34, Grand Amiy of the Republic, at Chamberlain,
which is his postoffice address, his farm being
located one mile distant.

THOMAS J. GRIER.— The vast mineral
wealth in the Black Hills of South Dakota has
made that region noted far and wide, and the
great mining industry which has here been pros-
ecuted with such signal success has given the
locality a representation second to that of no
other mining district in the world. The foun-
dation of this reputation is due to the extensive
and successful operations of the celebrated Home-
stake Mining Company', which for many years
has poured forth its stream of riches with the
regularity of a never-failing spring, the supply
of gold at this time being apparently as inexhaus-
tible as when the vast treasure was first discov-
ered. The business management of the Home-
stake, which has for more than a generation
never failed to declare a liberal dividend, creates
admiration among miners and mining experts
everywhere and leads to the belief that those
having the undertaking in hand possess not only
wide experience in their special lines of endeavor,
but are also men of intelligence and mature prac-
tical judgment. The man who has been respon-
sible for the uniform advancement and to whom
more than to any other is due the high reputation
and wide prestige the mine enjoys is Thomas J.
Grier, the present efficient superintendent, a man
not only thoroughly familiar with every detail
of the mining industry, but the possessor of busi-
ness tact and executive ability of a high order, as
his nearly twenty-eight years of successful man-
agement abundantly attest.

Thomas Johnston Grier is a native of Canada
and dates his birth from May 18, 1850, having
first seen the light of day at Pakenham, in the
province of Ontario. His father, James Grier,
born and reared in Ireland, and for many vears
a successful mechanic and manufacturer of car-
riages in the town of Iroquois, Ontario, was a
man of much more than ordinary natural and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

acquired intelligence and was to a large degree
a moulder of opinion in his community and a
leader in its public affairs. He possessed a strong
character and spotless integrity, and for a period
of twenty-six years served as postmaster of Iro-
quois, during which time he earned the reputa-
tion of an able, faithful and obliging official. His
wife, who before her marriage bore the name
of Eliza Patterson, was of Canadian birth and,
like him, spent nearly all her life in the province
of Ontario. Thomas Johnston Grier spent his
childhood and youthful years in Iroquois and
after completing the lower branches of study in
the schools of that town, finished his education
b>- taking a high-school course. His first prac-
tical experience was as a clerk under his father
in the postoffice, and while holding this position
he devoted his leisure time to the study of teleg-
raphv. subsequently resigning his place to enter
the employ of a telegraph company in the city of
^Montreal. After remaining some time in that
place, and becoming an experienced operator, he
took employment in the Western Union Com-
pany's office at Corinne, Utah, and later rose
to the position of chief operator with that com-
pany at Salt Lake City. Severing his connection
with the telegraph service, Mr. Grier, in 1878,
entered the employ of the Homestake Mining
Company, at Lead, Dakota territory, as head
bookkeeper, the duties of which position he dis-
charged in an eminently satisfactory manner'until
1884. when he was promoted to the superintend-
ency of the company's mines in the Black Hills,
which responsible position he has since held.
The career of Mr. Grier since taking charge of
the position he now so ably fills has been a dis-
tinguished one, as the marked ability displayed in
the management of such a large and important
enterprise sufficiently attests. His superior judg-
ment is apparent in the manner in which he has
conducted the affairs of the company, from the
selection of the heads of the various departments
down to the most minute detail of the business.
He has been exceedingly critical in choosing men
for the various posts, selecting and installing
only those capable of performing successfully
the duties assigned to them, being quick to rec-

ognize ability, prompt to reward the same, and
making merit alone the stepping stone to ad-
vancement. At times he has had charge of as
high as twenty-five hundred workmen, between
whom and himself the most amiable relations al-
ways existed, and this too at a period when the
industrial world was in a state of almost con-
stant agitation, growing out of a failure of em-
plo^•er and employe to understand and appreciate
the mutual relations of their respective interests.

In addition to his official connection with the
Homestake Mining Company, Mr. Grier is identi-
fied with various other business enterprises, being
president of the First National Bank of Lead
City, and vice-president of the First National at
Deadwood. He is an able and far-seeing finan-
cier, with a practical and comprehensive knowl-
edge of all questions relating to banking, and to
his correct business methods and safe, conserva-
tive management the monetary institutions with
which he is connected are indebted for a large
measure of their prosperity and for the high rep-
utation thev now sustain among the leading banks
of South Dakota. Mr. Grier is greatly interested
in the growth and development of his adopted
state, and to the extent of his ability encourages
every means to these ends. He is a man of
strong intellectuality, broad human sympathies,
.'ind imbued with fine sensibilities and clearly de-
fined principles, has made his presence felt wher-
ever his lot has been cast and in whatever capac-
ity his abilities have been exercised.

Mr. Grier is an active member of the Masonic
order and the Episcopal church represents his
religious creed. He was married on August
8, 1896, to Miss Mary Jane Palethorpe, of
Glasgow, Scotland, and the fruits of which union
are four children, Thomas Johnston, Jr., Evan-
geline Victoria, Lisgar Patterson and Ormonde
Palethorpe.

HENRY H. HEATH is a native of the state
of Illinois, having been born on the homestead
farm, in McHenry county, on the i8th of April,
1846, and being a son of Watson R. and Mary
(Thompson) Heath, of whose eight children

I250

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

four are yet living, the subject having been the
seventh in order of birth. Back to that cradle
of much of our national history, the Old Domin-
ion state, must we turn in tracing the genealogy'
of j\Ir. Heath in the agnatic line. The original
American progenitors emigrated hither from
England and took up their abode in Virginia
prior to the war of the Revolution, the name
becoming one of prominence in that famous old
commonwealth, while members of the family
were active participants in both the war for inde-
pendence and that of 1812. The name has ever
stood for loyalty and unciualified patriotism, and
in the connection it may be consistently noted
that four older brothers were in the Union army
of 1861-5, Wesley A. being the elder. The lat-
ter also did effective service in the Indian war-
fare in the great northwest in the early days,
having been an adjutant of the Sixth Iowa Cav-
alry, and aide on the staff of General Sully in his
last expedition through Dakota and having par-
ticipated in the battle of the Bad Lands and in
numerous other engagements with the wily abo-
rigines.

The subject was reared to the sturdy disci-
pline of the farm, and after completing the cur-
riculum of the district schools of his native
county, he took a three-years course in the high
school at Belvidere, Illinois. He then entered
Eastman's Commercial College, in the city of
Chicago, where he completed a thorough busi-
ness course. In 1869 Mr. Heath went to Califor-
nia, where he remained about one year, and in
1 87 1 he removed to western Iowa, where he was
successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits until
1882, when he disposed of his intere.sts in that
state and came to Sanborn county. South Da-
kota, taking up a homestead claim of one hun-
dred and sixty acres, in Afton township, and
here continuing to give his time and attention
to the great basic art of agriculture, while he
added to his landed estate from time to time
until he became the owner of a finely improved
farm of three hundred and twenty acres, which
he sold in October, 1902. He continued to re-
side on this homestead until the spring of 1903.
when he removed to the village of Artesian, where

he established himself in the real-estate business,
having the best of facilities and having already
built up a large and profitable business, his suc-
cess being due to his energy and good judgment
and to the fact that he commands unqualified
popular confidence and esteem.

Mr. Heath has taken an active part in polit-
ical affairs from the time of coming to the county,
and is known as a public-spirited citizen and as
a man of broad intellectual grasp. In the autumn
of 1898 he was elected to represent his district
in the state legislature, making an enviable record
and being chosen as his own successor in the
election of 1900. He was assigned to member-
ship on a number of important committees and
\\as a valuable working member of the house
during the two terms of service. He was con-
cerned in the organization of Sanborn county,
and has been prominent in its public and civic
life during the intervening years, while he has
been a delegate to the various conventions of his
party in the county and state. Fraternally he is
identified with the Ancient Order of United
\Vorkmen.

In Lawrence, Illinois, on the 30th of October.
1884, Air. Heath was united in marriage to Miss
]\Iina E. Anderson, who was born and reared
in Lawrence, being a daughter of J. Lee and
Lydia (Thompson) Anderson, the former of
whom was a bee man by vocation. INIr. and Mrs.
Heath have two children, namely : Harrie H..
who was born on the 31st of May, 1889, and
Helen, who was born on the 14th of September^
1899.

GEORGE C. BRIGGS, who is presiding widi
marked ability and distinction as judge of the
court of Hand county, is a native of the old
Granite state, having been born in Hinsdale,
Cheshire county. New Hampshire, on the 15th of
June, 1857, and being a son of Erastus and
Sylvia (Qiamberlain) Briggs, both represent-
atives of old and honored families of New Eng-
land, where was cradled so much of our national
history. The father of the subject was a clergy-
man of the Baptist church, and was liorn in

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Michigan, whither his parents emigrated from
New England, while his devoted wife was a na-
tive of New Hampshire.

Judge Briggs received his elementary edu-
cation in the common schools of Vermont, and
later continued his studies in Powers Institute,
at Bernardston, Massachusetts, and the Kimball
Union Academy, at Meriden, New Hampshire,
in which latter institution he was graduated as a
member of the class of 1877. He then began
reading law in the office of his uncle, Benjamin
F. Briggs, one of the leading members of the
bar of the city of Boston, and completed his
technical studies under the preceptorship of Hosea
W. Brigham, of Whitingham, Vermont, being
duly admitted to the bar of the old Green Moun-
tain state in the year 1880. He was thereafter
engaged in the practice of his profession at
Whitingham, that state, for one year, and in
August, 1883, he removed to Cropsey, McLean
county, Illinois, where he was engaged in teach-
ing in the public schools until April, 1884, when
he came to IMiller, South Dakota, where he has
ever since been identified with the active work
of his profession. He is thoroughly grounded in
the science of jurisprudence and has marked fa-
cility in the proper application of his knowledge
in the handling of cases coming before him. The
Judge is a man of positive character and has
never lacked the courage of his convictions, while
his personality is such as to command to him tlie
respect of even those who differ with him or even
resent his adjudications of litigations in which
they are involved. In politics he is a stalwart ad-
vocate of the principles and policies of the Repub-
lican party and has ever taken an active interest
in public affairs. In 1898 he was elected county
judge, and was chosen as his own successor in
1900 and again in 1902, so that he is now serving
his third consecutive term on the bench, a fact
which indicates the proper estimate placed upon
his services. He also served for several years as
justice of the peace and held other local offices.
He and his wife are prominent and valued mem-
bers of the Baptist church, and fraternally he is
identified with the Masonic order and the Ancient
Order of United Workmen.

On the 29th of September, 1886, Judge Briggs
was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude S. Sher-
man, who was born and reared in Dover, Wind-
ham county, Vermont, being a daughter of Edwin
F. and Sophia (Menifield) Sherman.

MORGAN E. JONES, one of the honored
pioneers of Cambria township. Brown county,
is a native of Wales, though he has passed prac-
tically his entire life in the United States. He
was born on the Sth of August, 1841, being a son
of Evan and Mary (Jones) Jones, who immi-
grated to America when he was two years of age,
locating in La Crosse county, Wisconsin, where
his father engaged in agricultural pursuits, being
one of the pioneers of the Badger state, where
both he and his noble wife passed the reniainder
of their lives. They became the parents of five
children, of whom four are living at the present
time.

The subject of this sketch was reared to ma-
turity on the homestead farm, having the expe-
rience common to the farmer boys of that pio-
neer epoch in Wisconsin and early beginning to
aid in the work of clearing the land and assist
in its cultivation, while his educational advan-
tages were such as were afforded in the common
schools of the locality and period. He continued
to reside on the old homestead for more than
thirtv years, having become the owner of the
property, and in 1881 he disposed of his inter-
ests there and came to Brown county. South
Dakota, arriving here in the spring of that year
and taking up a homestead claim in section 33,
Cambria township, which is his present farm.
He has made the best of improvements on his
place and the same is one of the model farms of
the county. He also bought a relinquishment
on a tree claim, which he has within the past
few years given to his son Frank, while he later
bought another quarter section, in the same
township, which he presented to his son John,
so that he is favored in having the members of
his family in close proximity to the old home-
stead, since his two married daughters also are
located not far distant.

I2S2

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Mr. Jones was reared in the faith of the Re-
publican party and gave his support to the same
until the presidential campaign of 1896, when
he showed the courage of his convictions and
voted for Bryan for president. He has served
for many years as a member of the school board
of his district, and has been a member of the
board of township trustees from practically the
time of its organization until the present, a fact
which indicates the high estimation in which he
is held in the community. He was reared in
the Congregational church, but he and his wife
are now members of the Welsh Calvanistic Meth-
odist church at Plana.

In La Crosse county, ^^'isconsin, on the 25th
of December, i866. ]\Ir. Jones was united in
marriage to Miss Elizabeth Protheroe, who like-
wise was born in Wales, whence she accompa-
nied her parents to America in early childhood.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones have six children namely:
Abbie, who is the wife of Earl B. Holmes, a suc-
cessful farmer in this township; Frank, who
married Miss Maggie Jones, is engaged in
farming in the same township, as is also
John, who married Anna Owens ; Morgan re-
mains on the homestead farm ; Mary Elizabeth is
the wife of Edward L. William, of this township ;
and Charles remains beneath the parental roof.

ROBERT D. ROBERTS, a native of Wales,
was born on April 24, 1840, but when a child of
about six or seven years of age was brought to
the United States and grew to maturity in Co-
lumbia county, Wisconsin. He attended the
public schools at intervals during his minority,
was reared on a farm and early profited by the
wholesome discipline and rugged usages of out-
door labor, such a mode of living being conducive
to strong physical growth, and the symmetrical
development of mental and moral attributes. In-
heriting a natural liking for agriculture, he de-
cided to devote his life to the tilling of the soil,
accordingly he began the same on starting out to
make his own way, and followed it in Wisconsin
until the year 1879. Disposing of his interests
in the above .state at that time, Mr. Roberts

changed his abode to Castleton, North Dakota,
but after spending the ensuing three years there,
came to Brown county, South Dakota, and in
1882 took up a pre-emption claim of three hun-
dred and twenty acres, near the site of Plana,
which he still owns. Three years later he moved
to his present home, four miles north of the town,
where he owns a fine tract of eight hundred acres,
the greater part under a high state of cultivation,
and on which are to be seen some of the best
improvements in the county. As a farmer Mr.
Roberts is easily the peer of any of his fellow
citizens thus engaged, being practical in his work
and management, progressive in the matter of
cultivation and making a close and careful study
of agricultural science. His specialty is grain,
in the raising of which he has achieved an
enviable reputation. He devotes from seven
hundred to eight hundred acres of his land to
wheat alone, and harvests as high as nine thou-
sand five hundred bushels per year, besides rais-
ing large quantities of oats, corn and vegetables,
for all of which he receives good prices. He is
also largely interested in live stock, which in-
dustry he prosecutes with encouraging financial
results, devoting especial attention to fine graded
cattle, in addition to which he breeds and raises
a large number of horses and hogs, realizing from
his animals a handsome and steadily increasing
income. ]\Ir. Roberts possesses sound judgment
and fine business ability and understands
how to take advantage of circumstances
and to mold conditions to suit his purposes.
Energetic and far-seeing, he does things on a
large scale and is not satisfied with any but the
best results. His labors have been wisely di-
rected, his affairs economically administered, and
the success with which his efforts have been
crowned bear evidence to his resourcefulness and
masterly management, and show him to be a man
of much more than ordinary acumen and fore-
thought. A staunch, uncompromising Republican
and an influential party worker, Mr. Roberts has
never entered the domain of politics as an aspir-
ant for office, having no time to spare from his
business aft'airs to seek public honors at the hands
of his fellow citizens. He has been a delegate to a

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

number of conventions, however, and labors
earnestly for the success of his part_v's candidates,
but is by no means narrow in his views, being
liberal in discussing the issues of the day,
although firm and unyielding in the support of
what he considers right and for the best interests
of the people. As a citizen he is broad-minded
and intelligent, and with commendable public-
spirit, encourages all enterprises for the advance-
ment of his adopted state, discharging his every
duty in an unselfish and praiseworthy manner,
and making his life conform as nearly as possible
to the progressive, American spirit of the times.
Mr. Roberts married, in Wisconsin, Miss
Catherine Rowlands, whose family, like his own,
came from Wales, and settled in Columbia county,
that state, a number of years ago. After a happy
wedded experience of eight years' duration, Mrs.
Roberts departed this life in 1889, leaving two
sons, John and Rees, both at home. The former,
after completing the public-school course, was
gradtiated in 1903 from the Archibald Business
College, and at this time assists his father in tht;
latter's business affairs, being a young man of
intelligence, an accomplished accountant and well
calculated to manage the important interests con-
fided to him. The younger son is also well edu-
cated and, possessing native ability of a high or-
der and an aptitude for business, will no doubt
develop into a useful man and a praiseworthy
citizen, an honor to his family and a credit to the
community in which he was born and reared.

HOX. DAXIEL D. JOXES. a native of
Fox Lake, Wisconsin, was born March 15, 1862.
and at the age of twenty years came to Brown
county, South Dakota, with the growth and de-
velopment of which he has since been very act-
ively identified. Immediately following his ar-
rival he bought a relinquishment near the site
of Plana, later took up the quarter section on
which the town stands and in 1886, when the
Great Northern Railroad was being constructed
through this part of the country, platted the vil-
lage and offered the lots for sale. With an abid-
ing faith in the growth and ultimate importance

of the village as a trading point and favorable
place of residence, he erected a store building
which he stocked with a miscellaneous assortment
of merchandise and at once embarked in the
goods business. The venture proved highly sat-
isfactory, for the rapid growth of the town and
adjacent country assured him a large and con-
tinuously increasing patronage and within a com-
paratively brief period his trade had so grown
in magnitude and importance that he found him-
self on the high road to prosperity.

Meanwhile Mr. Jones used his influence to
attract a thrifty class of people to the commu-
nity and he also became a power in public as well
as business aiTairs. A Republican in all the term
implies, he manifested such zeal in political mat-
ters that in 1894 he was elected to represent
Brown county in the state legislature ; he served
during the fourth session of that body and during
his incumbency was placed on some of the most
important of the house committees, including
among others, the judiciary and the warehouse
committees. Mr. Jones retired from the legisla-
ture with an honorable record and the good will
of his constituents of all parties and from the
expiration of his term until 1899 devoted his
attention closely to mercantile business, in addi-
tion to which he also became largely interested
in real estate. In the latter year he received
the nomination for clerk of the Brown county
courts and in the election which followed de-
feated the former incumbent, C. C. Fletcher, a
popular man and formidable competitor, by a very
decisive majority.

The better to discharge his official functions,
Mr. Jones, shortly after the election, disposed
of his mercantile establishment and, moving to
the county seat, entered upon the duties of the
clerkship. He proved an able and popular clerk,
was courteous and obliging to all who had busi-
ness to transact in the office, and his relations
with the public were as pleasant and agreeable
as his conduct was upright and exemplary. His
term expiring in January, 1903, he at once turned
his attention to his private affairs, not the least
of which has been the improvement of Plana,
where he has erected a number of buildings of

1254

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

different kinds, and in addition thereto he has
aided very materially tlie growth and develop-
ment of Aberdeen.

As indicated in a preceding paragraph, Mr.
Jones has dealt considerably in real estate and at
the present time he owns nine hundred and sixty
acres of fine land in Brown county, the greater
part being in the vicinity of Plana. He has im-
proved much of his real estate, thus largely add-
ing to its value and has extensive agricultural
and live-stock interests from which he receives a
liberal share of his income. He is also associ-
ated in the grain business with E. G. Perry un-
der the name of Perry & Jones, the firm thus con-
stituted operating seven elevators in many places,
the largest being in Aberdeen, from which city
the business is conducted.

Mr. Jones has long been interested in the
general growth and development of his adopted
state, and has unbounded faith in its future. He
has encouraged everything calculated to promote
the welfare of Plana and its populace, stands for
public improvements and has done as much per-
haps as any one individual to advertise the ad-
vantages of Brown county to the world as a fa-
vorable locality for agriculture and stock raising
and as a safe place for the investment of capital.
Personally Mr. Jones is a gentleman of unblem-
ished character, as well as his career in public
places and as the custodian of important trusts,
has always been above reproach.

Mr. Jones was married in Wisconsin, in 1884,
to Miss Maggie Jones, who departed this life on
the 8th day of February, 1901, leaving one daugh-
ter, Mabel, now pursuing her studies in the high
school.

OLF W. EVFRSOy is a native of the far
Norscland, having been born in Norway, on the
loth of June. 1854, but he is essentially American
in spirit and breeding, since he was an infant at
the time when his parents, Henry and Stana
Fverson, left their native land and emigrated to
America. For the first five ^-ears the familv re-
sided in the state of Illinois, whence thcv re-
moved to Faribault county. Minnesota, where the

father engaged in farming and where the subject
was reared to maturity, receiving his educational
training in the common schools. When about
eighteen years of age he left the parental roof to
engage in the active duties of life on his own
responsibility. He served an apprenticeship at
the carpenter trade, which he continued to follow
as an employe of one man for eight years, in
western Minnesota. He then, in April. 1878,
came to what is now the state of South Dakota,
as one of the pioneers of Brown county, being ac-
companied by his brothers, Benjamin and John,
and a brother-in-law. William R. Howes, and
all took up government land in the beautiful val-
ley of the James river. They took up squatter's
claims, and when the government survey was
completed, in 1880, they filed formal entry on
their land, while as soon as possible each of the
party also took up a tree claim. In the summer
seasons the subject returned for the first two
years and worked at his trade, returning to his
claims in the winter, in order to be able to perfect
his title to the same. His mother came here in
the fall of 1879, her husband having died in Min-
nesota, and the two other brothers here took up
their permanent abode in the spring of the same
year, the family being thus numbered among the
first settlers in this section of Brown county. The
subject instituted the improvement of his farm
and for two years he added materially to his in-
come by working at his trade in Orway and Co-
lumbia. Since that time he has practically given
his entire attention to his farming enterprise,
having now a well impoved estate of five hun-
dred and sixty acres, of which one hundred acres
are on the west side of the James river, while the
value of the place is increased by the fact that on
the same is a fine growth of natural timber, cov-
ering about thirty-three acres and including ash,
box elder and willow trees. Four hundred acres
are under cultivation and devoted principally to
the raising of wheat, while the one hundred
acres on the opposite side of the river are given
over to grazing purposes, the live .stock raised
by Mr. Everson being of a high grade. He was
reared in the Republican faith and continued to
support the principles of this party until the re-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

form movement was inaugurated by the organ-
ization of the Populist party, when he trans-
ferred his allegiance to the same, later voting the
Democratic ticket when a fusion was efifected.
He now holds himself independent of partisan
lines and votes in accordance with the dictates of
his judgment. Mr. Everson has not wavered in
his allegiance to the state of South Dakota and
has found his faith justified in the magnificent
development of her resources, his satisfaction
with conditions here having not been lessened by
a tour of inspection and investigation which he
made in Washington and Oregon in 1902. He
is sparing no pains in the further improvement'
of his farm, and in the rich bottom lands is suc-
cessfully growing fruit trees, having a fine or-
chard well matured at the present time. Early
in the spring of 1879 Mr. Everson built the first
frame house in Brown county, and the same con-
stitutes a portion of his present substantial and
attractive residence.

In this county, on the 12th of Alay. 1883. Mr.
Everson was united in marriage to Miss Delia
Bigsby, a stepdaughter of Daniel Farley, one of
the sterling pioneers of the county. Of this mar-
riage have been born five children, namely :
Henrv James, Frank Marion. Stana Maria,
George ^larshall and Henrietta Jane.

PETER C. CLELAND was born on a farm
near Whitewater, Jefferson county, Wisconsin,
on the 30th of November, 1847, being a son of
James and Mar\' (Wilson) Cleland, both of
whom were born and reared in Scotland, where
their marriage was solemnized on the 21st of
April, 1837. About three years later they emi-
grated to America and located in Jeflferson
county, Wisconsin, on the farm near Whitewater,
where they passed the residue of their earnest
and useful lives, the father of the subject being
summoned to that "undiscovered country from
whose bourne no traveler returns," on the i6th of
October. 1S88, while his devoted and loved wife
entered into eternal rest December 10. 1893, each
being seventv-six vears of age at the time of
death.

Peter C. Qeland was reared on the pioneer
homestead and his educational advantages in his
\'outh were such as were afforded in the district
schools. At the age of seventeen years he left
school to respond to the call of higher duty, en-
listing as a private in Company B, Third Wiscon-
sin Volunteer Infantry, and joining his regiment
at Atlanta, Georgia, while he served under Col-
onel Hawley and accompanied Sherman on his
memorable march to the sea. Mr. Cleland was
present at the surrender of General Johnston, at
Raleigh, North Carolina, and thence marched
with his command to the city of Washington,
where he participated in the Grand Review, there
receiving his honorable discharge in June, 1865,
having served nine months and having proved a
loyal and valiant soldier. After his return home
he attended school during one winter term and
thereafter continued to assist his father in the
work of the home farm until he had attained
his legal majority, when, on February 22, 1869,
he started for the territory of Dakota, making
Clav county his destination and here taking up a
homestead claim in Spirit Mound township,
where he began to make improvements and place
the farm under cultivation. In the spring of 1875
Mr. Cleland left the farm and started for the
Black Hills, but when about half the distance
had been traversed his goods were burned by the
government, which means was taken to stop im-
migration to that section, and our subject then
returned to his farm. Two years later, however,
he again set forth for the forbidden country,
which he reached in due time, remaining in the
Black Hills about six months and devoting his
attention to prospecting and mining for gold.
He then returned to his home and has ever since
been actively engaged in farming, now having
a well-improved place of one hundred and sixty
acres, and receiving excellent returns for the
labors expended in tilling the willing soil. Mr.
Cleland has been identified with the Populist
party from the time of its organization, and has
attended every state convention of his party in
South Dakota. He and his wife are valued mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church at
Bloomingdale, and Mr. Cleland is a meml^er of

1256

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the Grand Army of the Republic, ]\liner Post,
No. 8, at Vermillion.

On Sunday, March 12, 1876, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Cleland and Miss Nellie
Kimball, the ceremony being performed in the
home of the bride's parents, in Spirit Mound
township. She was bom in Kane county, Illinois,
on the loth of April, 1855, being a daughter of
Jonathan and Hannah Kimball, who came from
Illinois to Clay county in 1868, being numbered
among the early settlers in Spirit Mound town-
ship, where they passed the remainder of their
lives, the death of the father occurring January
23, 1893, while his wife passed away August 6,
1895. Mr. Kimball was one of the prominent
and influential citizens of this section, and was
a member of the committee which framed the
first state constitution and also that which framed
the present constitution. Mr. and Mrs. Qeland
became the parents of three children, namely :
Annie Belle, who was born June 20, 1878;
Blanche Lenore, who was born April 21, 1882,
and died February 14, 1888; and Philip J., who
was born December 31, 1885. The family is
prominent in the social life of the community and
the pleasant home is a center of cordial hospitality.

ROBERT T. SEDAM was born in Union-
town, Pennsylvania, on the 15th of February,
1839, being a son of Robert and Eve Sedam,
representatives of early settled families in that
section of our national domain. He received most
meager educational advantages in his youth, his
actual schooling being confined to six months, but
his alert mentality and detemiination have en-
abled him to overcome this preliminary handicap,
and through self-application, observation and
active association with men and affairs he has
gained a broad fund of practical knowledge and
is recognized as a man of strong intellectuality.
In May, 1839, at the age of six weeks, Mr.
Sedam accompanied his parents on their removal
to Freeport, Stephenson county, Illinois, where
he was reared to manhood, the family having lo-
cated on a farm in Stephenson county, as pioneers
of that section.

Mr. Sedam continued to be identified with
agricultural pursuits in Illinois until there came
the call to higher duty, as the integrity of the
nation was imperiled through armed rebellion.
On the 19th of April, 1861, he tendered his
services ir\ defense of the Union, enlisting as a
private in Company C, Fifteenth Illinois Volun-
teer Infantry, with which he proceeded to the
front, his regiment being assigned to the Army
of the Tennessee. He continued in active service
for four years, six months and twelve days, re-
ceiving his honorable discharge, at Springfield,
in July, 1865, after having made a record as a
valiant and faithful soldier and having partici-
pated in many of the most notable battles of the
great conflict. In October, 1864, at Acworth,
Georgia, Mr. Sedam was captured by the Con-
federate forces under General Hood, and was
held a prisoner in Andersonville for seven months
and twelve days, enduring to the full the horrors
and privations of that ill-famed prison pen.
After the close of the war Mr. Sedam returned
to Ogle county, Illinois, where he continued to
be identified with agricultural pursuits until 1881,
in October of which year he came to what is now
the state of South Dakota, and took up the first
claim in the present township of St. Lawrence,
Hand county, filing a homestead entry. He con-
tinued to be actively engaged in farming and
stock growing until October, 1895, when he took
up his residence in the village of St. Lawrence,
where he is now in the employ of F. A. Altenow,
who is here engaged in the general merchandise
business.

In politics Mr. Sedam has ever given a stanch
support to the Republican party, and in 1893 he
was elected to represent his district in the state
legislature, serving one term, during the third
general assembly. He is now chaimian of the
board of education of his home town and chair-
man of the Hand county Republican committee.
He is a prominent and honored member of the
Masonic fraternity, being identified with Lodge
No. 39, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; and
St. Lawrence Chapter, No. 24, Royal Arch Ma-
sons, in each of wdiich he has passed the official
chairs. He is high priest of his chapter at the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

time of this writing, and in 1894 he had the
distinction of ser\'ing as grand high priest of the
grand chapter of the state. He also holds mem-
bership in St. Lawrence Lodge, No. 29, Ancient
Order of L'nited Workmen, in which he has held
the office of master three years, while in 1895
he was grand foreman of the grand lodge of the
order in the state. He manifests his deep interest
in his old comrades in arms by affiliating with
Colonel Ellis Post, No. 53, Grand Army of the
Republic. His wife is a zealous and active mem-
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church.

On the 1st of October, 1865, in Beloit. Wis-
consin, Mr. Sedam was united in marriage to
Miss Emeret M. Buckley, who was born in
Genesee county. New York, and who was reared
and educated in Illinois, being a daughter of
Ebenezer and Emily Buckley. Mr. and Mrs.
Sedam have eleven children, whose names, in
order of birth, are as follows : Robert, John,
Edward, Howard, Fred, .\lmeda, Jennie, Fannie,
Ralph, James and Eva.

JOHN E. WEST is a native of the Empire
state of the Union, having been born in the city
of Syracuse, New York, on the 22d of May, 1848,
and being a son of Henry and Elizabeth
(Bloomer) West. He was reared in his native
commonwealth and there secured a common-
school education. When but fifteen years of age
he manifested in a significant way his loyalty to
the Union, the country' being then in the period
of the great Civil war. In 1863 he enlisted in the
Fourteenth New York Heavy Artillery, proceed-
ing with his command to the front and taking
part in a number of the most hotly contested
battles incident to the farther progress of the
war, among the number being Spottsylvania, the
Wilderness, Petersburg and Fort Steadman, He
received his honorable discharge in Washington
City, 1865, having proved himself a valiant young
soldier and gaining the right to be designated as
a youthful veteran. He retains an interest in his
old comrades in amis and perpetuates the associa-
tions of his army days by retaining membership
in the Grand Army of the Republic.

After the close of the war Mr. West was
variously employed in the state of New York until
1874, when he secured the position of fireman
on the New York Central Railroad. Four years
later he was given an engine and continued in
the employ of that great system for eight years.
In 1883 he entered the employ of the Qiicago,
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, and in this con-
nection established his residence and head-
quarters in Aberdeen, which has thus been his
home for the past score of years, during which
time he has had runs out from this point, now
hauling the passenger train west of Aberdeen.
He has ever been self-controlled and clear-minded
in his thirty years of service as an engineer and
his record has not been marred by serious ac-
cidents. He is a popular member of the Brother-
hood of Locomotive Engineers and also of the
time-honored Masonic fraternity, in which he has
attained the thirty-second degree of the Ancient
Accepted Scottish Rite. In politics he gives
his allegiance to the Republican party, taking an
intelligent and lively interest in the questions and
issues of the day.

At Bowdle, Edmunds county. South Dakota,
on the 13th of February, 1889, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. West to Miss Mamie C.
Barndt, who was born at St. Mary's, Ohio, and
reared at ]\IcComb, Hancock county, Ohio. They
have two daughters, Florence and Helen. The
parents of Mrs. West were L. T. and Louise
(Crawford) Barndt. The father was born at
New Lexington, Perry county, Ohio, and died
at Everett, Washington, on December 7, 1903,
at the age of seventy-one years. The mother,
who is still living, was also born in Ohio.

JAMES H. POND is a native of Calhoun
county, Michigan, where his birth occurred on
January 7, 1853. His father, James E. Pond, a
native of Franklin county, New York, and a
farmer by occupation, was one of the pioneers of
Michigan, settling in the county of Calhoun as
early as 1842, and taking an active and prominent
part in its development. He married in Michi-
gan Eliza Stillson, daughter of Baker Stillson,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

who was also an early settler of Calhoun county,
moving there about the year 1844. The boyhood
and youtli of James H. were spent on the family
homestead in Michigan, and after a preliminar}'
training in the common schools he entered the
high school of Marshall, from which institution
he was in due time graduated. Later he took a
course in the Northern Indiana Normal at Val-
paraiso, after which he taught of winter seasons
in his native county, until 1880, when he came
to South Dakota, and took up a homestead in
Brown county, about six miles north of Aberdeen.
From that time until 1897 he devoted his atten-
tion to fanning and to the improvement of his
land, also taught several terms the meanwhile
and earned an enviable reputation as a success-
ful instructor and able manager of schools. Since
coming to South Dakota Mr. Pond has improved
two farms and now owns three hundred and
twenty acres of fine land in Brown county, nearly
all of which is in a high state of cultivation.

In 1882 Mr. Pond efifected a copartnership
with G. L. Famham in the real-estate business,
opening an office in Ordway, which place at that
time entertained hopes of becoming the state
capital. After one year the firm was dissolved,
from the expiration of which time until 1897 the
subject devoted his attention to agriculture and
educational work, meeting with encouraging suc-
cess in both lines of- endeavor, especially the
former. In the latter year he discontinued farm-
ing and since then has been engaged in the real-
estate business, his operations the meanwhile tak-
ing a wide range and returning him liberal profits.
Mr. Pond handles all kinds of real estate and
commands a large and lucrative patronage, buy-
ing and selling lands and city property in nearly
every county of South Dakota, besides acting as
special agent for C. E. Gibson, of Boston, who
owns about one hundred and fifty farms in this
state, the renting and management of which are
left entirely to the subject's judgment and dis-
cretion. He is empowered to sell or trade these
farms when he can do so to advantage, also in-
spects other lands which his employer contem-
plates purchasing, the latter being guided very
largely in the matter by such representations and

suggestions as the subject makes. In addition to
the Gibson agency, Mr. Pond has charge of
about fifty farms in Brown county owned by
other parties, which he rents, manages, sells or
trades, as the case may be, and in an early day he
rendered valuable service to settlers by locating
claims and otherwise assisting them to get a start
in the new country. While thus engaged' he met
with many thrilling experiences and not a few
dangers, traveling as he did over all parts of the
country in all seasons. Upon several occasions
he encountered terrific blizzards, from some of
which he narrowly escaped with his life, and in
all experienced hardships and suffering in which
were tested to the utmost his strength and en-
durance.

Through the medium of his business Mr.
Pond has been instrumental not only in advertis-
ing the advantages and remarkable natural re-
sources of South Dakota to the world, but in at-
tracting to the state an intelligent, enterprising
class of people, who have accomplished great re-
sults in the matter of its material development.
He is first of all a business man, and as such
ranks with the most enterprising and progressive
of his contemporaries, and everything making
for the prosperity of his city and county or for
the welfare of his fellow men receives his en-
couragement. In politics he affiliates with the
Democratic party, but is not a partisan in the
sense of seeking official position.

Mr. Pond was married on April 7, 1886, at
Ordway, to Miss Lizzie Smith, daughter of Cap-
tain William Smith, one of the pioneers of 1880.

BENJAIMIN H. RICE holds the responsible
position of superintendent of the Brown County
Hospital, in the city of Aberdeen. The hospital
was established in the year 1891, as a private in-
stitution, but with no farm in connection. Two
years later, in recognition of the exigent needs,
the county effected the purchase of the property,
which occupied an entire block in the northern
part of the city, and at once enlarged the build-
ings, to which various additions have since been
made from time to time, to meet the demands

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

placed upon the noble institution. The hospital is
equipped with modern appliances and con-
veniences and has at the present time accommo- |
dations for about forty patients or indigent per-
sons. The hospital department is maintained as
entirely separate from the infirmary proper, and
those from any class in life can secure treatment
and care, as well as the unfortunate wards of the
county. The hospital had tliree superintendents
prior to the incumbency of Mr. Rice, who was ,
appointed to the office in April, 1901, by the
board of county commissioners, and his retention ,
in the office offers the best voucher for the fidelity'
and discrimination which he has brought to bear
in the discharge of his duties.

Mr. Rice was born on a farm in Green Lake
county, Wisconsin, on the ist of December, 1851, ',
being a son of Benjamin H., Sr., and Judith
(Colvin) Rice. When he was thirteen years of
age his parents took up their residence in Olm-
stead county, that state, and later to Pope county,
Minnesota, where our subject was reared to man-
hood, having grown up under the sturdy dis-
cipline of the farm, while his educational training
was secured in the common schools. He'con- i
tinned to reside in or near Sauk Center, Minne-
sota, until 1882. when he came to Brown county.
South Dakota, arriving here in May and taking
up a pre-emption claim of government land,
which he improved and proved upon, while he
also secured a homestead claim in the same town-
ship of Allison, and upon the same continued to
reside until he was appointed to his present posi-
tion. This homestead farm of one hundred and
sixty acres is well improved and under excellent
cultivation, and he retained possession of the
property until 1901, when he sold the same. He
was one of the very first settlers in the township j
mentioned and is highly esteemed in the county
which has so long been his home. In politics Mr.
Rice has been a most ardent worker in the cause
of the Republican party, but has never sought
official preferment as a candidate for elective posi-
tion. Fraternally he is identified with the lodge
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at
Frederick, this county, this village being in the
vicinity of his old homestead, and he has passed

the official chairs in the same and been a delegate
to the grand lodge of the state.

In Pope county, Minnesota, on the 24th of
May, 1878, Mr. Rice was united in marriage to
Miss Jennie Higginson, who was born in Water-
town, Sanilac county, Michigan, whence she ac-
companied her parents on their removal to Min-
nesota when a young lady of nineteen years. She
is a daughter of George and Jennie Higginson,
both of whom are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs.
Rice have no children.

JOHN S. HART.— Among the leading com-
mercial enterprises represented in the thriving
city of Aberdeen is that conducted under the title
of the J. S. Hart Lumber Company, and of this
important concern, which operates a chain of
several retail lumber yards throughout the state,
the subject of this sketch is the executive head,
while he is known as one of the representative
business men of Aberdeen, in which city he has
made his home and headquarters since 1898. In
1898 Mr. Hart engaged in the retail lumber busi-
ness in Aberdeen, and the enterprise so rapidly
increased in scope and importance that in 1900
it was found expedient to increase its facilities,
and Mr. Hart then associated himself with
George H. Hollandsworth, of Sioux City, Iowa,
and effected the incorporation of the business
under the present title, while the company is
capitalized for one hundred thousand dollars.
Since the incorporation retail yards have also
been established in Ipswich, Faulkton, Mellette,
Wanier, James, Columbia, Houghton and Plana,
while the main offices of the company are in
Al>erdeen. It is scarcely needless to state that
full and complete lines of lumber and builders'
material are kept in stock at all times and in
each of the several yards, while the concern has
grown to be one of the largest and most impor-
tant of the sort in the state. The company gives
employment to a corps of about twenty-five men
and the business is conducted with that pro-
gressive and alert spirit so characteristic of the
west.

John S. Hart, who has been mainlv instru-

[26o

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

mental in the building up of this enterprise, is a
native of the state of Iowa, having been born in
Clinton county, on the loth of December, 1863,
and having passed his boyhood days on the farm,
while, his educational training was secured in the
public schools of his native state. He is a son of
H. A. and Mary Jane Hart, the former of whom
was born in the state of Ohio and the latter in
Indiana. In early days the father was a trader
on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. He removed
to Iowa in 184", purchasing a large tract of land
near Camanche, in Clinton county. He then
returned to Indiana, but in 1859 he came back to
Iowa and built on his land, at the same time
building a flouring mill, which he operated for
several years, carrying on farming operations at
the same time on a large scale. He raised a fam-
ily of four sons and four daughters, of whom
seven are still living. He died in 1885, aged
seventy-seven years. His widow survived until
igo2, when she died, aged seventy-three years.

In his political proclivities, though never ambi-
tious for any official preferment, Mr. Hart is a
Democrat, and fraternally he has attained the
thirty-second degree in the Masonic order, hav-
ing completed the round of the York and Scot-
tish rites so far as conferring of degrees in
America is possible. He is an enthusiastic sports-
man and finds recreation afield and afloat during
his vacations, while he is one of the prominent
and popular members of the Aberdeen Gun Club.

At Charter Oak, Iowa, on the 12th of August,
i88g, Mr. Hart was united in marriage to Miss
Celia M. Marshall, who was bom and reared in
that state, being a daughter of Qark T. and Dora
Marshall. Of this union have been born three
children. Harry, JMaud and Cloe M.

CALVIN MARCELLUS GIDDINGS
sprang from pioneer stock, his father, Jabez
Giddings, a native of New York, having been
one of the first settlers of Stevenson county,
Illinois, moving to that state before the land was
surveyed, and living for some time as a squatter.
Calvin M. Giddings was born in Lena, Illinois,
January 10, 1859, ^"d until his sixteenth year

remained on the home farm, assisting with the
varied duties of the same. At that age his father
gave him his time, after which he worked as a
farm laborer in the neighborhood until the fol-
lowing fall, when he went to Alason Cit}-, Iowa,
making the trip on horseback. He remained
about three years at that place, devoting two
years of the time to farm work, and in the fall of
1875, with a young man of his acquaintance, went
to Texas, with the object in view of engaging in
the live-stock business. On arriving at his des-
tination, however, he changed his mind, and in-
stead of investing in cattle, decided to become a
cotton planter. He raised two crops of cotton,
but the conditions not being favorable, neither
proved profitable, but on the contrary resulted in
the loss of nearly all his capital. Somewhat dis-
couraged by his ill success, he shook the dust of
Texas from his shoes and in the fall of 1879 re-
turned to Iowa, bringing with him six horses,
which represented all that he had saved from his
experience in cotton culture. After spending the
fall and winter of the above year in Iowa, he
started the following spring for Dakota, shipping
his horses to Milbank, which place he reached in
due time and from which he drove the animals
through to Brown county. On June 21, 1880, he
entered a tract of land at the land office in Water-
town, his claim being one of the first taken in
Aberdeen township. Moving on his claim in the
spring of 188 1, he at once began developing his
land, one of his first improvements being a small
board dwelling, the only house of the kind within
a radius of several miles. He hauled his lumber
from Watertown, one hundred miles distant. Mr.
Giddings was the second permanent settler in
Aberdeen township, the first having been a man
by the name of Britzius.

In the spring of 1881 Mt. Giddings moved to
his place and on July 31st, of the same year, took
to himself a wife and helpmeet in the person of
Miss Harriet Bland, who with her brother,
Qiarles Bland, came to South Dakota, in May,
1879, both entering land in Brown county. Mrs.
Giddings is a native of England and came direct
from that country to South Dakota, and in due
time proved up on her claim, receiving a deed

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

for the same from the governiiient. Her brother
improved a fine farm, and after making it his
home for a period of twenty years, emigrated to
Oregon, where he now resides. The marriage
of Mr. Giddings and Miss Bland was the first
event of the kind solemnized in the county of
I'.rown. Shnrtly after it took place the happy
couple moved to the bride's place. Since com-
ing west Mr. Giddings has purchased land in
various parts of the country, owning at this time
in Brown county alone over two thousand acres,
the greater part of which has been brought to
a high state of cultivation. He gives special at-
tention to farming, which he has made quite suc-
cessful, his wheat crop for a number of years past
averaging fifteen thousand bushels a year, in ad-
dition to which he also realizes returns from the
sale of live stock, much of his land being well
adapted to cattle raising.

Mr. Giddings has bought and sold a great deal
of real estate since coming to Dakota, has broken
thousands of acres of virgin prairie, and made
many fortunate investments, being now not only
one of the largest land owners in Brown county,
but also one of its most enterprising farmers and
well-to-do men. He has traveled extensively
<iver the western states and territories, from
Texas to California, visiting many points of in-
terest, made a trip to the Hawaian islands : be-
sides traversing all parts of South Dakota, com-
])aring the relative merits of the different locali-
ties. Among them he prefers the county in which
he now lives and, having been remarkably for-
tunate in all of his business affairs, here purposes
to make it his permanent place of abode.

As a farmer Mr. Giddings is energetic and
exercises sound judgment in the matter of tillage.
He is systematic in his plans, uses the best mod-
ern machinery and implements and never fails to
realize large returns from the time and labor
expended on his fields, his wheat for a number of
years, averaging forty bushels to the acre, and
oats often running as high as one hundred and
ten. He raises the finest grades of cattle and
hogs, and, though paying less attention to live
stock than to agriculture, no little share of his
income is derived from the latter source. In

politics Mr. Giddings is not a partisan, but sup-
ports the party which best represents his prin-
ciples, though of recent years he has given sup-
port to the Prohibition party, being strictly a tem-
perate man with a strong antipathy for the liquor
traffic. Fraternally he belongs to the Modern
W'diidnien of America and religioush' attemls the
AletlKHlist church, of which body his wife is a
faithful member.

Mr. and Mrs. Giddings are the parents of five
children, namely: William J., Leander J., Luther
E., Horace B. and Paul C. Mr. Giddings is a
friend of higher education, and has done much to
promote the interests of the same in the county
of his residence. He has given his children the
best advantages in this direction obtainable, the
three oldest being graduates of first-class edu-
cational institutions, while the other two are now
ptu-suing their studies under favorable auspices.

\\TLLIAM HENRY MORGAN, attorney-
at-law and one of the leading members of the
South Dakota bar, was born in South Elgin,
Illinois, on June 23, 1851. His father is Manly
S. Morgan, one of the leading pioneers of Illi-
nois, who in early life was a mechanic, but for
many years has been an extensive horticulturist
and grower of products for early market, own-
ing large forcing plants. William Henry spent
the years of his childhood and youth in his na-
tive town, and after receiving his elementary edu-
cation entered Wheaton College, from which in-
stitution he was graduated in 1878. Later be
began the study of law and subsequently became
a student of the Union Law College, Chicago,
where he was graduated and in 1887 was ad-
mitted to the bar. Meantime, 1882, Mr. Mor-
gan came to South Dakota, and took up a home-
stead near Westport, Brown county, after which
he returned to Illinois and completed his legal
education as noted above. Returning to Dakota
in 1889, 'i^ opened an office in Aberdeen, where
he has since devoted his attention almost ex-
clusively to a general practice, and meeting with
success. Mr. ]\Torgan served one term as probate
judge, aside from which he has held no official

(262

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

position. He has taken an active interest in
public affairs since coming west, and was an in-
fluential leader in the reform movement, which
sent Hon. J. H. Kyle to the legislature, and later
to the United States senate. He still manifests
a lively regard for whatever concerns the wel-
fare of his city, county and state, and as a public-
spirited citizen, gives an earnest support to any
and all measures making for these and other laud-
able ends.

Mr. Morgan was married at Wheaton, Illinois,
June 23, 1880, to Miss Minnie Weamer, step-
daughter of Rev. Dr. James B. Walker, a dis-
tinguished divine of that state and the author of
several popular and scholarly works, one of
which, "The Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation,"
has been translated into several of the leading
languages of the world, as well as many dialects.
^Ir. and Mrs. Morgan have no children of their
own, but some years ago they opened their home
to a lad by the name of Charles Walker, whom
they reared from boyhood to manhood.

Religiously Mr. Morgan is a Congregation-
alist, as is also his wife, both being members of
the church in Aberdeen. Fraternally he is iden-
tified with the ^lodern Brotherhood of .America
and politically, he is a Democrat.

FRANK F. TPIOMPSON was born in
Brown county, Wisconsin, on the 5th of Novem-
ber, 1856, being a son of Franklin and Lydia
(Putnam) Thompson. He passed his youthful
days in Illinois and Michigan, and completed the
curriculum of the public schools in the latter state,
being graduated in the high school of the city of
Grand Rapids as a member of the class of 1874.
His father was for a half century engaged in the
hotel business, and our subject early became
actively associated with him in the conduct of
the same. He thus gained a most excellent
training for this line of enterprise and finally en-
gaged in the same on his own responsibility, hav-
ing conducted a hotel at Morley, Michigan, for
several years, and coming to Claremont, Brown
county. South Dakota, in 1883, and took up a
homestead claim of one hundred and sixtv acres

of government land and followed farming for
about six years. He then engaged in the hotel
business in Claremont, at which he continued
until 1898, when he was elected sheriff of Brown
county, when he of course took up his residence
in Aberdeen, the county seat. He gave a most
effective administration during his first tenn and
was chosen as his own successor in the election of
1900. He has ever been a stanch adherent of the
Republican party and was elected to the ofiice of
sheriff on the ticket of his party. He retired from
this office, with a most enviable record to his
credit, on the 5th of January, 1903, and seven
days later was appointed to his present office, that
of chief of police of Aberdeen. He still owns the
hotel in Qaremont, the same having been rebuilt
in 1902 and having modern equipments through-
out. The popular chief is identified with the
Knights of the Maccabees and the Ancient Order
of United Workmen. He is a man of genial per-
sonality and has a host of friends in Brown
county. He was formerly a practical devotee of
the "national game," having played base ball in
the Inter-State league, comprising the states of
Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, and his interest
in the sport is still of insistent order, as is shown
in the fact that he never fails to attend local games
save when duty calls him elsewhere.

At Morley, Michigan, in 1876, Mr. Thomp-
son was united in marriage to Miss Margaret
Lyman, who died in Claremont, in 1890, leaving
two children, Samuel R. and May. In 1892 Mr.
Thompson wedded Miss Josie Holt, of Brown
county, and they have three children, Grace, Roy
and Glenn.

ALBERT W. FOSSUM, D. D. S., of the
firm of Fossum Brothers, the well-known dentists
in the city of Aberdeen, is a native of Lansing,
Iowa, where he was bom on the 22d of June,
1874, being a son of Andrew C. and Walbord
(Olson) Fossum, both of whom were born in
Christiania, Norway. The father of the subject
is a well-known and successful contractor of
Aberdeen, to which place he came with his
family in 188 1. Dr. Fossum received his ele-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1263

iiientan- educational discipline in his native town,
and was a lad of seven years at the time of the
family removal to Aberdeen, so that he has passed
practically his entire life here. He completed the
curriculum of the public schools of this city, and
in 1895 was matriculated in the Chicago College
of Dental Surgery, in the city of Chicago, where
he completed the prescribed course in that ex-
cellent institution, being graduated as a member
of the class of 1898, and receiving his degree of
Doctor of Dental Surgery. After his graduation
he returned to Aberdeen and established himself
in the practice of his profession. He has given
close attention to business, is thoroughly skilled
in both the operative and laboratory phases of his
profession and his efforts have been attended
with most gratifying success, since he has
built up a large and representative prac-
tice, his well-equipped offices being located in
the Wells building, on Main and Third streets.
His brother, Carl, has been his assistant and
coadjutor since 1901 and is likewise a thoroughly
competent workman. Dr. Fossum is a member
of the South Dakota Dental Association and also
of its executive committee, and it was largely due
to his efforts that the annual meeting of the as-
sociation for 1904 is to be held in Aberdeen. In
politics the Doctor is a stanch Republican, but is
not active in this field and has never been an
aspirant for office.

On the nth of August, 1899, Dr. Fosum was
united in marriage to Miss Nellie Louise Wilson,
a daughter of Frederick D. Wilson, who was for-
merly engaged in the grocery business in Aber-
deen. Of this union have been born two daugh-
ters, Helen and Muriel.

GEORGE S. PERRY was born in Berkshire,
England, on the 12th of January, 1853, and is a
son of William and Charlotte (Hobbs) Perry,
the father dying in Cleveland, Ohio, in April,
1880, aged about sixty years, and the mother at
Mitchell, South Dakota, on December 24, 1889,
aged seventy-three years, six months and thirteen
days. The subject received his early educational
training in his native land, and was twelve years

of age at the time of his parents' emigration to
America. The family located in the city of
Cleveland, Ohio, and here Mr. Perry soon gave
distinctive evidence of his predilection for me-
chanical pursuits, since when he was but four-
teen years of age he was not only acting as
engineer in a manufacturing establishment, but
also had the general charge of the factory during
the illness of the owner. At the age of seventeen
he secured a position as fireman on the Cleveland
& Wheeling Railroad, and two and one-half years
later had been promoted to the position of en-
gineer. H-e thus continued in the service of the
road noted for another year and then entered the
employ of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Com-
pany, with headquarters in the city of Pittsburg.
He remained with this company until the great
strike of 1877, at which time he entered tlie em-
ploy of the Canada Southern. When the Vander-
bilts secured control of the Chicago, Milwaukee
& St. Paul Railroad, in 1879, Mr. Perry was as-
signed an engine and operated the same in con-
nection with the building of the road westward
from Glencoe, Minnesota, to Ortonville, South
Dakota, his conductors at the time being Andrew
W. Glenn and Charles Dean, with whom he has
ever since been associated in the same relative
capacity, their official alliance, if so it may be
termed, having thus continued for nearly, a quar-
ter of a century. They continued with the exten-
sion of the road to Bristol, and reached Aberdeen,
Sotith Dakota, in 1881. Mr. Perry also worked
on construction to Ashton and Ellendale and was
then given the passenger run to Milbank. In
June, 1883, he was the driver of the engine on
the construction of the track southward to Woon-
socket, where the extension from the south was
met. He was given the first passenger run on
this branch, between Aberdeen and Mitchell, and
for twenty-one years he has continued to thus
traverse this branch. In thirty years of service
Mr. Perry has never had a serious wreck and has
never personally been injured in any accident.
He has confined his attention exclusively to the
demands placed upon him as an engineer, taking
I pride in his work, knowing its responsibilities and
realizing that it is worthy of his best efforts. He

1264

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

is a veteran and trusted employe of the company
and has the high regard of all who know him.
He is identified with the Brotherhood of Loco-
motive Engineers and also with the Masonic fra-
ternity, in which he has attained to the Knights
Templar degrees, being a member of the various
bodies of the order in Aberdeen, where he has
a pleasant home and is well and favorably known.
He is a stanch Republican in politics.

At Saint Thomas, Ontario, Canada, on the
6th of July, 1878, Mr. Perry was united in mar-
riage to IVIis Leila Whitcomb. daughter of S.
W. Whitcomb, who was for many years an en-
gineer on the New York Central Railroad. Mr.
and I\lrs. Perry have five children, namely:
George W.. Cora, Dean, Floyd N. and Leila M.
The first named was educated in the Goldie Col-
lege, Wilmington, Delaware.

HON. ERNEST MAY is a native of Eberts-
hauseri, Germany, where he was born on Novem-
ber 8. 1847. His father was a contractor and
lumber dealer in that place, and it was there that
the son grew to the age of twenty years and
received his education, and also learned his trade
as a gunsmith. In the spring of 1867 he came to
the United States, believing that there were bet-
ter opportunities in this country for a young man,
and on his arrival he made his way to St. Louis
where he secured a position in the pattern depart-
ment of an iron foundry. In 1869, early in the
year, he determined to come farther west, and,
going by rail to Sioux City, proceeded from there
up the Missouri to Montana. He located at Hel-
ena and for some time was engaged in prospect-
ing and mining there, then started a grocery at
Pioneer, a mining camp not far from Butte, hav-
ing had previous experience in this business in
Helena. In July, 1876, he started with a party of
pioneers for the Black Hills, coming down the
Missouri to Bismarck and from there to Crook
City where the party arrived on August nth.
From there Mr. May went to Deadwood and be-
gan mining in Deadwood gulch, working on the
famous Wheeler claim, which he and some others
bought. He was occupied there until fall when

he was taken sick and obliged to return to St.
Louis, where he was under the doctor's care until
the following spring. He then returned to Dead-
wood, and disposing of his interests in that neigh-
borhood, took up his residence at Lead, then a
small hamlet of uncanny log huts and tents. Here
he put up a log shant\' on the site of one of his
present buildings on Main street, its successor
being the first brick structure built in the town.
In partnership with George Johnson he opened
a grocery in the shanty, the firm name being May
& Johnson. About 1880 he bought ]Mr. Johnson's
interest and took in as a partner his cousin, Louis
May, the firm then becoming E. & L. May.
Three years later he bought his cousin out. and
from 1883 to March i, 1901, he conducted the
business alone. When the firm changed in 1883.
however, the log store was replaced with the brick
one which now stands on the lot. Mr. T^Iay, al-
though engaging in other business, never lost
his interest or slackened his energy in the mining
industry. He was one of the first men to secure
claims in the Bald Mountain district and is en-
titled to the credit of assisting to bring that dis-
trict to the attention of the mining world. The
first valuable interests which he acquired were in
the original Golden Reward and Silver Case
lodes. In 1886 he was one of the organizers of
the Golden Reward Mining Company, with him-
self as one of the principal stockholders. He was
also interested in the Tornado Mining Company,
which was the second company to ship ore from
the Black Hills district, the freight and treatment
charges being twenty-seven dollars per ton at that
time. It has since proved to be the largest pro-
ducer in the Bald INIountain district. A few years
later he came into control of the Harmony Min-
ing Company. In 1888 he organized the Double
Standard Company and sold his interest in the
Golden Reward to its present owners. In 1892
he and his associates sold the Double Standard,
the Tornado and the Harmony groups of mines
to the Golden Reward, and at dififerent times
sold claims to the Horseshoe Company. At one
time Mr. May was the largest claim owner in the
whole Bald Mountain district. Down to the
sjM-ing of 1003 he was also heavily interested in

ERNEST MAY.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

what was known as the Realization group, bnt in
that year he sold his interest therein to the Penob-
scot Mining Company. He has at present exten-
sive holdings in other valuable properties, among
them the Wasp No. 2 Mining Company and
claims in the Yellow creek and Ragged Top dis-
tricts. He is also largely interested in the cattle
industry in various places, is a member of the
Crescent Live Stock Companv of Nebraska and
the Antler Land and Cattle Company, of Big
Horn county, Wyoming. He also has extensive
mining interests in the Wood river district of the
latter state. In 1892 he became a member of the
firm of Lehman & Company, general merchants,
at Lewistown, ^Montana, and was connected with
it until 1902, when he sold his interest. He is
now one of the principal real-estate owners of
Lead and is a stockholder and vice-president of
the First National Bank of that town. In the
public affairs of his county and state he has al-
ways taken an active and helpful interest, and in
politics has from his early manhood been a zeal-
ous supporter of the Republican party. He was
one of the first aldermen of Lead, serving contin-
uously for eight years. In April, 1904, he was
again selected to represent his ward in city coun-
cil. In this position his capacity for administra-
tive duties became so manifest that in 1902 he
Avas elected to the lower house of the state legis-
lature.

In January. 1884, Mr. May was married at
Tead to Aliss Gertrude Roderick, a native of New
York. They have two sons, Ernest R., Jr., and
AVilliam F. Mr. May is a thirty-second-degree
!Mason and belongs to the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks.

JOHN K. SEARLE, deceased, late of Lead,
-was born in Devonshire, England, on June i,
1851, and was reared and educated in his native
land. In 1870, when he was nineteen years old,
lie came to the L'nited States and located at
Di.xon, Illinois, where he remained five years.
Being without a trade or any special business, he
wrought at various occupations, saving his

money and making his way slowly but surely to
independence and comfort. In 1875 he went to
Harlan, Iowa, and spent a portion of the year.
The gold excitement over the Black Hills then
breaking out, he came to that region, arriving at
Deadwood on January 7, 1877, having been de-
layed some time at the Red Cloud Indian agency
because of the hostility of the savages. After
reaching the Hills he went to work at placer min-
ing, carrying on his operations all over the Hills,
and also working at a number of mines and mills,
being one of the first men employed by the
Homestake Company, when it started business.
In 1883 he severed his active connection with the
mining industry and opened a meat market and
butcher shop at Lead, an enterprise which he
conducted till his death, November 27, 1903,
while recuperating at his old home in England.
Beginning with a small outfit and on a very
limited scale, he steadily enlarged his business
until he had the most extensive and important of
its kind in this part of the state, conducting both
wholesale and retail trade of considerable magni-
tude over a wide extent of country. He was
also interested in mining to some extent, and had
a voice of force and influence in all the com-
mercial and political operations of the community,
being accounted one of the leading business men
and public spirits of his locality. He was a Re-
publican in politics, close and loyal in allegiance
to his party, and ever earnest and effective in its
service. He served as a member of the city coun-
cil of Lead and during the last eleven years of
his life had been school director. In fraternal
relations he was connected with the Odd Fellows
and the Elks, in both being highly esteemed for
the activity and usefulness of his membership.
He was also a member of the Order of the Sons
of St. George.

In September, 1880, at Lead, Mr. Searle was
married to Miss Julia Lee, a native of Norway.
They have one son, Charles, who was born and
reared at Lead and received his education in the
schools of the town, being graduated from the
high school in 1900. He was associated with his
father in business, and is widely known as one of
the rising, pro.gressive and capable young busi-

1266

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ness men of the town, and since the death of his
father has talven entire charge and management
of the business. It is high praise, but a just
meed to merit, to say that he is a worthy fol-
lower of his father's excellent example, and has
exhibited qualities of manhood which will en-
able him to take up the work of that estimable
man and carrj' it forward to its destined success
and power. He also belongs to the Elks lodge at
Lead and takes an active part in its fraternal and
social life.

TIFFANY BROTHERS.— Among the lead-
ing commercial enterprises in Aberdeen may be
mentioned the Aberdeen Steam Laundry, which
is conducted and owned by the subjects of this
brief sketch, the finn controlling a business which
extends into the most diverse sections of South
and North Dakota and also into Minnesota, local
agencies being maintained in the various towns.
The equipment and accessories of the establish-
ment are the best modern type and work is turned
out with expedition and in such style as to retain
the patronage of those who have once availed
themselves of its conveniences. The laundry was
established in January, 1900, and in the same em-
plo}ment is given to a corps of from twenty-five
to thirty persons, while the work is all under the
direct supervision of a thoroughly skilled and ex-
'perienced foreman, the equipment of the laundry
representing a financial investment of about
twenty-five thousand dollars. The interested
principals are William J- and Oliver M. Tiffany,
both of whom are actively identified with the con-
ducting of the rapid growing business. Prior to
coming to Aberdeen they had been engaged in
the same line of enterprise in Northfield, Min-
nesota, for a period of five years, so that they
fully understood how to secure the best results
and give the most satisfactory service to tlieir
patrons.

W. J. and O. M. Tiffany were born near
Northfield, Minnesota, the former on July 4, 1872,
and the latter on June 18, 1877, the sons of
Mathew Tiffany, who was born in Oneida count)-.
New York, and married Elizabeth Steadman, of

New York state. The parents removed to Min-
nesota during the early 'seventies,
j W. J. attended the district schools and put in
j four years at the Northfield high school. He
received his business training as a clerk in a dry-
goods store at Northfield, where he spent two
and a half years. He then engaged in the laundry
business in Northfield.

O. M. attended the district schools, graduated
from the Northfield high school, and also gradu-
ated from Carlton College (Northfield) in 1898.
He then taught school one year, after which h^
joined his brother in the laundry business. They
came to Aberdeen together.

W. J. married Minnie Miller, a native of
New York state, who is the daughter of Jay
Miller, of Glenn, New York. Six children have
been born-of this union : Ernest W., Jay M., Stan-
ley M., Dewey E., Lillian V. and Irene \^.

O. M. married jMaude McGandy, of Marshall.
Minnesota, daughter of James JiIcGandy, and
thev have one child. Earl.

FLOYD C. DARLING, deceased, was a
native of the great Buckeye state, having been
born in Warren, Trumbull county, Ohio, on the
iBtli of February, 1853, and being a son of
Russell and Marj' (Laraway) Darling. He re-
ceived his educational training in the public
schools of Ohio, and as a youth became identified
with the great railroading industry. At the age
of twenty-two years he engaged as locomotive
fireman on the line of the Erie Railroad, between
Cleveland and Youngstown, Ohio. He was faith-
ful and capable and in due time advancement
came, and in 1879 he was placed in charge of an
engine. In 1883 he came to Aberdeen, and was
given an engine on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St.
Paul Railroad, which he continued to run until
his death. He was punctilious and careful in
the discharge of his responsible duties and to this
fact was due the excellent record he made, no
serious accidents having marred his experience as
an engineer.

In politics INIr. Darling was a member of the
Republican party, and he held the Knights

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1267

Templar degree in the York Rite of the Masonic
fraternity, and also the thirty-second degree in the
Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, being a pop-
ular member of the various bodies of the or-
der in Aberdeen, including the temple of the
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine. He was also a knight commander of
the Court of Honor and was also a member of
the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.

In Titusville, Pennsylvania, on the 20th of
June, 1873, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Darling to Miss Margaret McCauley, who was
born in Pennsylvania. Of this union were born
six children, concerning whom we enter the fol-
lowing brief record : Viola is the wife of Arthur
W. Oliver, of Victor, Colorado; Etta is the wife
of Orville Card, of Aberdeen ; Nellie is the wife
of John Clawson, of Aurora, Illinois ; Margaret
is employed in one of the leading mercantile es- 1
tablishments in Aberdeen, and Ruby is a mem-
ber of the class of 1906 in the high school. Flora,
the fourth child of Mr. and Mrs. Darling, died in 1
Cleveland, Ohio. The eldest daughter was for- |
merly the wife of the late Eugene A. Lamb, who
was proprietor of the Aberdeen marble works and
brick yard, and three children were born of this
union, Gertrude, Francis and Marie. Mrs. Darl-
ing is a member of the Catholic church. Mr.
Darling died April 3, 1904.

FRED I. DOTEN was born on July 29, 1855,
at Spencer, Massachusetts, and is the son of
Isaac W. and Fidelia (Wright) Doten, the former
a native of Maine and the latter of Massachusetts.
The forefathers of both came to this- country in
colonial times, and were prominent in the early
history of New England, Mr. Doten's great-
grandfather serving as an officer in the American
army through the Revolution. The father was
a physician, practicing most of his time as such '
in Massachusetts, and dying at Spencer when a }
comparatively young man. The sheriff grew to
manhood in his native state, remaining there un-
til he was twenty-one years old and getting his
education in the district schools of Middlefield.
Early in 1S77 he left his native heath for the

wild and undeveloped Black Hills region, travel-
ing by way of Yankton and arriving at Rapid
City on May i. He passed the first summer pros-
pecting on Rapid creek and in the autumn moved
to Deadwood where he has had his home almost
continuously since that time. He engaged in
various pursuits necessary and profitable in tlie
early days, such as driving stage, farming and
running a hack line. In 1894 he went to Terry
and put on a line of hacks to run between that
place and Lead which he owned and managed
until the beginning of 1901, when he gave it up
to take charge of the office of sheriff of the
county, to which he was elected in the fall of 1900
by a large majority of the people without seeking
or desiring the nomination himself, being the can-
didate of the Republican party, to which he has
always belonged. In his management of this
office he has been very successful and has won
high commendation from all classes of his fellow
citizens. He is brave, keen and honest, true to
every public interest and ever considerate as well
of private rights and the feelings of all, proving
with force and impressiveness that the public
judgment which singled him out for the place
was good and wisely heeded. He mingles freely
m the fraternal life of the community, belonging
to the Knights of Pythias and the LTnited Work-
men at Terry, and the Eagles, Red Men and Elks
at Deadwood.

On June 8, 1896, Mr. Doten was married at
Terry to Miss Mary Zink, a native of Kansas and
daughter of William L. Zink, one of the promi-
nent citizens of the Hills who settled in this re-
gion when she was only one year old.

HENRY NOBLE was bom January 26,
1852, at Garnadilla, Iowa, and there grew to
maturity on a fann. During his boyhood and
youth he attended the public schools of his neigh-
borhood, and until his twenty-fifth year remained
under the parental roof, assisting his father in
running the home place and contributing his full
share to the support of the family. In 1877 Mr.
Noble severed home ties and engaged with the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad as fire-

1268

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

•man, the duties of which position he discharged
until 1879, when he was promoted engineer, with
■headquarters in the town of McGregor. In 1883
he was transferred to Mitchell, South Dakota, and
after remaining ten years at that place, removed
to Aberdeen, where he has since resided, being
on the run between these two points. Mr.
Noble's run is one of the most important on the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul system in the
west and his responsibilities are therefore very
great. During his long period of service he has
rarely been absent from duty, and his efficiency
and faithful service have been such as to gain
the unbounded confidence of his superiors. Fra-
ternally Mr. Noble is a Knight Templar and a
thirty-second-degree Scottish-rite Mason, being
one of the leading members of the order in the
city of his residence and honored at different
times with important official station. He is also
an influential factor in the Brotherhood of Loco-
motive Engineers, and as a citizen enjoys in a
marked degree the confidence and esteem of the
community. Blessed with a strong physique and
endowed with an ardent nature, he is exceedingly
fond of field sports and out-of-door amusements,
and during his vacations finds his greatest enjo_y-
ment with the rod and gun.

In 1872, while residing in his native state of
Iowa, Mr. Noble was united in marriage with
Miss Phila Pickett, a union which has been
blessed with two children, Lila, a teacher in the
public schools, and a son by the name of Field.

EMORY C. LASHLEY is a native of Cum-
berland, Maryland, where he was born on Oc-
tober 12. 1855. and the son of David H. and
Sarah (Ash) Lashley, natives of Virginia. In
1856 the family moved to Washington, Iowa,
where they remained until 1868, then settled at
Lincoln, Nebraska. Here they were veritable
pioneers, there being but three houses in the
town when they located there. The father en-
gaged in the lumber business and made that town
his home until 1879, when he moved to Furnas
county in the same state, and built a grist mill
which he conducted until his death. The son

had but limited opportunities for securing an
education, as the school facilities at Lincoln in
his day were meager and primitive, and he was
taken there at the age of thirteen. He at once
went to work with his father in lumbering, and a
few months later began clerking in a clothing and
furnishing store, in which he was employed until
he reached the age of seventeen. For two years
from 1873 1'"^ worked on the range in western
Kansas, then, after a short visit to his home,
went to Colorado and during the next two years
prospected and mined in different parts of that
state. In 1877 he came to the Black Hills, ar-
riving at Deadwood on April 3d and going to
work immediately for H. B. Young on his mining
property, which was afterward sold to the Home-
stake Company, remaining with Mr. Young until
July. He then found employment with Moses
and Fred ]\Ianuel, who at that time owned the
principal claims that later formed the Homestake
group. When they sold their properties to the
Homestake Company he went into the employ
of that organization, beginning work for it the
same morning when it acquired this property.
He was shift boss of miners and laborers for this
company until 1894, except during one year
when he was prospecting in Montana, and while
working for the company acquired mining claims
of his own which are of great value. In 1894 he
resigned from the service of this company and in
partnership with J. B. Tortat leased the Golden
Crown mine, near Lead, for six months. Four
months were consumed in boring a tunnel in
search of good veins of ore which had disappeared
and then they were again discovered and found to
be rich and profitable. Two months later the
owner sold the property and Mr. Lashley leased
other mines and prospected in various places
throughout the Hills, working also at different
times for the Homestake Company. In 1901 he
took a position with this company, intending to
remain in its employ, but in the fall of the next
year he was elected register of deeds on the Re-
]niblican ticket, and on January i, 1903, resigned

j his position with the company and took charge of
his office. He has not. however, abandoned his

I interest in mining and still owns a number of very

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1269

promising claims. On February 16, 1882, he was
married to Miss Katie Kostamo, a native of
Finland, the marriage taking place at Lead. They
have two children, Florence B. and Qiarles H.
;\Jr. Lashley's fraternal affiliations are with Lodge
No. 747, Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks, at Lead, the United Workmen and the Min-
ers' LTnion of Lead.

SAMUEL SCHWARZWALD was born on
Februar\' 16, 1848, in Prussia and is the son of
Jacob and Fuerda (Kohn) Schwarzwald, natives
of that country where their families lived for
many generations. In 1857 the family emigrated
to the L^nited States and located in New York
city, where the father became a successful dealer
in horses. Here the son grew to the age of six-
teen and was educated in the public schools. In !
1864 he went to Augusta. Georgia, where he :
passed seventeen months working in a dry-goods
store. He then returned to New York, and in
June, 1867, again left the city for a distant point,
going to St. Joseph, Missouri, by rail and from
there up the ;\Iissouri to Fort Benton, Montana,
whence he made his way overland to Helena.
In that city he wrought at various occupations
until 1869, then went to Cedar Creek, and until
1873 carried the mails between that place and
Forest City. At the end of that period he re-
turned to Helena, and during the next three years
was a salesman in the clothing store of Cans &
Klein, one of the leading mercantile establish-
ments of Montana's capital. In the summer of
1876 he came to the Black Hills, making the [
trip by boat from Fort Benton to Bismarck and
from there overland to Deadwood, arriving at
that place on August 12. Here he began deal-
ing in grain and produce and soon built up an
extensive trade, handling all the grain and similar
commodities brought into the Hills by trains. In
the fall of 1877 he opened a new and second-hand
furniture establishment, having bought the lot
on which he is now doing business in 1876 and
built a frame house on it for a store. Since 1879
he has devoted his time entirely to furniture, and
in 1894 erected the storehouse he now uses for

the purpose, adding the adjoining building three
years later. In addition to his mercantile enter-
prise he has always been interested in mining,
dealing principally in stocks connected with the
industry, making a success of that as he has of his
other ventures, and occupying a leading position
among the business men of the community. He is
an active Republican in politics and has during the
whole of his manhood been zealous in the service
of his party ; and he has been ec^ually energetic in
the matter of public improvements and the prog-
ress and development of every good undertaking
for the advancement of his section and the com-
fort and convenience of its people.

( )n January 19. 1903, at Chadron, Nebraska,
the subject was married to Mrs. Gussie (Lowen-
theal) Nathan, a native of Brooklyn, New York.
He finds pleasure and relief from the cares of
business in two of the fraternal orders, being an
esteemed member of the Elks and the Eagles.

CHARLES P. PINSONNAULT is a native
of the province of Quebec, Canada, where he was
born on May 22, 1862, the son of Qiarles and
Louise (Quintal) Pinsonnault, also natives of
that country. He received his education in his
native land, remaining there until he reached the
age of eighteen years. Then, in 1880, looking
upon the mining regions of the United States as
affording more extensive and better opportunities
for thrift and enterprise than any portion of the
Dominion at that time, he came to the Black
Hills, making the trip by trail to Bismarck and
from there by stage to Deadwood, arriving at
the latter place on June 15th. He clerked at Cen-
tral City until December loth. when he came to
Lead and entered the employ of the Homestake
jMining Company, working in the mills for a
period of three years, and during that time ac-
quiring a good knowledge of amalgamating. He
was employed in this branch of the industry for
six years in a subordinate capacity, and in 1893
was made chief amalgamator of what was then
the Highland and is now the Amicus mill. In
the interest of his line of the mining business he
visited the Columbian Exposition at Qiicago for

HISTORY OF SOUTH- DAKOTA.

observation and study and brought back much
new light and many valuable hints. He still
holds his position and is well established in the
confidence and regard of his employers and his
fellow men and having devoted all his mature
life so far to the study of his business, he has ac-
quired a knowledge of it, both technical and prac-
tical, that is scarcely surpassed anywhere. He
has also made good use of his earnings, becoming
possessed of valuable inining claims adjoining the
Golden Reward properties, which are full of
promise, and a number of desirable pieces of real
estate at Lead, among them a handsome residence
in which he lives. He is a member of the Com-
mercial Qub of the town and is active in pushing
forward the development and progress of his
community. In fraternal relations he is con-
nected with the Modern Woodmen of America,
and has rendered excellent service to the order,
representing his portion of the state in the gen-
eral convention at Kansas city in 1899, and at
Indianapolis in 1903. He is also a member of
Lead Hose Company No. i.

On December 22, 1887, at Piedmont, in this
state, Mr. Pinsonnault was married to Miss Cor-
inne Mochon, a native of Montreal. They have
three children, Hector A., Eugene P. and Lucile.

ABRAM L. READ is a native of Fairfield,
Iowa, where he was born on July 18, i860, and is
the son of William M. and Matilda (Bottom)
Read, the former a native of Pennsylvania and
the latter of England. His father was a miller
and followed his craft at Fairfield, where the son
grew to manhood and received his education. At
the age of thirteen he began to assist his father in
the mill during the vacations between the school
terms, and when he reached the age of twenty
turned his attention to farming, remaining there
aiding in the work on the farm three years. In
the spring of 1883 he came west to Colorado
where he worked in the mining mills for one
year, then passed a year in traveling over various
western states. In 1885 he made a journey with
teams to the Black Hills, stopping at a number
of places on the way and arriving at Lead in

May, 1886. He soon after entered the employ of
the Homestake Mining Company, in its mill at
Terryville, where he learned the work of amalga-
mating and remained until the mill closed in 1893,
being at the time chief amalgamator. He pur-
sued a year's course in the School of Mines at
Rapid City, and in 1894 came to Lead and se-
cured a position as chief amalgamator in the
Golden Star, a two-hundred-stamp mill and one
of the two largest mills of the kind in this part of
the country. He saved his money and invested it
in mining property and claims, of which he now
owns a considerable and valuable body. He also
bought real estate at Lead, where, in addition to
his beautiful residence, he has other valuable
property. On May 3, 1900, he was married at
Lead, to Miss Emma Robbins, a native of New-
York. Mrs. Read was formerly a teacher in the
public schools of Lead for a number of years.
They have one son, Robert R. Mr. Read is an
earnest and devoted member of the Masonic
lodge at Lead, and he and his wife are promi-
nent and active in the social life of the town
where they have a host of friends who find their
home a center of refined and considerate hospi-
i tality and social enjoyment. As chief amalga-
mator for the Golden Star Mining Company, Mr.
Read has a position of importance and responsi-
bility, and it is but just to say of him that he
meets its exacting requirements in a masterful
manner and in a way that has secured for him
the utmost confidence and regard of his em-
ployers.

GEORGE W. CLTRTIS is a native of Mil-
waukee, Wisconsin, born on July 9, 1856, and is
the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Gibbard)
Curtis, who were born and reared in England.
The father was a farmer in Wisconsin, and the
son grew to the age of twenty years on the pa-
ternal homestead, receiving his education in the
district schools of Oakfield in his native state,
and acquiring habits of useful industry and thrift
on the farm. In 1876 he went to Minnesota, and
after passing a few months in that state, in the
spring of 1877 outfitted at Long Prairie with ox-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

teams and came with a party across the country
to the Black Hills, where he prospected for a
year. In 1878 he located at Lead and entered
the employ of the Homestake Mining Company
in the first mill owned and operated by it, the old
No. 2 mill, which the company renamed the High-
land mill. This was his first experience in
amalgamating and he was new to the business.
But by continued and studious application he
soon mastered it, and in this line of activity he
has been since steadily employed. At the end of
nine months he was made night foreman of the
mill, and he served in this capacity until 1879,
when he returned to Wisconsin on a visit to his
parents. In the following spring he came back
to Lead and went into the company's new High-
land mill as amalgamator, and six years later was
made head amalgamator of this mill. He served
in that position until February, 1896, and was
then transferred to the Homestake mill as head
amalgamator. This is a two-hundred-stamp mill
and one of the largest this company has. From
that time until now he has filled the position ac-
ceptably and has risen to a high place in the con-
fidence and esteem of both the company and the
community in which it operates, being now one
of the oldest and most trusted employes of the.
establishment. He mingles freely in the social
life of the town and surrounding country, and
is an active participant in all phases of their
productive enterprises. A valued member of the
Odd Fellows lodge at Lead, he has been of great
service to the organization through his intelli-
gence and energy and his breadth of view in
lodge affairs. On January 6, 1886, be was mar-
ried at Lead to Mrs. Florence G. (Ashton) Nel-
son, a native of Ohio. They have four children,
Leo A., Hazel, Gertrude and George W., the
latter having died at the age of two years and
four months.

JAMES McQUILLEN, of Lead, was born
on August 15, 1843, at Jackson, Michigan, where
his parents, Nicholas and Elizabeth (Riley) Mc-
Ouillen, settled on their arrival in this country
from Ireland, where thev were bom and reared.

They came to America in 1826, and believing
there was greater opportunity for enterprise and
thrift in the unsettled West than in the East, pro-
ceeded at once to the territory of Michigan and,
accepting the hard conditions of life in the wilder-
ness, began to build a home and win an estate
by hard work and stern endurance of every pri-
vation. The father was a mechanic and found
his skill in great demand in the new country.
Tlie son was reared to the age of eighteen in
his native place and was educated in its schools.
In 1861, fired with the same spirit of adventure
and self-reliance that had impelled his parents,
he made a trip to California by way of New
York and Cape Horn, and on arriving at his
destination after a tedious and perilous voj'age
he engaged in prospecting and mining. ' He was
at Sacramento when the presidential election of
1864 took place, and there he cast his vote for
Mr. Lincoln's electors. He remained in Cali-
fornia and Nevada until 1872, all the while con-
nected with the mining industry, then returned to
Michigan and secured employment in the copper
mines around Lake Superior. Six years were
passed in that region and occupation, and in the
early part of 1878 he left for the Black Hills,
where he was destined to find his future home,
arriving in April. In July following he began
an engagement with the Homestake Mining Com-
pany, which has continued until now, and he
is now one of the oldest of that company's em-
ployees in continuous service. When he began to
work for this corporation it had no mills, but
one was erected during the same month that his
work there began. He was assigned to the
amalgamating department of the work, and with
this he has been connected ever since. For ten
years he has been night foreman of the stamp
mills of the Homestake Company and by his
fidelity and conscientious and intelligent perform-
ance of his important duties he has won a high
place in the regard of his employers and the men
in the mill. He has been careful of his earnings,
investing them judiciously in mining property
and other real estate, and he now has valuable
possessions in each. His mining interests are
very promising, and can hardly fail to be of great

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

value in time. He stands well in the community,
and takes an active and serviceable interest in
every phase of its advancement. He belongs to
the United Workmen, and he and his family are
members of the Catholic church.

On July i8, 1880, at Houghton, ^Michigan,
Mr. McQuillen was married to Miss Katie Hal-
loran. a native of that state. They have one
daughter, Katie, who was boni at Lead and is
now the wife of Herbert Richardson.

CHARLES K. WEEDON. of Central City,
is a native of Columbiana county, Ohio, where
he was born on November 23, 1835, ^"d is the
son of James and Nancy (Maiikin) Weedon,
who was born and reared in Virginia. They
settled in that portion of Ohio when it was on
the wild frontier, and there they established a
home and developed a good farm, remaining
until 1843, when they moved to Wayne county,
Illinois. There the father took up a homestead
and again began to redeem the virgin soil from
its wildness and make it fruitful with the prod-
ucts of cultivated life. The parents remained
in that county until death ended their labors;
and there also the son grew to manhood and was
educated in the district schools near his home
and at the high school in Fairfield, the county
seat. After leaving school he assisted his father
on the farm tmtil February, 1862, when he en-
listed in defense of the Union in Company E,
Seventh Illinois Cavalry, in which regiment he
served three years, mostly in the armies of the
West. He participated in a number of important
engagements, making a gallant record as a soldier
and being mustered out as a non-commissioned
officer at Gravely Springs, Alabama, in 1865.
He then returned to his Illinois home, and after
spending some time in farming, engaged in the
livery business at Fairfield. In the spring of
1877 he came to the Black Hills, arriving at
Deadwood on March 7th. He at once went to
work in the mines at Golden Gate near Central
City, where he was employed two years. In 1879
he purchased property and built a livery barn at
Central Citv, and since that time he has been

conducting one of the leading liverj- businesses in
this part of the state, being by continuous appli-
cation to the same enterprise one of the oldest
business men in the place. In political faith he
is a staunch Republican and during the whole
of his mature life he has been active and effective
in the service of his party. In 1893 ^^ was
elected county assessor of Lawrence county, and
was re-elected in 1895. During the two years
following the close of his second term he was in
the office as deputy, thus serving the county six
years in connection with the valuation of property
for taxation. In local affairs, independent of
political considerations, and in every good un-
dertaking for the advancement of his community,
he has always been zealous and energetic. While
devoting his attention to other business he has
kept up his. interest in mining and owns a num-
ber of valuable properties and claims.

On March 15, 1867, Mr. Weedon was married
at Memphis, Tennessee, to Miss Lizzie McCoy,
a native of Wisconsin, who died on August 24,
1901, and was buried in the cemeter\- at Dead-
wood.

ANDREW H. LUNDIX was born in
Sweden on August 24, 1848, and remained in
his native land until he was twenty, receiving his
education and learning his trade as a blacksmith
there. In 1868 he came to the United States, and
after working at his trade for nearly five years
in various parts of the East, went to California
in 1873, and during the next three years was
employed at his craft in San Francisco and at
mines in other parts of the state. In 1876 he re-
turned east on a visit, and the next spring came
to the Black Hills, arriving in May. A few
months were passed in different portions of this
region, then in September, 1877, he settled at
Lead, where he has since maintained his home.
His first engagement here was. as a blacksmith
for the Golden Star mine, and later he worked for
the Highland in the same capacity. This was
before these properties belonged to the Home-
stake Company, and when it acquired them he
accepted employment with it. remaining in its

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[2/3

service until 1882. In that year he took charge
of the shops of the Black Hills & Fort Pierre
Railroad at Lead, this line at that time belong-
ing to the Homestake Company. When it was
sold to the Burlington in August, 1901, he left
its employ and took a year's rest. In the fall of
iqo2 he built his present shop on Prince street,
and here he has worked up a large and profitable
business in blacksmithing and making wagons.
He has been thrifty all the while as well as in-
dustrious, and has acquired considerable real
estate of value in the town and extensive mining
interests. On April ig, 1882, he was married at
Lead to Miss Helen Brakke, a native of Wis-
consin. They have three children, Alfred, Wil-
lard and Helen. Mr. Lundin is a devoted and
zealous member of the Masonic order and the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, holding his
membership in the lodges of these fraternities at
Lead. No man in the town or neighborhood
stands higher in the general estimation of the
public, and none deserves a higher place in public
regard and good will.

WILLIS HUNT BONHAM is a native of
the state of Illinois, having been born on a farm
in Jasper county, on the 13th of January, 1847,
and being a son of Levi M. and Marj' (Hunt)
Bonham, both of whom were born in Virginia,
whence they accompanied their respective parents
to Ohio in childhood, being there reared to ma-
turity and there married, while they became num-
bered among the sterling pioneers of Illinois, the
father developing a good farm in Jasper county,
while he also was a civil engineer and did no
little work in this line and in his younger days
was a successful teacher. The family records in
the agnatic line available to the subject date back
to a few years prior to the war of the Revolution,
and indicate that ancestors of the line removed
from Massachusetts to Maryland and Virginia.

The subject of this sketch received a com-
mon-school education, and as a youth was
studious and industrious, making the most of the
opportunities afforded him. He left the home
farm at the age of twenty years and learned the

trade of painting and decorating. In 1873 he
removed to Denver, Colorado, where he worked
at his trade until 1877, when he came to the Black
Hills, being one of the pioneers in this section
of South Dakota. He located in Deadwood and
shortly afterward drifted into the newspaper
business, with which he has ever since been suc-
cessfully identified. He began at the foot of the
ladder and finally became the publisher of a pa-
per and attained a success greater than any of his
competitors, finally bringing about the consoli-
dation of the two leading papers, which he now
owns and publishes. At the time of the Civil
war he enlisted in a regiment of Illinois volun-
teers, but was mustered out after three weeks,
bv reason of his being under the required age.
Mr. Bonham has proved one of the valuable and
progressive citizens of Deadwood, in whose af-
fairs he has ever maintained a deep interest. He
served as city clerk from 1882 to 1887, ^"d has
been helpful along everv' line of local enterprise
of a public nature. Pie had much to do with the
organization of the efficient city fire department,
with which he became identified in a personal
way at the time of its inception, having served as
foreman and later as chief engineer. In politics
he gives an uncompromising allegiance to the Re-
publican party and is an active worker in its
cause. Fraternally he is identified with the
Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, Improved Order of Red Men, Eagles
and other social organizations, while in his
younger days he was an active member of the
Presbvterian church.

CHARLES A. RANDALL was born in
Logansport, Indiana, on July 9, 1871, and he is
the son of Charles H. and Augusta (Thissel)
Randall, natives of Massachusetts. The father
was a pattern maker and lived in Logansport until
the close of his life. The son grew to manhood
there and after being graduated from the high
school attended an excellent college at Urbana,
Illinois, where he pursued a course of special
training in architecture. On leaving this insti-
tution he went to Chicago and passed three years

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

in an architect's office to get the benefit of prac-
tical work in his profession. In 1893 he returned
to Logansport and opened an office there, soon
becoming one of the leading architects of north-
ern Indiana, his work calling him to all the sur-
rounding towns. He made plans for and built
many of the principal public buildings that were
erected during his stay there. In 1901 he closed
out his interests in Indiana, and coming to Dead-
wood in this state, formed a partnership with
O. C. Jewett, who had been actively engaged in
the profession for a number of years in the Black
Hills. In April, 1902, Mr. Jewett died, and since
then Mr. Randall has continued the business
alone. When it was determined by a number of
the leading citizens of Deadwood to build a hotel
in the town that would do justice and be a credit
to the place, he was asked to draw plans and
specifications for tlie structure, and when he sub-
mitted his drawings they were promptly ap-
proved, and the hotel was built according to them.
This was his first great work in Deadwood, and
the house stands a lasting monument to the enter-
]jrise of the people of the city and of his own
skill and capacity. Since the completion of this
edifice his work has constantly increased, and
there is already a noticeable improvement in the
character of the buildings erected in the city, and
there is also excellent promise that this improve-
ment will go on to larger and still better results.
He is thoroughly in love with his profession, and
approaches every duty in connection with it with
the breadth of view and public-spirit of a pro-
gressive and far-seeing man, and also with a
conscientious devotion to the highest ideals and
the most praiseworthy motives.

LAFAYETTE COWDIN is a native of
Wyoming county. New York, where his birth
occurred on the loth day of June, 1854. Reared
on a farm, he grew up a strong, well-developed
lad and at an early age learned to appreciate the
dignity of lionest toil and to rely upon his own
exertions in the matter of obtaining a livelihood.
He attended at intervals during his youth the
public schools of his native place, and after as-

sisting his father on the farm until twenty years
old, he severed home ties and turned his face
towards the great west, starting in September,
1876, for South Dakota, with the Black Hills as
his objective point.

Reaching Deadwood on the 24th of the fol-
lowing month, Mr. Cowdin accepted a position
with his brother-in-law, G. W. R. Pettibone, in
whose company he came west, the latter shortly
after their arrival opening a store in the town
of Gayville. After clerking there for a short
time the subject was sent to Sydney to buy goods,
which being accomplished he returned to Gay-
ville and looked after the store until the follow-
ing spring, the meanwhile doing considerable
prospecting for himself in different parts of the
country. The following summer he returned to
the Hills where he was variously engaged until
the next spring, when he started in an express
business in Deadwood, beginning in a modest
way with one horse and a light wagon with which
he soon secured a lucrative patronage. Some time
later, in the fall of 1878. he began carrying
passengers from Deadwood to Rockfort, his being
the first public conveyance between the two
places, but after devoting a few months to stag-
ing, he discontinued the business to run a sprin-
kling wagon in the former city. Subsequently he
was engaged in hauling lumber to Deadwood,
which line of work he followed until February,
1880, and then took up a ranch on Alkalic creek,
where he turned his attention to agricultural pur-
suits.

After fanning one summer, Mr. Cowdin sold
his ranch and returning to Deadwood, resumed
staging, running from that city to Galena. This
proved a remunerative enterprise and he con-
tinued it until May, 1883, when he sold out and
located at Sturgis, where he has since been en-
gaged in the livery business. Shortly after
settling in his present place of residence, he pur-
chased a well-equipped barn on Main street,
which with the improvements since added is now
the largest and most successful establishment of
the kind in the city, one of the best patronized
and most popular livery barns in this section of
the state. Mr. Cowdin keeps a number of the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

finest horses obtainable, both for saddle and driv-
ing purposes, and his rolling stock is first-class
and up-to-date, consisting of carriages, buggies,
phaetons, broughams and other vehicles, all of
modern style and selected with an eye to beauty
and comfort as well as to utility. Without in-
vidious distinction, it has been asserted that Mr.
Cowdin is without doubt the most popular busi-
ness man in Sturgis, being kind and obliging,
cordial in his relations with his patrons, genial in
disposition and the life of any social circle in
which he may be found.

Mr. Cowdin is a married man and the father
of an interesting family that is well known and
favorably regarded by the best social element in
the city of Sturgis. His wife was formerly Miss
Martha Tourtillott, a native of Minnesota, and
the ceremony by which her name was changed to
the one she now bears was solemnized at Fort
Pierre, South Dakota, on December ist of the
year 1884; the three children born to this union
are Emma B.. Edna L. and Mi T.

JOHN SCOLLARD, proprietor of the Hotel
Scollard in Sturgis. is a native of the Badger
state, liaving been born in Washington county,
Wisconsin, on the 3d of January, 1852, and being
a son of Patrick and Elizabeth (Murphy) Scol-
lard. both of whom were born in Ireland. They
were numbered among the early settlers in Wis-
consin, and passed the closing years of their lives
in that state. The subject was reared on the
homestead fami and completed the curriculum of
the public schools of his native state, having taken
a course in the high school in the city of Mil-
waukee. After leaving school he followed'
various occupations in Wisconsin until the cen-
tennial year, 1876, when he came to the Black
Hills, being numbered among the adventurous
spirits who initiated the march of progress and
development in this section. In 1878 he became
]jroprietor of the Hotel Scollard, in Sturgis, and
has ever since conducted this caravansary, hav-
ing made improvements upon the building from
time to time and now having a modern and well-
conducted house, — one well meriting the patron-

age which it is accorded. In politics Mr. Scol-
lard is a stanch advocate of the principles and
policies of the Democratic party, and though he
has never sought official preferment he has ever
.taken a deep interest in public affairs, particu-
larly of a local nature, and is known as a pro-
gressive and loyal citizen. He served as a mem-
ber of the constitutional convention of 1889 and
has served two tenns as mayor of Sturgis. He
has been affiliated with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows since 1878, being now a member of
Bear Butte Lodge, No. 46: while he is also
identified with Rathbone Lodge, No. 78, Knights
of Pythias, and with Sturgis Aerie. No. 225, Fra-
ternal Order of Eagles.

On the 2ist of January, 1875, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Scollard to Miss Margaret
Donnelly, who was born in the state of New
York, on the sth of February, 1855, being a
daughter of Patrick Donnelly. Mr. and Mrs.
Scollard are the parents of two children, as fol-
lows : Mabel, who was born in Sioux City and
died at the age of nine years in 1884, being buried
in the cemetery at Sturgis : Gertrude, who was
born in Dead wood in 1878 and was the first
white female born in that place. She was edu-
cated in the public schools and at the Sacred
Heart Convent at Omaha, Nebraska.

MIOSES HAINES, of Lawrence county.
South Dakota, came to the LTnited States from
the British possessions, being a native of New
Brunswick, where his birth occurred on the 23d
of February, 1846. His boyhood, which was un-
eventful, was spent amid the quiet scenes of the
parental home, and at intervals until his sixteenth
year he attended the public schools, acquiring,
by close application, a knowledge of the branches
constituting the prescribed course of study. At
the above age he left home and entered upon his
career as a self-supporting actor in the affairs of
life, going first to the state of Minnesota, where
he worked at lumbering for different parties un-
til 1868, when he decided to seek his fortune
further west. Yielding to a desire of long stand-

1276

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ing, Mr. Haines went to Montana, where he
turned his attention to mining, in the prosecution
of which he traveled extensively over that ter-
ritory, visiting the different mining districts, but
meeting with only fair success in his operations.
He remained in that part of the county until
the discovery of gold in the Black Hills, in 1876,
when he made for the new land of promise, join-
ing a company on March 4th of that year, which,
under the leadership of one William Langston,
started from Bozeman, and came in via what is
now Spearfish and arrived at Deadwood the latter
part of the following May. The men comprising
this company were among the first to reach the
Black Hills, and at the time of their arrival the
present flourishing city of Deadwood was noth-
ing but a small collection of tents and a few in-
significant log shacks, occupied by hardy and dar-
ing adventurers, who made everything in the
shape of comfort secondary to the one absorbing
desire for gold. After spending about two
months in Deadwood and vicinity, Mr. Haines
came to the foot hills on Whitewood creek, where
he spent the greater part of the summer and fol-
lowing winter, and the next spring he took up his
present ranch, four miles from the town of White-
wood, and began fanning and stock raising. In
the course of a few years he had a goodly por-
tion of his land in cultivation, also increased the
number of his cattle the meanwhile, and in due
time became one, of the successful agriculturists
and stock men on Whitewood creek, which repu-
tation he still enjoys. He added to his real estate
from time to time, made a number of good im-
provements on his ranch, and his cattle interests
continued to grow apace until, as stated above, he
found himself one of the leaders of the industry
in Lawrence county, as well as an influential fac-
tor in the civil affairs of the same.

In 1897 Ml"- Haines moved his family to
Whitewood and has resided in the town ever
since, though still owning his ranch and giving
personal attention to his large and constantly in-
creasing cattle and other live-stock interests. He
was married in Crook City on the 8th of May,
1891, the lady of his choice being Miss Hattie
Jones, of Iowa, who departed this life on Decem-

ber 12, 1897, leaving, besides her bereaved hus-
band, a daughter by the name of Nettie.

Mr. Haines is a gentleman of high character
and excellent repute, and enjoys to a marked de-
gree the confidence of the people with whom he
mingles.

JAMES H. McCOY, who is now serving on
the bench of the fifth judicial circuit of the state,
was born on a farm near Oakley, Macon county,
Illinois, on the 14th of July, 1855, the son of
Benjamin F. and Minerva D. (Helm) McCoy,
the former of whom was born and reared in
Greenbrier county, Virginia, where he devoted
his active life to agricultural pursuits. He is
now a resident of Oakley, Illinois, of which state
he is an honored pioneer. His wife was born
near the city of Baltimore, Maryland, in 1830,
and died at Oakley, Illinois, in 1889.

The subject of this sketch pursued his studies
in the district schools during his boj'hood days
and then entered the high school at Decatur, Illi-
nois, where he fitted himself for matriculation in
the Illinois Wesleyan University, at Blooming-
ton, being graduated in the law department of
that institution as a member of the class of 1880.
During the following two years he gave his at-
tention principally to teaching in the public
schools of his native state, and in 1883 he was
appointed special field examiner for the United
States pension department, with headquarters in
j Louisville, Kentucky. In July, 1885, he was dis-
1 missed from this position on account of "offensive
partisanship," and the following month he opened
a law ofiice at Britton, Marshall county, Dakota
territory, there continuing in active practice until
i 1893, when he removed to Webster, Day county.
South Dakota, where he built up a large and im-
I portant law business, remaining in practice there
' until January, 1900. when he transferred his resi-
dence and professional headquarters to the city of
Aberdeen. His practice was of general char-
acter, and from 1890 to 1901 he probably tried as
! many civil cases as any other attorney in the cir-
I cuit, this fact standing in unmistakable evidence
I of his ability and the confidence reposed in him

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1277

by the public. In 1887 Judge McCoy was ap-
pointed county auditor of Marshall county, and
two years later was elected county judge of that
county, being re-elected in 1892. In 1901 he was
elected to his present exacting and responsible
office of judge of the circuit court of the fifth
judicial circuit, embracing the counties of Brown,
Beadle, Day, Grant, Marshall, Spink and Rob-
erts. His rulings on the bench have shown him
to be possessed of a clear, judicial mind, a thor-
ough knowledge of the minutiae of the law, and
a desire to subordinate all else to the ends of
justice, so that he has but augmented his hold
upon popular confidence and esteem. On April
ij, 1904, at the judicial convention held at Web-
ster, the Judge was renominated by acclamation
for a second term of four and a half years as
judge. The Judge is an uncompromising ad-
vocate of the principles of the Republican party,
in whose cause he has rendered effective service,
having served as chairman of the central com-
mittees of both Marshall and Day counties. Fra-
ternally he is identified with the Masonic order,
having served two years as senior warden of
Coteau Lodge, while a resident of Webster ; he is
also a member of the Modern Woodmen of
America, and of the Ancient Order of United
Workmen.

In Spring-field, Illinois, on the 27th of June,
1883, Judge McCoy was married to Miss Hanna
F. Heath, and they have two children, Lelah K.,
who was born March 11, 1886, and James C,
who was born October 18, 1892.

WAMPLER LEAIUEL COCHR.\NE,
Ph. D., superintendent of the public schools of
Aberdeen, is a native of Mercer county, Pennsyl-
vania, born in the town of Clarksville, October
22, 1870, and nine years later accompanied his
parents to Sullivan county, Missouri, where he
lived on a farm until a youth of seventeen.
Meanwhile he acquired his preliminary education
in the public schools, and at the age noted entered
Humphrey's College, Missouri, from which in
due time he was graduated. While prose-

cuting his collegiate course he devoted his vaca-
tions to teaching, and, better to fit himself for
the latter profession, subsequently became a
student of the normal school at Kirksville,
Missouri, where he pursued his studies until
1900, when he graduated with the class of that
year. Prior to finishing his professional course
at Kirksville, Professor Cochrane served as prin-
cipal of schools at Glenwood and Browning,
Missouri, also held a similar position for some
time in the town of Craig, and in 1899 was
elected superintendent of the public schools of
Moulton, Iowa. Entering upon his duties at the
last named place immediately after his gradua-
tion, he held the position during the ensuing
three years, and at the expiration of that time
resigned to take charge of the schools of Aber-
deen, South Dakota, to which place he was
chosen by the unanimous vote of the board of
trustees. Professor Cochrane's work in this city
has fully justified the board in the wisdom of
their choice, his labors as an organizer as well
as an educator giving new life and impetus to
the schools of the city, and making the local edu-
cational system not only the leading one in South
Dakota, but among the best in the United
States, as prominent, educators who have investi-
gated his efforts and critically observed his
methods cheerfully admit. Since taking charge
of his present position he has inaugurated and
carried to successful issue a number of radical
reforms in the matter of instruction and manage-
ment, including, among others, a new and
greatly improved course of study, which is con-
ceded to be one of the most thorough in the
state, and making professional training as well
as scholarship a prerequisite on the part of the
teacher. The present corps of teachers, carefully
selected with reference to intellectual culture and
professional training, are either normal gradu-
ates or hold diplomas from other first-class edu-
cational institutions, and their tenure depends
entirely upon fitness, the incompetents in due
time being weeded out, and only those of high
order of ability as instructors being retained.
There are now in Aberdeen six school buildings
of the latest and most improved style of archi-

1278

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

tecture, all neatly finished and supplied with
the necessan' furniture and educational appli-
ances. A building but recently erected is said
to be one of the finest specimens of school archi-
tecture in the state, if not the best. It is seventy
by one hundred and forty feet in area, two
stories high, contains twenty-two commodious,
well-lighted rooms, with a seating capacity of
three hundred, and with furniture and other
necessary appliances, represents an outlay con-
siderably in excess of fifty thousand dollars.
The high school has long enjoyed the reputation
of being one of the best institutions of the kind
in the countrj', its graduates being received by
the leading colleges and universities of South
Dakota and other western states without exam-
ination, and it also articulates with the Chicago
University, Columbia University at Washington,
D. C, and with all the first-class educational
institutions in the land.

In addition to his duties as superintendent
Professor Cochrane is in great demand at certain
seasons as an institute lecturer, his services in
this capacity being highly prized wherever he
has labored. Since locating at Aberdeen he has
not only been active in promoting the city's edu-
cational interests, but has also contributed in no
small degree to its general prosperity, being in-
terested in all movements and enterprises making
for the material advancement of the community
and the social and moral good of his fellow men.
Fond of athletics and healthful outdoor sports
and amusements, he has used his influence to
encourage the same among young people of the
city, especially among students, and it was
largely through his efforts that a finely equipped
gymnasium was added to the splendid school
building recently erected.

Professor Cochrane, in 1895, contracted a
matrimonial alliance with Miss Alice Knight,
of Linneus, Missouri, one of his classmates in
college, and later a successful and popular
teacher, the union resulting in the birth of one
child, a son by the name of Harrold. Religiously
Professor Cochrane and wife subscribe to the
Methodist faith and belong to the church of that
denomination in Aberdeen.

WARREN D. L.\NE, one of the successful
attorneys of the Roberts county bar and member
of the well-known law firm of Barrington &
Lane, Sisseton, was born near Cresco. Iowa,
May 10, 1867, the son of Abraham and Sarah
(Darling) Lane, natives of Pennsylvania and
New York respectively. Abraham Lane was a
farmer and public-spirited citizen, and for many
years enjoyed distinctive prestige in his com-
munity as an enterprising man of affairs. Of
his family of seven children only three are
living. Rev. Louis L. Lane, pastor of the First
Methodist Episcopal church of Sisseton ; Theron
W., an attorney practicing his profession at
Bridgeport, Washington, and Warren D., whose
name furnishes the caption of this review. Mr.
Lane moved to Iowa in 1851 and died in that
state in 1879, ^^ the age of forty-eight; his
widow subsequently came to South Dakota and
settled on a claim east of Wilmot, later changing
her residence to the town of Bristol, where he
departed this life in the year 1897.

The early life of Warren D. Lane was spent
in Iowa, and his youthful experiences were
similar to those of the majority of lads reared
in close touch with nature on the farm. After
attending the public schools of Cresco until the
age of sixteen, finishing the high-school course
the meantime, he accompanied his mother to
South Dakota, settling in 1883 on the claim in
Roberts county, alluded to in the preceding para-
graph, where he devoted his attention to agri-
cultural pursuits, until engaging with his brother
in the furniture business at Wilmot two years
later. Actuated by a laudable ambition to in-
crease his scholastic training, he and his brother
disposed of their furniture business in 1892, and
entered the Northwestern L^niversity at Evans- '
ton, Illinois, from which institution he was
graduated four years later with the degree of
Bachelor of Science. Subsequently he took the
degree of Master of Science at the University of
Minnesota, and in 1898 was graduated from the
same institution with the degree of Bachelor
of Laws, after which he began the practice of his
profession at Sisseton, where in due time he
forged to the front as ap able and energetic

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

attorney, winning a conspicuous place among
the leading members of the Roberts county bar.
Since then he has been admitted to practice in
the higher courts of South Dakota and the
supreme court of the United States, and by un-
flagging industry has built up a large and lucra-
tive legal business.

While well grounded in the principals of the
law and familiar with every branch of his pro-
fession. Mr. Lane has won especial distinction
as an advocate, being regarded as one of the
strong, logical and eloquent public speakers of
the west, in consequence of which his services
are eagerly sought in important jury trials and
in cases requiring clear exposition of technical
points of law and profound discussion before
courts. While a student of the University of
Minnesota, he represented that institution in the
inter-collegiate debate with the Iowa University
and at the Northwestern University he was
elected class orator and won the Lyman F. Gage
prize for extemporaneous debate, and was elected
to membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Society,
licsides gaining various other honors for public
discourse and scholarship.

The same year in which 'he opened an office
in Sisseton, Mr. Lane was nominated by the Re-
publican party of Roberts county for state's
.ittnrnew to which office he was triumphantly
. k-cteil and the duties of which he discharged
for two consecutive terms. He has always mani-
fested a deep and abiding interest in political
questions, and since coming west has been
actively identified with the Republican party,
being one of its leaders in this part of South
Dakota, while as an organizer and campaigner
his reputation is widely known throughout the
state.

Primarily devoted to his law practice, and
making every other consideration subordinate
thereto, Mr. Lane is also interested in various
Inisiness and industrial enterprises, being presi-
dent of the Iowa and Dakota Land and Loan
Company, vice-president of the Roberts County
Abstract and Title Company, and a stockholder
in the Citizens' National Bank, besides having
large and valuable real-estate interests, owning

a valuable homestead near Sisseton and consider-
able property within the corporation. Mr. Lane
belongs to several secret and benevolent organi-
zations, notable among which are the Masonic
fraternity. Knights of Pythias and Improved
Order of Red Men, in all of which he has held
important official station.

Air. Lane and Miss Maude Cross, of Wilmot,
South Dakota, daughter of Edwin and Lyle
( Smith) Cross, of Minnesota, were united in
the bonds of wedlock on June 28, 1899, the
marriage resulting in the birth of two children,
Everett, who died September 5, 1900, at the age
of five months, and Frances F., born August
25. 1902.

GEORGE N. WILLIAMSON has been
successfully engaged in the practice of law in
the city of Aberdeen, Brown county, for the past
twelve years, and is one of the representative
members of the bar of the state.

He is a native of the state of Minnesota,
having been born in Rochester, Olmsted county,
on the 20th of December, 1865, and being a son
of Nathan N. and Mary Williamson, the former
of whom was born in the state of New York
and the latter in New England, while they were
mimbered among the pioneers of Minnesota,
the father having been for manv years engaged
in the contracting business at Rochester. The
subject received his early educational discipline
in the public schools of Oronoco and Rochester.
Minnesota, and then entered the law department
of the University of Minnesota. He was ad-
mitted to the bar of his native state in 1889 and
the same year to that of the new commonwealth
of South Dakota, since he located in Aberdeen
in 1892 and here initiated the active work of his
profession, in which he has been most successful,
being an able trial lawyer and a duly conserva-
tive counselor, he is a close student of his pro-
fession and gives careful preparation to every
cause which he presents before court or jury. In
politics he is an independent Republican and
while he takes an active interest in public affairs
and in the success of the iiartv cause, he has

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

never been ambitious for political office. He has
attained the thirty-second degree in the Ancient
Accepted Scottish Rite Masonry, and is also iden-
tified with the Knights of Pythias.

On the 15th of April, 1896, Mr. Williamson
was married to Miss May M. Mackenzie, who
was born in the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, on
the 3d of August, 1875, being a daughter of
Alexander C. and Annie Mackenzie. Of this
union have been born three children, Alan N.,
Marjorie and Helen.

FRANCIS M. MURPHY.— Born and edu-
cated on the western verge of Missouri, remov-
ing in his youth to southern Colorado, and com-
ing to the Black Hills in the full flush and vigor
of his manhood, and having thus been practically
a pioneer in three states of the great West, the
late Francis M. Murphy, of Pennington county,
was the very embodiment of its spirit, the broad
sweep of its vision, the prodigious enterprise that
drives its activities, and its daring faith which
laughs at impossibilites and challenges fate her-
self into the lists ready to meet her on almost
equal terms. His life began on December 22,
1843, in Platte county, Missouri, and he lived
there until he reached the age of sixteen years,
receiving in the public schools of that county all
the book learning he ever got from academic
teaching. In 1859, when he was just completing
his sixteenth year, he accompanied his parents to
Colorado, and with them settled in the southern
part of the state. There he united with his father
in extensive farming operations, working for a
few years at a salary and then becoming a part-
ner in the business. This relation continued until
■ 1870, when he was married and started a similar
enterprise in raising stock and general farming
for himself. This he conducted with success un-
til 1879, when he deemed it wise to try his for-
tunes amid the glowing promises of the Black
Hills, and leaving his family at their Colorado
home, he came directly to Rapid City, arriving
in November, and bringing with him a band of
cattle as a basis of operations. He took a squat-

ter's claim on Rapid creek, five miles southeast of
the city, ancl in the following" spring, after the
government survey had been made, filed on the
land he had taken up, and this he made his home
until his death. It is still occupied by his widow
and children, and shows in its development and
the well disposed and valuable improvements he
made on it the character of his enterprise and pro-
gressiveness. He remained in this section until
the spring of 1880, then returned to Colorado,
closed out his interests there, and brought his
family to their new abiding place. The cattle
he brought with him on his first trip had win-
tered well and were in good condition for the
enlargement of his stock industry, and he at once
widened its scope and increased its proportions
to more imposing magnitude, at the same time
preparing to carry on in connection with it a vig-
orous general farming business suited to his cir-
cumstances. He worked hard to get his land
fully irrigated and in good condition, and in all
his undertakings in this connection, was very suc-
cessful, being accounted at his untimely death,
on March 26, 1900. one of the leading individual
farmers and cattle growers in this part of the
state. Being energetic, progressive and public-
spirited, his influence in business circles and along
industrial lines was felt far and wide, and was
always wholesome and elevating in its effect ; and
his death was universally felt to be a loss to the
county and state in which he had cast his lot, as
well as a personal bereavement to the admiring
friends whom he numbered by the host. He took
an active part in public affairs also : and although
a Democrat in politics, and a staunch supporter
of his party in state and national issues, he was
not partisan, but patriotic in local affairs, and
clearly saw and ardently worked for the best
interests of the community without reference to
party or personal considerations. He was buried
at Rapid City with many demonstrations of pop-
ular esteem, and his last hours were brightened
with the reflection that his enterprise and capacity
had secured ample provision for the comfort
of his family after his decease. He belonged to
the ]\Iasonic fraternity, with membership in the
lodge at Rapid City.

FRANCIS M. MURPHY.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[281

On October 10, 1870, Mr. Murphy was
united in marriage with Miss Sarah J. Morris, a
native of Missouri, but Hving at the time in
Arapahoe county, Colorado, where the marriage
■occurred. They became the parents of four chil-
dren, Isaac M., David R., Mary E. (Mrs. Haas)
and Edna. The sons are now, in connection with
their mother, carrying on the business. They
have taken up land of their own, and with their
mother hold everything in common ; and although
it is high praise, it is but a just meed 'to merit to
say that they are in every way worthy followers
of their father.

JOHN ROTH, one of the representative
farmers and stock growers of Grant county, was
Ijorn in Hohenzollern, Germany, on the 22d of
]\Iay, 1858, and he is the son of Florian and
Sophia (Beuter) Roth, both representatives
of stanch old German stock. The mother died
in Germany in 1858, and in 1887 th^ father came
to America, and he now resides on a farm about
three miles distant from that of our sub-
ject. In the family were three children, of
whom the subject of this sketch is the only son.
Fanny is the wife of Adna Woolsey and resides
near Summit, South Dakota; and the younger
sister, Josie, is the wife of John L. Roth, who
resides near Rochester, Minnesota.

John Roth, whose name initiates this review,
Tvas reared in his native place, and received his
educational discipline in the excellent national
schools of Germany, where he continued to re-
side until he had attained the age of seventeen
years, when, in 1875, he severed the ties which
bound him to home and fatherland " and set
forth to seek his fortunes in America, depending
entirely upon his own resources and being at the
time unversed in the English language. That he
has so admirably succeeded in making his way
to the goal of definite prosperity and independ-
ence, stands to his perpetual credit and stamps
liim as a man of energy, perseverance and in-
flexible integrity. He first located in Mower
■county, Minnesota, where he found employment
at farm work, while he showed his ambition to

advance in knowledge by attending school during
the winter terms, making the best use of his ad-
\antages and soon gaining an intimate command
of the language of his adopted country. In 1879
he pame to South Dakota, and in June of that
year filed entry on his present homestead, which
was then thirty-five miles distant from the nearest
railroad point, the little village of Gary, in Deuel
county. He took up his residence on his claim
and bent all his energies to its improvement
and cultivation, the results of his efforts being
evident in the attractive buildings and other im-
provements to be seen on the place today, in-
cluding fine groves of trees, good fences, etc.,
while the entire tract is available for cultivation
and yields good returns for the labors expended.
He gives his attention to the raising of various
cereals be,st adapted to the soil and climate, and
also to the raising of live stock of excellent type.
In 1892 Mr. Roth was one of the organizers of
I the Evangelical Mutual Insurance Company,
I of which he has been secretary from the start,
having proved a most able and discriminating
executive and giving no little time to the work
j involved in the handling of the affairs of the
office, while it may be said that this is the largest
mutual company in the state, now having policies
indemnifving to tlie extent of more than three
and one-half millions of dollars, while its business
extends into diverse sections of both North
i and South Dakota. The political proclivities of
! the subject are indicated in the stanch support
which he accords to the Republican party, and
he manifests at all times and seasons the loyalty
of a progressive and public-spirited citizen. Both
he and his wife are devoted and zealous members
of the Evangelical Association, and he is at the
present time secretary of the local congregation,
which has an attractive church edifice three-
fourths of a mile west of his home.

On the i8th of February, 1882, were uttered
the words which united the life destinies of Mr.
Roth and Miss Sarah Haber, who was born and
reared in Minnesota, and they had one child,
Kate. Mrs. Roth was summoned into eternal
rest on the 25th of September, 1883, at the age
of twentv-seven years, and her remains were

1282

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

interred in the cemetery about seven miles east
of the home farm. On the 23d of May, 1884,
Mr. Roth was united in marriage to Miss Emma
Loraflf, who was born in Germany, and of this
union have been born seven children, all of whom
are living, namely : John F., Emma L., Fannie
B., Wesley C, Caroline I., Reuben S. R.. and
Carl F.

C. BOYD BARRETT, of Aberdeen, South
Dakota, is descended on the paternal side from
one of the old families of Maryland, while on the
maternal side from the old Carr family, of
\'irginia. His family experienced in full the
vicissitudes and misfortunes which fell so heavily
upon so many of the sterling old families of the
south during the period of the Civil war, but
thev were willing to make all these sacrifices,
tl-.ough theirs was to become eventually the "lost
cause."

Major r.arrett was born on the ancestral
jilantation, in Loudoun county, A^irginia, on tiie
23d of May, 1838, being a son of John F. and
Caroline (Wade) Barrett, both representatives
of prominent old families of that commonwealth.
The father of the subject followed the vocation
of a planter until he was summoned from the
scene of life's labors and was a man of prom-
inence and influence in the community, having
been a captain in the state militia and having
held various local offices of public trust. Both
he and his wife were devoted members of the
Presbyterian church, in which he served as elder
for manv years. Major Barrett was reared under
the gracious influences of the old homestead and
received a good academic education. As a youth
he became a member of a cavalry company in the
state militia, and was in active service with his
command in guarding the Potomac at the time
when John Brown made his famous raid. At
the outbreak of the Civil war this company be-
came a part of the Sixth Regiment of Con-
federate Cavalry, and later was assigned to the
Thirty-fifth \irginia Battalion, under General
K. V. White. It was the portion of our subject
to take part in thirty-eight of the pitched battles

incidental to the progress of the great internecine
conflict, and he was in active service during
practically the entire period of the war. His
command was in service in northern Virginia,
being for much of the time in the Shenandoah
valley and the Piedmont region, under "Stone-
wall" Jackson. He also took part in the Penn-
sylvania campaign, participating in the battles of
the Wilderness, Antietam, Sharpsburg and in the
Gettysburg campaign, under command of tlie
gallant General Wade Hampton, and he was with
his regiment at Appomattox at the time of
General Lee's surrender. For some time he was
assigned to detail duty on the staff of General
Lawton, of Georgia. Major Barrett was three-
times wounded in action, and thrice had his horse
killed from under him. He was captured in a
skirmish in Clark county, Virginia, in 1862, and
was confined for four months in the federal
prison in the city of Washington, being one of
the one hundred and thirty-five prisoners who
were the last to be exchanged before the close
of the war. His widowed mother, in the midst
of alarms and menacing turbulence, had bravely
remained on the old homestead, in company
with one devoted old slave. The fortunes of the
family fell to the lowest ebb and the beautiful
old plantation was a scene of havoc at the time
when our subject returned. He had been re-
ported killed in the battle of the Wilderness,
and his mother had been bowed under this ad-
ditional sorrow, knowing not that he was still
living until he put in his appearance at the old
home. He devoted four years to endeavoring to
restore the prestige and prosperity of the planta-
tion, but was eventually compelled to abandon
this devoted service. He removed to Alexandria.
Virginia, where he was engaged in the hotel
business for five years and then took up his resi-
dence in Washington, D. C. where he engaged
in mercantile business, continuing this enterprise
until 1883, when impaired health, resulting from
the injur}' received in a wound through the right
lung while in service, compelled him to seek a
change of climate. He accordingly came to South
Dakota and located in the village of Aberdeen,
Brown count\-, where he continued in the hotel

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

383

business until 1884, and he then purchased the
Aberdeen RepubHcan, now known as the Aber-
deen Democrat. He retained the original name,
but changed the political policy of the paper,
making it an excellent advocate of the principle?
of the Democratic party, and he successfully con-
ducted the paper until 1893, when President
Cleveland conferred upon him the office of re-
ceiver of the United States land office in Aber-
deen. He continued incumbent of this position
four years, after which he again became editor
of the Republican, having retained possession of
the property. He sold the plant and the business
in 1902, after having been closely identified with
its fortunes for more than a decade and a half.
He is a vigorous and able writer, and made the
paper a force and power in the political affairs of
the state. He has ever been a stalwart advocate
of the principles of the Democracy and has been
prominent in its councils and formed the ac-
quaintanceship of its leading men. In 1894-5 he
was a member of the Democratic congressional
committee. ]\Ir. Barrett is an elder in the Pres-
liyterian church and is a Alason. He married
Mollie D. Fadeley, of the same county in Vir-
ginia, and they have two children : C. Boyd,
Jr., and Caroline B. Mr. Barrett is also engaged
in the real-estate and insurance business, the
firm being Barrett & Son.

MARTIN R. HEXINGER conies of stanch
old Virginia stock and is himself a native of the
state of Missouri, having been born on the home-
stead farm, in Monroe county, on the 29th of
November, 1851, and being a son of William
W. and Eliza J. (Stalcup) Heninger, both of
whom were born in the Old Dominion state,
whence they came westward as pioneers of the
state of Missouri, where the father devoted the
remainder of his life to agricultural pursuits.
The subject of this sketch was reared to the
sturdy discipline of the farm and after com-
pleting the curriculum of the common schools,
took a course of study in Central College, at
Favette, !\Iissouri. When he was seventeen

years of age his father died and he then left
school to assist in caring for the widowed mother
and the seven other children of the family. He
remained on the old fami until 1882, when he
came to South Dakota and located in the village
of Ordwa}-, Brown county, where he followed
the lumber trade for one season and then, in
February, 1883, removed to Westport, where
he was successfully engaged in the lumber busi-
ness until July, 1902, since which time he has
maintained his home in Aberdeen. While a resi-
dent of Westport he did the banking exchange
business of the town, affording accommodations
that were duly appreciated by its business men,
while in the vicinity of the town he also owned
a fine farm of four hundred and fifty acres.
He disposed of his interests in Westport in Janu-
ary, 1902, and came to Aberdeen, where he pur-
chased an interest in the Aberdeen Gas and
Electric Light Company, of which he has since
been vice-president, and to this important enter-
prise he has since devoted the major portion of
his time and attention, while he also has other
capitalistic interests.

The father of the subject was a stanch Union
man during the war of the Rebellion, and thus
the son was reared in the faith of the Republi-
can party, to which he has ever continued to give
an unfaltering allegiance, while he has taken an
active interest in its cause and been prominent
in public affairs of a local nature. He was a
delegate from Brown county to the state con-
stitutional convention in 1889. held in the city of
Sioux Falls, and was appointed by Governor
Sheldon a member of the state board of regents
of education, but he resigned the position shortly
afterward, feeling that the demands of his pri-
vate business would not permit him to give the
requisite attention to official duties. He was
elected clerk of Brown county in 1895 and served
for two years, giving a most able and satis-
factory administration. He has been frequently
a delegate to the county, state and district con-
ventions of his party and been an active factor
in its councils. He is identified with the Masonic
fraternity, in which he has attained the Knights
Templar degrees and also with the Ancient Order

[284

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen
of America.

On the 9th of July, 1882, Mr. Heninger
was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Way,
who, hke himself, was born and reared in Mon-
roe county, Missouri, and they have three
children, Nora L., Mabel H. and Mildred D.,
all of whom still remain beneath the home roof
and lend cheer and brightness to the family
circle.

IVOR D. DAVIS is one of the popular citi-
zens and representative business men of Aber-
deen, where he has been engaged in contracting
and building for more than twenty years, within
which period he has erected many notable build-
ings in this city and in other sections of the state,
having gained a high reputation in his chosen
vocation, not less by reason of his technical
knowdedge of its details than. on account of his
invariable fidelity to the terms of his contracts
and his inflexible integrity of purpose in all the
relations of life.

Mr. Davis comes of sturdy Welsh lineage and
was born in the beautiful little city of Racine,
Wisconsin, on the 5th of March, 1854, being a
son of Samuel and Maria (Thomas) Davis,
both of whom were born in Wales. The paternal
grandfather of the subject emigrated with his
family from Wales to America in the thirties
and located in Racine, Wisconsin, becoming one
of the honored pioneers of the town. He was a
splendid Welsh scholar. There also his son,
Samuel, became a prominent carpenter and
builder, continuing his residence in Racine until
his death, while his wife also died there. They
became the parents of four sons, the two
youngest being deceased, while the subject of
this review was the second in order of birth.

Ivor D. Davis, received his educational dis-
cipline in the public schools of Racine and there
learned the trade of brick-mason, being engaged
in the active work of the same in Wisconsin until
1883, when he came to x\berdeen. South Dakota,
arriving on the 20th of March, and forthwith
establishing himself in business as a contractor

and builder, while the many fine buildings which
have been erected by him in the intervening
years, offer adequate testimony to the success
and prestige which he has attained. He has
erected many of the finest buildings in his home
city, including the Mead block, the McArthur
building, the Jackson block and the Ward hotel.
In Huron he built the Groton building, and in
Bowdle the Mason block, while in a number of
other towns are found fine modern buildings
which testify to his skill and ability. His own
residence in Aberdeen is one of the many at-
tractive and thoroughly modern homes which
grace the city. In politics Mr. Davis is a stanch
supporter of the, principles and policies of the
Republican party, and while he has never
sought office, he served four years as a
member of the board of aldermen and has at all
times shown himself to be a loyal, progressive
and ptiblic-spirited citizen. Mv. Davis has at-
tained prominence in the time-honored Masonic
fraternity, with which he has been identified
since 1879, and in which he has received the
thirty-second degree of the Ancient Accepted
Scottish Rite, being thus affiliated with South
Dakota Consistory, No. 4, at Aberdeen, while
he is also a member of El Riad Temple, An-
cient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine. He is also a member of the Ancient
Order of United A\'orkmen, in which latter he
was made a knight commander in the Court of
Honor, at Washington, D. C, in October, 1903.
Mrs. Davis has been a leading member of the
Order of the Eastern Star and a representative
of the local organization in the grand chapter
of the state. It may be consistently noted in
the connection that our subject and the members
of his family all have the inherent musical taste
and ability typical of the Welsh stock, and that
he became a member of the first cornet band
established in Aberdeen, this being April, 1883,
while Frank Dilly was leader of the same. Mr.
Davis continued an active member of this or-
ganization until 1889.

On the 17th of July, 1878, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Davis to Miss Winifred
Griffith, who was likewise born and reared in

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1285

Racine, Wisconsin, and of Welsh extraction,
l)eing a daughter of Evan R. Griffith, one of
the early and prominent settlers of the town.
Mr. and Mrs. Davis have four children, Marie,
Arthur, George and Jeannette. The elder
daughter is at the time of this writing incum-
bent of the position of bookkeeper in the office
of the Aberdeen News.

ANSEL T. GREEN has a well-equipped
machine shop in the city of Aberdeen and is one
of the honored and successful business men of
Brown county. He was born in Jeiiferson county,
Wisconsin, on the 31st of May, 1851, and is a
son of Charles W. and Eunice Green, both of
whom were born in the state of New York, while
they became numbered among the pioneers of
^\'isconsin. The paternal grandfather of our sub-
ject removed with his family from New York
to Wisconsin about 1837, being numbered among
the very early settlers of the Badger state, where
he devoted the remainder of his life to agricul-
tural pursuits, which also constituted the voca-
tion of the father of our subject. Charles W.
Green showed his loyalty to the Union at the
time of the Civil war, since he enlisted in the
Twentieth Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteer In-
fantry, with which he served until the close of
the war, having received his honorable discharge
in August, 1865. He was an active participant
in a number of the more notable battles of the
great conflict, the first being the «ngagement at
Perry Grove, while his regiment was stationed
for nearly two years at Galveston, Texas, from
which point it made numerous trips and was in
active service, crossing the gulf of Mexico sev-
eral times and being present at the surrender of
the city of New Orleans, as well as of Vicks-
burg. After his return to Wisconsin he resumed
his trade of carpentering and he continued his
residence in that state until i8g8, wheii he re-
moved to St. Johns, Michigan, where he and his
devoted wife now maintain their home, having
celebrated their golden wedding in 1900.

Ansel T. Green passed his boyhood days at
Whitewater, Wisconsin, and while his father was

absent as a soldier he left home and passed some
time in other sections of the state, in the mean-
while having pursued his studies in the common
schools. After his father's return he went to
Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, where he served a
three-years apprenticeship at the machinist's
trade, becoming a skilled artisan in that line.
During the ensuing three years he was employed
at his trade at various places in Wisconsin and
then located in the city of Milwaukee, where he
remained three years, at the expiration of which
he removed to Alinneapolis, Minnesota, where
he maintained his home until 1883, having in the
meanwhile, in 1877, made a trip into what is now
the state of South Dakota. In 1883 he came once
more to this section of the Union and took up his
abode in Aberdeen, which was then a small fron-
tier village, and here as.sumed the position of
foreman in the newly constructed round-house, of
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, re-
taining this incumbency until 1892. He then
ii-esigned the position and opened a small machine
shop on his own responsibility. His ability in his
trade had become known and his business has
steadily increased in scope and importance from
the time of its initiation, and he now has a well-
equipped shop, in which is installed the most
improved lathes, slotters, planers and other ma-
chines, including a corrugating mill roll, which is
the only one in the state. In 1901 Mr. Green
began tlie manufacturing of outfits for the drill-
ing of artesian wells, and this department of his
enterprise has proved most successful. In the
connection he has added a foundry to his plant, as
well as a pattern shop and warehouse, while he
has abundant reason to feel satisfied with the suc-
cess which he has attained since starting business
on his own responsibility, and is thus one of the
loyal and public-spirited citizens of Aberdeen, one
of the most attractive and thriving cities in tlie
state. He is a man of marked intellectuality, a
reader of good literature, and one who keeps in
touch with the current affairs of the hour. In
politics he gives his support to the Republican
party, and while he has never sought or desired
public oflice, he has consented to serve as a mem-
ber of the board of education of Aberdeen, his

1286

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

interest in the cause of education prompting him
to this course. He and his wife are members of
the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is a
member of the board of trustees of the church
of this denomination in Aberdeen.

On the gth of June, 1880, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Green to ]\Iiss Delphia Con-
rad, who was born in the state of New Jersey,
she being a resident of ^Minneapolis, Minnesota,
at the time of her marriage. They have four
children, Alberta, who is now a successful and
popular teacher in the public schools at Freder-
ick, Brown county ; Mabel, who is similarly en-
gaged at Claremont, Brown county ; Leo, who is
employed in his father's establishment ; and Paul.

JOHN S. VETTER has the distinction of be-
ing a native of the great western metropolis, the
city of Chicago, where he was born on the 4th
of March, 1857, being a son of George and Ur-
sula (Knecht) Vetter, both of whom were born
in the kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany.
There also was born the paternal grandfather,
George Vetter, who is a land owner and a man
of influence in his community, having lived a
retired life in Wurtemberg for a number of
years prior to his death. The maternal grand-
father of our subject was a merchant tailor by
vocation. George Vetter, Jr., father of him
whose name initiates this review, came to
America before attaining his legal majority,
arriving in 1849 =1"^ remaining a resident of
Canada until 185 1, when he removed to the
city of Qiicago, which then gave slight evi-
dence of becoming a great metropolis. There
he was for a time employed in the old Gage
foundry and later became a minister in the
German Elvangelical church. He continued to
be identified with the Illinois conference of this
church until his death, and was assigned to vari-
ous pastoral charges under its jurisdiction. In
1866 he was sent to Germany by the general con-
ference of the church in the United States, pass-
ing two years in his fatherland and one year in
Switzerland, and being accompanied hv his fam-
ily. He had previously served one year in the

Union army during the war of the Rebellion, hav-
ing enlisted as a member of the Seventy-sixth
Illinois \'0iunteer Infantry and having been in
the command of General Grant a portion of the
time, while he was incumbent of the office of
sergeant of his company at the time of his dis-
charge, on account of physical disability. The
father died in Aberdeen March 14, 1903. They
became the parents of three children, of whom the
subject is the youngest.

John S. Vetter was reared in Illinois, and
after attending the public schools in various
towns and cities in which his father was estab-
lished as pastor, he entered Northwestern College,
at Naperville, that state, where he continued his
studies for two years. He then took up his abode
in Kankakee, that state, where he became book-
keeper in the clothing establishment conducted by
his uncle, John G. Knecht, with whom he re-
mained five years, at the expiration of which he
returned to Chicago, where he was for some time
identified with the men's furnishing-goods busi-
ness. In 1882 Mr. Vetter came to what is now
the state of South Dakota and took up home-
stead, pre-emption and tree claims in Brown
county, twelve miles northwest of Aberdeen. He
at once began the work of developing and im-
proving his property and still owns the same,
while he has since added to his landed posses-
sions until he now has a fine estate comprising
two entire sections, while the same is devoted to
diversified agriculture and to the raising of live
stock. The permanent improvements on the place
are of excellent order, and include a fine artesian
well, sunk to a depth of eleven hundred feet. He
raises principally wheat and corn, having had
ninety acres of the latter in 1903, while he gives
special attention to the growing of the short-
horn type of cattle and the raising of hogs.

In politics Mr. Vetter is a stanch advocate of
the principles of the Republican party, and has
been an active worker in its cause. In 1891 he
was chosen clerk of the courts of Brown county,
in which capacity he served four years, and in
1885-6 he was deputy sherilif, this being in the
formative ]ieriod of the history of the county,
when lawlessness was often in evidence, making

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the office no sinecure. On the ist of February,
i8q8, Mr. Vetter was appointed register of the
United States land office in Aberdeen, and on the
1st of March. 1902. was reappointed, by Presi-
dent Roosevelt, being the present incumbent of
this responsible position and having given a most
able administration of the affairs of the office.
He has passed the degrees of York Rite Masonry
and is also identified with the Ancient Order of
L'nited Workmen, the Modern Woodmen of
America and the Royal Arcanum, while he and
his wife are zealous members of the Presbyterian
church.

On the 1 2th of September, 1889, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. A'etter to Miss Eliza-
beth Cole, who was born in New Jersey, being a
daughter of James Cole, who came to South Da-
kota in 1883, and resided in Edmunds county on
.their removal to the state of Nebraska. Mr. and
Mrs. Vetter have two children, James H. and
['rsula E.

ANTHONY H. OLWIN is a native of the
old Iluckeye state and a representative of one of
its sterling pioneer families. He was born on a
farm near the city of Dayton, Ohio, on the 8th
of February, 1856, and is a son of Joseph and
Margaret (Hiestand) Olwin, the former of whom
was bom in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the
latter in the state of Virginia, while both are now
deceased. The Olwin family is of stanch Ger-
man extraction and was founded in Pennsylvania
in the colonial era of American history. Joseph
Olwin accompanied his parents on their removal
from Pennsylvania to Ohio in early 'twenties,
and the family settled in Montgomery county,
where the grandfather of our subject, with the
assistance of his sons, developed a good farm, he
and his wife there passing the remainder of their
lives, honored by all who knew them. In 1863,
after the death of his parents, Joseph Olwin re-
inoved to Crawford county, Illinois, where he
remained seven years, at the expiration of which
lie returned to Ohio and located in Miami county,
where he engaged in farming and stockgrowing,
■continuing to there maintain his home until he

was summoned from the scene of life's activities,
his devoted wife also passing the closing years of
her life in said county. He was very successful
in his industrial and business operations, was a
man of sterling integrity and one who ever
showed a loyal interest in all that concerned the
welfare of his home county, state and country.
At the time of the building of the old Indiana,
Bloomington & Western l^ailroad through Mi-
ami county he laid out and plaited on a portion of
his farm the village of Laura, a town which has
grown to be one of considerable importance, the
line of railroad mentioned having become now a
portion of the main line of the Big Four system.
The subject of this review is the eldest in a
family of eight children, and received his pre-
liminary educational discipline in the public
schools of Illinois and Ohio, after which he com-
pleted a course in the Miami Business College, at
Dayton, Ohio, said institution having been at the
time conducted by Prof. A. D. Wilt, who is one
of the successful educators of the state. After
leaving school Mr. Olwin devoted the major por-
tion of his time for four years to teaching in the
public schools of his native state, meeting with
success in the pedagogic profession. It may be
consistently noted at this juncture that he later
devoted three years to the study of law, with the
intention of following the work of the legal pro-
fession as a vocation, but after coming to the
west he found it expedient to abandon his plans
in this direction, thotigh his technical knowledge
has proved of much practical value to him. After
giving up his work as a teacher Mr. Olwin en-
tered the employ of the publishing house of Van
Antwerp, Bragg & Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio,
and for two years gave attention to introducing
their revised school books in the state of Ohio.
He then took a position with the Indiana, Bloom-
ington & Western Railroad Company, part of
what is commonly known as tiie Big Four, and
assisted in securing the right of way for its line
through central Ohio, from Springfield straight
westward, and was successful in his efforts. He
thereafter was for one year engaged in the gen-
eral merchandise business at Phillipsburg, Ohio,
and at the expiration of this period disposed of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

his interests there and came to Aberdeen, South
Dakota, arriving in March, 1883. He came as
representative of the firm of Thomas Kane &
Company, of Chicago, selling school, church and
bank furnishings and also buying bonds, and he
continued with this concern in this section of the
Union for two years, covering a wide territory,
with Aberdeen as headquarters, and he then re-
signed his position and entered into partnership
with Jewett Brothers in the grocery business in
this city. Two years later he purchased the in-
terests of his partners and individually continued
the enterprise until 1892, when he sold out and
engaged in the dry-goods business, under the
title of the Olwin-Hall Dry Goods Company.
One year later he purchased the entire business
and conducted the same for the ensuing five years
under the name of the Olwin Dry Goods Com-
pany. He then, in 1897, admitted to partnership
Mr. Robert H. Angell, and they have ever since
been associated, under most amicable and pleasant
relations. 'Mr. Angell is a native of the state of
New York and a thorough and able business man,
having come to Aberdeen for the purpose of thus
identifying himself with Mr. Olwin. On the ist
of January, 1903, they incorporated the business
under the firm name of the Olwin-Angell Com-
pany, which still obtains. In tlie same year they
erected their present splendid store, one of the
most attractive business structures in the cit}-,
while it is eligibly located on Main street, ad-
joining the new federal building. The block is
fifty by one hundred and thirty-six feet in lateral
dimensions, two stories in height, with basement,
while it is lighted from three sides, making the
elegant salesrooms the more attractive. The
building has a front of terra cotta and plate glass,
is modern in design and construction, and is a
model establishment. The company carry a se-
lect and comprehensive stock of dry goods, car-
pets, cloaks, furs, shoes, millinery, etc., and con-
trol a large, representative and constantly in-
creasing retail trade, while their jobbing depart-
ment has found its business so distinctively aug-
mented each year as to furnish further proof of
the legitimacy of Aberdeen's claims as one of the
best wholesaling and jobbing centers in the state.

The fine store is modern in all its appointments
and conveniences, having among other provisions
most attractive waiting and toilet rooms for the
accommodation of patrons. Mr. Olwin is a man
of genial and gracious presence, and this fact,
as coupled with his inflexible integrity and liberal
business policy, has gained to him the confidence
and esteem of all with whim he has come in con-
tact, while he enjoys distinctive popularity in both
the business and social circles of his home city.
He is public-spirited and progressive and is a
valuable acquisition to the business circles of Ab-
erdeen, as is also his partner and able coadjutor,
Mr. Angell. In politics he gives his allegiance to
the Republican party, fraternally is identified
with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and
in religion subscribes to the creed of the Presby-
terian church.

On the 31st of March, 1885, j\Ir. Olwin was
united in marriage to Miss Huldah M. Mutz,
who was born and reared in Ohio, being a daugh-
ter of Peter Mutz, a prominent and influential
farmer of Miami county, that state.

CHARLES H. ALLEN is a native of the
state of Iowa, having been born in Osage, the
oflicial center of Mitchell county, on the 17th of
March, 1857. His father, Joseph Allen, was born
and reared in Ohio, and removed thence to Illi-
nois in an early day, being a jeweler and watch-
maker by vocation. He married Abigail Allen,
and they remained for several years in Illinois
and thence removed to Iowa, where they passed
the remainder of their lives. They became the
parents of sixteen children, of whom the subject
of this review was the fifteenth in order of birth.
The father served as surgeon during a portion
of the Civil war, and two of his sons were also
valiant soldiers in the Union army, while one of
them, Jeremiah, sacrificed his life on the altar of
his country. Our subject passed his boyhood
days in his native town, where he secured his
early educational training in the public schools,
his elder brothers having received collegiate ad-
vantages. In 1870, when but thirteen years of
age, he set forth to see somewhat of the world.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

making a tour of several of the western states
and being absent from home for a period of nine
}'ears, within which time he learned the trade of
stone cutting, to which he devoted his attention
until 1879, whe'i he returned to his old home,
where he remained a few months, after which he
located in Nebraska and engaged in farming, and
was practically starved out during the memorable
grasshopper plague. He returned home in 1881,
was married in Fcbruarv of the following year
and forthwith came to what is now the state of
South Dakota, arriving in Aberdeen on the ist of
■March, 1882. He took up a claim in the county
and finally perfected his title to the same, and he
then 'engaged in the draying business in Aber-
deen, continuing in the same for five, years, dur-
ing which interval he also dealt in horses, buying
and selling upon an extensive scale and meeting
with good success. In 1897 he sold out his trans-
fer and draying business and established his
present enterprise, in the handling of wood and
coal. He has a well-equipped yard, two hundred
and fifty by three hundred feet, in the business
district of the city, while the line of the Giicago,
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad adjoins
his yards on the north, so that his trans-
portation facilities are unexcelled. In 1903
j\lr. Allen handled twenty-two hundred
cords of wood, secured principally from
Minnesota, while each year he handles a
large amount of coal of all grades, keeping a
large supply on hand and handling from three to
five thousand tons annually, while the extensive
ramifications of his business necessitate the em-
ployment of a considerable number of men and
teams. He is the owner of. eleven quarter-sec-
tions of land, the greater portion being located in
Brown county, to the west of Aberdeen, while
nearly all the property is under cultivation and
well improved. He also owns an attractive mod-
ern residence in the city which has been his home
for many years. He is progressive and public-
spirited, is a stanch Republican in his political
proclivities, and for four years represented the
fourth ward in the city board of aldermen. Fra-
ternally Mr. Allen is affiliated with the Independ-
ent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he was for

four years an officer in the grand lodge of the
state ; and also with the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, the Modern Woodmen of America
and the Knights of the Maccabees.

On the 4th of February, 1882, at Osage,
Iowa, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Allen
to Miss Ida M. Owen, who was born in Belcher-
town, Massachusetts, being a daughter of C. M.
O-wen, who became an extensive farmer in Iowa,
owning a large tract of land in Mitchell county.
Mrs. Allen is a woman of gracious presence and
was graduated in Wheaton College, Illinois, while
she is prominent in the social life of Aberdeen.
Mr. and Mrs. Allen have two children, C. Lewis,
who is deputy clerk of the supreme cOurt of the
state, at Pierre, and M. Estelle, who is a student
in the Aberdeen high school at the time of this
writing. The son completed the curriculum of
the public schools and thereafter continued his
studies in the college at Brookings, where he was
graduated. He then went to Sioux Falls, and
he has practically served as deputy clerk of the
supreme court since that time, his preferment
coming as the result of his ability and sterling
characteristics, while he is one of the popular,
well-known and distinctively talented young men
of the state.

CHARLES N. HARRIS.— The subject of
this sketch, who is engaged in the active practice
of his profession in Aberdeen, South Dakota, is
one of the pioneer members of the bar of Brown
county. Charles Nelson Harris was born in
Readstown, Vernon county, Wisconsin, on the
1st of September, 1856, and is a son of Joseph
and Sarah E. Harris, the former of whom was
born in Pennsylvania and the latter in Ohio, while
both trace their genealogical lines back to Eng-
lish origin. The Harris family settled near
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, at an early epoch
in the history of the old Keystone state, and John
Harris, who laid out that town and who was cap-
tured and tortured by the Indians, was aii uncle
of the grandfather of the subject. As a young
man Joseph Harris removed to Ohio, where he
was married, and he and his wife thereafter be-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

came numbered among the pioneers of Vernon
county, Wisconsin, where he was engaged in
farming, becoming one of the prominent and in-
fluential citizens of that locality. The father still
resides in Wisconsin. The mother died in 1880,
at the age of forty-six years.

Charles N. Harris received his early scholas-
tic discipline in the public schools of his native
state, and in 1879 was matriculated in the law
department of the celebrated University of Wis-
consin, at Madison, where he was graduated as a
member of the class of 1879, receiving the de-
gree of Bachelor of Laws and being admitted
to the bar of the state in that year. He initiated
the practice of his profession in Viroqua, the
county seat of Vernon county, in the same year,
and there remained until January, 1882, when he
came to the territory of Dakota and established
himself in practice in Aberdeen, which was then
a small village. Here he has ever since engaged
in the work of his profession and with the rapid
settling of the country and magnificent advance-
ment of the city, which is now one of the most
progressive and attractive in the state, he has
found his legal business constantly cumulative
and has been concerned in much of the impor-
tant litigation in the courts of this section, re-
taining a large and representative clientage, and
being held in high regard in business, professional
and social circles. He is a stanch Democrat of
the Jefifersonian type, and, as he personally states
the case, has not become imbued with any of the
"new-fangled" notions which have drifted the
party from its firm moorings and caused its suc-
cess to wane in recent years. He is a thirty-sec-
ond-degree Mason, being affiliated with Aber-
deen Consistory, No. 4, of the Ancient Ac-
cepted Scottish Rite. He and his wife attend the
Presbyterian church, of which the latter is a
member.

On the 1st of October, 1879, Mr. Harris was
united in marriage to Miss Dora E. Bouffleur,
who was born in Springville, Wisconsin, in June,
1858, being a daughter of Philip and Mary Bouf-
fleur, and of French extraction in the paternal
line. She died in August, 1888, leaving three
daughters: Edna S., Minnie M. and Genevieve

L. In November, 1892, Mr. Harris was married
to Jessie G. Campbell, of Aberdeen, a sister of
Judge Campbell, of that place.

WALTER FRANCIS MASON was born in
Sparta, Monroe county, Wisconsin, on the 19th
of November, 1858, being a son of Merville and
Electa Maria (Pixley) Mason, his father having
been a mechanic by vocation, but having been
well educated in Hamilton College, New York,
whence he removed to Wisconsin in the pioneer
epoch, there turning his attention to teaching.
He located in what is now the city of Milwaukee,
and an idea of that city's status at the time may
be gained when it is stated that he had charge
of its entire public-school system and taught all
the pupils in one room. He died in Greenwood,
that state, in March, 1898, at the venerable age
of seventy-six years and honored by all who
knew him. His wife, who was educated in Ober-
lin College, Ohio, preceded him into eternal rest
by about one year, having passed away in July,
1889. Our subject secured his early educational
training in the public schools of his native state,
having been graduated in the high school at
Neillsville, Wisconsin, as a member of the class
of 1875, while later he entered the literary de-
partment of the Wisconsin State University, at
Madison, where he took the modern classical
course and then entered the law department of the
same institution, in which he was graduated in
1884, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws.
Mr. Mason passed his boyhood days on a farm,
and from November, 1877, to June, 1884, in the
I intervals of attending school, he taught school
and worked on farms, by which means he earned
the money with which to complete his collegiate
and professional studies. In September, 1884,
he located in Marinette, Wisconsin, where he
opened an office, but in the spring of the follow-
ing year he removed to Thorp, that state, where
he was engaged in practice until the spring of
1887, when he married and soon afterward
changed his location to Faulkton, Faulk county,
Dakota, where he successfully continued in the
practice of his profession for the ensuing four

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1 29 1

years. From 1888 to 1891 he held the office of
city attorney of Faulkton, and in 1890-91 he was
the local attorney for the Chicago & Northwest-
ern Railroad Company. In December of the lat-
ter year he came to Aberdeen, in order to have a
wider sphere for his professional endeavors, and
here he has sinci' maintained his home, having
built UD a large and important business in the
special lines ot real-estate, law and probate prac-
tice, in which lines he is considered an authority.
In politics Mr. Mason is a stanch advocate of the
principles of the Republican party, and both he
and his wife are zealous and valued members of
the Congregational church.

At Neillsville, Wisconsin, on the 24th of Feb-
ruary, 1887, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Mason to Miss Etta B. Bryden, who came to that
state from Nova Scotia in 1882. Of this union
have been born six children, whose respective
names and dates of birth are here given: Mer-
ville, April 13, 1888; Clarence Linden, Novem-
ber 5, 1889 (died October 3, 1895) ; Arthur
Hugo, May 14. 1892 ; Alice Bn-den, October 19,
1894: Miriam Buland, June 4, 1898; and David,
September 25, 1901.

JOHN E. ADAMS.— Among the prominent
members of the bar of the state of South
Dakota is the subject of this sketch, who is es-
tablished in the practice of his profession in the
city of Aberdeen, being one of the pioneer
members of the bar of Brown county. Judge
Adams was born in the city of Paterson, New
Jersey, on the 13th of May, 1857, and is a son
of John and Sarah J. Adams, both of whom
were of Scotch-Irish extraction. When he was
a child his parents removed to Pennsylvania, and
he there secured his early educational discipline,
after which he took a course of study in Alle-
gheny College, at Meadville, that state, while he
took up the study of law, made rapid progress
in his technical reading and assimilation of legal
lore, so that he secured admission to the bar of the
Keystone state in 1880. In the spring of 1882
he came west to Iowa, locating in the south-
eastern part of the state, where he engaged in

the practice of his profession until the following
spring, when he came to the territory of
Dakota and located in Columbia, which was then
the county seat of Brown county. There he soon
built up a good practice and gained marked pre-
cedence in his profession, while in 1887 he was
elected mayor of the town, serving one term.
When the county seat was removed to Aberdeen,
he transferred his residence to the new capital
of the county. In 1890 he was elected county
judge and presided on the bench for two terms,
while in 1900 he was elected mayor of the city,
serving one term and giving an admirable and
progressive administration. He is one of the
loyal and public-spirited citizens of this fine
little city and is held in the highest esteem in
professional, business and social circles. He is
a stanch Republican and has taken an active part
in furthering the interests of his party in the
state. He has attained to the maximum degree,
the thirty-third, in Scottish-rite Masonry, and
is one of the prominent and appreciative mem-
bers of this time-honored fraternity in the state,
while he is also identified with the Knights of
the Maccabees, the Modern Woodmen of
America and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen. He and his wife are communicants
of the Protestant Episcopal church and are prom-
inent members of the thriving parish of St.
Mark's church, one of the leading and most pros-
perous ones in the missionary diocese of the
state.

On the 1 2th of August, 1888, was solemnized
the marriage of Judge Adams to Miss Martha
E. Wilkinson, who was born in the city of Kan-
kakee, Illinois, on the 15th of April, 1867,
being a daughter of William H. and Mary
Wilkinson. Of this union have been born five
children, all of whom still remain at the parental
home, namely : Maple F., Merle E., Constance
M., Mildred and Doris L.

OTTO PETER THEODORE GRANTZ
is a native of Germany, born November 9, 1835,
in Tonning, duchy of Schleswig, the son of Jur-
gen and Amalia Grantz, the former coming to

1292

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

America in 1849, ^^d settled in California,
his wife having died in Germany in 1840.
Jiirgen Grantz was one of the first to
arrive in the gold fields of the Pacific coast and
he continued mining in California and other
western states and territories until his death,
which occurred in Idaho, when he was sixty-
eight years old. ]\Irs. Grantz died when the sub-
ject was five years old and another son, who
came to the United States, departed this life in
the latter part of the fifth decade.

Otto P. T. Grantz was reared in his native
land and received a good education in the
schools of Tonning, which he attended at in-
tervals during his childhood and youth, finish-
ing his intellectual training at the age of fifteen.
Later he entered a mercantile establishment and
after becoming familiar with the business, be-
came manager of stores, in which capacity he
continued in Germany until the year 1858, when
he came to the United States.

(Jn coming to this country Mr. Grantz
settled in Iowa, where he engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits, btit after spending one year
in that state removed to Illinois, where he,
during the ensuing three years, also devoted his
attention to tilling the soil. Severing his con-
nection with farming in 1862, he crossed the
plains and on August 24th reached Oregon,
where he engaged in mining for several months,
when he left that state for Boise Basin, Idaho,
arriving at the latter place in January, 1863.
During the thirteen years following he devoted
his time and energies to mining in various parts
of Idaho, but in November, 1876, left that
country and came to the Black Hills, which has
since been his field of action, making his home
the greater part of the time at Deadwood, of
which city he has long been an honored resident.

Mr. Grantz has devoted nearly forty-two
years to mining and it goes without saying that
during this long period he has become thoroughly
familiar with every phase of the important in-
dustry which is so intimately associated with the
developments and prosperity of the great west.
In the main his undertakings have prospered,
success has characterized his career and today

he occupies a conspicuous place in business and
industrial circles, besides being identified with
j enterprises and measures having for their
object the advancement of the city and state and
the promotion of the general welfare. In the
spring of 1863, while a resident of Idaho, Air.
Grantz volunteered to fight the Indians, who
were then on the war path and causing the
settlers much trouble, and he experienced con-
siderable active service before the hostiles were
repulsed and peace was restored. He has ever
been ready to respond when duty calls, his serv-
j ices at all times are at the disposal of his
I adopted country and as a citizen he is as loyal
to the government and its institutions as any
American-born reared under the protecting
folds of the stars and stripes. In state and
national aflrairs he is a Republican, but in local
matters cares little for party ties, giving his
support to the candidates who in his judgment
are best qualified for the positions to which they
aspire.

Mr. Grantz stands high in Masonic circles
and is identified with a number of the most im-
portant branches of the order, being a member
of Deadwood Lodge, No. 7; Dakota Chapter,
No. 3, Royal .\rch Masons ; Golden Belt Lodge
of Perfection, No. 3 ; Rose Bruce Chapter, Rose
Croix, No. 3 ; Council Knights of Kadish, No.
3 : Black Hills Consistory, No. 3, thirty-second
degree K. C. O. H. ; Naja Temple, Deadwood,
and Deadwood Chapter, No. 23, Order of Eastern
Star. These different relations with the ancient
and honorable order have brought him into close
contact with the leading members of the brother-
hood throughout the state, among whom he is
held in the highest personal esteem. He has also
been elected at diffei-ent times to important
official- stations in the order, in all of which he
discharged his duties ably and consistently,
proving worthy the confidence reposed in him
and a credit to the organization by which the
honors were conferred.

On February 3, 1877, T\Ir. Grantz was united
in the bonds of wedlock with Miss Christina
Johnson, the ceremony being solemnized in the
citv of Deadwood. Mrs. Grantz was born in

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[293

Sweden, and is a daughter of John and Johanna
Johnson, who were also natives of Sweden.
This marriage has been blessed with four
children, Theoline, Otto, Lillie and \ellie. the
second of whom died in infancy.

JOHN P. RELDING, deputy United States
marshal, with headquarters in the city of Dead-
Avood, was born in Madison county. New York,
on the 1 2th of July, 1837, being a son of Esdon
and Chloe (Goodrich) Belding, the former of
whom was born in Connecticut and the latter in
New York. James Belding, grandfather of the
subject, was an active participant in the war
of 1 81 2. and was a son of one of the gallant
soldiers who rendered }-eoman service in the Con-
tinental line during the war of the Revolution.
.\s a young man Edson Belding removed from
Connecticut to the state of New York, where he
engaged in farming, while both ho and his wife
passed the closing years of their lives in Bing-
liamton, that state. Our subject was reared in
Ills native county, where he received a good com-
mon-school education, and he continued his resi-
dence in the old Emjiire state until 1857, when,
as a yoimg man of twenty years, he decided to
anticipate the advice of Horace Greeley and "go
west and grow up with the country." He made
his way to Missouri, and was there engaged in
railroad construction until the outbreak of the
war of the Rebellion, having made his headquar-
ters for the greater portion of the time in the
city of St. Louis. In June, 1861, he tendered his
services in the defense of the Union, enlisting in
the Ninth Missouri Volunteer Cavalry, with
which he continued in service until 1864, when he
received his honorable discharge, with the rank of
captain. His regiment was principally on de-
tached duty and engaged in scouting service, in
which line it made a most excellent record.

Shortly after his discharge Captain Belding
set forth for Montana, where the gold excite-
ment was then at its height, resulting from the
discoveries made in Alder gulch, where now
nestles the still somewhat isolated village of Vir-
ginia City, one of the oldest towns in the state

and yet one that remains without railroad facili-
ties. Mr. Belding had the distinction of making
the major portion of the perilous trip in a com-
pany whose guide was that honored and famed
frontiersman, "Jin^" Bridger, the pathfinder.
While enroute the party had a number of skir-
mishes with the Indians. Near a stream called
Gray Bull, east of Livingston, Montana, they
were surrounded by the Indians, but Colonel
Bridger, who had lived among the Crow Indians,
went out and had a pow-wow with the investing
and menacing band, whom he promised not to
bring through another party of men, and on this
condition the party in question was permitted to
proceed unmolested, while it is to be said to the
credit of Bridger that he did not violate his word,
this trait in his nature having commanded him
the confidence of the Indians in earlier days. Mr.
Belding arrived in Alder gulch in July, 1864,
and joined the throng of placer miners in the
stirring camp. He remained there for a period
of a few months, meeting with fair success, and
when, in the following winter, gold was struck
in Last Chance gulch, now the Main street of
the attractive capital city of Montana, Mr. Beld-
ing, in company with Jefferson Lowrey and a
dentist named Howe, laid out the first plat of the
present city. He there remained until 1868, when
he joined the stampede to Miner's DeHght, on
South Pass, in Wyoming, but the placer pros-
pects failed to yield returns, and the venture
proved a failure. Mr. Belding then found his
finances at a low ebb and set forth to strike the
line of the Union Pacific Railroad at Green
river, and he there secured employment in con-
nection with the construction work, the track
reaching Green river in the fall of 1868, after
which he assisted in the work of projection until
the line made a junction with Central Pacific at
Promontory Point, head of Salt Lake, an event of
great historic interest. Mr. Belding then made
his way up the Snake river to Shoshone Falls,
Idaho, in which locality he engaged in mining
in the placer diggings for three years, being mod-
erately successful. He next engaged in pros-
pecting in the vicinity of Salt Lake, and in the
spring of 1876 struck out for the Black Hills,

1294

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

coming to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and thence with
team to Custer, in which camp he arrived on the
i8th of February of that year. There he met
with negative success and he accordingly moved
over into Deadwood gulch, where he met two
old Montana friends, Webb and McClellan, with
whom he located some water ditches on White-
wood and Whitetail creeks, and after they had
completed one ditch they sold out at a good profit
to the Homestake Mining Company. Mr. Beld-
ing then made a trip to the east and upon his re-
turn, in 1879. again located in Deadwood. In
the following year he was elected sheriff of Law-
rence county, serving two years. In the winter of
1882-3 the territorial legislature appointed a com-
mittee of nine to locate a territorial capital, and
the subject was chosen as the representative of
the Black Hills district. The committee finally
chose Bismarck as the most eligible location.
After the discharge of this official duty Mr. Beld-
ing again turned his attention to mining, while
he also served as justice of the peace. In 1897
he was appointed to his present office as deputy
United States marshal, of which he has since
been incumbent, having made an excellent rec-
ord in a most difficult district, as two Indian res-
ervations are within the jurisdiction and involve
much work on the part of the deputy marshal,
who is compelled to make frequent visits to the
same in addition to his other labors. In October,
1902, Walking Shield, a Brule Indian, was
hanged at Sioux Falls. He had given much
trouble and had been arrested on several occa-
sions by Mr. Belding for minor offenses, before
he was finally taken on the charge of murder,
which resulted in his conviction and execution.
Mr. Belding is an uncompromising Republican
in his political proclivities, and has been an active
worker in the party cause, having attended nu-
merous party conventions both during the territor-
ial epoch and since the admission of South Da-
kota to the Union. He is a member of the Na-
tional Mining Men's Association and the Busi-
ness Men's Club of Deadwood, while fraternally
he is affiliated with the Independent Order of
O'dd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen.

On the 31st of December, 1880, Mr. Belding
was united in marriage to Miss Delia Torey, who
was born and reared in Illinois, being a resident
of Nebraska at the time of her marriage. Of
this union have been bom three children, Jessie,
Augusta and Gladys.

HON. HENRY E. PERKINS, of Sturgis,
Meade county, is a native of Windsor county,
Vermont, born on December i, 1864. He was
educated in the schools of his native state, being
graduated from the State Normal at Randolph,
largely making his own way through the insti-
tution by clerking between the terms while his
schoolmates were having the usual summer en-
joyments of life in hunting, fishing and kindred
pleasures. While so engaged in a grocery store
his integrity, strict attention to duty and business
ability won him recognition as a very promising
young business man and ere long the leading
hardware merchant of Bethel in his home county
induced him to accept a position in his store.
Through Mr. Spaulding, of Spaulding & Dele-
hant, of Lead, Captain Seth Bullock, of the hard-
ware house of Star & Bullock, of Deadwood,
heard of him and offered him a position. This
was accepted by wire and he arrived at Dead-
wood in October, 1883. He remained with the
firm until 1886, when he became assistant post-
master of the town, and after a year of service in
that position he removed to Sturgis to take the
position of bookkeeper in the First National Bank
of that town. Having special fitness and adap-
tability for banking, he made rapid progress in
this institution, and in 1895 was chosen cashier.
Two years later the bank was reorganized as the
Meade County Bank, and he was retained as
cashier of the new corporation, a position which
he still holds. He is also one of the heavy stock-
holders ill the concern. He has been thrifty as
well as capable, and has acquired considerable
mining property of value in the Black Hills and
Arizona, and maintains a beautiful home at Stur-
gis which he and his accomplished wife make a
center of refined and generous hospitality and
agreeable social life. In politics he is an unwaver-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ing supporter of Repviblican policies and candi-
dates and is very active and effective in the serv-
ice of his party. In 1900 he was elected mayor of
Sturgis and has held the office continuously since
that time. He is always energetic in behalf of
every good enterprise for the benefit of the com-
munity, and as president of the Commercial Club
from its organization he has through it and by
his personal efforts done a great deal to promote
the cause of irrigation in his portion of the state.
He is also the South Dakota committeeman of
the National Irrigation Association. So forceful
and serviceable for the general welfare has he
been that in 1902 he was elected state senator
of the fortieth senatorial district, comprising
Meade and Butte counties, and his value as an or-
ganizer and party worker was demonstrated by
years of service as secretary and treasurer of the
Republican county central committee of his
county. He belongs to the Odd Fellows, the
Knights of Pythias, the United Workmen and
the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

On October 14, 1893, at Sturgis, Mr. Perkins
was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Francis,
the only daughter of Charles Francis, a pioneer
in the Black Hills and South Dakota generally,
and all of his life here a prominent and influen-
tial citizen, a sketch of whom will be found on
another page of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Per-
kins have three children, Esther L., Charles E.
and Lillian K. In official life Mr. Perkins has
shown the same industry, integrity and marked
ability that characterize him in btisiness, and the
same agreeable manner and charming personality
that he has in social life, wherein he and his wife
have long been prominent.

SAMUEL T. VOORHEES was born on Oc-
tober 5, 1S51, at Irvington, New Jersey, and
there he remained until he reached the age of
eighteen and received his education. In 1869 he
moved to Indiana and the next spring to Coles
county, Illinois, where he was engaged in the
lumber business for three years. In 1873 he
came farther west to Nebraska, and, getting to-
gether an outfit for the purpose, he went with

others hunting buffaloes in Texas, being on this
trip until the fall of 1875. He then came to the
Loop river country and hunted deer during the
winter. In 1876 he moved into the Black Hills,
journeying through a section full of hostile Indi-
ans, and coming through Custer City, which then
consisted of a few tents and rude shacks. He
arrived here in March with one companion, and
they hunted through the Hills, being in search of
elks and deer for the most part, selling their meat
at the mining camps and later disposing of the
skins. They also did some prospecting and, be-
ing pleased with the country, they returned to
Nebraska in the fall for supplies, and after win-
tering in that state, returned to the Hills in the
spring with a large outfit and party, coming by
way of Buffalo Gap on what is known as the old
Kearney trail. They located at Crook City and
in March Mr. Voorhees settled on Oak Grove
ranch at the head of Spring creek, four miles
from Sturgis. Here he engaged in the stock
business and also conducted a road house, his lo-
cation being on the main trail from Lincoln, Sid-
ney and Pierre, and one of the principal camp-
ing places on this end of the road. In 1877 the
settlement was attacked by Indians, but the
whites escaped without loss. Mr. Voorhees was
the first settler between Rapid City and Sturgis
except one, and saw the country in all its native
wildness. He remained on his ranch raising
stock until 1886, frequently making trips to Min-
nesota to buy cattle. In the fall of 1878 he
brought in the material for the erection of a
building on the site of the present town of Stur-
gis, this being the first building within the pres-
ent limits of the town, which had just then been
laid out. In 1885 he placed his ranch in charge
of a manager and opened a flour and feed store
at Sturgis, handling also wagons and farm im-
plements. Some little time afterward he con-
tracted with the government to furnish supplies
to Fort Meade, and in 1888 opened a hardware
store in a brick building where his present busi-
ness is conducted. He also built the first large
warehouse in this section and occupied himself
in forwarding freight to Deadwood in connec-
tion with his other business. He owned several

[296

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

freighting outfits which were always kept busy.
In 1889 he enlarged his business and also his
store to accommodate it, adding furniture and
undertaking departments. During the first two
years of his mercantile career at this point he was
in partnership with a Mr. Miller, but since the
dissolution of this partnership he has been alone.
Adjoining the large and modern store he now oc-
cupies, the old storehouse he first used is still
standing. Keeping pace in business with the
progress and requirements of the country, in 1896
Mr. Voorhees opened a general store at Galena,
which he placed in charge of a manager and
which he still owns. In 1899 he built and
equipped a cyanide plant on Whitewood creek
four miles from Deadwood. In this enterprise he
has a partner. They work over tailings with
good results and the undertaking has been very
profitable. In 1902 he sold his ranch, having
previously sold his cattle, but is still interested
in raising and handling horses, and since 1897
he has been interested in mining around Galena.
He owns considerable property in Sturgis and has
always been deeply and intelligently concerned for
the welfare and advancement of the town. He
is an ardent Republican in politics and is earnest
and effective in the service of his party, but he
has never consented to accept office of any kind.
Being an active member of the Modern Wood-
men of America, he has risen to prominence in
the order and holds a state office in its organiza-
tion. He is also a member of the Ancient Order
of United Workmen.

On April 8, 1888, Mr. Voorhees was married
at Sturgis to Miss Catherine Miller, who died in
December of the same year, leaving one child,
Harry. On December 25, 1890, also at Sturgis,
Mr. Voorhees married a second wife. Miss Dana
Eveleth, a native of Boston. Massachusetts.

HERBERT C. BURCH, M. D.. is one of the
leading representatives of the noble and beneficent
school of homeopathic medicine in the state, and
is actively engaged in the practice of his pro-
fession in Redficld, the capital of Spink county,
while ho. is also known as a public-spirited

citizen and is well worthy of the high regard in
which he is held in professional, business and
social circles.

Herbert Corydon Burch was born in Brook-
field, Madison county, New York, on the 13th of
.\ugust, 1868, and is a son of William C. and
Clara I-. (Burdick) Burch, who still maintain
their home in Brookfield, the father having been
throughout life a farmer by vocation. The sub-
ject is a direct descendant of Jeremiah Burch,
of Stonington, Connecticut, who there had a large
grant of land prior to 1670 ; and also of John
Clarke, who came from England to Newport,
Rhode Island, in 1638, being associated with
Roger ^^'illiams in founding the colony of Rhode
Island. He obtained from King Charles II the
famous charter of the Providence and Newport
plantations. Direct ancestors of the Doctor were
prominent officers in the Continental army dur-
ing the war of the Revolution and were early
settlers in central New York.

Dr. Burch passed his boyhood days on the
homestead farm and after completing the curric-
ulum of the public schools continued his studies
in the Brookfield Academy, where he prepared
himself for teaching, having in the meanwhile
formulated definite plans for finally adopting the
profession of medicine. Even as a boy he was
an avidious student and reader and early deter-
mined to seek a wider field of endeavor than that
afforded on the farm. He. was engaged in teach-
ing in various covmtry and village schools from
1885 to 1888, in which latter year he was matric-
ulated in the Hahnemann Medical College, in
the city of Chicago, where he was graduated in
April, 1890, receiving his degree of Doctor of
Medicine. Later he took special post-graduate
work in surgery and gynecology. Immediately
after his graduation he located in Paxton, Illi-
nois, where he was engaged in practice until De-
cember, 1891, when, by reason of a desire to locate
farther west, he came to South Dakota and es-
tablished himself in practice at Miller. Hand
county, where he remained until June, 1894. when
he came to Redfield, where he has built up a very
large and i-epresentative practice, having one of
the best equipped offices in the state and being

HERBERT C. BURCH, M. D.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

well known in professional circles all over South
Dakota. He is a member of the South Dakota
State Homeopathic Medical Society and of the
Quadri-State Medical Society, of Sioux City,
Iowa. He was a stanch Democrat in his political
]-)roclivities and is an influential factor in its coun-
cils in the state, while he takes a great interest
in all public affairs. He was commissioned first
lieutenant and assistant surgeon in the Second
Regiment of South Dakota National Guard in
1902, and in the same year was honored with
election to the board of aldermen of Redfield,
being re-elected in April, 1903. He became affili-
ated with the Knights of Pythias in 1895 and in
the following year became a member of the state
grand lodge of the order, of which he was grand
chancellor in 1901-2. He has served as master
workman in his lodge of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, and is also identified with
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Be-
nevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the
Modern Brotherhood of America, as well as a
number of other fraternal and social organiza-
tions.

In the city of Cleveland, Ohio, on the 3d of
]\Iay, 1893, was solemnized the marriage of Dr.
P>urch to Miss Flora A. Crumb, who was born
and reared in that city, being a daughter of
Charles and Lucy M. Crumb, who removed to
that city from Brookfield, New York, -in the early
"sixties, Mr. Crumb being for many years prom-
inently identified with banking interests and be-
ing now retired. Dr. and Mrs. Burch have one
son. Clayton B., who was born in Redfield, April
•6, 1895. Mrs. Burch is a woman of gracious
presence and is prominent in the social life of
the communitv.

JOHN G. WENKE was born in Germany on
August 8, 1853, and received a moderate educa-
tion in the state schools of his native land. At
the age of fourteen he bade adieu to the scenes
and associations of his childhood and came to the
United States alone, making his way to Ne-
braska where he joined an uncle who had a farm
.near where the town of Hooper has since been

built. The next year his parents also came to
this country and, settling near Hooper, engaged
in farming there. He remained with tliem a year
assisting on the farm and attending school in
the neighborhood. In the spring of 1872 he
went to Fremont and secured employment in a
grocery store, remaining there until the spring
of 1877, when he came to the Black Hills, mak-
ing the journey .by the Elkhorn Valley route and
Buffalo Gap, coming with teams and a stock of
hardware for himself, and arriving at Deadwood
in May. He at once opened a hardware store at
Deadwood and conducted it successfully for a
number of months, but in the fall changed his
location to Central City where he continued his
operations until the fall of 1887. In 1884 he
moved to Sturgis and opened a hard»ware store
on the site now occupied by H. O. Anderson &
Son, with the elder Anderson as his manager, he
continuing his business at Central City. In 1887
he sold his interests there and took charge of the
Sturgis store in person, conducting it until 1889
when he sold out to Mr. Anderson. During the
next three years he was not in business of any
special kind, but in the spring of 1902 he started
his hardware store on Main street, and since
then has been actively engaged in carrying on
this enterprise in partnership with ]\Ir. Bitney, the
firm name .being Bitney & Wenke. They also
have a general store at Seim, one hundred and
thirty miles northeast of Sturgis, which is an en-
terprise of magnitude and importance in that sec-
tion. In 1883 Mr. Wenke became interested in
raising horses on a large scale, taking up a ranch
on Bear Butte creek, five miles from Sturgis,
for the purpose. This he has well irrigated and
much of it is under an advanced state of cultiva-
tion. When he sold his town business in 1887
he devoted -his entire time to the cattle industry
and raising horses until he bought into his pres-
ent mercantile business, and is still largely inter-
ested in stock. He also has considerable real es-
tate of value in the town of Sturgis and large
interests of worth elsewhere. In the public life
and government of his town and county he has
always been actively and serviceably interested
and, although never consenting to take office him-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

self, he has been a potent factor in determining
who shall. He is an earnest Republican in poli-
tics and influential in the councils of his party,
having served as chairman of the county cen-
tral committee for a number of years and been
a leading member of the state central committee
during the last two years, having been recently
selected for two years more.

On November ii, 1890, Mr. Wenke was mar-
ried at Sturgis to Miss Nellie P. Rodebank, a
native of Omaha, Nebraska. They have five chil-
dren, Frieda, Flora, Margaret, Mellie and Esther.
Mr. Wenke is prominent in the Masonic order,
belonging to the lodge at Sturgis and the Mystic
Shrine at Deadwood. He is also a member of
the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

HENRY O. ANDERSON is a native of
Sweden, born November 15, 1842, and in his na-
tive land he grew to the age of eighteen and
received his education. At the age named he
moved to Norway, where he remained five years
and served his apprenticeship at cabinetmaking.
In 1866 he emigrated to the United States and
located for a year at Waupun, Wisconsin, then
moved to Neenah, in the same state, where he
remained three years working at his trade. In
the spring of 1870 he came to South Dakota and
took up his residence at Yankton, having made
a trip through this section in the previous fall
for inspection. He took up land near Yankton,
but while developing it wrought at his trade,
living in the city. He at once became active in
the public affairs of the county in which he lived
and in 1S73 was elected to the lower house of the
state legislature, and was re-elected at the end of
his term, being the candidate of the Republican
party. During the last two years of his residence
there he was engaged in conducting a meat mar-
ket and butchering business. In the spring of
1876 he left Yanl<ton for the Black Hills, mak-
ing the trip by way of Pierre and settling at
Deadwood where he worked at his trade for a
year. The next spring he returned to Yankton
and formed a partnership with three other men
for the purpose of installing and conducting a

planing mill in the Hills. This was known as the
Gayville Planing Mill and was a profitable un-
dertaking. Mr. Anderson was connected with
it until 1883, when he sold his interest and in
1884 he moved to Sturgis, putting up a frame
house for business where his business block now
stands. He formed a partnership with J. G.
Wenke and together they carried on an extensive
hardware trade until 1889, when Mr. Anderson
bought his partner out and after that until 1891
he conducted the business alone. It grew in
magnitude and flourished to such an extent that
in 1893 he was obliged to enlarge the store, which '
he did by erecting a brick store on the adjoining
lot and then added a stock of furniture to what
he already had and also opened high-grade un-
dertaking parlors. In the autumn of 189 1 he
took his son Albert into partnership with him
and the firm name became H. O. Anderson &
Son. The establishment is one of the largest
and most progressive in this portion of the state,
and is a popular emporium for everything in
its various lines of trade. The firm is also ex-
tensively engaged in the stock industry, having a
large and well-developed ranch on Elk creek.
He has always taken an active and patriotic inter-
est in politics on the Republican side, and al-
though averse to public life in every way, con-
sented once to serve the town as mayor, but he
has here steadfastly declined to become a candi-
date for any other office. On November 15, 1867,
he was married to Miss Inga M. Nordgran, a
native of Sweden, the marriage occurring at
Neenah, Wisconsin, during his residence there.
They have two children, Albert and Edna. ;\Ir.
Anderson belongs to the Odd Fellows and the
United Workmen, holding his membership in the
lodges of these orders at Sturgis.

PETER LAURTN, farmer and stock raiser
and one of the enterprising citizens of Meade
county. South Dakota, was born in Montreal,
Canada, on the 17th day of August, 1848. He
spent his earlv life in his native city, received a
fair educational training in the schools of the
same and remained with his parents until sixteen

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

rears of age, meanwhile turning his hands to
various kinds of employment. In 1864 when
a mere youth, he severed home ties and went to
St. Louis, Missouri, where he took a Missouri
river steamer for Fort Benton, Montana, thence
proceeded to Virginia City, where he engaged in
placer mining. After remaining at and in the
vicinity of that place until attaining his majority,
he returned to Montreal to visit his old home, and
while there went into the grocery business, to
which he devoted his attention during the five
years following.

Becoming somewhat restive and longing for
the wild, free life of the west, Mr. Laurin, at the
expiration of the period noted, disposed of his
stock of goods, and in the summer of 1876 started
for the Black Hills, going via Pierre and reach-
ing Deadwood in October of the same year.
From there he went to Bald Mountain, being
attracted by the recent discovery of gold at the
latter place, but not meeting with success as a
miner, he soon returned to Deadwood, and en-
gaged in the wood business on City creek, con-
tinuing the same with profitable results for a
period of two years. In the spring of 1878 he
went to Bear Butte creek, Meade county, and took
up his present ranch, four miles east of Sturgis,
which he at once proceeded to improve and reduce
to cultivation, the meanwhile continuing his wood
business at Deadwood. Mr. Laurin began opera-
tions on his ranch under very favorable auspices,
but the first year met with a serious loss in the
burning of over one hundred tons of hay and
about the same time all of his stock of wood was
destroyed by the fire that raged with such vio-
lence in the vicinity of Deadwood and along City
creek. In due time, however, he recovered from
these reverses and applying himself closely to his
labors, soon had the greater part of his land in
cultivation, also well stocked, besides making a
number of substantial improvements in the way
of buildings, etc. Shortly after settling on his
place he engaged in freighting between Pierre
and the Black Hills, devoting the winter months
to this kind of labor and the rest of the year to
farming and stock raising, but it was not long
until he abandoned teaming to look after his

agriculture interests, which continued to grow in
magnitude ^nd importance with each succeeding
year. Finding live stock more profitable than
fanning, he gradually added to the latter interest
and of recent years has given it the greater part
of his attention.

Mr. Laurin is a Republican in politics, and a
staunch and uncompromising supporter of his
party, being active in its councils and an untiring
worker in the ranks. While zealous in the de-
fense of his principles and ready at all times to
make sacrifices for the same, he is not an office
seeker nor an aspirant for leadership or any kind
of public distinction, having no ambitions to grat-
ify in these directions.

Believing in using the good things of this
world and getting out of life all the pleasure and
satisfaction it has in store for him, Mr. Laurin
has provided liberally for himself and family,
being die owner of a comfortable home. His
domestic circle at this time consists of a wife and
three children, his marriage having been solem-
nized on February 11, 1888, at Russellville, Illi-
nois, with Miss Lizzie Paul, a native of that
state, and a lady of excellent character, who has
presided over his home with loyal devotion and
proved in every sense of the word a faithful com-
panion and true helpmeet. The children are all
daughters, whose names are Marie, Lucile and
Aline.

WILLIAM ^ilEYER, deceased, traveler, ex-
plorer, pioneer, miner, farmer and stock raiser,
was a native of Germany, born in the province
of Hanover, on the 3d day of May, 1831. Dur-
ing his youthful years he attended the schools
of his native land, and at the age of sixteen ran
away from home and made his way to the United
States, reaching this country in 1847 and spend-
ing the ensuing two years in Cincinnati, Ohio.
While in that city, young Meyer turned his hands
to any kind of work he could find to do, but be-
coming somewhat tired of the life he was obliged
to lead, and desiring to see more of the world,
especially the great west, which was then at-
tracting people from all parts of this country

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

and Europe, by reason of the discovery of gold
in California, he joined, in 1849, a company of
adventurous spirits and started overland for the
New Eldorado. He was the youngest member
of the party, being but eighteen at the time, yet
he manfully held up his part of the work, endured
the hardships of travel with the fortitude of a
veteran, and shared the vicissitudes of the long,
tiresome and trying journey much better than
the majority of his comrades.

Mr. Meyer was one of the first to reach the
California gold region, and for a number of years
thereafter he devoted his attention to placer min-
ing in various parts of the country, meeting with
good success at times, but occasionally experi-
encing discouraging reverses in which he lost
much of his hard-earned wealth. After remain-
ing in California about thirteen vears, he became
animated by a strong desire to go to Alaska,
where rich finds had been located a short time
previously, but to reach that far-away, sterile
<:ountry meant a journey of hardships and dan-
gers more numerous and of much greater magni-
tude than those experienced while crossing the
plains. Nothing daunted, however, he and two
other young men as brave and daring as himself
procured an outfit and in 1862 started for the
far north, going through British Columbia,
thence over a wild, rough and in many places al-
almost impassable country, which until they pene-
trated it had never been explored by white men.
After many dreary weeks and months in the wil-
derness, suffering from fatigue, hunger, cold and
other vicissitudes, the three finally reached their
destination and at once proceeded to search for
gold by the placer method. The country being
virgin territory, the,v were fortunate in locating
a good claim and applying themselves diligently
to the work before them, it was not long until
each found himself the possessor of what miners
are wont to term a "rich stake." Amply repaid
for their trip, the little company, after a year's ex-
perience, returned to California, where the sub-
ject resnnnd mining, continuing the same until
tSUS. when he went to Virginia City, Montana,
near which place he operated for some time in
what is known as the .Mder gulch. After spend-

ing two years in various parts of Montana. Mr.
Meyer, in 1870, took up land on Meadow creek,
not far from Virginia City, and engaged in farm-
ing, but after seeing his crops eaten up by the
grasshoppers, he discontinued tilling the soil and
entered the employ of the government at the Crow
agency.

In the spring of 1876 ^Ir. Meyer again started
out in search of gold, being one of a party of two
hundred who went to the Black Hills, going via
Spearfish and arriving at their objective point
the month of May following. After spending
thjit summer in Deadwood Mr. Meyer and a
friend by the name of Fletcher bought an outfit
for cutting and making hay and, beginning oper-
ations on Bear Butte creek, they succeeded in put-
ting up during the fall about two hundred and
fifty tons, from the sale of which they realized
handsome profits. To market the hay cost them
about fifty dollars per ton, but once in Deadwood
it found ready purchase at from one hundred to
one hundred and fifty dollars a ton, the margin
amply compensating them for their labors and
the necessary expenditures.

Mr. Meyer in the spring of 1877 built a small
house at the mouth of Boulder canon, on Bear
Butte creek, to which he soon removed his family,
but his experience at this place was by no means
encouraging as the Indians that fall burned about
one hundred and fifty tons of hay, which he had
stacked along the creek, and not long afterwards
stole all of his mules, seven in number, also sev-
eral head of cattle, leaving him entirely destitute
of live stock, which greatly crippled his further
efiforts in the business of hay making. Thinking
to recover his animals by laying the matter be-
fore the proper authorities, he walked a long
distance to the Indian agency, but his efforts
proving absolutely futile, the redskin disclaiming
all knowledge of the theft and nothing was done
to compensate him for the loss.

In the year 1877 Mr. Meyer located the
ranch six miles east of Sturgis on which he
spent the remainder of his life, removing his
family to the same the following year. He in-
augurated and carried to successful issue a sys-
tem of improvements which in due time made his

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

i30t

ranch one of the finest and most valuable in the
western part of the state, a reputation it has since
sustained. Among these improvements is a large
and commodious stone residence which, supplied
with all the comforts and modern conveniences
obtainable, is one of the most attractive and desir-
able country dwellings in Meade county, his
liarns and other buildings also being of modern
design, well constructed and admirably adapted
to meet the purpose for which intended. On re-
moving to this place, Mr. Meyer again turned his
attention to agriculture and stock raising and
met with encouraging success from the begin-
ning, the Indians never troubling him again, nor
(lid he suffer any reverses from failure of crops
or from other sources. He continued making im-
provements and adding to the value of his. land as
long as he lived, also increased his live stock until
he enjoyed the reputation of lieing one of the most
successful agriculturists and cattle raisers in the
\'alley, of which himself and Mr. Fletcher were
the original settlers.

Mr. Meyer was married in X'irginia City,
Montana, on March 3, 1870, to Miss Amelia
Meyer, also a native of Germany, one child re-
sulting from this union, a son by the name of
Fred H., whose birth occurred on the 13th of
April, 1873. After a long, active and useful life,
fruitful of great good to the people with whom he
mingled and the communit}- at large, Mr. Meyer,
on July 16, 1896, passed gently into the valley of
shadows, and three years later, lacking one day,
his faithful wife followed him to the silent land
and now lies by his side amid the quiet shades of
the beautiful cemetery at Sturgis.

Fred H. Meyer, whose birth is noted in a
preceding paragraph, first saw the light of day
at Meadow Creek near Virginia City, Montana,
and spent his early years at that place, and on
the farm at Bear Butte creek, receiving his pre-
liminary education in the latter locality. Subse-
ijuently he attended the public schools of St.
Louis, Missouri, the training thus received being
supplemented by a course in a normal school at
Spearfish, Sottth Dakota, after which he assisted
his father in running the ranch until the latter's
death, when he succeeded to the ownership of the

property. He carries on successfully the work .so-
auspiciously begun, has added much to the value
and attractiveness of the home and is continually
making improvements which speak well for his
energy and public spirit. Mr. Meyer is recog-
nized as one of the rising men of Meade county,
and has already a well-established reputation in
business and social circles, his standing as a
farmer and stock raiser being second to that of
none of his contemporaries, while as a citizen
deeply interested in everything concerning the
welfare of the community, his influence has ever
been exerted in behalf of the right as he sees and
understands the right. A worthy son of a
worthy sire and inheriting many of the latter's
sterling attributes and sturdy characteristics, he
lives as becomes an intelligent and progressive
member of society, and thus far in life has
brought no discredit to the good name his family
has long borne, but on the contrary by an up-
right course of conduct has continuously added
to its luster and enhanced its honor. Mr. Meyer
was married on the 226. day of December, 1898,
to Miss Amelia Berger, a native of Germany,
who was brought to this country when quite
young, and who has borne him two children,
^^'illiam F, and Francis L.

GREGOR CRUICKSHANK was born in
Inverness-shire, Scotland, on the 15th of Novem-
ber, 1852. He was reared in the schools of the
same, and when a youth in his teens entered upon
an apprenticeship to learn the stone-mason's trade,
completing his term of service in his twentieth
year. In 1873 he came to the United States and
for some time thereafter followed his trade in
.St. Paul, Minnesota, later doing considerable ma-
sonry work in the cities of Mimieapolis, Still-
water and Huron, besides spending the greater
part of two years in the timber region of Minne-
sota. i\Ir. Cruickshank, in 1873, went to New
York and after working for some time in that
state, returned to his native land for the purpose
of revisiting his home and the scenes of his
childhood. After spending several months with
relatives and friends he went to Glasgow, where

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

he found employment at his trade, but later left
that city for Liverpool, England, at which place
he spent one year on the police force. Resigning
his position at the expiration of the time noted,
he again returned to Scotland where he was en-
gaged for two years as foreman on a railroad and
after severing his connections with that line of
work, he went to Inverness-shire, his native
place, and took up the pursuit of agriculture on
the home farm. His experience as a tiller of the
soil covered a period of two years, at the end of
which time he made his second voyage to the
United States, sailing in September, 1883. On
arriving at his destination he came direct to South
Dakota, locating in the Black Hills, where his
brother Alexander was then living, and accepted
a positon with the Homestake Mining Company,
at Lead City. His first work with this great cor-
poration was in the ditches, but after some months
he resumed his trade and did considerable stone
and brick laying in Spearfish, including the state
normal school building, one of the finest struc-
tures in the state. Later he re-engaged with the
Homestake Mining Company, as foreman of ma-
sonry work, which responsible position he still
holds, being one of the company's faithful and |
trusted employes.

Meantime, 1885, Mr. Cruickshank took up
land on Alkali creek, fifteen miles from Sturgis,
which he converted into a fine ranch, and since
that date he has devoted a great deal of attention
to stock raising, in connection with his duties at
the mine. His ranch, which contains about three
thousand acres of rich grazing land, is in excel-
lent condition and fully answers the purpose for
which intended, being well improved with good {
buildings, fences and other accessories necessary I
to the successful prosecution of live-stock rais- I
ing. Mr. Cruickshank, in 1896, purchased for j
his brother Alexander a ranch three and a half '
miles east of Sturgis, on Bear Butte creek, where •
the latter has since lived and prospered as a stock
man, the two working to each other's mutual in-
terests, and their efforts have been crowned with
the most encouraging success. !

While exercising personal supervision over i
his ranch and his large and constantly growing !

live-stock interests, Mr. Cruickshank spends the
greater part of his time in Lead City, where, as
already indicated, much of his attention is re-
quired to attend to the duties of his position with
the Homestake Company. His various enter-
prises have resulted greatly to his financial ad-
vantage, and he is now in independent circum-
stances, owning, in addition to his ranch and live
stock, considerable real estate in Lead City, also
valuable mining interests in various parts of the
country, besides a large amount of capital in-
vested in different business and industrial enter-
prises. His success since coming west has been
remarkable, and his career bespeaks for him a
soundness of judgment, a fertility of resource and
executive ability of an order far higher than
those with which the great majority of his fellow
men are endowed.

Mr. Cruickshank has been actively identified
with the material interests and public affairs of
the city and county in which he lives, and is also
a politician of more than local reputation, being
one of the staunch Republicans of his part of the
state and an aggressive party worker. Like the
majority of wide-awake, enterprising men of ev-
ery community, he manifests a decided interest
in secret benevolence work, holding membership
witli the Masonic fraternity of Lead City, the
Mystic Shrine, at Deadwood, the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, and the Master Work-
men of America, at the former place, besides be-
ing a leading spirit in the order of Scottish Clans
of America, an organization composed of his fel-
low countrymen throughout the United States.

Mr. Cniickshank was married in Glasgow,
Scotland, June 18, 1878, to Miss Annie McLen-
nan, a native of that country, and has a family
of six children, whose names are as follows :
John M., Robert, Donald M., Jessie A.. Roderick
A. and Edwin W.

MILES M. COOPER, farmer, stock raiser
and also ex-member of the South Dakota house of
representatives, is a native of Jennings county,
Indiana, and dates his birth from November 16,
1845. Like the majority of country lads, he was

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

reared on the farm, early became familiar with
the rugged duties and wholesome discipline of
the same, and of winter seasons attended the
public schools of his neighborhood, acquiring a
fair knowledge of the branches constituting the
usual course of study. When a youth of sixteen
he left home and after spending several years in
the northern part of the state, yielded to a desire
of long standing by making an extensive trip
through the west. Young Cooper started on this
journey in the spring of 1864, crossing the
plains to Montana, thence to Virginia City, where
he engaged in placer mining, operating for some
time in Alder gulch and various other places and
meeting with reasonably fair success as a gold
seeker. He spent the greater part of three years
in the above section of country, but in 1867 went
to Wyoming and entered the employ of the Union
Pacific Railroad Company, whose main line was
then in process of construction.

After devoting the ensuing three years to rail-
road work, Mr. Cooper severed his connection
with the company and from 1871 to 1873 inclus-
ive was engaged in the live-stock business, buy-
ing cattle in Kansas and shipping them to various
eastern markets, also selling to different parties in
that and other states. Discontinuing this line of
business he spent the succeeding three years at
and in the vicinity of Fort Bridger, Wyoming, de-
voting his attention the meanwhile to prospect-
ing and mining, in addition to which he also took
a number of contracts for various kinds of gov-
ernment work north of the fort, completing the
same in due time with credit to himself and to
the satisfaction of his employers. In the spring
of 1877 he joined a party at Cheyenne and started
for the Black Hills country, arriving in Dead-
wood the following April, and immediately
thereafter engaged in farming in Boulder Park,
east of the city. In connection with agriculture
he did considerable freighting at odd times, be-
tween Deadwood and Pierre, and to these lines
of work he gave his time until the spring of
1883, when he disposed of his interests in the
Black Hills and came to Meade county, taking
up a fine tract of land about six miles east of
Sturgis, on which he has since lived and pros-
pered as a farmer and stock raiser.

Mr. Cooper exercised excellent judgment in
the selecting of his ranch, his place being admir-
ably situated for agricultural and live-stock pur-
poses, and by his labors and judicious manage-
ment it has become one of the most productive
and valuable farms in the county of Meade. He
has added a number of substantial improvements,
including among others a fine modern residence,
supplied with all the latest comforts and conven-
iences calculated to make country life desirable,
and his business affairs have so prospered that
he is now in comparatively independent circum-
stances, with a liberal competence laid up against
possible adversity and for his declining years.

Politically Mr. Cooper wields a strong influ-
ence for the Democratic party, of which he has
been a zealous supporter since old enough to ex-
ercise the rights of citizenship, and for a number
of years past he has been a prominent factor, not
only in local affairs, but in public matters of dis-
trict and state import. In the fall of 1889 he was
elected to represent Meade county in the general
assembly, and his record as a law-maker proved
so satisfactory to his constituents that he was
again chosen in 1891. While in the legislature
he was untiring in his efforts to promote the in-
terests of his county and state, serving on several
important committees, taking an active part in
the general deliberations of the. house and earn-
ing the reputation of one of the hardest workers
in the bod)', as well as winning recognition as a
leader on the Democratic side, his party, however,
being in the minority.

Mr. Cooper is a man of great energy and has
done much to advance the material prosperity of
Meade county, giving his encouragement and
support to all enterprises with this end in view.
Public-spirited in all the term implies, he has fre-
quently lost sight of self in his endeavors to pro-
mote the public welfare and today there are few
men in western Dakota as widely known or who
in a greater degree enjoy the esteem and confi-
dence of the people regardless of party ties. He
is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging
to the lodge at Sturgis, and is also identified with
the local lodge of the Ancient Order of United
Workmen at the same place, having been honored
with high official station in both organizations.

[304

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

On March 9, 1881, occurred the marriage of
Mr. Cooper, his wife having formerly been Mis.s
Mary P. Ranft, who was born and reared in the
state of Ohio. The union has resulted in an in-
teresting family of eight children, whose names
are as follows: Otto P., Allyn R., Harold M.,
Lawrence, Edith, Jefferson, Edna and Bryan.

WILLIAM H. CHASE is a New Englander,
having been born in Kingston, New Hampshire,
on the 9th of June, 1828. Reared in his native
state, he early acquired the industrious habits
characteristic of the youth of that section of the
Union, and after attending the schools of Kings-
ton until old enough to plan for his future, learned
carriage making, which trade he followed in New
Hampshire until reaching the age of twenty-six
years. In 1844 he went to Iowa and located a
tract of government land, but after holding it
for a brief period, sold his right and, returning
home, remained about one year with his parents,
when he again turned his face westward. After
spending a short time in Iowa, he went to Minne-
sota, where he remained one year, but at the
expiration of that time returned to the former
state and took up land in Jackson county, on
which he engaged in farming and the raising of
live stock.

Mr. Chase prospered in his undertakings and
continued the same with increasing success until
the year 1863, when he laid aside the implements
of husbandry in response to the call for volun-
teers to assist in putting down the great rebel-
lion. Enlisting that year in the Second Iowa In-
fantry, he served until the close of the war, after
which he returned to Jackson county, where his
family were living. From that part of the state
he moved to Iowa county, where he lived and
prospered until 1881, in the spring of which year
he sold his land and migrated to the Black Hills,
South Dakota, settling on a ranch near Bear
Butte creek, which his son Charles had taken
up some time previously. Purchasing the ranch,
Mr. Chase at once addressed himself to its im-
provement and in the course of a few years re-
duced a considerable area to cultivation, also

erected a comfortable dwelling and made many
other improvements besides getting a substantial
start in the way of live stock. From that time
to the present his progress has been steady and
substantial, and he is now one of the successful
agriculturists and stock raisers in his part of the
county, owning eight hundred acres of fine land,
one hundred of which are under irrigation, and
in a high state of tillage, the rest being devoted to
cattle raising, which industry he makes a spec-
ialty. In the course of time the original dwelling
was replaced with the handsome modern resi-
dence which the -family now occupies. A gen-
eral system of improvements was inaugurated
and carried to completion as rapidly as possible,
and at this writing Mr. Chase is no longer under
the necessity of laboring for a living, enjoying the
fruits of his many years of toil and thrift, with
an ample competency laid by for old age.

Mr. Chase has been a loyal supporter of the
Republican party ever since its organization and
is one of its firm adherents in ]\Ieade county.
Until quite recently he took a very active interest
in public affairs, attended the various con-
ventions of his party, local, district and
state, but repeatedly refused to stand for
office, although well qualified to fill positions
of honor and trtist. He is a member of the
Grand Army of the Republic and takes pleasure
in meeting his comrades who shared with him
the vicissitudes of war during the dark days of
the rebellion, being one of the leading spirits in t
the local post to which he belongs.

Mr. Chase was married in Jackson county,
Iowa, to Miss Sarah Simeral, of Indiana, whose
parents moved to the former state when she was
only ten years old. Four children have been
born to Mr. and Mrs. Chase, namely: William
S., Charles H., Addie Mav and Sarah B.

MARTIN H. JOHNSON, deceased, was
born in Southport, New York, June 25, 1833,
grew to manhood in his native state and after ac-
quiring a good intellectual education in the
schools, received a thorough practical training
in the various business aft'airs with which he

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1305

early became familiar. While still a young man
he engaged in lumbering and continued that line
of business in New York until about twenty-five
years of age, when he went to Potter county,
Pennsylvania, where he erected several large saw-
mills and engaged in the manufacture of lumber
upon a very extensive scale. Mr. Johnson oper-
ated his mills quite successfully and in due time
built up a business of large proportions, becom-
ing in the course of a few years the leading lum-
ber man in the above county and one of the larg-
est in the state. By judicious management he ac-
quiretl a large fortune, but subsequently met with
a series of business reverses, which crippled him
financially and from the efiFects of which he never
entirely recovered. In hopes of bettering his
condition, he wound up his affairs in Pennsyl-
vania and in the fall of 1879 started for the
Black Hills, reaching Boulder Park the same
season and spending the winter at that place.
The following spring he arrived in Deadwood,
and from there, after a short time, came to Bear
Butte creek and took up a ranch about fourteen
miles east of Sturgis, where he turned his atten-
tion to stock raising and agricultural pursuits.
He had no sooner moved to his new home than
he began a system of improvements, and he con-
tinued prosecuting the same until his ranch was
conceded to be the finest in the country, as he
spared neither pains nor expense in beautifying
the place and providing comfortably for his fam-
ily.

Mr. Johnson carried on farming and cattle
raising exclusively until the year 1887, when he
again resumed the lumber business, erecting a
large steam saw-mill in the hills, which he oper-
ated very successfully during the eight years fol-
lowing. This enterprise fully met his expecta-
tions and it was not long until he began to recover
from the losses entailed by his previous reverses.
His other interests also proved quite fortunate,
and his success in his different fields of endeavor
not only redounded greatly to his financial advan-
tage and made him one of the wealthiest men
of his community, but also gave him high stand-
ing in business circles, both locally and through-
out the state. A short time before his death he
33-

built an elegant and imposing modem dwelling
on his ranch, besides expending a liberal sum
in other improvements, and at this time his place
is considered one of the finest and most desirable
country homes in the county of Meade.

Mr. Johnson was an influential member of
the Masonic fraternity, in which he rose to a
high degree, and he was honored with important
official position in the order from time to time.
He was a man of intelligence, widely informed
and kept in close touch with the trend of events,
having been a careful observer, a student of pub-
lic affairs and a natural leader not only of matters
of business, but in the domain of thought. He
always manifested a lively interest in politics,
but was never a partisan nor an office seeker, pre-
ferring the life he led to the honors and emolu-
ments of public station. He attained the ripe age
of nearly seventy 3'ears, dying December 18,
1902, honored and respected by all who knew
him. Mr. Johnson was one of nature's noble-
men, true to every trust reposed in him, devoted
to the cause of right and with a character above
reproach, and a life fraught with great good to
the world, he will long be remembered as one
of the strong, stalwart men of his adopted state.
Since her husband's death, Mrs. Johnson has
managed the homestead and, like him, she exer-
cises sound sense and discriminating judgment
in the practical affairs of life. She is ably assisted
by her two sons and a daughter, who take upon
themselves much of the burden and responsibility
of business cares and who, inheriting the many
sterling qualities and characteristics of their ex-
cellent parents, give promise of great usefulness
in the future.

JOHN J. FOLKHARD was born in Potts-
ville, Pennsylvania, May 14, 1855, but when
quite a young man removed with his parents to
Tiffin, Ohio, where he spent his early life and
received his education. At the age of fourteen
he started out for himself, going to Indianap-
olis, Indiana, and for about one year thereafter
he worked for a street railway company in that
city. In 1870 he enlisted in the Seventh United

i3o6

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

States Cavalry and went to Kansas, from which
state his command was afterwards sent south to
break up ilhcit distilhng in various parts of Ken-
tucky, remaining in that section until the spring
of 1873, when the regiment was ordered to Fort
Snelling, Minnesota. Mr. Folkhard was detailed
as mounted messenger at department headquar-
ters in the city of St. Paul, and served under
General Terry as such until the expiration of his
period of enlistment in 1875, when he was hon-
orably discharged at that place. On leaving the
army he entered an engineer's office in St. Paul,
but after spending one summer in that capacity
went to Bismarck, Dakota, where he joined the
force under General Miles for service against the
Nez Perces Indians in Montana. Going to Fort
Lincoln, he enlisted in Troop A, Seventh Cavalry,
but being too late to take part in the campaign
he was detailed for duty at that post and there re-
mained until his command was sent to Fort
Meade in the summer of 1879. Mr. Folkhard
finished his period of service at the latter place
in August, 1882, and after his discharge took up
a ranch on Alkali creek and turned his attention
to agriculture. He made a number of substantial
improvements on his land, reduced the greater
part of it to cultivation and in 1885 set out the
fine, large orchard which is now bearing and
from which he realized every year profitable re-
turns. After devoting several years exclusively
to farming he began raising live stock, and since
engaging in this industry has prosecuted the busi-
ness with success and financial profit, being at
this time one of the leading cattle men in his part
of the county.

Mr. Folkhard's ranch lies about five miles
southeast of Sturgis and for advantage of situa-
tion, fertility of soil and beauty of scenery it sur-
passes any like area of land in this section of the
state. He has beautified a part of the place by
planting trees and otherwise adding to its at-
tractions, and for several years past it has been
a favorite resort for tourists and pleasure seek-
ers, scarcely a summer month passing in which
there are not a number of picnics held on his
grounds. In addition to the beautiful groves and
orchards, which yield grateful shade, there are

many cool springs on the place, besides other at-
tractive features which cause it to be eagerly
sought during the warm seasons by those requir-
ing rest and healthful recreation. Mr. Folkhard
deserves great credit for furnishing the public
such a pleasant and attractive resort, and the peo-
ple who enjoy its restfulness have not been slow
in recognizing his generous spirit and appreci-
ating his open-hearted hospitality. He is de-
servedly popular in his community, has many
warm personal friends and stands ver\- high in
the esteem of all with whom he comes in contact.
He has mingled much with the world and by
coming in close touch with all classes and condi-
tions of people his mind has been broadened, his
views of men and things have become enlarged
and he stands today among the energetic, public-
spirited citizens of his adopted county and state.

EDWARD H. SPRINGER, whose death oc-
curred January 31, 1904, a native of Washing-
ton count}', Maine, was bom May 20, 1844, and
grew to maturity on a farm, receiving his educa-
tion in the public schools and when old enough
to begin life for himself he engaged in agriculture
and the lumber business, in connection with
which he also operated a sawmill for a consider-
able length of time. He continued to reside in
his native state until the fall of 1875, when he
disposed of his interests there and went west,
locating at Virginia City, Nevada, where he re-
mained until the spring of 1877, devoting about
nine months of the time to running a livery sta-
ble for another party, the balance of the interim
being devoted to mining in various parts of the
country. In May of the latter year he started
for the Black Hills and, arriving at Deadwood
on the 20th day of the month, immediately went
to work excavating a site for a mill, which being
finished, he helped build the mill, one of the first
enterprises of the kind in that part of the terri-
tory'. Later he secured a position in a rnill at
Black Tail, but after continuing for some time
in that capacity, resigned and started a boarding
house in the same town, which he ran until the
spring of 1878, when he went to Lead City and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[307

engaged in the same line of business, renting a
large log building which in a short time became
a popular resort for the traveling public, to say
nothing of its large and lucrative local patron-
age.

While proprietor of this establishment, Mr.
Springer did a thriving business, as it was the
largest boarding house in the place at the time,
and the influx of travelers and settlers was so
great as to tax it to its utmost capacity to provide
entertainment. He received liberal compensation
for his accommodations and some idea of the
magnitude of his patronage may be learned from
the fact that within two months after opening
the house he succeeded in saving enough from
his earnings to erect a large hotel of his own.
The latter, which was the first building in Lead
City, especially designed for hotel purposes, stood
near the property of the Homestake Mining Com-
pany, and he subsequently sold it to the managers
of that enterprise and, purchasing a lot on Main
street, then in the outskirts of the town, but now
in the principal business part of the city, put up
another public house, which he conducted with
most gratifying success until the year 1886, when
he disposed of it for a handsome sum.

Meantime, 1S80, Mr. Springer purchased
land on Bear Butte creek, which he converted
into a large and valuable ranch still in his
possession, and on which he has since been en-
gaged in the live-stock business, making a spe-
cialty of cattle raising. After selling his city
property in 1886, he moved his family to the
ranch and here he has made his home ever since,
prosecuting his business the meanwhile with
success and profit until he was recognized as one
of the leading live-stock men in his part of the
state, also ranking with the most enterprising
a!id public-spirited citizens of the Black Hills.
Mr. Springer was not sparing in the matter of
improvements, becoming the owner of one of the
finest ranches in the country, the buildings on
which and other evidences of prosperity bespoke
the home of a man of energy, thrift and pro-
gressive ideas, who believed in using the good
things of this world to wise and commendable
purposes. He provided comfortably for those

dependent upon him, was liberal in his bene-
factions to all worthy enterprises and, as already
stated, gave his countenance and support to the
material development of his section of the
country, besides lending his influence to what-
ever tended to the moral welfare of the com-
munity in which he lived. In politics he was a
straight-out Republican of the most orthodox
type and an active party worker, and but few
conventions were held in his township and
county in which he did not appear as a dele-
gate. Mr. Springer was a close and intelligent
observer, a wide reader and his influence as a
leader in public as well as political affairs was
duly recognized and appreciated by his fellow
citizens, among all of whom he was held
in high personal regard. He was encouraged
and ably assisted in his business by the estimable
companion and helpmeet to whom he was united
in the bonds of wedlock on January 12, 1873.
Mrs. Springer, like her husband, is a native of
Maine, having been born and reared in Dan-
forth, that state, under the maiden name of
Jennie Hodnett. Inheriting the sturdy and
amiable qualities, characteristic of her New
England ancestry, she has performed well her
part in life, and since coming west she has won
a warm and permanent place in the esteem and
confidence of the large circle of friends with
whom she associates.

JOHN B. SUTTER.— The subject of this
sketch was born October 27, 1848, in Switzerland
and lived in his native land until twenty-one
years of age, growing to manhool on a farm and
receiving a good education in the public schools.
In 1869 he came to America and joined certain
relatives who had preceded him to this country
and who at the time noted were living in Buffalo
county, Wisconsin. After spending the ensuing
two years in that state as a farmer, he went to
Sioux City, Iowa, near which place he was en-
gaged in . agricultural pursuits until the spring
of 1873, when he joined the "Witcher Party,"
and started for the Black Hills. This was one
of the first companies that penetrated the Black

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Hills country and a full account of the trip and
incidents relating thereto will be found in
another part of this volume. Mr. Sutter shared
with his comrades the vicissitudes of travel and
adventure and, arriving at the site of Custer City
on the 17th of the following July, spent the
interim between that time and the next
September prospecting over various parts of the
countr_\-. In the latter month he accompanied
General Brook's command to Sidney, and from
there returned to Iowa, making the long trip to
Sioux City on foot and meeting with many in-
teresting experiences on the way.

In May, 1876, Mr. Sutter again started for
Dakota and, coming via Pierre, reached Dead-
wood in due time, and during the next five years
devoted his attention to prospecting and mining
in the vicinity of that place and elsewhere. At
the expiration of that time he went to Sturgis
and for some months thereafter was employed
at Fort Meade, where he remained until taking
up his present ranch, on Alkali creek, in the
spring of 1897. The following spring he moved
his family to the new home and since that date
he has been quite extensively engaged in agri-
culture and live stock, being at this time one of
the leading farmers and cattle raisers in Meade
county. His ranch, which lies about five miles
southeast of Sturgis, is admirably situated and,
with the improvements made since he took
possession, is now one of the finest places of its
area on the creek, being fertile, well watered and
especiallh- adapted for the purposes to which it
is devoted. Mr. Sutter is a man of great in-
dustry and his labors have been abundantly re-
warded as is attested by his beautiful home, large
herds of fine cattle and other evidences of pros-
perity by which he is surrounded. He manifests
a lively interest in public affairs, takes an active
part in politics, and is recognized as one of the
influential Republicans of the county, but he has
persistently declined to accept office, having no
ambition in that direction. Mr. Sutter, on July
17, 1888, was united in marriage with Miss Mary
Utz. a native of Gennany, who departed this
life September 12, 1902, leaving five children,
namely : Nina, Olga, Julia, George and Louisa.

()f the business and social standing of the sub-
ject of this review it is unnecessary to speak,
further than to state that few men of his
neighborhood enjoy in as marked degree the re-
spect and confidence of the public. His time and
attention have been closely devoted to his mani-
fold interest and to the enjoyment of his home ;
he possesses a generous nature, is especially con-
siderate to those near and dear to him and his
many friends, who respect him for his genuine
worth and who will no doubt be pleased to see
his history in the record of his adopted state.

WILLIAM H. HALL was born in Lawrence
county, Ohio, in the year 1838. When a mere
lad his parents moved to Lee county, Iowa,
thence to the county of Polk, where he spent his
childhood and youth and enjoyed such edu-
cational advantages as were afforded by the
pioneer schools of the state. After assisting his
father with the work of the farm until his young
manhood, he learned blacksmithing and later
worked at the trade in the city of Des Moines,
until reaching the age of twenty-two, when he
went to Colorado and engaged in the overland
freighting business.

Mr. Hall spent about eight years freighting
between Omaha and Denver and other western
towns, and in 1868 went to Wyoming, where
he was similarly engaged for somie time, later
freighting from Corinne, Utah, to Boise City,
Idaho, and neighboring points until 1871. In
the latter year he went to Nevada, where he
followed the same kind of wtork until the spring
of 1876, when he returned to Corinne, Utah, and
established a freight line between that place and
the cities of Helena and Butte, Montana, con-
tinuing the business with profitable results during
the succeeding three years. Disposing of his in-
terests in Utah and Montana in 1879, Mr. Hall
the following spring came to the Black Hills and
began freighting from Deadwood to Cheyenne,
but after operating for some time between these
two points, he opened a line from the former
place to Pierre, where he continued operations
until 1885. Discontinuing freighting the latter

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

\ear, he took up land on Alkali creek, Meade
ciiunty, and the next spring moved to his ranch
and addressed himself to the task of its improve-
ment. In a short time he had a. goodly number
of acres in cultivation, also considerable live
stock, and his progress as an agriculturist and 1
cattle raiser during the next few years was in |
everv respect ntost gratifying. Mr. Hall followed
farming and the cattle business until the year ;
1903, when, finding himself the possessor of a |
competency of no small magnitude, he disposed of j
his live-stock interests with the object in view of
spending the remainder of his days in the peace-
ful quietude of retired life, to which his long per-
iod of strenuous activity so honorably entitled him.
Blessed with an abundance of this world's goods
and surrounded by everything calculated to
minister to his comfort and enjoyment, he is now
resting from his labors, though still managing his
business affairs and keeping alive a keen interest
in current events, besides devoting no small part
nf his attention to what concerns the welfare of
the community in which he resides.

Mr. Hall has ahva\s been energetic in the
performance of his duties, and while meeting
with not a few discouragements in the course
of his long and active experience, he has over-
come the obstacles in his pathway and now, in
the evening of life, can look back over a career
which has been well spent and fraught with much
g(X)d to himself and to his fellow men. He is
a western man in the full meaning of the term
and since boyhood his life has been very closely
identified with this great section of the Union.
He has done his share in promoting the varied
interests of his adopted county and state, has
always stood for progress and advancement and
still gives his influence and encouragement to
measures and enterprises with these ends as their
object. Although past the meridian of life, he
retains to a marked degree the possession of his
physical and mental powers and, despite his
sixty-six years, he is almost as active and
energetic as in the days of his prime, and still
able to accomplish that which would tax to the
utmost the strength of the great majority of
}'ounger men. Mr. Hall is a Democrat and for

many years has rendered valuable service to his
party, as a counsellor, leader and active worker
in the ranks. In whatever relation of life con-
sidered, whether in business or social circles,
he is always the same honorable and honored
gentleman, whose intelligence, wholesome in-
fluence and genuine worth merits the high regard
which is universally given himl

SAMUEL H. MARTIN, an early settler of
South Dakota and for a number of years a
successful stock raiser and public-spirited citizen
of the county in which he resides, is a native of
Iowa, born in the city of Keokuk, on the 3d of
May, 1852. When he w*as a child his parents
moved to Stephens Point, Wisconsin, thence,
eight years later, to Ripon, the same state, where
he spent his youthful years and received his edu-
cation, attending first the public schools, after
which he took a course in Ripon College. Subse-
quently he became a student of the Whitewater
Normal School, and after leaving that institution
went to .\tchison. Kansas, where he engaged in
business until the fall of 1876. Leaving the
latter place at the date indicated, he located in the
town of Peru, where he turned his attention to
the manufacture of flour, but after conducting
that line of business until the following spring,
disposed of his interests in Kansas and came to
Dakota, arriving at Deadwood on the first day of
June, 1877.

After reaching his destination Mr. Martin
spent some months prospecting and mining in
various parts of the Hills, but the next winter
worked in a sawmill, preparatory to engaging
in farming and the live-stock business. In the
spring of 1878 he took up a ranch on Whitewood
creek, sixteen miles from Sturgis, and at once
began improving the same and reducing a part
of it to cultivation. Being among the first
settlers on the creek he enjoyed exceptional ad-
vantages in the matter of location, and it was
after a very careful inspection of this part of the
country that he made a selection which in every
way has proven judicious, his ranch being one of
the finest and most admirably situated for agri-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

culture and stock raising in the county. Mr.
Martin was a leading spirit in establishing Meade
county, in 1879, and served as chairman of the
board of commissioners, by which the organi-
zation was consummated. He took an active
and prominent part in putting the local
machinery in motion, was largely influential in
directing and controlling public affairs for several
years thereafter, and in the fall of 1890 was
elected to represent the new county in the state
legislature. He served one term in that body,
proved an able, industrious and painstaking rep-
resentative, and made a record creditable to
himself, to his constituency and to the state. In
politics he was always a Republican until 1896,
since which time he has been affiliated with the
Democratic party, and as such has exercised a
strong influence in party circles, being a skilled
organizer, a judicious counsellor and an able
leader. He is a decided factor in current public
and political affairs, proving of great importance
in the solution of local party problems, and there
is seldom a convention in which he does not
appear as a delegate or an influential worker.
Mr. Martin, on September i, 1881, was
united in marriage to Miss Clara Shaykelt, of
Ripon, Wisconsin, the marriage, which took
place in a tent, on the bank of the Belle Fourchc
river. South Dakota, being the first ceremony
of the kind solemnized in what is now Butte
county. Since that time he has lived on his
present ranch, which included the site on which
General Brook's army encamped in 1876, and his
home is beautiful for situation and well supplied
with the comforts and conveniences calculated
to make country life pleasant and desirable. Mr.
and Mrs. Mai-tin have a family of four children,
three daughters, Margaret, Agnes and Gertrude,
and one son, by the name of John, their birth
occurring in the above order. Mr. Martin was
initiated into the Masonic order while a resident
of Ripon, Wisconsin, and since coming to South
Dakota he has been identified with the lodge in
Sturgis ; he is also a member of the Ancient
Order of United Workmen, at Whitewood, and
manifests an active interest in the woik and de-
liberations of both fraternities.

THOMAS W. THOMPSON.— The name
of Thompson is well known in the Black Hills,
being identified, not only with the material de-
velopment and various business interests of this
part of the west, but also with its public and
political affairs. Col. Qiarles F. Thompson, the
honored father of the subject of this review,
having been one of the broad-minded men of
South Dakota and an influential factor in matters
concerning the vital interests of the state. Col.
Thompson was born in Susquehanna county,
Pennsylvania, December 2, 1827. When a youth
of eleven years, he accompanied his parents on
their removal overland from New York City to
Green county, Wisconsin, where he grew to man-
hood and received his education. During the
war of the Rebellion he carried on an extensive
grain and wool business in the city of Milwaukee,
and later engaged in lumbering in different parts
of Wisconsin, meeting with success in his various
enterprises. He was reared a Republican and
early became a prominent worker and a leader
of the party in his adopted state, but in 1872
supported Horace Greeley for President and was
later the Democratic candidate for congress in
1874, but failed of election by a small majority.
It was shortly after making this race that he went
west to engage in the live-stock business, purchas-
ing sheep in Iowa, and with his son, Thomas W.,
driving them to Colorado, but owing to a de-
structive disease which broke out among his
flocks and the depredations of the Indians the
enterprise ended disastrously. In the year 1876
Colonel Thompson moved to the Black Hills and,
as already indicated, soon became interested in
various business enterprises in this section,
notable among which was the building of a toll
road from Deadwood to Lead City. He also
operated a grocery and provision store in the
latter place, which had a large and lucrative
patronage and in 1878 he was appointed
treasurer of Lawrence county, to fill out the tenn
made vacant by the regular official proving a
defaulter. In addition to the interests already
enumerated, Colonel Thompson engaged quite
extensively in mining and stock raising and for
a number of vears was one of the most widelv

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[311

known and highly respected public men of the
Black Hills. He gave personal attention to the
toll road, which proved a great financial success
until the advent of the railroad, owned a two-
thirds interest in the enterprise and was president
of the company at the time of his death. He was
one of the organizers and leading members of
the Black Hills Pioneer Association, always
manifested active interest in schools, churches
and institutions for the advancement of the com-
munity's social and moral interests and mani-
fested a lively regard for the welfare of his
fellow men. The death of Colonel Thompson,
which occurred on March 31. 1892, was greatly
deplored by the people among wliom he exer-
cised such a marked influence for good and his
name and achievements will always occupy a
conspicuous place in the history of the section
of the country in which he finished his life work.
Thomas W. Thompson, the oldest and only
son of Col. C. F. Thompson, was bom in Green
county, Wisconsin, on the 3d of January, 1858.
Blessed with good parentage and excellent home
influence, he grew up with well-defined ideas of
life and duty, and in the public schools received
an education which, though by no means finished,
was sound and practical, and, with the valuable
knowledge subsequently acquired in various busi-
ness capacities, was sufficient to enable him to
carve out an eminently useful and honorable ca-
reer. At the early age of sixteen years young
Thompson, as already stated, accompanied his fa-
ther to Iowa, thence drove sheep to Colorado,
where he helped look after the flock until overta-
ken by the unfortunate conditions which resulted
in almost complete financial loss. In the spring of
1876 he came with his father to the Black Hills
and assisted in constructing the toll road alluded
to in a preceding paragraph and later entered
liis father's store in Lead City, but did not con-
tinue very long in the latter capacity, preferring
the free outdoor life of the freighter to the some-
what uninteresting occupation of selling goods.
The summer following his arrival he made three
trips from Deadwood to Sidney, as driver of a
freight wagon, and when his father took charge
of the county treasurer's office, he became the

latter's deputy, continuing to discharge the
duties of the position until the latter part of 1878.
In January. 1879. he took up land in Big Bottom,
between Whitewood and Crow creek, and in
March following returned to Wisconsin, where,
on May ist, of the same year, he was united in
marriage with Miss Ellen M. Wooster, a native
of that state, the ceremony being solemnized in
the town of Rrodhead.

Immediately after this event Mr. Thompson
and bride set up their domestic establishment on
the ranch in Big Bottom and under auspicious
circumstances began to make the most of their
opportunities. He inaugurated a system of im-
provements, which soon made his place one of
the most desirable in that section of the country
and, giving his attention to farming and stock
raising, principally cattle, in due time found him-
self on the high road to financial prosperity. He
continued the live-stock industry with marked
success until 1889, when he moved his family to
Whitewood, and started a livery stable, which
business he carried on in connection with the
management of his ranch until 1892. In the
latter year he sold his barn and seven years later
disposed of his ranch and live-stock interests,
receiving handsome prices for all of his prop-
erties. Meanwhile, in partnership with T. O.
Mitchell, under the name of Mitchell & Thomp-
son, he engaged in buying and shipping grain,
erecting a large elevator in Whitewood, and this
line of business the firm carried on until 1894,
when the manufacture of flour was added. In
the latter year the present large and finely
equipped mill was built and since that time it
has been kept running at its full capacity to
supply the growing demand of the trade, doing
both custom and merchant work. In connection
with handling all kinds of grain and making
flour, in both of which branches of business they
lead competition in their part of the country,
Messrs. Mitchell and Thompson are extensively
engaged in cattle raising, making a specialty of
blooded Herefords and other high-grade breeds.
They own large tracts of fine grazing land in the
vicinity of Whitewood, giving employment to
considerable numbers of men and are recognized

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

as the leading live-stock dealers of the district
in which they operate.

Like his father before him, Air. Thompson
early manifested decided predilection for public
affairs and he is today almost as widely known
as a politician as a business man. He has long
been a power, not only in the local Democracy,
but in party matters of state import, having been
largely instrumental in promoting the success
of the ticket, besides being called to various
positions requiring the exercise of ability and
sound judgment. Hie was a member of the con-
vention of 1889, which formed the present con-
stitution of South Dakota, and took an active
part in its deliberations, serving on several im-
portant committees, besides bearing his full share
of the general discussions during the regular
sessions of the body. He has also been his party's
candidate for the principal county offices and for
the legislature, but, by reason of the normally
large Republican majority, was not always
elected, yet he never becomes discouraged nor
tires in pushing the cause which lies so near his
heart. Fraternally he belongs to the Ancient
Order of United Workmen and for some time
has been prominently identified with the Pioneer
Association of the Black Hills. To Mr. and Mrs.
Thompson have been born two children, a
daughter, Carrie E., and a son, Qiarles F.

REV. CHARLES SECOMR. born Salem.
Massachusetts. 181 7. Congregationalist mission-
ary in Dakota from 1867. Died at Springfield,
1899.

FRANK COTTLE.— For more than twenty
years prominent and active iji the commercial
and public life of South Dakota, and earnestly de-
voted to its interests in every way, Frank Cottle,
of Smithville, the postmaster and leading mer-
chant of the place, has made his mark in legible
and enduring phrase in the history of the state
and risen to consequence and influence among its
people. He was born on April 19, 1853, near
Augusta, Maine, and when he was a year old the

family moved to Charlestown, Massachusetts, his
father having secured employment there as mas-
ter mechanic or chief engineer in the Boston navy
yard. Here, in the midst of the highest intellec-
tual development and activity, and surrounded
by all the concomitants of the most cultivated
life, Mr. Cottle grew to the age of sixteen and
received a good education. But in boyhood he
made two trips west to Nebraska, and the spice
of western life lingered on his palate in an im-
pressive way, keeping up a continual longing for
the enjoyment of more of it. So at the age of
twenty-three he once again turned his steps
towards the setting sun and came west to Des
Moines, Iowa, where he remained five years, dur-
ing a portion of the time clerking in a grocery
store and then conducting one of his own. In
1883 he made a trip to the Black Hills with a
party of fortune seekers, and on his way back
found what he deemed a good opening for mer-
chandising on Mitchell creek at a point where the
freight trains between Pierre and Deadwood
crossed the stream. Here he bought a general
store which he conducted until the completion of
the railroad through this section, when freighting
became unprofitable and was largely abandoned.
His was the only store on the trail, and as he
conducted it in a progressive and enterprising
way, carrying an extensive stock embracing ev-
erything required by its patrons, he did an enor-
mous business with freighters and travelers and
carried on considerable trading with the Indi-
ans, whose language he thoroughly mastered.
He also had large cattle interests and was easily
the leading business man in all this section of
the country. In 1887 he came to the Cheyenne
river, and buying another person's claim to land
he filed on it and built the store and residence
he now occupies. Hither he moved his stock of
merchandise and his cattle, and here he has since
dwelt and carried on his extensive business of
various kinds. When the surveys were made
later he realized his necessity for more land, and
he has since secured an additional body of con-
siderable magnitude, having now the finest estate
on the Cheyenne. In politics he is an earnest and
devoted Republican, and in the service of his

V^-7^.

'^^^--^^^TT^l^

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

party he has ever been active and zealous. In 1898
he was elected a member of the state legisla-
ture, and he has been postmaster at Smithville
from the establishment of the office.

On May 2(), 1900, at Rapid City, Mr. Cottle
was married to Miss Martha Christensen. They
liave three children. Antoinette, Clara and Albert
Henrv.

GEORGE VINCENT AYRES was born on
a farm in Northmoreland township, Wyoming
county, Pennsylvania, on the ist of November,
1852, and is a son of James L. and Patience
I\laria (Vincent) Ayres. James Leonard Ayres
was born in New York City on the nth of May,
t8io, and his death occurred at Beatrice,
Nebraska, on the nth of December. 1892. At
Kingston. Luzerne countv, Pennsylvania, on the
mil of November, 1837. the Rev. Benjamin
Bidlack pronounced the words which united him
in wedlock to Miss Patience Maria Vincent, who
was born in Beakman township, Dutchess county.
New York, on the 19th of October, 1819, and
-who still maintains her home in Beatrice. Ne-
braska. Of the genealog}^ in the paternal line,
the subject has practically no authentic data, but
on the maternal side the line is clearly traced for
several generations. His mother was a daughtc"
of Richard and Hanna (Albro) Vincent, who
were married in 1806, the former being a son of
Reynolds and Patience (Bull) Vincent, he being
a son of Richard and Rachel (Mabce) Vincent.
The maternal grandparents of the subject re-
moved from Dutchess county. New York, to
Luzerne county. Pennsvlvania. in 1820.

George V. Ayres early accompanied his
parents to the west and was reared amid the
scenes and conditions of the pioneer era. while
iTis educational advantages in vouth were such
as were afforded by the schools of the early days,
Ills discipline in the line being completed in the
public schools of Beatrice. Nebraska. His ex-
periences were those of the average boy located
on a frontier farm, where neighbors were few
and far removed from each other. He passed
through the hardships of western frontier life

from 1859 to 1866, having few associates aside
from the members of his own family, while there
was much of self-denial and deprivation. All
had to work hard, the facilities for pleasure and
recreation were few, but happiness and content-
ment were not lacking. In 1857, when he was
aliont five years of age, his parents removed
from Pennsylvania to Franklin township, DeKalb
county, Illinois, where they took up their resi-
dence in March of that year. In the fall they
removed to McDonough county, where the\-
passed the winter, and in the spring of 1858
located in Hancock county, remaining until the
fall of the same year, when they located in
Buchanan county, Missouri, and in the following
spring took up their abode in Nemaha county,
Kansas, where all were so afflicted with chills
and fever that one member of the family was
not able to care for another. In the spring of
i860 they removed to Gage county. Nebraska,
locating on a farm five miles east of Blue
Springs, remaining until the spring of 1866,
when they removed to the town of Beatrice, in or-
der that the children might secure educational ad-
vantages. The family made the entire trip from
Pennsylvania to Nebraska in a wagon drawn by
oxen. In 1864 our subject and his father crossed
the plains from Beatrice to Fort Kearney and
Juleslnirg, returning home just in time to escape
the Indian massacre of that year. He remained
in Beatrice with his parents, attending school in
winter and working on neighboring farms in sum-
mer, until the spring of 1870, when he secured
a position in a local drug store, where he learned
the business, remaining in this establishment until
February 28, 1876, when he resigned, and on the
1st of the following month started for the Black
Hills, then practically unknown and still a part
of the Sioux Indian reservation. The trip was
made via Cheyenne, Wyoming, where our sub-
ject and companions hired a team and wagon
loaded with provisions, and on the 8th of March
started across the country, by way of Fort Lara-
mie, for Custer City, in the Black Hills, reach-
ing their destination about noon on the 2Sth of
the same month, in the midst of a fierce snow-
storm. The party was on the road between

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Cheyenne and Custer City for a period of sev-
enteen days and snow fell on ten of these days,
while at times the weather was severely cold, en-
tailing no little discomfort, as the party was
poorly equipped, having no tents and being com-
pelled to sleep out of doors each night during
the entire trip. Their team was overloaded, so
the men in the party walked nearly the entire
distance of three hundred miles. At Indian creek
they encountered a large party of Sioux Indians,
but as it was cold and blustering they made no
attack upon the party. At Qieyenne river, how-
ever, the Indians attacked them about three
o'clock in the morning, but fortunately none of
the party was injured.

Mr. Ayres remained in Custer City until May,
1876, when he pushed on to Deadwood, arriving
there on the 23d of that month. Being unable
to secure employinent as a druggist or in the
mines, he associated himself with others and en-
tered into a contract to cut one hundred thou-
sand feet of saw logs for the firm of Thompson
& Street. Just before the completion of this con-
tract Mr. Ayres suffered an attack of mountain
fever, a disease which was prevalent and often
fatal in the northern hills at that time, and after
recovering sufficiently to travel, he returned, in
July, to Custer City. In making this trip he over-
taxed his energies and the result was that he
suffered a relapse, being ill during the remainder
of the summer. His friends greatly feared that
he would not recover, but finally recuperated and
being now without funds he again began "hus-
tling," doing considerable prospecting and also
working at carpentering with his partner, who
was a competent workman in the line. In the
latter part of October, 1876, he secured a posi-
tion in the general merchandise store of Harlow
& Company, in which establishment was located
the office of the Cheyenne & Black Hills stage
office. He remained with this firm until the next
July, at one time having had charge of a branch
store at Sheridan, on Spring creek, and in the
latter part of the month mentioned, he engaged in
placer mining in Sunday gulch, near Hill City.
Tiie mine did not prove a success and in Sep-
tember Mr. Ayres resigned his interest to his

partners and started for Deadwood in search of
employment, riding from Custer to Jenny's
stockade in a buckboard and thence to Dead-
wood on top of the stage coach. He reached his
destination "flat broke," as the expression goes.
being finally able to secure work and provide for
his temporary needs. In the latter part of Sep-
tember he returned to Custer for the purpose of
voting in connection with the election to deter-
mine the location of the county seat, and while
there he received a telegram stating that R. C.
Lake would give him a position in his hardware
store in Deadwood. He immediately started for
that place, walking thirty-five miles of the inter-
vening distance, through snow nearly a foot
deep. The morning following his arrival he en-
tered the employ of Mr. Lake in the capacity of
bookkeeper and salesman, and from this point his
success became assured, his present business being
conducted on the same site, where he has labored
for more than a quarter of a century. In the
spring of 1882 he secured an interest in the busi-
ness, as junior partner, under the firm name of
Ismon & Ayres, Mr. Lake remaining in the con-
cern as a special partner. In the spring of 1884
Mr. Ismon sold his interest to HI. B. Wardman,
whereupon the firm title became Ayres & Ward-
man, so continuing until 1895. In the spring of
that year the business was incorporated by Mr.
Ayres, ]\Ir. Wardman and A. J. Malterner under
the name of Ayres & Wardman Hardware Com-
pany, the subject becoming president and general
manager and thus continuing until March 18,
1000. when he and Mr. Malterner purchased the
interests and stock of Mr. Wardman, the corpo-
ration being cancelled on the 1st of the following
May, while the two principals then formed a
co-partnership under the firm name of George V.
Ayres & Company, under which title the exten-
sive enterprise is conducted at the present time.

In his political allegiance Mr. Ayres is an un-
compromising Republican and is well fortified in
his conviction as a matter of public policy. He
was a member of the city council of Custer City
under the provisional government, in 1876-7, be-
fore the treaty was signed by which the Indians
abandoned their claim to the Black Hills in favor

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of the federal government. He was receiver of
public moneys in the United States land office
at Rapid City from January 2, 1890, until June
8, 1893, having been appointed by President Har-
rison and resigning after the election of Presi-
dent Cleveland. He was a member of the city
council of Deadwood from May, 1900, to May,
1902, when he declined a renomination.

Mr. Ayres is one of the prominent and hon-
ored Freemasons of the state, his record in the
connection being a noteworthy one. He was
raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason
June 2-/, 1874, in Beatrice Lodge, No. 26, An-
cient Free and Accepted Masons, at Beatrice, Ne-
braska, and later served the same as secretary
and junior warden. On the i6th of April, 1882,
he dimitted from this lodge, and on the 7th of
the following November affiliated with Dead-
wood Lodge, No. 7, of which he still remains a
member. He served as junior and senior war-
den of this lodge in turn, and November 7, 1884,
was elected worshipful master of the same, in
which capacity he served three successive years,
while he was again elected to the office Decem-
ber 2, 1902, and served one year. Never having
previously held any office in the grand lodge, he
was "taken from the floor" and elected deputy
grand master of the grand lodge of Dakota, on
the 13th of June, 1888, while on the 12th of June
of the following year he was elected grand mas-
ter of the grand lodge of the newly admitted state
of South Dakota, having the distinction of being
the first to hold the office and serving for one
year. On the 13th of July, 1875, Mr. Ayres re-
ceived the final degree in Livingston Qiapter, No.
10, Royal Arch Masons, at Beatrice, Nebraska,
of which he served as secretary in the same year.
In 1880 he dimitted from this chapter and affili-
ated with Dakota Chapter, No. 3, at Deadwood,
on the 8th of that month, while on the 22d of the
following December he was elected its treasurer,
serving three years, after which he was secretary
of the chapter for six successive years from De-
cember 12, 1883. January 10, 1904, he was
elected high priest, for a term of two years. On
the 13th of June, 1895. ^^^ was taken from the
floor of the grand chapter of the state and elected

deputy grand high priest, while on the 12th of
June, 1896, he was elected grand high priest,
serving one year. On the 9th of October, 1895,
Mr. Ayres received the degrees in Lakotah Coun-
cil, U. D., Royal and Select Masters, in Dead-
wood, of which he was appointed deputy master
the same evening. On the ist of January, 1881,
he received the orders of knighthood in Dakota
Commandery, No. i. Knights Templar, in Dead-
wood, of which he was elected recorder in 1883,
while by subsequent elections in later years he
held the office for a total of six years. In 1884
he was elected junior warden of the command-
ery, senior warden in 1885, generalissimo in 1887,
and eminent commander in 1888. June 22, 1895,
he was elected grand senior warden of the grand
commander}' of South Dakota, was made grand
captain general the following year, grand gen-
eralissimo in 1897, deputy grand commander in

1898, and grand commander on the i6th of June,

1899, serving one year. In the grand council
of annointed high priests of the state, on the nth
of June, 1896, he was annointed a high priest,
and is an active member of that body. In the
Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of the south-
ern jurisdiction Mr. Ayres received the degrees

' in Golden Belt Lodge of Perfection, No. 5, on the
nth of April, 1893; Robert Bruce Chapter, Rose
Croix, No. 3, April 11, 1893; Deadwood Coun-
cil of Kadosh, No. 3, April 12, 1893; and Black
Hills Consistory, No. 3, July 14th. of the same
year, and has been an active member ever since.
On October 20, 1903, he was elected knight com-
mander of the Court of Honor. In the Ancient
Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine Mr. Ayres crossed the burning sands in
Naja Temple, located in Deadwood, on April 14,
1893. He was elected assistant rabban in 1894
and 1895, was chosen chief rabban the following
year, and illustrious potentate in 1897, while in
the following year he was representative to the
imperial council. He was one of the organizers
and is an active member of the Masonic Veterans'
Association of the state. He is identified with
Deadwood Lodge, No. 508, Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks. He is an active and en-
thusiastic member of the Societv of Black Hills

i3i6

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Pioneers, of which he formerly served as presi-
dent; is also identified with the Deadwood Busi-
ness Club and the Olympic Association, having
served as a member of the directorate of each,
and is identified with the State Historical Soci-
ety. Reverting to his political associations, we
may say that Mr. Ayres has served consecutively
since 1898 as chairman of the Lawrence county
Republican central committee, while he is also at
the time of this writing a member and vice-chair-
man of the Republican state central committee.
He is a man of genial nature, sincere and whole-
souled, and has the esteem and confidence of all
who know him. while he has a host of staunch
friends in business, fraternal, political and social
circles.

Mr. Ayres has been twice married. At Beat-
rice. Nebraska, on the 23d of April. 1885. he
was united to Miss Kate Towle. daughter of
Albert Towle. one of the organizers of that town,
in 1857. ^"fl its postmaster for nineteen years,
while his daughter Kate was the first white child
born in Gage county, that state. She was born
August 15. 1859. and her death occurred March
28. 1892. in Deadwood. Of the children of this
union were : James Albert, born March 29. 1886.
who is now a resident of Douglas, Wyoming ; and
Helen, born January i. 1888. died on the 13th of
the following June. On the 21st of December,
1898. Mr. Ayres wedded Miss Myrtle E. Coon,
only daughter of Mr. and ]\Irs. C. B. Coon, of
Omaha. Nebraska, and they have three children,
namely : George Vincent. Jr.. who was born
August 18, 1899; Frances, born August 11. 1900,
and Alice, born December 19, 1902.

COL. FRANK CRANE.— On the 14th day
of December. 1855. the subject of this sketch was
born in the state of Wisconsin. He was educated
at Gale College, receiving from that excellent in-
stitution the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and
Master of Arts. At sixteen years of age he felt
railed to the teacher's life and began an educa-
tional career which, with few gaps, has extended
over more than a quarter of a centurv. He
taught with success in his native state until 187S.

when, in company with other venturesome young
men, he entered South Dakota on a prospecting
tour. Soon he returned to Wisconsin, only to
find unrest among old friends and surroundings.
A love for South Dakota had been born in the
youth's heart. Coming to Codington county, this
state, in the early part of 1879, he coquetted with
his fair charmer until the closing days of that
summer. After spending the following winter
in Wisconsin, he finally severed the cords that
bound him to the Badger state and returned to
South Dakota to become one of her permanent
citizens.

In the spring of 1880 Colonel Crane was made
city superintendent of the Watertown schools
and entered immediately upon his work. At the
fall election of 1882 he was elected by a hand-
some majority to serve the people of Codington
county as their school superintendent. Con-
vinced that he had tolerated to the full a single
existence. Colonel Crane went to Sparta. Wis-
consin, in 1882 and on the 26th day of December
was happily married to Miss Martha Crouch.
\Mien asked wh}- his wedding dav was not on the
25th, the Colonel, with a twinkle in his eye. in-
variably replies. "The girl said that I
should pick any day after Christmas and,
of course, I chose the 26th." Beginning
January i. 1883, he held the offices of
county and city superintendent until the county
work became so burdensome as to require his full
time. Then he resigned his cit\' position and de-
voted himself entirely to the work of countv su-
pervision. So popular and successful was he
in the county su]ierintendency that the people of
Codington county held iiini in the office for ten
successive years.

It is a well-known fact that the educator is
not a money maker and that many times he must
do something "on the side" so that he ma}- lay
by a little store for seasons of drought. Retir-
ing from the Codington county superintendency.
Colonel Crane spent a couple of years in monex-
getting. He dabbled in land to good effect, and
still possesses some valuable real estate as a mon-
ument to his keenness and good judgment. His
first real-estate deal involved the purchase of a

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[317

tract of railway land. For this he was to pay in
instalhnents, the purchase price being two dol-
lars per acre. The young pedagogue was
"strapped" by his first payment, but had faith in
his proposition and proceeded to break and seed
the tract. The resulting crop paid for the land
and in the fall it was sold for ten dollars per
acre.

But the business world was not destined to
permanently remove Colonel Crane from the field
of education. His abilities were recognized
throughout the state and he was called to serve
the people in the capacity of state superinten-
dent. In 1895 he entered upon his new work and
proceeded at once to dignify and exalt the office
with which he had been honored. From the po-
litical campaign of i8g6 — that campaign which
rcsidted disastrously to so many Republicans —
Colonel Crane came forth a handsome winner in
his canvass for re-election. Through earnest ef-
fort on his part the work of the rural schools was
more thoroughly systematized and general edu-
cational advancement was elTected.

Early in 1899, immediately following a most
successful career in office, the subject of this
sketch was admitted to the bar and opened a law
office at his old home in Watertown. That year
he was appointed secretary of the Republican
state central committee and assisted Governor
Herreid, the chairman, in conducting a strenu-
ous campaign. In 1900 Colonel Crane was se-
lected to serve as chairman of the state commit-
tee. He and his lieutenants managed that cam-
paign so well that the state swung from its posi-
tion in the doubtful column and became Republi-
can by fourteen thousand majority. Because of
his eminent ability as a campaign manager,
Colonel Crane was called to again lead the Repub-
lican forces in 1902. It was with some reluc-
tance that he assumed the burden, but after be-
ing importuned by every candidate of the Repub-
lican ticket, he finally yielded his private interests
to the public good. A surprising victor}^ — with
a Republican majority approaching twenty-five
thousand — crowned his efforts. In 1904 Colonel
Crane was induced to serve a third time as chair-
man of the Republican state central committee.

Since March, 1901, Colonel Crane has held
the responsible position of clerk of the supreme
j court, and may be found any day busied with the
' work of his office. He is a man of action — one
who "does things." He is a true friend and gen-
1 ial companion. Of splendid character, he has
since boyhood been connected with the Methodist
Episcopal church, at present being a faithful
member of the Watertown branch of that society.
He is a South Dakotan, through and through,
and hopes to live his entire life on our fertile
plains. He is not "going back" somewhere to
end his days, but will stick to South Dakota. As
a member of Governor Herreid's staff, he is prop-
erly known as "Colonel" Crane, — the people's
friend.

WTLLIAiM WALPOLE is a native of County
Kilkenny, Ireland, where he was born on the
6th of November, 1842, being a son of William
and Ellen Walpole, who were both born in Ire-
land, being of English and Scotch lineage. Both
the paternal and maternal grandfathers of the
subject were signally loyal to the interests of the
fair Emerald Isle and took an active part in the
struggles made by the patriots to throw off the
yoke of tyranny. The subject secured his edu-
cational discipline in the schools of his native
land, where he remained until he had attained
the age of twenty-three years, when, in 1866, he
came to America, realizing that here were to be
had better opportunities for the attaining of in-
dependence and prosperity through personal ef-
fort. In the July of 1866 he came to the territory
of Dakota and for the ensuing twelve years, fol-
lowed the dangerous and somewhat precarious vo-
cation of scout and trapper, meeting with many
encounters with the Indians and enduring hard-
ships that would try the mettle of any man. He
was also among the early pioneers in the Black
Hills, having run an overland freighting train be-
tween Pierre and Deadwood and having had at
this time numerous encounters with the Indians,
who were a constant menace to life and property.
Mrs. Walpole is a communicant of the Roman
Catholic church. At one time while the subject

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

was freighting from Pierre, Harry Knowlton,
alias Reable George, shot and killed David Rouck
on the tongue of Mr. Walpole's wagon. Knowl-
ton was tried at Yankton and Was found guilty
of murder. He subsequently got a new trial and
was acquitted. Since then he has served time
in several prisons, but reformed and is now a
Christian evangelist in San Francisco. It is but
just to state that his faithful wife stuck to him
through all the vicissitudes of his career. In
1879 ^'^^- Walpole took up his residence in Yank-
ton county, and for a time was identified with
railroad construction work, while since that he
has given his attention to fanning and stock-
growing, in which he has been successful, while
he is one of the honored pioneers of the state and
popular citizens of Yankton county. In politics
he gives a stanch support to the Democratic party,
and both he and his wife are communicants of
the Protestant Episcopal church, while fraternally
he is identified with the Improved Order of Red
Men, Gray Eagle Tribe, No. 9.

On the 4th of March, 1878, Mr. Walpole was
tmited in marriage to Miss Rosa A. Fagan. who
was born in Dunleath, Illinois, in 1856, being a
daughter of Michael and Mary Ann (Walsh)
Fagan. Mr. and Mrs. Walpole have three chil-
dren, Robert E., William R. and Elizabeth M.

JAMES W. FOWLER, one of the prominent
and influential members of the bar of the state,
was born in the city of Brooklyn, New York, on
the 1st of August, 1845, ^"d is a son of Peter
and Margaret (Corcoran) Fowler, both of whom
were born and reared in Kilkenny,- Ireland, the
Fowler family being of stanch Scottish lineage,
the paternal grandfather of the subject having
been born in the land of hills and heather, while
the Corcoran line is traced back through many
generations in Ireland, the maternal grandfather,
Michael Corcoran, having been born in Kilkenny,
where he passed his entire life. He was a clergy-
man of the Presbyterian church and was a man
of high attainments and marked influence.

Peter and Margaret Fowler immigrated to the
United States, in 1845, the subject, who is the

only son, having been born a few months after
their arrival. They remained here two years,
and then returned to the Emerald Isle, where
they continued to make their home until 1853,
when the father again came to America, locating
in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he became
interested in the St. Clair Pork Packing Com-
pany, which made extensive shipments of pork
to Ireland and France. He there continued to
make his home until his death, which occurred
in 1886, his wife passing away in 1852. They
had one son and two daughters. The elder
daughter, Margaret, died in 1875, i" Cincinnati,
and the younger is Mrs. Alice Bennett, of Raw-
lins, Wyoming. The subject of this review re-
ceived his early education in the schools of Cin-
cinnati, and when but nine years of age, in 1854,
he left the parental home and went to Butler
county, Ohio, where he worked on a farm and
attended school as opportunity presented, and
he continued to be engaged in farming and team-
ing until about 1867, usually giving his atten-
tion to freighting hogs to the Cincinnati market
during the winter seasons. After leaving the
farm he went to, Illinois and located in Mason
City, in which place and vicinity he passed the en-
suing four years. While still a resident of Ohio
he had given careful and assiduous attention to
the study of law, making such progress that in
1867 he secured admission to the bar of the
state. In 1871 he went to Nebraska, locating in
Saline county, where he made his home for nine
y«ars, having been engaged in the hardware
business for the greater portion of the time, while
from 1877 forward to 1880 he was there estab-
lished in the practice of his profession, in which
he met with gratifying success. In the year last
mentioned he came to the Black Hills district
of South Dakota and took up his residence in
Rapid City, where he was engaged in practice
until the spring of 1899, when he came to Dead-
wood, which has since continued to be his home
and professional headquarters. He is recognized
as the leading corporation lawyer in this section
of the state, and has won many notable victories
in important litigations, among which may be
noted the following : That of McGuire versus

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1319

Rapid City, a case involving the powers of a
municipal body, and Mr. Fowler appeared for the
plaintiff, finally winning the case after it had
been carried to the supreme court of the state.
He appeared for the defense in the case of Hum-
phreus versus the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri
Valley Railroad Company, in which suit was
brought for thirty thousand dollars ; the lower
court rendered a verdict for ten thousand dollars,
but Mr. Fowler carried the case to the supreme
court, which reversed the decision. In the case
of Gay against the same railroad company he
again appeared for the defendant, the litigation
being one of great import as defining the exact
legal status of a railroad and a cow, both being
"without any enclosure," and the result was that
the railroad company was held to be not culpable
unless gross negligence was proved. Mr. Fowler
is interested in a number of most promising min-
ing properties in the Black Hills, and is secre-
tary and treasurer of the Holy Terror Mining
Company, whose properties are located at Key-
stone, Pennington county, the mines being now in
operation and known as good producers. Mr.
Fowler is a stanch Republican in his political pro-
clivities, and while he takes a deep interest in
the party cause and in the general welfare of
the state he has never sought official preferment
of any order. He was a member of the state
constitutional convention in 1885, h^ld in Sioux
Falls. Fraternally he is identified with the Be-
nevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the
Knights of Pythias and the Fraternal Order of
Eagles. .

On the isth of October, 1871, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Fowler to Miss Helen Mofit-
ross, who was born and reared in Pennsylvania,
being a resident of Mason City, Illinois, at the
time of her marriage. She is a daughter of Eli-
jah Montross, whose grandfather was a surgeon
in the command of General LaFayette during the
war of the Revolution, and who remained in
America after the victory was gained, locating in
Vermont. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler have three chil-
dren, namely : Alice, who is the wife of Fred H.
Whitfield, of Rapid City ; and Henlen and James
W.. Jr., who remain at the parental home.

EDWARD L. ABEL, president of the First
National Bank of Bridgewater, was born in
Springfield, the capital city of Illinois, on the
19th of November, i860, being the only child of
Oramel H. and Mary (Moore) Abel, the former
of whom was born near Buffalo, New York, June
19, 1833, while the latter was born in Spring-
field, Illinois, on the 17th of May, 1838. The
father is now a resident of Murphysboro, Illi-
nois, the mother having died at Springfield, Illi-
nois. As a boy Oramel H. Abel accompanied his
parents on their removal to Springfield, Illinois,
and he was there reared and educated, becom-
ing a successful railroad contractor. At the out-
break of the war of the Rebellion he enlisted as a
private in an Illinois regiment, being made lieu-
tenant of his company. Later he was appointed
mustering officer and was stationed for some time
at Camp Butler. He was then sent to the front,
being first lieutenant in his company, whicii
formed a part of the One Hundred and Forty-
fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, of which he
was eventually made- adjutant general, serving
until the close of the war. He then returned to
Springfield, and for a number of years served as
city clerk. In 1874 he removed to Carbondale,
that state, where he engaged in the banking busi-
ness and where he also held the position of city
clerk for several terms, besides being called to
other offices of local trust. About 1887 he re-
moved to Murphysboro, Illinois, where he has
since lived retired. He is a stanch Republican
in politics and was a personal friend of Abraham
Lincoln, their intimacy continuing from their boy-
hood days until the death of the martyred Presi-
dent, at whose personal request the subject of
this sketch received his second name, Lincoln.
The father of our subject is a member of the In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows and the Grand
Anny of the Republic, having been commander
of his post in the latter organization.

Edward L. Abel received his early education
in the public schools of his native city and sup-
plemented this by a course of study in the South-
ern Illinois Normal University, at Carbondale,
while he was engaged in teaching school for two
winters after leaving college. In 1879 ^^ began

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

reading law under the preceptorship of Judge
Andrew D. Dui?, of Carbondale, one of the most
eminent members of the IHinois bar, and while
prosecuting his legal studies he worked at vari-
ous occupations, being dependent upon his own
resources. In February, 1884, Mr. Abel was ad-
mitted to the bar of his native state, and the same
spring was elected city attorney of Carbondale,
being chosen as his own successor, without op-
position, in the spring of 1885. During these
years he was associated with the banking busi-
ness in Carbondale, accepting a clerkship in 1878
and shortly afterward being made cashier of
the bank. In 1887 Mr. Abel came to Bridge-
water, South Dakota, being admitted to the bar
of the territory in the following year, though he
has never devoted much attention to the work of
his profession here. Upon his arrival in his new
home he purchased stock in the State Bank of
Bridgewater, of which institution he was made
cashier. In 1897 he was elected to the presidency
of the same, and upon the reorganization of the
institution as the First National Bank, in August,
1903. he was elected to the presidency of the
same. In 1889 ^""^ was appointed, by Governor
Mellette, a memb'er of the board of trustees of
the state penitentiary, at Sioux Falls : he has
served with signal acceptability as mayor of
Bridgewater, retaining this office three terms,
and he is now serving his third term as a member
of the board of education, of which he was pres-
ident in 1902. He is a member at large and
chaimian of the Republican committee of the sec-
ond circuit. In 1902 he was elected to represent
his district in the state senate, in which he served
with characteristic ability, proving a valuable
member of the body. For two terms he was sec-
retary of the South Dakota Bankers' Association,
and in July, 1903, he was honored by his associ-
ates in that body by being chosen its president.
He has been an active and efficient worker in the
Republican party, having delivered many cam-
paign addresses and being regarded as one of
the party's most able and forceful speakers in the
state. Mr. Abel is a member of Eureka Lodge,
No. 72, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; Sa-
lem Chapter, No. 34, Royal Arch Masons ; Con-

stantine Commandery, No. 17, Knights Templar,
of Salem; El Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic Or-
der of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Sioux
Falls ; Sioux Falls Lodge, No. 262, Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks; Bridgewater
Lodge, No. 72, Ancient Order of United Work-
men ; and Bridgewater Lodge, No. 3790, Modern
Woodmen of America.

On the 25th of December, 1883, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Abel to Miss Ella C.
Smith, of DuOuoin, Illinois, and they have twa
children, Rov W. and Gertrude M.

JOHN H. DOBSON. postmaster at Alexan-
dria, Hanson county, was born in the city of
Beloit, Wisconsin, on the 26th of July, 1872, be-
ing a son of James and Anna L. (McCullough)
Dobson, the former of whom was born in Lin-
colnshire, England, in 1844, and the latter in
185 1. They are the parents of three children,
David B., who is manager of the agricultural im-
plement business of W. S. Hill, in Alexandria ;
Netti.e, who remains at the parental home : and
John H., who is the subject of this sketch. When
the father was a lad of eleven years he accom-
panied his parents on their removal from Eng-
land to the United States, the family locating in
Rockford, Illinois, near which place he was
reared to farm life, his three brothers being ap-
prenticed to learn the trade of paper-making.
James contiiuied to devote his attention to agri-
cultural pursuits, removing from Illinois to Rock
county, W'isconsin, about 1871. and bejjig there
engaged in farming until 1885, when he came
to South Dakota and located on a farm site ad-
joining the present thriving village of Al-
exandria, where he continued to reside un-
til his death, which occurred in 1890.
He was a stanch Republican, but never
sought office, and his religious faith was that of
the Baptist church. The mother of the subject
was born on a farm near Durand, Winnebago
county, Illinois, her parents having been born and
reared in Scotland. She still resides in the home-
stead, Alexandria, having the affectionate regard
of all who know her and being a devoted member

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1321

of the Methodist Episcopal church, with which
she affiliated after coming to this state, there hav-
ing been no Baptist church in Alexandria.

The subject of this review secured his early
education in the public schools of his native
county, being about thirteen years of age at the
time of the family removal to South Dakota,
where he was reared to manhood on the home
fann and in the meanwhile continuing his stud-
ies in the public schools of Alexandria, where he
completed a high-school course, later supplement-
ing this by a course in the commercial department
of the university at Mitchell. In 1893 Mr. Dob-
son assumed a clerical position in the furniture
and undertaking establishment of G. H. Mont-
gomery, of Alexandria, and in the meanwhile
gave special attention to acquiring a thorough
knowledge of embalming and funeral directing,
while in 1896 he took a special course of instruc-
tion in embalming under the direction of Profes-
sor Barnes, of Chicago, an authority in this art.
In 1897 Mr. Dobson engaged in business upon
his own responsibility, opening a piano, organ and
sewing-machine house in Alexandria, and this
enterprise he has since successfully conducted,
also carrying a general line of musical merchan-
dise. In 1898 he was appointed postmaster of
Alexandria, under President McKinley, while in
1903 he was reappointed, under the administra-
tion of President Roosevelt. He is a zealous and
uncompromising advocate of the principles of the
Republican party, and he is at the present time a
member of the board of education of Alexandria.
He is a member of the board of trustees of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and was also a mem-
ber of the building committee under whose su-
pervision the attractive new church edifice was
completed in June, 1903. Mr. Dobson has risen
to high rank in the Masonic fraternity, being a
member of Celestial Lodge, No. 36, Free and
Accepted Masons ; Eastern Star Giapter ; Orien-
tal Consistory, No. i. Ancient Accepted
Scottish Rite, of Yankton, in which he has
passed the thirty-second degree; and El Riad
Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of
the Mystic Shrine, in Sioux Falls. He is also
identified with Cypress Lodge, No. 24, Knights

of Pythias, and Alexandria Camp, No. 2956,
Modern Woodmen of America;

On the 15th of June, 1897, Mr. 'Dobson was
united in marriage to Miss Mary Durkee, of Al-
exandria, who was for several years a successful
and popular teacher in the high school of this
place, and of this union has been born two chil-
dren, Burdette, the date of whose nativity was
June 16, 1898. and Merrial Bertha, born Sep-
tember II, 1903.

ROBERT T. DOTT, M. D., who is success-
fully engaged in the practice of his profession
in Salem, McCook county, was born in Jones
county, Iowa, on the 26th of October, 1859, and
is a son of Robert and Sarah J. (Peters) Dott,
of whose three children he was the second in
order of birth. His elder brother, Richard M..
is a resident of Sioux City, Iowa, and is a prom-
inent member of the bar of the state; and
George M. is a successful dental practitioner in
Salem, South Dakota. The father of the Doctor
was born in Cupar, Fifeshire, Scotland, on the
loth of September, 1824, and there was reared
and educated, learning the trade of tailor in his
youth. In 1843, ^t the age of nineteen years,
he came to America, and after residing about five
years in Illinois he removed thence to Anamosa,
Iowa, where he engaged in business, also
serving as justice of the peace for several years,
while for three terms he held the office of auditor
of Jones county. In 1883 he came to what is now
the state of South Dakota and took up his resi-
dence in Sanborn county, where he had taken
up a tract of government land the preceding year.
He gave his attention to the improvement and
cultivation of his farm for about four years and
then removed to the village of Alexandria,
where he has since maintained his home, being
at the present time county judge of Hanson
county, in which office he has served several
terms, being one of the influential and highly
honored citizens of the county. In politics he
is a stanch Republican, and his religious faith
is that of the Prebyterian church, of which he
and his wife are devoted and active members.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

He was a member of the territorial legislature
just prior to the admission of South Dakota to
the Union. Fraternally he is identified with the
lodge, chapter and commandery of the Masonic
order. Judge Dott manifested his loyalty to his
adopted country at the time of the war of the
Rebellion, having enlisted in Company H, Four-
teenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and being made
commissary sergeant of his regiment. In the
battle of Shiloh his zeal led him into the thick of
the fray. He borrowed a musket from one of
his comrades and made his way to the front with
his regiment, which was captured by the enemy,
resulting in his being imprisoned at Macon,
Georgia, for several months.

Dr. Robert T. Dott secured his early edu-
cation in the public schools of Anamosa, Iowa,
completing the high-school course, after which
he served under his father as deputy county
auditor for four years. Within this time he took
up the study of medicine, having as his preceptor
Dr. E. W. Gawley, of Anamosa, and in the
autiunn of 1881 he entered that celebrated in-
stitution. Rush Medical College, in Chicago,
where he completed a thorough course in medi-
cine and surgery and was graduated on the 20th
of February. 1883, with the degree of Doctor
of Medicine. He then rejoined his parents in
South Dakota, passing the summer on the home-
stead farm and also "holding down" a claim
which he had entered in Aurora county. During
the ensuing winter he was engaged in the
practice of his profession in Shelby county,
Iowa, and in the fall of 1884 he went to New
York City and entered the Bellevue Hospital
Medical College, of whose unexcelled advantages
he availed himself by taking a post-graduate
course, being graduated in this institution in the
spring of 1885. He then took up his residence
in Alexandria, South Dakota, where he was
successfully engaged in the practice of his pro-
fession until the fall of 1888, when he removed
to Mount Vernon, where he was established in
practice two years, then returning to Alex-
andria. In 1897 the Doctor located in Sioux
Falls, where he was in practice one year, coming
thence to Salem in the latter part of October,

1898, and having since established in a large and
remunerative practice in the community, where
his friends are in number as his' acquaintances,
his genial personality and high professional at-
tainments having gained to him unqualified con-
fidence and esteem. In politics ]\Ir. Dott gives
a stanch allegiance to the Republican party,
and he served as coroner of Hanson county two
terms, and as superintendent of the county board
of health for four years. While a resident of
Alexandria he served as village clerk and alder-
man, occupying the respective offices one year
each. He is secretary of the board of pension
examiners of McCook county, and is at the
present time superintendent of both county and
city boards of health. The Doctor is affiliated
with Fortitude Lodge, No. 73, Free and
Accepted Masons, in which he was elected and
installed worshipful master to serve during the
year 1904; and is also identified with Pythias
Lodge, No. 60, Knights of Pythias ; the Modern
Woodmen of America ; the Modern Brotherhood
of Am^erica and the Union Veterans' Union. He
is examining physician for several of the leading
I life-insurance companies, and professionally is
I one of the valued and appreciative members of

the South Dakota Medical Society.
i On the 1 2th of April, 1885, Dr. Dott was
i united in marriage to Miss Olive Booth, of San-
] born county, this state, and they became the
I parents of one child, Bertram T. On the 13th
of December. 1892, the Doctor consummated a
I second marriage, being then united to Miss
Maud E. Foote, of Hanson county, this state,
and they are the parents of two children, Delia
I M. and Robert O.
I

M. B. BARNHART, who is successfully es-
tablished in the livery business in Salem, Mc-
Cook county, was born in Ohio, on the 20th of
August, 1849, being a son of A. H. and Editha
(Spaulding) Barnhart. The former was a native
of the state of New York, whence he removed
to Ohio with his parents when he was a child,
being there reared to the life of the farm and
securing a common-school education. Hie was

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1323

married in Ohio and removed with his parents to
Minnesota, where he engaged in farming and
also in the practice of veterinary surgery, in
which he was proficient. He was a RepubUcan
in politics and both he and his wife were
members of the Adventist church. The father
of our subject was a valiant soldier in the war
of the Rebellion, having been a member of Com-
pany B, Second Minnesota Volunteer Cavalry.
He died in Freeborn county, Minnesota, in 1872,
and his wife passed away in 1889. They became
the parents of eleven children, of whom eight
are living, all being now resident of South
Dakota.

The subject of this sketch was reared to the
sturdy discipline of the farm, and secured his
early educational training in the common schools
of the state of Minnesota. In Freeborn county,
Minnesota, in 1871, he married Miss Sarah
Padgett, daughter of John Padgett, of English
extraction, and of this union five children have
been born : Edith, who died at the age of twenty-
two years ; and Elmer, Lynn, Herbert and
Cassius, who remain at the parental home. Mr.
Barnhart continued to be engaged in farming
in Freeborn county, Minnesota, until 1880, when
he came to South Dakota and took up a home-
stead claim in McCook county, here developing
a valuable farm, upon which he continued to re-
side until 1891, when he removed to the village
of Salem, where he was soon afterward elected
town marshal, in which capacity he served nine
years and seven months. Later he served for
one year as deputy sherifif of the county. After
retiring from the office of marshal he established
himself in the livery business, in 1901, having
a good barn and an excellent equipment through-
out, and he has built up an excellent business,
giving the best of service and sparing no pains
to meet the demands of his patrons. He is a Re-
publican in his political proclivities, is identified
with Salem Lodge, No. 28, Ancient Order of
United Workmen, and both he and his wife are
valued members of the Methodist Episcopal
church. He is the owner of an attractive resi-
dence in Salem and also of other realty in the
town, and he has attained success through his

own efforts and by honest and earnest endeavor,
ever retaining the confidence and esteem of all
who know him.

ISAAC J. TODD, a member of the firm of
Todd Brothers, of Salem, Hanson county, was
born in the city of Elgin, Illinios, which was then
a small village, on the 25th of September, 1854,
being a son of James and Eliza (Boyce) Todd,
to whom were born five sons and five daughters,
all of whom are yet living. James Todd was
born in the county of Armagh, Ireland, where he
was reared and educated and where he learned
the trade of weaver. At the age of twenty-six
years he emigrated from the fair Emerald Isle
to America, locating in Ohio, where his marriage
was solemnized, shortly after which event he re-
moved to Elgin, Illinois, where he learned the
moulder's trade, to which he there continued to
devote his attention until about 1856, when he
removed with his family to Winneshiek county,
Iowa, where he took up government land and
turned his attention to agricultural pursuits,
eventually becoming the owner of a valuable
landed estate of four hundred acres and being
one of the honored and influential citizens of the
county. He was the architect of his own fortunes,
having come to America without financial rein-
forcement or influential friends and having won
prosperity by hard work and good management.
He was a man of inflexible integrity and most
generous and kindly impulses, and after coming
to the United States he aided in bringing his
brothers here. In politics he was a Republican,
and while in his native land was a communicant
of the church of England, but became a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church after coming
to America. His devoted and cherished wife
passed to her reward in 1900, and his death oc-
curred in 1887.

The subject of this sketch was a child of but
two years at the time when his parents removed
to the pioneer farm in Iowa, and there he was
reared under sturdy and invigorating discipline,
his educational advantages being such as were
afforded in the common schools of the locality

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

and period. He continued to be associated in
the management of the home farm until he had
attained the age of twenty-five j'ears, when, in
1879, he came to South Dakota and located in
McCook county, entering claim to a homestead
of one hundred and sixty acres, near Montrose.
There he developed a valuable farm, and for five
years he was also engaged in the buying and
shipping of grain, in which line of enterprise he
was very successful. In 1886 Mr. Todd was
elected register of deeds of McCook county,
serving one term, and in 1888, upon retiring
from office, he engaged in the real-estate business,
'in which he has been particularly successful,
being associated with his brother since 1894.
The firm handle principally their own properties,
being at the present time the owners of more
than three thousand acres of valuable farming
land in McCook and adjoining counties. Mr.
Todd is a stanch adherent of the Republican
party, and for a number of years was a member
of its state central committee. He is affiliated
with Montrose Lodge, No. 48, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons; Chapter No. 73. Royal Arch
Masons: Commandery No. 17, Knights Templar;
the Scottish Rite consistory at Yankton, and the
Ancient Order of United Workmen.

Mr. Todd was married September 29, 1885,
to Miss Ida McCooke. of Montrose, South
Dakota, and there have been born to this union
six children, two boys, now dead, and four girls
living, viz: Adah M.. Geneva E., Elva and
Nauva.

EDWARD H. \\'ILSON. who is engaged
in the practice of law in Salem, McCook county,
was born in Lvcoming county, Pennsylvania,
on the 7th of April, 1857, ^ son of Evan C. and
Leah (Crawford) Wilson, of whose five children
four are living. Evan Wilson was likewise born
in Lycoming county, where his father located
upon coming to America from the north of Ire-
land, where he was born. Evan Wilson was
reared to farm life and continued to be identified
with agricultural pursuits until his death, having
become one of the prosperous and influential

citizens of Lycoming county, where he died in
1866, at the age of forty-nine years. He was a
Republican in politics and both he and his wife
held membership in the Christian church. Mrs.
Wilson was summoned into eternal rest in 1874,
at the age of fifty-six years.

Edward H. Wilson was about nine years of
age at the time of his father's death, and from
that time forward he became largely dependent
upon his own resources. His determination and
self-reliance stood him well in hand while he was
still a lad, and he secured a good common-school
education, after which he entered Mount Union
College, at Alliance, Ohio, where he completed
the philosophical course and was graduated as a
member of the class of 1880, having paid his
expenses by teaching during the vacations and
also having followed his vocation in securing
the money with which to initiate his collegiate
work. The executor of his father's estate
became a bankrupt and thus he received nothing
by inheritance. After completing his college
course, Mr. Wilson went to Canton, South
Dakota, and there entered the law office of
O. S. Giflford, under whose direction he prose-
cuted his study of the law with such assiduity
that he secured admision to the bar in 1882. In
the spring of the following year he came to
Salem, South Dakota, where he served his
novitiate in the practical work of his profession
and where he has attained distinctive prestige
through his well-directed efforts, being known
as an able advocate and safe and conservative
counsel. Mr. Wilson is an uncompromising Re-
publican, and for the past fourteen years has
served in the exacting and responsible office of
state's attorney of this district, in which position
he has made an enviable record as a public prose-
cutor. He is a member of Fortitude Lodge, No.
34, Free and Accepted Masons ; of Salem
Chapter, No. 34, Royal Arch Masons ; Constan-
tine Commandery, No. 17, Knights Templar, at
Salem; Oriental Consistory, No. i. Ancient
Accepted Scottish Rite, at Yankton : and El Riad
Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles
of the Mystic Shrine, at Sioux Falls. He is
also affiliated with Salem Lodge, No. 10, Inde-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1325

pendent Order of Odd Fellows; Lodge No. 28,
Ancient Order of United Workmen ; and Salem
Tent, No. 12, Knights of the Maccabees. He
has taken a deep interest in all that concerns the
development and material prosperity of South
Dakota, and was one of the first to become iden-
tified with the State Historical Society. He is
not formally identified with any religious body,
but ?ilrs. Wilson holds membership in the Presby-
terian church.

On the 29th of January, 1885, Mr. Wilson
was united in marriage to Miss Etta L. Young,
of Morganville, New York, and they are the
parents of two children, Leon P. and Laverne E.,
both of whom remain at the parental home.

WILLIAM! HOESE. one of the honored and
influential citizens of Spencer, McCook county,
was born in the ^■illage of Hinton. Plymouth
county, Iowa, on the 28th of March, 1868, a son
of William and Henrietta (Bandt) Hoese, of
whose four living children he is the youngest,
the others being as follows : Clara, who is the
wife of William Lerch, of Sioux City, Iowa;
Louisa, who is the wife of John Gudekenst, of
State Center, Iowa ; and Frank, who is a resident
of Merrill, that state. William Hoese, Sr., was
born in Launsberg, Germany, in 1822, and the
wife was born in the same place, in 1832. There
he was reared to maturity, learning the trade of
miller, eventually becoming the owner and
operator of an old-style mill in his native land,
the motive power being furnished by a wind-
wheel. He was married in his native town and
there two of his children were born. In 1857 '''^
emigrated with his family to America, landing in
New York City and thence coming west to Iowa
City, Iowa, where he remained a short time and
then removed to Ponka, Nebraska, being the first
white settler in that place, being engaged in farm-
ing in that locality for the ensuing five years,
having purchased government land. In 1862 he
passed through Sioux City, searching for an
eligible location in Iowa, and though there was
no flouring mill in the little village of Sioux City
at the time, he decided to locate in Hinton, Ply-

mouth county, where he erected the first grist
mill in western Iowa, being one of the first
settlers in that locality and anticipating the tide,
of immigration by several years. Six years
later he disposed of his milling property and re-
moved to Merrill, Plymouth county, in which
locality he acquired extensive farming interests,
eventually becoming one of the most influential
agriculturists and stock growers in that section,
where he continued to reside until his death,
which occurred in 1894, his devoted wife having
preceded him into eternal rest by about four
months. He was a stalwart Republican in his
political views, and while wielding distinctive
influence in his party councils, he has never been
an aspirant for public office.

William Hoese, the immediate subject of this
sketch, secured his early educational training
in the public schools, and at the age of fourteen
was sent to the Northwestern Business College,
in Sioux City, Iowa, where he was graduated in
1884. He then held a clerical position in a mer-
cantile establishment in that city for one year,
at the expiration of which, at the age of seven-
teen years, he came to Bridgewater, South
Dakota, and engaged in the hardware business,
in partnership with Theodore Montague. Three
years later he disposed of his interests in this line
and went to Sioux Center, Iowa, where he organ-
ized the bank of Sioux Center, of which he was
made president, being at the time the youngest
bank president in the state, as he had not yet
attained his twenty-first year. In 1890 Mr.
Hoese disposed of his banking interests and came
to Spencer, South Dakota, where he effected the
organization of the State Bank at Spencer, of
which he was sole owner and officially cashier,
his father and brothers permitting the use of
their names on the corps of officials in order to
comply with the technical provisions of the law.
Mr. Hoese successfully conducted this enterprise
until the 1st of January, 1903, when he sold the
business, since which time he has not actively
identified himself with any other enterprise,
giving his attention to his various capitalistic
interests. He has ever given an unequivocal alle-
giance to the Republican party and has shown

[326

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

a zealous interest in its cause, having been a
member of the county central committee ever
since taking up his residence in Spencer. While
in no wise ambitious for political preferment, he
was nominated for the state senate in 1898 and
was elected, though the normal Democratic
majority in the district was three hundred and
sixty-one at that time. He gave a most credit-
able and satisfactory service in the upper house
during the ensuing general assembly and fully
justified the popular confidence reposed in him.
He has also sei-ved in various local offices of
trust, having been mayor of Spencer in 1894, and
also serving as a member of the town council, as
village treasurer and as a member of the school
board. He is a member of Spencer Lodge, No.
147, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; Salem
Chapter, No. 34, Royal Arch Masons ; Con-
stantine Commandery, No. 17, Knights Templar,
of Salem ; and El Riad Temple of the Mystic
Shrine, in Sioux Falls, while he is also affiliated
with the local lodges of the Modern Woodmen of
America and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen.

On the 3d of September, 1895, ^^- Hoese
was married to Miss Ida T. Janke, of Spencer,
and they are the parents of two sons and one
daughter, namelv : William R., Frank H. and
Clara T.

CHRISTO'PHER G. DUNN, of Farmer,
Hanson county, was born in Winnebago county,
Illinois, on the 31st of July, 1858, being a son of
James and Elizabeth (Bigley) Dunn, of whose
nine children seven are living, namely : Joseph,
a resident of the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota ;
Oiristopher G., subject of this reveiw ; Mary,
the wife of Peter Harris, of Vancouver, British
Columbia: Spencer J., a resident of Hanson
county, this state ; Thomas, who resides in
Helena, Montana; Elizabeth, the wife of Patrick
Curry, of Hanson county; and Daniel, who is
likewise a resident of this county. The father
of our subject was born in County Meade, Ire-
land, in 1829, and was there reared to the age
of sixteen vears, when he came to America to

seek his fortunes, locating in Orange county.
New York, where he remained for a number of
years, within which time he was married. He
finally removed to Winnebago county, Illinois,
where he was engaged in farming for several
years, thence removing to Huston county, Minne-
sota, where he continued to make his home until
1884, when he came to South Dakota and pur-
chased a relinquishment claim in Hanson county,
three and one-half miles northwest of the village
of Farmer, and there he continued to be engaged
in agricultural pursuits until his death, which
occurred in 1891. He was a consistent member
of the Catholic church, as was also his wife, who
passed away in 1872.

Christopher C. Dunn remained at the parental
home until he had attained his legal majority,
while his educational advantages were such as
were afforded by the public schools. At the age
of twenty-one he inaugurated his independent
career, securing work on a farm. In the spring
of 1 88 1 he came west to carve out a career for
himself and to gain such a measure of success
as was within his power. He located in Hanson
county, this state, where he took up a pre-
emption claim of one hundred and sixty acres,
in what is now Spring Lake township, while in
December of the same year he also took up a
homestead claim in Edgerton township. He there-
after continued to be actively and successfully
engaged in farming and in the breeding and
raising of horses for sixteen years, within which
time the wisdom of his choice of location had
been amply justified. In the spring of 1899 '^^^■
Dunn took up his residence in the village of
Farmer, where he engaged in the buying and
shipping of grain, while for two years he also
bought and shipped live stock upon an extensive
scale, then abandoning this branch of the enter-
prise. In 1900 he erected a modern and com-
modious grain elevator, which afifords the best
of facilities, and he is now one of the most ex-
tensive and successful grain dealers in this
section of the state. In 1901 Mr. Dunn erected
the Farmer Hotel, a substantial and well-
equipped building, and this he leased. Hfe is a
stanch advocate of the principles of the Demo-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1327

cratic party, and in 1898 lie was appointed clerk
of the courts, in which capacity he served one
year, while for several years he was incumbent
of the office of supervisor of Spring Lake town-
ship. He served four years as justice of the
peace, having been tlie first to be elected to this
position after the organization of the township
mentioned. His religious faith is that of the
Catholic church, and fraternally he is identified
with the Modern Woodmen of America and the
Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mr. Dunn
owns a half interest in the general mercantile
business conducted under the firm name of Dunn,
White & Company, while he also retains
possession of a half section of valuable farming
land, located one-half mile north of the village.
He is a royal and public-spirited citizen and well
merits representation in this historv.

REV. BERNARD H. BUNNING, pastor of
the Roman Catholic church, Bridgewater, was
horn in Covington, Kentucky, February 28, 1853.
His parents, Herman G. and Thecla (Groene)
P.unning, natives of Hanover. Germany, came to
the United States in 1849, 'i"d located at Coving-
ton. Kentuck)-, of which city the father subse-
quently became a prominent merchant and leading
lousiness man. Of the nine children that origin-
n!ly constituted the family of Hemian G. and
Thecla Bunning, two were born in the mother
coimtry, one of them d}ing on the voyage to
America, and the births of the other seven oc-
curred in the United States. Only two of the
number are living at the present time, the sub-
ject of this review and John H. Bunning, who is
now advertising manager for the large mercan-
tile firm of Carson, Pirie. Scott & Company, of
Chicago. In 1883 the parents took up their resi-
dence in South Dakota with their son. Reverend
Bunning, and spent the remainder of their days in
this state, the fatlier dying in 1889, the mother
in the year 1890.

Bernard H. Bunning grew to maturity under
the parental roof, attended for some years the
parochial school under the auspices of the Mother

of God church in Covington, and shortly after
his thirteenth year removed with the family to
St. Meinrad, Indiana, at which place he entered
the Benedictine College, with the object in view
of fitting himself for the priesthood. In due
time he finished his literary and theological stud-
ies, was ordained priest in 1880, and immediately
after came to South Dakota and took charge of
St. Mary's church in the city of Bismarck. After
two years of faithful and efficient pastoral work
at that place, he was transferred to Pierre, being
the first resident priest in the latter city, and his
pastorate there covered a period of about four
years, during which time he greatly strengthened
his congregation, materially and spiritually, se-
curing a fine building site, and erecting a beautiful
temple of worship and parsonage. His labors at
Pierre terminating in 1886, Father Bunning was
next sent to Zell, where in due time he succeeded
in raising sufficient funds to build a commodious
church edifice and the congregation under his
leadership increased rapidly in numbers and influ-
ence. After remaining at Zell until 1890, he was
transferred to Aberdeen, where he labored with
great acceptance for two years, and at the end of
that time took charge of the church at Parkstou,
continuing at the latter place during the five years
following. Father Bunning's next scene of labor
was the parish of Vermillion, where he minis-
tered to a young though healthy and growing-
church until the summer of 1901, when he came
to Bridgewater, his present field of endeavor.
Since locating with the parish at this place he
has added greatly to the material well-being of
the church, securing at a reasonable figure the
United Brethren church building for a parochial
school and the fine Pritzkam residence property
with its handsome and valuable grounds, which
he has remodeled and converted into a sisters'
boarding school. The church has greatly pros-
pered along all kinds of activity, and the pastor
has not only endeared himself to his parishioners,
but has become popular with all classes and condi-
tions of people, irrespective of church or creed.
In addition to the church edifice erected by
Father Bunning, alluded to in a preceding para-
graph, he built the St. Anne's church at Miller,

[328

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

besides greatly strengthening the congregation
there, and every place where he has been sta-
tioned spiritual growth and material prosperity
have followed fast upon his labors.

CHARLES K. HOWARD.— The subject of
this writing is a typical western stockman, pio-
neer and developer, and has a record of energy,
endurance, readiness for emergencies and cour-
age in the face of danger that is inspiring in its
consistency and in the success which it has
achieved. He was born at Red Hook on the Hud-
son, New York, on May 17, 1836, and received
his education there and in central New York,
finishing at Hamilton College, remaining in the
state until he was twenty years old. In 1856
he came west to Sioux City, Iowa, then a little
town of a few rude shacks. For a time bo fol-
lowed steamboating on the Missouri, then in 1857
came to Pierre in this state, where he was em-
ployed by the American Fur Company. The
nearest railroad station at that time was St. Jo-
seph, Missouri, and the life of the trader was re-
mote from civilization and full of hazard. After
two years of service with the fur companv be
again engaged in steamboating on the Missouri
for four or five years until 1863. He then went
to Sioux Falls, a military post known as Fort
Dakota, as post trader, and during the next three
years was profitably employed there in that ca-
pacity. In 1866 the post was abandoned by the
government and thrown open to settlement, and
as the section was rapidly filling with settlers he
continued his mercantile operations there and also
had a stage line and was engaged in the cattle
industry. He built the first frame house in this
part of the country, and remained in business there
eighteen years, employing on an average fiftv
men in connection with his numerous interests.
He was also active and prominent in public local
affairs, serving as county treasurer of Minne-
haha county for fourteen years, being during the
whole of this period and afterwards the leader ■
of the Democratic party in his vicinity, although
he was usually elected on an independent ticket,
as partv lines were not closely drawn. For forty

years, however, he supported the Democratic
party, leaving it only in 1896 when his convic-
tions were strong against the platform on which
Mr. Bryan was nominated for the presidency.
In 1883 he sold all his interests at Sioux Falls
except his cattle, which numbered some fifteen
hundred head. These he brought to the Chey-
enne river at what is now Smithville, fifty miles
northeast of Rapid City, where he took up the
ranch which has since been his home and erected
a dwelling on it. He stocked it with large herds
of cattle, bought here and in Texas, and entered
upon the open range cattle business on an exten-
sive scale. From that time on be has been the
largest individual cattle owner in this part of the
country, having usually about ten thousand head,
and in managing his business he has been emi-
nently successful. His residence is known far and
wide as the finest and most modern ranch dwell-
ing within a very extensive range of country. It
is equipped with electric lights and hot and cold
water furnished by his own plants, elegantlv
furnished throughout and supplied with every
desirable modern improvement. The operations
of the ranch are conducted on a scale of magni-
tude and by means of the most approved ma-
chinery, which is driven by steam power. Mr.
Howard has personal control of all phases of his
business and when at work among his men seems
to be the youngest of the band. He is a whole-
souled and genial man. full of business, but at
the same time full of good fellowship, and is
known through all the northwest, numbering
among his friends many of the most noted men
of the day. He was the first man to locate here
and engage in the range cattle industry, and fore-
seeing that the range would be gradually dimin-
ished, he has prepared himself for the change,
acquiring about four thousand acres of good
land for his purposes. He is in every sense a
true pioneer. He camped where Yankton has
since grown to, consequence, built the first brick
house at Sioux City, the first frame house at
Sioux Falls, and trailed from Sioux City to Fort
Randall when there was not a house on the plains
between the two places. In his business be has
always been foremost and recognized as a leader.

0. K. H(J\VARD.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

He is now president of the Western South Da-
kota Stockg-ro wars' Association.

In September, 1866, Mr. Howard was mar-
ried, at Sionx City, to Miss Jeannette Ricketts, a
native of Washington, D. C. One child blessed
their nnion, Mary J., now Mrs. Pender. JMrs.
Howard died in May, 1868, and on February 5.
1890, Mr. Howard married, at Eureka Springs,
Arkansas. Miss Catherine Franklin, a native of
Pennsylvania.

LAWRENCE S. TYLER, president of the
First National Bank of Salem, McCook county,
is one of the influential and honored citizens of
this section of the state, and his character and
prominence are such as to eminently entitle him
to recognition in this history. Mr. Tyler was
born in the village of Compton, province of On-
tario, Canada, on the 19th of August, 1854, a son
of Damon Y. and Maria (Taylor) Tyler, to whom
were born four children, namely : Lewis, who
is engaged in the hardware business in Salem,
this state : Leonora, who is the wife of E. E.
Ouiggle, of Rapid City, South Dakota ; Lydia,
who is the wife of Henry Seavers, of Duhith,
Minnesota : and Lawrence S., who is the subject
of this sketch. Damon Y. Tyler was born in the
state of New Hampshire, where he was reared
to maturity. As a young man he secured a posi-
tion in the employ of the well-known firm of
Fairbanks, Morse & Company, manufacturers
of scales, in the city of Philadelphia, and while
there he was married. His father had in the
meanwhile removed to the province of Ontario,
Canada, and he also took up his residence there,
remaining but a short time and finally removing
to Columbia county, Wisconsin, where he pur-
chased a tract of railroad land and engaged in
farming, to which he there continued to give his
attention about ten years, at the expiration
of which he took up his abode in the town of
Big Spring, that county, in which vicinity he pur-
chased a large farm. In 1867 he located in Merri-
mac. Sauk county, that state, where he estab-
lished himself in the mercantile business, also
serving as postmaster of the town for the long

period of fourteen years. In 1882 he retired
from active business, and he is still residing in
that place, one of the honored pioneers of the
state. He is a Republican in politics and both he
and his wife are members of the Baptist church.
The subject of this review attended the com-
mon schools until he had attained the age ot
fourteen years, when he began to depend upon
his own resources, securing work on a farm and
receiving the princely stipend of ten dollars a
month for his services. At the age of eighteen
he became identified with the construction of
bridges on the line of the Qiicag-o & Northwestern
Railroad, in the employ of which he continued
about three years. Upon attaining his majority
he removed to Rock county, Minnesota, where
he purchased a quarter section of land, in Mag-
nolia township, where he was engaged in farming
for the ensuing four years. In the spring of
1880 Mr. Tyler accepted a position with the
firm of Peter Thompson & Company, prominent
dealers in agricultural machinery and implements
at Adrian, Minnesota, serving as their bookkeeper
and general office manager until 1883, when he
came to Salem, South Dakota, here erecting a
substantial block and engaging in the hardware
business, building up a large and prosperous en-
terprise and continuing the same about eighteen
years. In 1888 he became associated with others
in the organization of the McCook County State
Bank, and in 1892, after failure of the Salem
Bank, the fine building of the defunct institution
was purchased of the receiver and the McCook
County State Bank forthwith took possession of
this newly acquired property, which is still util-
ized for the counting rooms of its successor, the
First National Bank. In 1899 Mr. Tyler and
Mr. S. W. Appleton, now of Sioux City, acquired
the entire ownership of the state bank, of which
our subject had served consecutively as president
from the year 1896 up to that time. In 1901 Mr.
Appleton sold his stock in the institution, which
was then reorganized as the First National Bank
of Salem, of which Mr. Tyler was chosen presi-
dent, a position he had held with the state bank
up to the reorganization, while the interested prin-
cipals in the new bank include the subject and

133°

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

C. J. Ives, F. H. Putnam and Thomas Brown, of
Sioux Falls, and Thomas Bishop, of Salem. After
the reorganization Mr. Tyler disposed of his
hardware business, and the banking enterprise has
grown to such proportions as to demand the ma-
jor portion of his time and attention in his chief
executive capacity. Mr. Tyler is the owner of
one hundred and sixty acres of farming land in
this county, seven hundred acres in Hand county,
one hundred and sixty acres in Bui¥alo county
and also a half interest in a fine fami of four
hundred and eighty acres in the last mentioned
county. He owns a controlling interest in the
creamery at Salem, being manager, secretary and
treasurer of the Salem Creamery Association.
He is treasurer of the Salem Mill and Lighting
Company, treasurer of the South Dakota Dairy
and Buttermakers' Association, treasurer of the
school district, and secretary of the Salem Ceme-
tery Association, in the organization of which
he was associated with George Sanderson and
L. V. Schneider. He is held in the highest con-
fidence and esteem in the county and has been
called upon to serve as guardian and as adminis-
trator of important estates. Mr. Tyler is a stanch
advocate of the principles of the Republican
party, and has ever shown a deep interest in pub-
lic affairs. He has served for more than a dec-
ade and a half as member of the village council,
being incumbent of tjiis position at the present
time. He and his wife are prominent and zeal-
ous members of tlje Methodist Episcopal church,
of whose board of trustees he is secretary, being
also incumbent of the office of steward. Mr.
Tyler has completed the circle of York-rite Ma-
sonry, being affiliated with the following bodies :
Fortitude Lodge, No. 73, Ancient Free and Ac-
cepted Masons; Salem Chapter, No. 34, Royal
Arch Masons; Constantine Council, No. 2, Royal
and Select Masters ; and Constantine Command-
ery. No. 17, Knights Templar, while he has also
become a member of the auxiliary organization,
the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the
Mystic Shrine, holding membership in El Riad
Temple, in Sioux Falls. He is identified with
Salem Lodge, No. 28, Ancient Order of United
Workmen, of which he is financier.

On the 24th of January, 1877, Mr. Tyler was
united in marriage to Miss Hattie Blackman, of
Merrimack, Wisconsin, and to them were born
three children, two of whom survive, Nellie L.,
the wife of Roy Palmer, of Chamberlain, South
Dakota, and Grace L., who remains at the pa-
rental home.

The following obituary notice relative to the
subject's mother appeared in the local press at
the time of her death :

Death of Mr.s. Tyler. — Maria Jane Tyler died
at her liome, in Merrimacli, on Wednesday, February
17, 1904, aged seventy-three years, one month and
seventeen days. She was born in Philadelphia, Penn-
sylvania, December 31, 1S30, and was married to
Damon Y. Tyler, June 12, 1853. They removed to
Wisconsin in the fall of 1854, where she has lived
until called home where sorrow Is no more. She
leaves a husband and four children to mourn her
loss. The children are Leonora E. Quiggle, Lydia
Sievers, Lewis A. Tyler and Lawrence S. Tyler.
Mrs. Tyler joined the Baptist church in 1858. and
her Christian life had always been bright until the
final call from her Heavenly Father. Mrs. Tyler was
deeply interested in the cause of temperance. For
eighteen years she was an active member of the
Merrimack Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
Though not able to attend the meetings during the
latter years of her life, her heart and soul were ever
in the work, and her prayers continually arose to
the throne of God for the final overthrow of the
alcoholic despot. But her labors of love were not
confined to the ladies' organization; she cordially
sympathized with every effort to elevate humanity,
to regenerate those in degradation and to purify the
heart filled with corroding sin. Though sickness had
compelled her to remain within the walls of her
cozy home much of the time for many years, her
life had been an inspiration to neighbors and friends
through all the period of suffering and ebbing away
of the vital tide. She was always thoughtful of
others, always feared that she was a burden,
always longed to go and be with Jesus.
Gradually the "robe of flesh" wasted and
weakened, but the immortal light beamed from
her face in ever increasing beauty and radiance, until
the tired lids for the last time closed over "the win-
dows of the soul." In all her pain and weariness
and long night vigils she was calm and patient and
heroic. She was sustained by the undying faith
in her Lord and Redeemer. The great desire of her
heart was to throw off this "mortal coil" which
bound her to the earth so that her spirit might
soar to the mansions prepared for her in the glo-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1331

rious realms above. She loved her Master. Her life
was devoted to Him. To the limit of her strength
she worked for Him. In the hour of death and in
the dark and chilling waters, she leaned upon His
everlasting arms, and her last faintly articulated
words were, "I want to go home today."

CHARLES E. JOHNSON, postmaster of the
city of Bridgewater, is the son of Joseph and
Louise Johnson, and was born in Byron, Ogle
county, IlHnois, on the 27th day of August, 1856.
His father was a native of Sweden, and when a
young man married, in Europe, Miss Louise
Daniels, who was born and reared in Scotland.
Shortly after his marriage he came to the United
States and settled in Ogle county, Illinois, where
he spent the remainder of his life as a prosperous
and contented tiller of the soil. Seven children
were born to Joseph and Louise Johnson, five of
whom survive, namely : John, of Winnebago
county, Illinois ; August, a business man of Chi-
cago ; Charles E., of this review ; Mrs. Minnie
Osborn and Laura, the last two living in the
city of Chicago.

Charles E. Johnson grew up under the health-
ful influence of farm life, and remained at home
until twenty years old, obtaining the meanwhile
a fair educational training in the ptiblic schools
of his native place. Leaving' home at the age
noted, he went to Chicago and after working
about two yf.ars on the street cars of that city,
spent one year with a civil engineering corps
surveying a line of the Milwaukee Railroad, be-
tween the towns of Savannah and Elgin. In 1879
he went to Nebraska, where he purchased land
and for two years was engaged in agricultural
pursuits, disposing of his real estate at the expi-
ration of that time and in 1881 locating at Bridge-
water, South Dakota. Mr. Johnson came to
McCook county when the country was new, con-
sequently enjoyed exceptional advantages in the
way of making a judicious selection of land.
Purchasing a half section about four miles north
of the town, he at once addressed himself to the
task of its improvement and in due time had a
good farm under successful cultivation, from

which he soon began to realize a comfortable in-
come. He continued agriculture and stock rais-
ing with success and profit until the spring of
1903. when he retired from farm life to enjoy
the fruits of his many years of well-directed la-
bor.

Mr. Johnson has been quite prominent in the
affairs of McCook county ever since becoming a
resident of the same and at different times he
has been honored with important official posi-
tions, one of the first being that of township
treasurer, in which he served for a period of
eighteen consecutive years. A stanch Repub-
lican, he early became one of the party leaders
in this county and in recognition of his valuable
political services, as well as by reason of his
peculiar fitness for the position, he was elected
in 1893 to the upper house of the general as-
sembly. His career as a legislator proving em-
inently satisfactory to his constituency, he was
re-elected in 1897, being the only man in McCook
county chosen the second time to the senate. Mr.
Johnson was an indefatigable worker while in
the legislature, served on several important com-
mittees, was influential in the general delibera-
tions of the body, and as one of the Republican
leaders succeeded in bringing about the enactment
of a number of laws which have had important
bearing upon the interests of the state. He is
now a member of the Republican state central
committee, in which capacity he has rendered
valuable service to his party. He has also served
on the central committee of McCook county, and
as a further evidence of his faithful and efficient
service he was appointed by President McKin-
ley, in 1897, postmaster of Bridgewater, which
position he still holds, having been re-appointed
in February, 1902, by President Roosevelt. In
addition to the offices referred to, Mr. Johnson
was for nineteen }-ears a member of the Emery
township school board, during which time he
labored earnestly to advance educational inter-
ests, making the schools among the best in the
state; he was president of the board, during the
greater part of his incumbency and in that ca-
pacity succeeded in introducing a number of re-
i forms, erected several fine modern buildings, and

1332

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

brought the educational system up to its present
high standard of efficiency.

Mr. Johnson was married, in 1884, to Miss
Jennie Campbell, of Byron, Illinois, and is the
father of two children, Margaret, a graduate of
the normal department of Huron College, and
Mary, who is also an educated and cultured young
lady, both daughters living at home with their
parents.

Fraternally Mr. Johnson is a Mason of high
degree, belonging to Eureka Lodge, No. 71, at
Bridgewater; Salem Chapter, No. 34, Royal
Arch Masons, and Salem Commandery, Knights
Templar. He is also identified with the Modern
Woodmen of ^^rnerica and the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, in both of which organiza-
tions he has held important positions.

BERNARD SLOWEY, a leading representa-
tive of the business interests of Irene, South Da-
kota, was born in Wisconsin, October 3, 1852, his
parents being Patrick and Catherine (McCabe)
Slowey, both natives of Ireland. The father was
born in 1814 and was a young man when he came
to the new world and took up his residence in
Wisconsin, where he carried on operations as a
farmer for several years with good success. In
1872 he brought his family to South Dakota and
took up three hundred and twenty acres of gov-
ernment land in Yankton county. He made the
journey overland by teams. His first home in
this state was a log house with a dirt roof, and
he used oxen as well as horses in breaking his
land. He continued to improve and cultivate his
land until he had a good farm and he continued
to make his home thereon until his death, which
occurred in February. 1902. His wife had died
in August, 1884. Both were devout members of
the Catholic church and he was a Democrat in
his political affiliations.

In the family of this worthy couple were nine
children, of whom Bernard is the eldest. Cath-
erine is now the wife of Patrick Cunningham, a
farmer residing in Utica. Yankton county. Mary
is the wife of Michael Cunningham, also a resi-
dent of Utica. Thomas lives on the old home-

stead. John married Tracie Burns and is engaged
in farming in Yankton county. Elizabeth is the
wife of James Murray, a resident of Irene. Pat-
rick is represented on another page of this vol-
ume. Ellen is the wife of Mat Murray, who
makes his home in Yankton. Peter married Maud
Cook and lives on the old homestead. All were
given good educational advantages and Ellen
taught school for one term. They are now well
situated in life.

Bernard Slowey passed his boyhood and youth
in Wisconsin and was about twenty years of age
when he came with his father to Yankton county,
South Dakota. Six years later he purchased one
hundred and sixty acres of government land in
this county, nine miles west of Irene, and he
broke and improved the place, converting it into a
fine farm. He was married in 1878 to Miss Isa-
belle McKeachie, by whom he has had eight
children. Three of the number are now de-
ceased, three others are married and two are still
at home with their parents.

Renting their farms in the winter of 1902-3,
Mr. Slowey and his brother Patrick moved their
families to Irene, where they have erected nice
homes. They also built a first-class livery and
feed stable and are now in control of the best
business of the kind in town. The subject is, in-
dependent in politics, voting for the man rather
than the party and he and his family are com-
municants of the Catholic church.

STENGRIM HINSETH, a practical and en-
terprising agriculturist of Yankton county, was
born on the 27th of March, 1842, in Thronhjem
Stift. Norway, in which country his parents, In-
gebrigt and Maret Hinseth, spent their entire
lives. In their family were nine children, the
subject being the next to the youngest. He re-
mained in Norway until after reaching man's es-
tate and was there married in 1868 to Miss Ca-
rle Sesager. One child was born to them in
that country and in 1870 the young couple with
their baby came to the new world, their destina-
tion being Yankton county. South Dakota, where
Mr. Hinseth took up one hundred and sixty acres

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of government land two miles west of Irene.
Tlieir first liome here was a little dugout, where
the family lived in true pioneer style, while Mr.
Hinseth converted the wild land into well-tilled
fields, breaking the sod with ox-teams. The
grasshoppers destroyed his crops on more than
one occasion, but he steadily and persistently
worked his way upward to the goal of success
and is today one of the wealthiest men of his
community. In 1878 he secured a timber claim of
one hundred and sixty acres and has since added
to his ]iroperly until he now owns six himdred
acres of fine land, worth fifty dollars iier acre.
Two hundred acres of this is devoted to pastur-
age, as he is extensively engaged in the raising
and feeding of stock of all kinds, including
horses, cattle, sheep and hogs. He is also finan-
cially interested in a creamery and elevator at
Irene and a flouring mill at Volin. Upon his
farm he erected an elegant frame house in igoi
and has also built a fine barn and other outbuild-
ings, which stand as monuments to his thrift and
enterprise.

J\lr. Hinseth's first wife died on the 15th of
September, 1877, leaving three children, and in
1878 he wedded Miss Mattie Christine Stoem.
by wdiom he has six children. The family con-
sists of Maret, now the wife of John Ellifson, a
farmer of Yankton county ; Ingeborg, deceased ;
Hannah C. ; Albert and Olive, both deceased ;
Albert O., Ole S. and Ida M., at home. The
children have had good school privileges, and the
daug-hters have taken lessons on the piano. Mr.
and Mrs. Hinseth are members of the Lutheran
church and he affiliates with the Republican party.
He has held some minor offices and gives his sup-
port to all measures calculated to promote the
moral, educational and material welfare of the
communitv in which he lives.

PATRICK SLOWEY, of Irene, was born on
the i6th of January. 1865. in Wisconsin, and is a
son of Patrick and Catherine (McCabe) Slowey,
who are mentioned more fully in the sketch of
P.ernard Slowey on another page of this volume.
\^'hen a little lad of seven summers the subject

was brought by his parents to South Dakota and
here he grew to manhood amid pioneer scenes,
assisting his father in the development and culti-
vation of the home farm until after he attained his
majority. Pie not only gained an excellent
knowledge of agricultural pursuits but also ob-
tained a good practical education in the common
schools. At the age of twenty-six he bought one
hundred and sixty acres of wild land from his
father, and in due time transformed the place
into a good farm. In the winter of 1902-3 he
rented the fann and removed to Irene, where in
partnership with his brother Bernard he has since
engaged in the livery business with good success.
They are also interested in raising horses and are
good judges of fine stock.

On the 26th of November, 1891, Mr. Slowey
married Miss Ellen Murray, and to them have
been born six children. They are members of
the Catholic church and he is also connected with
the Modern Woodmen of America and the Im-
proved Order of Red Men. He is not bound by
party ties, but votes for the men whom he be-
lieves best qualified for office. Pleasant and gen-
ial in manner; he is very popular in social circles
and is well liked by all who know him..

HERMAN FRIER, a well-known citizen of
Irene, now living a retired life, is a native of the
fatherland, born in Prussia, Germany, January 2,
1830, and is a son of William and Caroline (Gun-
ter) Frier, who were life-long residents of Prus-
sia. They had but two children and the younger,
William, never came to the United States, but
died in Germany.

Herman Frier was reared and educated in his
native land and continued to make his home there
until 1854, when he crossed the ocean and settled
in Wisconsin, making his home in that state until
1870. In the meantime he was married, in 1857,
to Miss Julia A. Wheeler, a daughter of John
B. and Minnie (Hittenrod) Wheeler, who were
natives of Saxony, Germany, and came to the
United States in 185 1, their remaining days being
spent in Wisconsin. By occupation Mr. Wheeler
was both a fanner and shoemaker. His children

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

were John, Frank, Herman, Joseph, Sana, Ehza,
Mary, Minnie and Julia. Eleven children have
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Frier, namely : Charles
F., who is now quite well-to-do and lives in Wis-
consin ; Mary, deceased ; Sarah, wife of William
Patrick, of Kansas ; Emma ; Louis W. and Anna
R., both deceased; Delia M. ; Matilda I.; George
H., who is running a dray line in Irene ; Joseph
A.; Arthur E., who is operating the home fami
for his father; and Florence J., deceased.

Before leaving Germany Mr. Frier had
learned the miller's trade, which he followed for
many years after coming to this country, and he
repaired and put in operation a number of mills
in South Dakota, having removed to Riverside
townshi]i. Clay county, in 1870. Later he was
engaged in milling in Lodi for nine years. He
secured one hundred and sixty acres of govern-
ment land in Clay county, while he greatly im-
proved, setting out trees and erecting a good brick
residence and a barn at a cost of fifteen hundred
dollars. He was one of the first settlers of that
locality, the Indians being still quite numerous
when he took up his residence there. His fam-
ily then numbered a wife and five children, and
his possessions consisted of one team of horses
and a cow, but he steadily set to work to improve
his fortunes and success attending his effort he
is now able to lay aside all business cares and live
retired, enjoying the fruits of former toil.

^'V^^en his adopted country became involved
in civil war ^Ir. Frier offered his services to the
government, enlisting in 1863 in Company D,
Fourteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. This
regiment reinforced the Red river expedition and
took part in the battle of Tupelo, Mississippi.
It then marched through Arkansas to Little Rock,
and on to Missouri in pursuit of General Price,
taking part in the engagement at Waynesburg.
From there they went to St. Louis and proceeded
thence to Nashville, where they were engaged in
battle. Later they went to New Orleans and as-
sisted in the capture of Spanish Fort, after which
they proceeded to Montgomery, Alabama. While
stationed in that city peace \Va5 declared and the
news came of President Lincoln's assassination.
]\Tr. Frier was confined in the hospital at Mem-

phis, Tennessee, for some time, and at the close
of the war received an honorable discharge and
returned home. He is a stanch supporter of the
Repulilican party and its principles and while
residing in Clay county, South Dakota, he took
quite an active part in public afifairs. now serving
his third term as alderman of Irene, as assessor
of his township, and as school director for thirty
years. He belongs to no church, being a free-
thinker, but his life has been upright and honor-
able in all respects and no man in the community
stands in higher regard than Herman Frier.

NELS C. ANDREWS, who is now acting as
manager for J. H. Queal & Company, of Minne-
apolis, his home being in Irene, was born on the
14th of August, 1868, in Racine, Wisconsin, and
is'a son of Christ and Marie (Nielsen) Christen-
sen, natives of Denmark. Coming to America in
1868 the father first settled in Wisconsin, where
he made his home until 1877, and then removed to
Turner county. South Dakota. There he secured
one hundred and sixty acres of government land
and for several years devoted his time and en-
ergies to the improvement and cultivation of his
place, though by trade he is a wagonmaker. hav-
ing followed that occupation in the old coun-
try. He also worked with a brother at wagon-
making in Racine, Wisconsin, and to his own in-
dustry, perseverance and economy is due his suc-
cess in life. In religious faith he is a Baptist and
in politics is an ardent Republican. His family
consists of six children, namely : Qiristine, now
the wife of Nick Nielson, a farmer ; Tillie ; John,
who married Minnie Olson ; Mary, wife of C. F.
Frederickson, a farmer of Turner county. South
Dakota; Anton, who is operating the home place
for his father ; and Nels C, of this review.

Nels C. Andrews spent his early life upon a
farm and had good educational advantages. After
attending the public schools for some years he
entered Sioux Falls , College at Sioux Falls, in
1896. completing the scientific course and gradu-
ating with the class of 1899. For ten years he
successfully engaged in teaching school in Turner
county, being in charge of the city school at

HISTORY Op- SOUTH DAKOTA.

1335

Viborg a part of the time, but as previously stated
he now holds the position of manager for J. H.
Queal & Company, at Irene, Yankton county.

In 1895 Mr. Andrews was united in marriage
to Miss Christine Olson, a daughter of Qirist and
Marie (Nelson) Olson, who were born in Den-
mark and are now living in Turner county, South
Dakota. Her father is a very up-to-date and
prosperous farmer, being now the owner of
eleven hundred and twenty acres of good farm
land in this state. He has a family of five chil-
dren, namely : Christine, Nels. Frank, Victor
and Arthur. The sons are still at home. The
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Andrews are Ru-
l:)ie v., Una Z., Pearl B. and Newell C.

Although comparatively a young man, Mr.
Andrews has already met with fair success in life
and is the owner of some town property in Irene.
He is an honored member of several civic soci-
eties, belonging to the Masonic lodge at Center-
ville : Yankton Consistory, No. i ; the Modern
Woodmen Camp, Xo. 2323 ; the Danish Broth-
erhood, No. 141 : and the Order of Home Guard-
ians, No. 2. Politically he is a stalwart Demo-
crat, and he has taken quite an active and influ-
ential part in local politics. His fellow citizens,
recognizing his worth and ability, have called
upon him to serve as justice of the peace, town
clerk, alderman and mayor of Irene and his offi-
cial duties have always been discharged in a
commendable and satisfactorv manner.

JAMES LINCOLN STEWART, M. D.,
conspicuous among the leading physicians and
surgeons of Irene, is a native of Minnesota and
the son of William Riley and Albina Stewart, the
father born in Connecticut, and still living, hale
and hearty at the age of eighty-eight, the mother
also living and in her seventy-sixth year, having
been born and reared in the state of New York.
William Riley Stewart is the son of Marvin and
Mehitable (Clark) Stewart, the former of Scotch
lineage, although a native of England, the latter
a descendant of one of the earliest white families
of the United States, several members of which,
in an early day, intermarried witli various Indian

tribes. The aboriginal strain has been apparent
in the family for a number of generations, and,
far from being deplored, those inheriting the
blood are proud of the fact, the Doctor in partic-
ular, as it has had much to do in making him a
genuine American and giving him much more
than ordinary interest in the land of his nativity.
.■\lbina Drev,-, who married William Riley Stew-
art, is the daughter of Gilbert and Mary (De-
bow") Drew, both fnembers of old and highly re-
spected families of York state, the former a son
of Samuel and Mollie (Townsend) Drew, the
latter of Garret and Elizabeth (Barnnes) Debow.
The most remote ancestor on the maternal side
of whom the Doctor has any definite knowledge
is his great-great-grandfather, Gilbert Drew, fa-
ther of the Samuel Drew, who married Mollie
Townsend, as noted above.

Dr. James Lincoln Stewart was born Novem-
ber 22, 1865, in Minnesota City, and spent his
j'outhful years on a farm, working in the sum-
mer time and attending the public schools of
winter seasons, until attaining his majority.
Meantime the intellectual discipline received in the
schools of his native town was supplemented by
a course at the State Normal School at Winona,
where he was graduated in 1886, and later he
attended for some time the State University, de-
voting a part of the interim to agricultural pur-
suits and teaching, in this way earning means
to defray the expenses of his collegiate training.
Having decided to make medicine his life work,
Dr. Stewart, after a preliminary course of reading
under the direction of a competent instructor, en-
tered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at
Chicago, from which institution he was gradu-
ated in 1893, and immediately thereafter he be-
gan the practice of his profession at Hurly, South
Dakota. After remaining eight months at that
village, he sought a new and wider field in the
town of Irene, at which place he is still located.
The Doctor early associated himself with the
progressive members of the profession, and has
availed himself of every possible opportunity to
enlarge his knowledge and perfect his skill, be-
ing at this time identified with the South Da-
kota State Medical Society, Sioux Falls Medical

1336

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Association, the American JNIedical Temperance
Association and the American Medical Associa-
tion, holding at this writing the position of sec-
retary of the South Dakota State Medical Soci-
ety and serving in the same capacity with the
Association of State Medical Secretaries. For
several years he was a member of the legislative
committee of the South Dakota Medical Society
and while serving as such was instrumental in
bringing about much important medical legisla-
tion. He was elected, in 1902, a member of the
house of delegates of the American Medical As-
sociation, wdiich held its sessions at Saratoga
Springs, New York, in June of that year.

Dr. Stewart exemplifies in his own life the
theories which he advocates and for which he
has long contended, that good health can only
be secured and maintained by strict observance
of temperance and correct living. To this end he
has always been a total abstainer from eveiy-
thing in the shape of intoxicants, has never used
tobacco in any form, and believing tea and coffee
to be harmful in their effects upon the human
system, discards both beverages, besides being
temperate in the use of food and abstaining from
all habits and indulgences calculated in any way
to interfere with the normal functions of any of
the bodily powers, at the same time maintaining
that serenity of mind is necessary to equanimity
and harmony in the human organism. He has
unbounded faith in his chosen calling and believes
that when properly applied, there is no profes-
sion which is so potent in uplifting the human
race physically, morally and intellectually.

Politically, Dr. Stewart yields allegiance to
no party, being independent in the matter of vot-
ing and supporting the principles which in his
judgment best conduce the public good. While
manifesting but little interest in secret fraternal
organizations, he nevertheless holds membership
with the Modern Woodmen of America, Broth-
erhood of American Yeoman and Order of Home
Guardians societies, and in religion subscribes to
the Baptist faith, having been a member of the
church of that name since his young manhood.

On September 19, 1893. the Doctor was united
in marriage, at Hurley, South Dakota, with Miss

Myra Judson, whose father, Rev. T. H. Judson,
was perhaps the first Baptist missionary sent to
the state. Three children have blessed this un-
ion, namely: James Earl, born July 13, 1894;
Howard Monroe, June 27, 1896, and Joy Alyra,,
whose birth occurred on February 8, 1901.

REV. HEINRICH P. UNRUH, one of the
popular and successful farmers of Bon Homme
county, was born in Volhynia, Ostrog, Russia, on
the 25th of February, 1865, and is a son of Rev.
Peter and Mary (Siebert) Unruh, both of whom
were likewise born in Russia, being of German
lineage and speaking the German language. Their
ancestors removed from Germany into south-
ern Russia a number of generations ago. The
father of the subject was engaged in agriculture
and in service as a minister of the gospel in his
native land until 1874, when he emigrated thence
to America, and with his family located in Hutch-
inson county. South Dakota, beiag one of the
first settlers in that section, where he took up two
hundred and twenty acres of government land,
the same being entirely unreclaimed and located
in the vicinity of Silver Lake. His equipment
upon coming to the county consisted of a few
household effects, a -wagon, a yoke of oxen and
two cows. He began his career here in true pio-
neer style, the original family home being a rude
sod house, but in due time he brought his land
under profitable cultivation and made the best
of improvements on the property, becoming one
of the honored and successful farmers of the
county, where he and his wife still maintain their
residence, residing on the old homestead which
has been their place of abode for the past thirty
years. He is a Republican in politics and both
he and his wife arc members of the Mennonite
church. To them were born ten children, of
whom all are living, the subject having been the
second in order of birth, while five of the number
were born after the removal of the family to
America.

Rev. Heinrich P. Unruh was a lad of nine
years at the time of his parents' immigration to
the United States, and had received his earlv

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1337

educational training in the excellent German
schools of his native land, while he supplemented
this by attending school as opportunit}- aft'orded
after coming to South Dakota, though the ad-
vantages were of course meager in the early days,
while his services were much in recjuisition in con-
nection with the work of the home farm. He
continued to assist his father in the management
of the homestead until he had attained the age of
twenty-one years, when he initiated his independ-
ent career, having received from his father a
gift of eighty acres of wild land in Turner county,
this state, together with a yoke of oxen. He re-
mained on this place two years, breaking the
greater portion of the land, and then, in 1888,
disposed of the property and purchased his pres-
ent homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, in
Bon Homme county. The place was partially im-
proved, and had a sod house, in which he con-
tinued to reside until 1901, when he erected his
present commodious frame residence. Mr. Un-
ruh cultivates three hundred and twenty acres
of land, of which one hundred and sixty are
rented. He receives a nice income from butter,
eggs, produce and stock, and nets from seven
hundred to eight hundred dollars yearly from
hogs. The farm has a good orchard, is well
fenced and is one of the attractive and valuable
places of the county, while the subject is known
as an energetic and indefatigable worker and as
a man worthy of unqualified confidence and es-
teem, which are freely accorded him. In politics
he supports the Republican party, and both he
and his wffe are members of the ]\Iennonite
church.

On the i8th of February, 1886, Mr. Unruh
was united in marriage to Miss Lena Schultz,
who was born in Russia and who is a daughter
of Henry Schultz, who was one of the pioneers
and successful farmers of Bon Homme county,
where his death occurred in 1880. His wife is
still living and resides in the home of our sub-
ject. Mr. and Mrs. Unruh have eight children,
whose names are here entered, with respective
dates of birth: Benjamin, February 3, 1887;
Peter, October 5, 1888; Susan, May 27, 1890;
Jonathan, January 30, 1892, died September 9,

same year; Anthony, November 12, 1893; Eliza-
beth, Januar}- 19, 1896; Anna, September 17,
1897; and William, September i, 1899.

In reference to his services as a minister of
the gospel it may be said that Mr. Unruh was
elected a minister by the members of the Men-
nonite church at Loretta, Bon Homme county, on
January 4, i88g, and was confinned and or-
dained on the 15th of February following by
Bishop Benjamin P. Schmidt. He has since then
served in the Christian ministry without salary.
He works faithfully for the sake of Christianity
and is greatly interested in the education of young
children, having himself been a teacher of the
German language for some time at Loretta.

CHRISTIAN HARTMANN is to be consid-
ered in every sense a pioneer of South Dakota and
of Bon Homme county, where he is the owner
of a fine landed estate and where he is held in
high estimation by all who know him. He has
been the architect of his own fortune, having
come to America as a young man and without
financial reinforcement, and having gained pros-
perity and independence through energy, perse-
verance and honest and earnest endeavor.

Christian Hartmann is a native of Oadalum,
province of Hanover, Germany, where he was
born on the 12th of November, 1840, being a son
of Conrad and Lena (Langkap) Hartmann, who
passed their entire lives in the fatherland, the
former having been a wagonmaker by vocation.
They became the parents of four children, of
whom the subject is the youngest. Johanna is the
wife of Christopher Lattamann, of Oadalum;
Ludwig is a resident of Biarbaum Mill ; and
Henry died when twenty years of age. The sub-
ject was reared in his native land and received
his educational training in its excellent schools.
After leaving school he gave his attention to sugar
manufacturing until 1869, when he severed the
home ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in
America, landing in New York and thence mak-
ing his way westward to St. Louis, Missouri,
where he remained ten days, after which he
embarked on a Missouri river steamboat and

1338

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

started forth in search of a location. He came
up the river to Niobrara, Nebraska, across the
river from South Dakota, and in that locality he
took up a squatter's claim of one hundred and
sixty acres, in what is now Knox county, Ne-
braska, the nearest neighbor being twenty-five
miles distant, while game of all sorts was abund-
ant and the Indians much in evidence. Two years
after he had taken his claim the same reverted to
the government, which demanded the land for
military reservation purposes. In 1873 Mr.
Hartmann took up an Indian pre-emption claim
in township 92, Bon Homme county, South Da-
kota, and later secured a homestead claim ad-
joining and this property is an integral part of
his present estate. For several years after com-
ing to this section Mr. Hartmann was employed
by the government as engineer in a sawmill, re-
ceiving seventy-five dollars a month in recom-
pense for his services and utilizing this income
in the development and improvement of his ranch.
In 1877 he went to the Indian territory, where
he continued in government employ for the en-
suing five years, at the expiration of which, in
1882, he came with his wife to the farm in this
county and settled down to agricultural pursuits
and to the raising of live stock, with which lines
of enterprise he has ever since been identified.
He is now the owner of twelve hundred and
eighty acres of valuable land, and the place has
the best of improvements, the original and dimin-
utive log house having given place to a com-
modious frame residence, which he erected in
1885, the same having been the second frame
dwelling built in this section of the county, while
he has since remodeled and otherwise improved
the building. His entire ranch is well fenced and
three hundred and twenty acres are under culti-
vation, the balance being utilized for grazing
purposes and for the raising of hay, etc. He
has a large and substantial barn and other good
farm buildings, has set out a grove of trees,
now well matured, and the place is one of the at-
tractive ones of the county and bespeaks thrift
and prosperity. Mr. Hartmann gives special at-
tention to the raising of cattle and horses of ex-
cellent grade, as well as hogs and sheep, having

an average herd of one hundred head of cattle,
and having shipped three car loads of cattle and
hogs in 1903. The home is one in which are
found evidences of refined taste, books, works
of art, a piano, etc., adding to its attractions,
while its hospitality is genial and kindly, the
latch-string ever hanging out. In politics Mr.
Hartmann is a stanch Republican, but has never
sought or desired official preferment, though he
I shows a helpful interest in local affairs of a pub-
lic nature. He is a member of the Lutheran
church, in whose faith he was reared, and his
wife is a member of the Congregational church.

At Perkins, South Dakota, on the 3d of July,
1881, Mr. Hartmann was united in marriage to
Miss Lizzie Knight, who was born and reared
in Duquoin, Illinois, and who was a resident of
Cleardale, Kansas, at the time of her marriage,
being a daughter of Albert Knight, a pioneer of
Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Hartmann have eight
children, all of whom still remain in the home
circle, though the sons and two daughters are
at this time students in the State Normal School
at Springfield, this county. The names of the
children are here entered in order of birth : Le-
ona, William, Mary, Ellen, Carl, Albert (died
when six months old), Lassara and Grace.

ISAAC SCHMIDT, of Perkins, Bon Homme
county, was born in Heinrischdorf, Russia, on
the 13th of August, 1859, and is a son of Benja-
min and Sarah Schmidt, who were likewise born
and reared in that same province, where the fa-
ther was engaged in milling, weaving and farm-
ing until September, 1874,. In 1786 Catharine
II of Russia invited the Mennonites in Germany
to settle in Russia, granting them religious lib-
erty. Many of them accepted the invitation and
established their homes there. In 1870 strong
efforts were made by Rusian officials to have
the edict repealed and thus make all male resi-
dents subject to military duty. Then Mr.
Schmidt decided to emigrate with his family to
the United States, landing in New York, and
immediately afterward coming to the territory of
Dakota. Thev remained two weeks in Yankton

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1339

and then Mr. Schmidt entered claim to three hun-
dred and twenty acres of government land
in what is now township 93, Bon Homme
county, and the original home of the fam-
ily was a dugout of the type so common in
the early pioneer epoch. He developed a good
farm and he and his wife still reside on the place,
being numbered among the sterling pioneers of
the county and having the high regard of all who
know them. He is independent in his political
proclivities and both he and his wife are mem-
bers of the Mennonite church, exemplifying their
faith in their daily walk. They had many vicissi-
tudes and privations to encounter in the early
days of their residence in the territory, and the
work of developing the farm was accomplished
with meager facilities, while Mr. Schmidt found
employment in various Ways in order to earn the
money with which to provide for his family and
carry forward the improvement of his place,
which is now one of the best in this section. In
the family were nine children, all of whom are
living and well placed in life, the subject of this
sketch having been the fifth in order of birth.

Isaac Schmidt secured his early educational
discipline in the denominational school of his
fatherland, and was a lad of fifteen years at the
time of the family immigration to America. Ow-
ing to the conditions of time and place he re-
ceived but little schooling after coming to Da-
kota, but he has gained a broad fund of knowl-
edge of practical order through personal appli-
cation and through experience in connection with
the active afifairs of life. As a boy he assisted in
cutting hay on the pioneer farm, utilizing a scythe
for this purpose, and the first property which he
accumulated though his own efiforts was a cow.
At the age of fifteen years he began working on
the farm, for a stipend of six dollars a month,
being thus engaged for three years and with his
savings he purchased a pair of steers, which he
used for a team. At the age of twenty years he
purchased one hundred and sixty acres of wild
land in township 93, this county, and this consti-
tutes his present finely improved ranch. The
land is under a high state of cultivation, is well
fenced, has an orchard of twelve acres, which

yields good crops, while in addition to general
farming and stock raising Mr. Schmidt devotes
special attention to gardening, being one of the
most successful horticulturists in this section.
In 1894 he erected his present attractive residence,
and the other buildings on the place are of sub-
stantial order, all giving evidence of thrift and
prosperity. He is independent in his political
views and is essentially public-spirited and pro-
gressive, 'taking an interest in all that conserves
the general welfare of the county and state in
which he has made his home from his boyhood
days and to whose development he has contrib-
uted his quota. Both he and his wife are con-
sistent members of the Mennonite church, in
whose faith they were reared.

On the 5th of May, 1878, Mr. Schmidt was
united in marriage to Miss Aganela Unruh, who
was born in Heinrischdorf, Russia, on the 21st
of January, 1858, being a daughter of Henry
Unruh, who died in Russia. Mr. and Mrs.
Schmidt have six children. Henry, who married
Miss Kate Boese, and who is a successful fanner
and schoolteacher of this county, having one son ;
and Benjamin, Annie, Bertha, Lena and Mary,
who remain at the parental home. All the chil-
dren receive good educational advantages, and
all are proficient in music.

LYMAN BURGESS, who is now living re-
tired in the city of Vennillion, Clay county, is a
native of Whtaser, Norway, where he was born
on the 1 6th of November, 1829, being a son of
Burguf and Holberson Ingburg, his own sur-
name being derived according to the custom of
his native land. The father of the subject was
a teacher by vocation, and passed his entire life
in Norway, where he died in 1838. His widow,
when well advanced in years, came to America
in 1843, and passed the remainder of her life in
the home of her son Oliver, in Fillmore county,
Minnesota, her death occurring in 1857. In the
family were nine children, of whom only two are
now living, Oliver, who is a prominent and influ-
ential farmer of Wisconsin ; and Lvman, who is

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the immediate subject of this review.' All of the
other children died in infancy.

Lyman Burgess received his early educational
discipline in his native land, and when he was
but fourteen years of age, in 1843, he came to
America in company with his older brother. Oli-
ver, who was twenty-two years old at the time.
They located in Dane county, Wisconsin, and
there the subject found employment as clerk in
a general store in the village of Janesville, while
later he worked in a local wheat market. At the
age of eighteen years he purchased a farm of
eighty-five acres, iii Dane county, that state, dis-
posing of the property a few years later. In i860,
as a young man of thirty-one years, Mr. Burgess
came to the territory of Dakota, driving an ox-
team through from Wisconsin and arriving in
Clay county in July of that year. Here he pre-
empted one hundred and sixty acres, all being en-
tirely wild and unimproved, while buffaloes and
other wild game were abundant in the locality
and the Indians frequent visitors. He erected a
log house on his embryonic farm and initiated the
onerous labor of reclaiming the land to cultiva-
tion, perfecting his title to the property in due
course of time. This land he still retains in his
possession, and it has been under cultivation
for a longer period than practically any other
tract in this section. He has accumulated adjoin-
ing lands, so that the area of his ranch at the
]iresent time is seven hundred acres, while it is
one of the best improved and most valuable farms
in the county, being situated in Fairview town-
ship, three miles from Vermillion. He erected a
large and commodious residence on the farm, and
also has the best type of farm buildings aside
from the dwelling. In 1893 jMr, Burgess erected
an attractive modern residence in the city of Ver-
million, where he has since lived retired from ac-
tive business, though he still maintains a general
supervision of his farm, which he rents. He for
many years devoted special attention to the rais-
ing of fine live stock in connection with his diver-
sified farming, and he gave preference to the
Durham breed of cattle, of which he always had
many fine specimens. \h-. Burgess is a man of
marked mentality and broad information, having

read widely and with much discrimination, and
keeping at all times in touch with the issues and
Cjuestions of the day, while he has been animated
by that liberality and public spirit w^hich ever
proves potent in furthering the general welfare
and advancement. He is a stanch advocate of
the principles and policies of the Republican
party, and served for many years as a member
of the board of township trustees, while for two
years he was a member of the board of county
commissioners. In 1861 he was elected to rep-
resent Qay county in the first territorial legisla-
ture, and he has taken an active part in public
affairs in the days past, being now inclined to
relegate such work to younger men, having
"borne the heat and burden of the day" and
played well his part as one of the founders and
builders of an opulent and splendid common-
wealth. It may be said that when he took up his
residence in Clay county the present thriving and
attractive little city of Vermillion was a mere
trading post, having only a few buildings and a
population of about ten individuals. Religiously
Mr. Burgess is in sympathy with the creetl of the
Lutheran church.

On the 9th of May, 1856, in Cambridge, Wis-
consin, Mr. Burgess was united in marriage to
Miss Caroline Lee, who was born in Norway in
1840 and came to the United States when eleven
years old, being a daughter of Eric and Agot
(Johnson) Lee, natives of Norway, who were
numbered among the early settlers of the Badger
state. Ahdrew Lee, the youngest of the four
children, was one of the prominent pioneers of
South Dakota and one of its most distinguished
and influential citizens, having served as govern-
or of the state in 1896. He is now engaged in
the general merchandise business in Vermillion
and also has extensive farming and stock inter-
ests. Of the nine children of Mr. and ]Mrs. Bur-
gess a brief record is given in the following and
concluding paragraph of this brief sketch, entered
in tribute to one of the sterling pioneers of the
state.

Giarlotte, who is now at the parental home,
was for twelve years a successful and popular
teacher in the high school at Sioux City, Iowa :

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1 341

Dorothea, Hannah and ElHs are also at home;
Clara is the wife of Hans J. Smith, who is en-
gaged in the merchandise business at Akron,
Iowa, and they have one son, Ralph; Grace and
Pearl are at the parental home ; Bergo L., who is
associated with his brother-in-law, Mr. Smith, in
the general merchandise business in Akron, Iowa,
married Miss Louise Young, and they have two
daughters. Ellen and Carlon ; Eric A., who was
graduated in the law department of the State
I'niversity. at Vermillion, in 1889, is "ow a lead-
ing member of the bar of Sioux City, loWa ; he
married Miss Mary Fry, and they have one son,
Lyman Taylor. All of the children are college
graduates, and each of the daughters received
good musical training, while all have been suc-
cessful teachers. Pearl at the present time taking
a post-graduate course in music. -

AARON CARPENTER, who is associ-
ated with his sons under the firm name of A. Car-
penter & Sons, in the ownership and operation
of the Vermillion Nursery and Fruit Farm,
which is located in the immediate proximity of the
city of A'ermillion. is a native of the old Green
[Mountain state and a scion of a family whose
name has been identified with American history
from the colonial epoch, when the original pro-
genitors in the new world came hither from
England and established a home in New Eng-
land. He was bom in Concord. \'ermont, on the
"th of July. 1826, and thus will soon join the
ranks of the octogenarians. He is a son of Jedi-
diah and Elizabeth (Qiamberlain) Carpenter,
both of whom were born an<l reared in New
Hampshire, whence the\' removed to A^ermont.
where the father was engaged in fanning until
1858, when he came to South Dakota, being one
of the earliest settlers in Clay county, where he
passed the remainder of his life, his death here
occurring September 21, 1886, at which time he
was eighty-four years of age. His devoted wife
died in Vermont, in 1847, at the age of fifty-one
years. They became the parents of four chil-
dren, namely : Lyman, who died in Washing-
ton in 1900; Aaron, who is the immediate sub-

ject of this sketch ; Mary, who is the wife of
Qiarles Stacey, of Vermillion ; and John, who
died in Washington, in 1898.

In 1858 the subject's father located in Ne-
braska, and two years later first stepped foot on
the soil of the territory of Dakota. From Du-
buque, Iowa, he made the trip overland with ox-
teams, and he located just across the Missouri
river in Dixon county, Nebraska, where he re-
mained until 1 86 1, in February of which year he
took up his pennanent residence in Qay county,
South Dakota, where he took up government
land, here passing the remainder of his life. The
country was on the very frontier of civilization,
and Vermillion was then nothing more than an
isolated trading post. The subject was reared
and educated in \'erniont, and was thirty years
of age at the time when he came with his father
to the west. In 1861 he established his perma-
nent home in Clay county, this state, taking up
one hundred and sixty acres of government land,
and erecting a log house on the same, after which
he turned his attention to the reclamation of a
fami from the virgin wilderness, and here he
has ever since mainained his home, the farm be-
ing one of the best improved and most eligibly
located in the county, adjoining the city of Ver-
million. In 1873 ^I*"- Carpenter began the prop-
agation of fruits of various kinds, and he has
since devoted special attention to this line of en-
terprise, while his fruit farm and nurser\- are
among the best to be found in the state, the busi-
ness ramifying into the most diverse sections of
South Dakota, as well as into adjoining states,
while the firm of which he is at the head enjoys
the highest reputation for reliability and for the
excellence of all products. The nursery depart-
ment of the enterprise offers the best of products
in apples, crab-apple, plum. pear, cherry and oth-
er trees, while special attention is given to the
raising of scions in the small fruit-line, as well
as roses, garden roots, flowering plants of varied
kinds, ornamental shrubs and forest-tree seed-
lings, evergreens and shade trees. From the
Vermillion farm in season are shipped large
quantities of fruit, and the same finds a ready
market at the maximum prices. In the year 1903

1342

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

more than twenty thousand grafts were put out
in the nursery.

In poHtics, Mr. Carpenter is a stanch ad-
herent of the Republican party, and he has ever
taken an active interest in pubhc affairs. He
was a member of the territorial legislature for
two terms — in 1867 and 1868-69 — and was a
member of the first board of county commission-
ers of Clay county, whose organization was ef-
fected in 1862. He and his wife are prominent and
valued members of the United Brethren church,
and have long been active in church and social
aft'airs.

On the 2 1 St of June, 1849, in Concord, Ver-
mont, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Car-
penter to Miss Kezia Russell, who was bom and
reared in Middlesex, that state, being a daugh-
ter of Rev. John M. and Sarah (Foss) Russell,
her father having been a clergyman of the Bap-
tist church. Of the four children of the subject
and his wife, we offer the following information :
George L. who was born on the 9th of March,
1862, is associated in business with his father, as
a member of the firm of A. Carpenter & Sons, and
has the practical management of the enterprise at
the present time, being a careful and able busi-
ness man and one who is thoroughly informed in
the practical and theoretical details of fruit cul-
ture and general nursery work. He was married
on the 1 2th of October, 1887, to Miss Mary Au-
ther, a daughter of James Auther, of this coun-
ty, and they have five children, namely : Ellen K.,
Arthur A., Francis M., William A. and Joseph
W. He is a Republican in politics and is a pro-
gressive and loyal citizen of the state in which
he has passed practically his entire life. Alba,
the oldest of birth, is a resident of Fort Gamble,
Washington, where he is engaged in farming;
he married Emma Ridell, of Yankton, May 22,
1872, and they have two children living, Jennie
May Hicks and Ethel K. Johnson. John, who
was born on the 14th of October, 1869, is still
at the parental home and is an active member of
the firm of A. Carpenter & Sons, being an able
coadjutor of his father and brother; and Carrie
M. is the wife of Edward Coles, a successful
farmer of this county; they have one child,
George A.

HENRY L. FERRY was born in Burlington
Iowa, on the 6th of September, 1838, and is a
son of Silas and Flavia (French) Ferry, the
former of whom was born in Luzerne county,
Pennsylvania, and the latter in Massachusetts.
The paternal grandfather of the subject was
present at the time of the great ^^'yoming massa-
cre in Pennsylvania, but managed to escape with
his life. His father was a native of France, and
emigrated thence to America in the colonial era
of our national history, locating in Pennsylvania.
The parents of the subject were married in the
old Keystone state, and shortly afterward re-
moved to Olean, New York, where they contin-
ued to reside until 1837. when they started for
Iowa, arriving in March of that year. They lo-
cated in Burlington, and there the father en-
gaged in draying. About 1858 he removed to
the vicinity of Muscatine, that state, where he be-
came the owner of two farms, and there he
passed the remainder of his life, his deatli occurr-
ing on the loth of May, 1863. His wife was
summoned into eternal rest on the loth of May,
1863, both having been consistent members of
the Methodist Episcopal church, while in poli-
tics he was originally a Democrat.

Henry L. Ferry w,as reared on the pioneer
farm and early began to assist in its cultivation
and improvement, while his educational advan-
tages in his youth were those afforded in the
common schools of the locality and period. He
continued to assist in the work and management
of the homestead farm until he had attained the
age of eighteen years, when he started out on his
own responsibility, passing about two years in
Illinois, where he was variously employed, and
then returning again to the homestead in Iowa.
He was married in March, 1861, and on Sep-
tember 9th of the same year he enlisted as a pri-
vate in Company T, Eleventh Iowa Volunteer
Infantry, with which he served four years. His
command was assigned to the Army of the Ten-
nessee, and took part in many of the notable bat-
tles of the great internecine conflict through
which the Union was perpetuated. He was a par-
ticipant in the battle of Shiloh, the sieges of Cor-
inth and Vicksburg, the Meridian raid and was
under General Sherman in the Atlanta campaign,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

. 1343

and in the ever memorable "march to the sea,"
after which his command was in the campaign j
through the Carolinas, and after the surrender
of Lee marched on to the national capital and
took part in the grand review of the victorious
armies. He received his honorable discharge, at
Louisville, Kentucky, on the 15th of July, 1866.
After the close of the war Mr. Ferry returned
to Muscatine county, Iowa, where he remained
until the autumn of 1867, when he came with his
wife to the territory of Dakota and entered claim
to one hundred and sixty acres of government
land, in Fairview township, Clay county. He
labored strenuously in the development and im-
proving of his farm, and in 1881 Mr. Ferry pur-
chased an adjoining quarter section, and the en-
tire farm is under effective cultivation, improved
with excellent buildings and is recognized as one
of the valuable places of the county. Mr. Ferry
continued to reside on the homestead and to ac-
tively supervise its affairs until 1899, when he
purchased an attractive residence in the city of
Vermillion, where he has since lived practically
retired. He and his wife have been for many
years active and valued members of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church, and have taken a promi-
nent part in religious work. In politics Mr. Fer-
ry gave his allegiance to the Democratic party
until 1895, since which time he has been arrayed
as a stanch supporter of the principles of the
Populist party. He has twice been nominated
for the state legislature, being defeated on each
occasion, with the other party candidates. In
1899 he was elected a member of the board of ed-
ucation of Vermillion, serving four years. He
was one of the first men in the state to become
identified with the Grange movement, and was
the leader in the order for a number of years,
having been the organizer of the first grange in
the state, in 1878, within which year he effected
the establishing of ten such organizations in
Cla}". He is one of the valued members of
Miner Post, No. 8, Grand Army of the Republic,
in his home city, and manifests a deep interest
in his old comrades in arms.

On the 26th of March, 1881, in Aluscatine
county, Iowa, Mr. Ferry was united in marriage

to Miss Mary J. Reyburn, who was born in But-
ler county, Pennsylvania, on the 22d of March,
1835, being a daughter of Callin and Mary (Cal-
lin) Reyburn, the former of whom was born in
Pennsylvania and the latter in Virginia. Of the
seven children of Mr. and Mrs. Ferry we incor-
porate the following data in conclusion of this
review : Henrietta is the wife of Emmett C.
Oiapman, of Muscatine county, Iowa, and they
have five children, while it should be noted in the
connection that of the latter one is married,
while the subject and his wife have one great-
grandchild; Cora M. is the wife of M. B.
Hampton, of Charles Mix county, this state, and
they have seven children ; Arthur V., who is a
printer in X'ermillion, was for seven years the
editor and publisher of a weekly paper, the Mon-
itor, at Wakonda, this county; he married Miss
Cora Usher and they have five children ; Collin
R. is in the employ of the Chicago, Milwaukee
& St. Paul Railroad Company, and maintains his
headquarters in Vermillion; Orin S., who mar-
ried Miss Delia Usher, is a successful farmer of
this county ; Lucius, who married Miss Kate
Herring, has charge of the homestead farm ; and
Phillip H. is in the employ of the Chicago, Mil-
waukee & St. Paul Railroad Company. Lucius
and Philip served two years each in the Philip-
pines, having been members of Company A,
First South Dakota Volunteer Infantry, and they
ably sustained the family reputation for loyalty
and military prestige.

REIN TALSMA, one of the successful and
prominent farmers of Bon Homme county, was
born in Friensland, Holland, on the 8th of No-
vember, 1846, and is a son of Mattheus and
Reintje Talsma, the former of whom passed his
entire life in Holland, where he was a gardener
by vocation, while the latter came to the United
States in 1870 and located in Sioux county, Iowa,
where she passed the remainder of her life, her
death occurring in 1879. Of the five cildren in
the family the subject of this review was the sec-
ond in order of birth, while of the number all are

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

living- except two. The subject was reared to
maturity in his native land, where he was af-
forded the advantas^es of the excellent national
schools, after which he was engaged in carpen-
tery until he had attained the age of twenty-two
years, when, in 1868, he immigrated to America,
believing that here were to be found superior op-
portunities for the attaining of definite success
through individual effort. He had learned the
trade of carpenter in Holland, and upon comiig
to tha United States he located in Alarion county,
Iowa, where he followed his trade and worked on
farms for the ensuing six years. At the expira-
tion of this period, in 1874, he came as a pioneer
to South Dakota, being thus numbered among
those who initiated the strenuous work of devel-
opment and civic progress. He made the over-
land journey with a wagon and team of horses
and two yoke of oxen, being thus better prepared
to take up the work of reclaiming new land than
was the average pioneer of the period. He took
up three hundred and twenty acres of govern-
ment land in township 93, Bon Homme
county, the tract being entirely wild, and soon
after his arrival he completed the erection of a
sod house of the primitive type, and he then set
himself vigorously to the work of placing his
land under cultivation, while during the long in-
tervening years he has developed one of the val-
uable farms of the county and made the best of
permanent improvements on the same, including
the erection of his present handsome and commo-
dious residence in 1899, while about the home is
found a well-matured grove of trees, all of which
w-ere planted and nurtured by himself.

On the 26th of May, 1873, Mr. Talsma was
united in marriage to Miss Grietje Ferwerda,
who was born and reared in ITolland, whence
she came to America in 1873, their marriage be-
ing solemnized in the state of Iowa. The great
loss and bereavement of Mr. Talsma's life came
on the last of April, 1901, when his loved com-
panion was summoned into eternal rest, at the
age of forty-nine years. Thev became the par-
ents of twelve children, all of whom are living
except two, the names being here entered in or-
der of birth: Reina, John, Bertha, Winnie (died

at the age of five years), Matthew, Fred (a son
who died in infancy), Winnie (2nd), Katie, Fred
(2nd), Lucretia, ^Margaret and Garence.

CARROLL F. EASTON, an honored resi-
dent of Aberdeen and for many years very closely
identified with the material interests of South
Dakota, was born in Lewis county. New York,
August 31, 1857. His father, Francis M. Easton,
a general merchant of Lowville, died when Car-
roll F. was about ten years old, after which the
latter worked on a farm for his board, in this
way spending the greater part of his time until
a youth of fourteen, when he went to Philadel-
phia, where he earned a livelihood for some time
bv selling-small articles on the streets of the city,
subsequently discontinuing that line of business
with the object in view of learning the hatter's
trade. After a short experience in that capacity,
he quit the shop and entered a store, accepting a
very responsible position for one so young, but
he discharged his duties faithfully and well and
gained the confidence of his employers, who in-
sisted that the young clerk remain with them
and become permanently attached to the estab-
lishment. Not being pleased with the idea of
devoting his life to mercantile pursuits, young
Easton resigned his place, after less than a year's
service, and in 1874 went to Lanesboro, Minne-
sota, where his uncle, J. C. Easton, of La Crosse,
Wisconsin, had some time previously established
a bank. Entering the institution in a clerical ca-
pacity, he soon demonstrated unusual efficiency,
and on the death of the ca.shier, which occurred a
little later, he was promoted to the latter posi-
tion, at the same time becoming practically the
manager of the bank, his uncle being absent the
greater part of the time. Few young men of the
age of eighteen have sucli a burden of responsi-
bility resting upon them, and yet as cashier and
acting president Mr. Easton managed the bank
c|uite successfully, and the five years during which
he was in charge were the most flourishing of its
history.

J. C. Easton was a man of large wealth and
wide influence, and in addition to owning the

C~^I^

2^

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Southern Minnesota Railroad, established a num-
ber of banks at different places in Minnesota and
A\'isconsin. one of these being the establishment
referred to. At the end of five years noted above,
the subject became interested in a bank at Tracy,
Minnesota, starting the business with a limited
capital of jierhaps six hundred dollars, which
he had saved, but from this small beginning the
institution steadily grew in the confidence of the
comnumity until within a comparatively short
time its deposits amounted to over fifty thousand
dollars. Mr. Easton's previous experience in
hanking enabled him to manage the institution in
which he was interested in an able and business-
like way, but the title under which it was con-
<lucted being the same as the bank owned by his
nncle, the latter objected by reason of prior right
to the name. Refusing to yield to his uncle's im-
portunities to close out the bank, he continued the
business with constantly increasing success, and
shortly afterwards, in partnership with two other
parties, started another bank at Sioux Falls,
South Dakota, which under the name of Easton,
TMcKinney & Scougle, soon became the leading
monetary institution of that city. About the same
time, 1880, these parties established several
l^ranches at various points in South Dakota, the
more noted of which were those at Yankton and
Dell Rapids, all beginning with small capital, but
gradually growing and extending their influence
until becoming permanent fixtures in the respect-
ive localities. Subsequently Mr. Easton disposed
of his interests in several of the Dakota banks,
l3ut kept the one at Tracy, Minnesota, which he
continued to manage with success and financial
profit for a period of fifteen years. In 1881 he
moved to Aberdeen, organizing a banking busi-
ness at Wolsey under the style of Easton, Vance
& Company, and later the Bank of Davies &
Easton at Bowdle. Through these institutions
lie handled, in addition to the general local busi-
ness, a great deal of eastern capital, which was
loaned at good rates of interest. Mr. Easton
served five or six years as president of the First
National Bank of Aberdeen, but some years after
retiring from that position he disposed of all of
his banking interests and turned his attention to

various other lines of business. For a number
of years he dealt very largely in real estate, mak-
ing a specialty of farm property, which he bought
and sold quite extensively, not only in South Da-
kota, but throughout several other western states
and territories. At one time he was engaged in
raising fine blooded cattle of the Hereford breed,
and owned a ranch of three thousand six hundred
and eighty acres of valuable grazing lands in
Brown county. He bought and shipped live
stock on an extensive scale, while operating this
ranch, and in addition thereto was also interested
in the cattle business in old Mexico, where he and
C. E. Reid, also of Aberdeen, owned a ranch of
fourteen thousand acres, which they managed
with encouraging success for a period of ten
years, selling it at the end of that time.

In his various business transactions Mr.
Easton has not been actuated solely by a desire for
gain, much of. his endeavor being in the way of
inducing a substantial and thrifty class of peo-
ple to purchase homes and become permanent res-
idents of South Dakota. He has done a great
deal to advertise the advantages of the state, not
in a loud, sensational manner, but in a more quiet
way, based upon truthful representation with
which none of the many who came here through
his influence have ever found fault, but on the
contrary have always found his statements veri-
fied by fact. He improved a great deal of his
property before selling and in this way provided
a large number of comfortable homes, which he
sold to settlers on the installment plan. This plan
he has found most judicious in every respect, as
it redounds not only to his own financial advan-
tage, but places the opportunity of securing a
home within easy reach of the man of moderate
means. He still devotes his attention to im-
proving and selling property, also handles a great
deal of farm and grazing land, and does an exten-
sive business, second in volume to that of no
other man in the city of Aberdeen similarly en-
gaged. He is one of the wide awake, progressive
men of his city, county and state, is deeply inter-
ested in public affairs, and in different official ca-
pacities, as well as in his private dealings, has
always advanced public improvements and cham-

1346

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

pioned every laudable enterprise for the general
welfare of the community. Politically he is a
straight-out Republican and an untiring worker
for the success of his party. He was a member
of the city council and of the school board, and
president of the Masonic Temple, being a thir-
ty-second-degree Mason.

Mr. Easton was married, in 1884, to Miss
Eva Burns, of Caledonia, Minnesota, and is the
father of three children, Russell B., a student of
Rensselaer Institute, Troy, New York ; Violet,
still a member of the home circle, as is also
Hazel, the youngest of the family. In closing this
brief review of Mr. Easton's active and eminently
honorable and useful career, it is but just to ob-
serve that his life is one deserving of the greatest
praise, for to him, perhaps, as much as to any
one man is due the remarkable growth and pros-
perity of the section of South Dakota in which he
resides. His name will always be conspicuous on
the roll of eminent men who have conferred
honor on Aberdeen and the northeastern part of
the state, and the distinction accorded him of be-
ing a leader in all that concerns the material well-
being of the commonwealth has been fairly and
honorably earned. His prominent position in
business circles he owes to his own exertions, his
years of energetic labor and his untiring persever-
ance, combined with sound judgment, clear in-
sight and the exercise of that executive ability
which never falls short of the accomplishment of
high and noble purposes. He is respected and
esteemed for his many manly qualities, as well
as ior his remarkable influence in building up
and strengthening the body politic along material
and other lines, and his personal friends through-
out his adopted state are numberless.

FREDERICK DAHLENBURG, one of the
sterling pioneers of Bon Homme county, where
he has maintained his home for thirty years, is a
native of the fair old city of Berlin, Germany,
where he was born on the 28th of July, 1S43, be-
ing a son of John and Mary Dahlerburg, both
of whom were likewise born in that city, the fa-
ther having been a wagonniakcr by trade and hav-

ing followed the same in his fatherland until
1878, when he emigrated thence to the United
States, where two of his sons had preceded him,
and he located in Grant county, Wisconsin, and
there both he and his estimable wife passed the
remainder of their lives, his death occurring in
1880, while she passed away in 1900. They be-
come the parents of five children, namely : Mary,
who is the wife of John Xess, of Grant county,
Wisconsin ; Qiarles, who is one of the represent-
ative farmers of Bon Homme county, South Da-
kota; Minnie, who is the wife of Fred Jack, of
Grant county, Wisconsin; Frederick, who is the
immediate subject of this sketch; and Augusta,
who is the wife of Charles Belz, of Lancaster,
Wisconsin.

Frederick Dahlenburg was reared to matur-
ity in his native city, in whose e.xcellent schools
he secured his early educational discipline, after
which he turned his attention to army service, in
which he was engaged until 1873, when he came
to America, in company with his wife. They lo-
cated in Grant county, Wisconsin, in April of
that year and there remained until May, 1874,
when they came to what is now the state of
South Dakota, where our subject's brother,
Qiarles, had located in the preceding year, and
here they became numbered among the early set-
tlers of Bon Homme county. Mr. Dahlenburg
entered a homestead claim of government land,
in township 93, and this one hundred and
sixty acres constitutes an integral portion of
his present fine landed estate. He began the im-
provement of his land, establishing his home in a
primitive sod house, and through his indefatiga-
ble energy and good management the wild land
has been transformed into a fertile and produc-
tive farm, while as prosperity has attended his
efforts he has added to the area of his ratich from
time to time until he is now the owner of six hun-
dred and seventy-two acres, of which three hun-
dred and fifty acres are under a high state of cul-
tivation, while upon the place have been made the
best of improvements, including the erection of a
modern farm dwelling, and the large and sub-
stantial barn. Good fences surround and inter-
sect tlie ranch, and on the place are to be found

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1347

a good orchard and fine groves of shade trees,
all planted by the owner. Mr. Dahlenburg se-
cures excellent yields of wheat, oats and corn,
giving special attention to the propagation of
corn, and he is also one of the successful stock
growers of the county, having an excellent grade
of cattle and hogs, while he also raises horses for
his own use. Mr. Dahlenburg is independent in
his political views, and he and his wife are zeal-
ous members of the Lutheran church, and enjoy
the highest degree of respect and confidence in
the community in which they have so long made
their home.

In his native city of Berlin, on the 28th of
November, 1869, was solemnized the marriage of
Mr. Dahlenburg to Miss Matilda Stefifien, a
daughter of August Steffien, who passed his en-
tire life in Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Dahlenburg
have five children, to whom they have given ex-
cellent educational advantages, and of them we
enter the following brief record : William, who
is associated with his father in the management
of the home farm, was married on the 19th of
February, 1903, to Miss Delia Paul, who was
born and reared in Linn county, Iowa; Annie is
the wife of Charles Orth, who is engaged in the
furniture business at Tyndall, this county ; and
Henry, Frederick. Jr., and Robert remain at the
parental home and are attending the local school.

PHILETUS N. CROSS, of Yankton county,
was born in Ohio on the ist of August, 1833, and
is a son of Philetus Cross, Sr., who was also a
native of the Buckeye state. In 1840 the father
took his familv to Wisconsin, becoming a well
known and successful farmer of that state, but he
spent his last years in Minnesota, where he died
at a ripe old age.

The subject of this sketch grew to manhood
in Wisconsin. It was in the fall of 1869 that he
came to South Dakota and took up one hundred
and sixty acres of government land in Clay
county, giving his time and attention to the im-
provement and cultivation of that place until
1883, when he sold out. He passed though all
the hardships and trials incident to pioneer life

and had his crops destroyed by the grasshoppers
three years and by floods at other times.
Throughout his active business life he has con-
tinued to engage in agricultural pursuits and is
today a resident of Gayville, Yankton county,
where he now makes his home.

In i860 Mr. Cross was united in marriage to
Miss Emma Jane Maxon, by whom he had eight
children, and after her death he was again mar-
ried in December, 1887, his second union being
with Mrs. Sarah (Cronk) Blodgett, a native of
Ohio. Her former husband was Myron Blodg-
ett, one of the honored early settlers and success-
ful farmers of Yankton county, having come
here from Iowa, in the spring of 1869, and taken
up government land. He died on the i6th of
April, 1883, honored and respected by all who
knew him. Besides his widow he left five chil-
dren, one of whom is now deceased. The others
are all married and nicely located.

Politically, Mr. Cross is a Republican with
prohibition tendencies, being a strong temperance
man, and in early life he took quite an active and
prominent part in local politics, efficiently serving
as county commissioner in Clay county. South
Dakota, for a time. He was also a member of
the territorial legislature in 1879-80 and was re-
garded as one of the most influential men of his
community. During the dark days of the Civil
war Mr. Cross offered his services to the gov-
ernment, enlisting in Company C, Fourteenth
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and he was hold-
ing the rank of second lieutenant when he re-
ceived his discharge. He has long been an active
worker in the Methodist church, and for the past
sixteen years has been an evangelistic minister.

OLE NIELSEN, one of the leading and rep-
resentative citizens of Yankton county, was born
in Denmark on Christmas eve, December 24,
1853, and is a son of Niels and Juliana (Han-
neke) Oleson, also natives of that country. The
first twenty years of his life the subject spent
in his native land and in 1873 came to the United
States. After spending one month in Minnesota,
he came to Yankton countv. South Dakota, and

1348

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

with the interests of this state he has been ac-
tively identified ever since. In 1875 his parents
and the remainder of the family removed from
Denmark to South Dakota and the father now
lives retired in Yankton at the age of seventy-
six years, while his wife has reached the age of
seventy-three years. Both hold membership in
the Lutheran church, and the father votes with
the Republican party. Their children are Ole,
of this review ; John ; Dora, now the wife of Jake
Nissen. of Yankton ; Estine ; Selia ; Fred ;
Qiristian ; Andrew, deceased ; and Helen. All
were given good school privileges and Helen,
who is still at home, has become quite proficient
in nuisic. .She is the only one of the children
bom in the United States.

In 1874 Mr. Nielsen, whose name introduces
this sketch, took up one hundred and sixty acres
of government land in Yankton county and con-
structed a dugout, which was his first home
here. Two years later he offered his right to
this property for a yoke of steers, but was re-
fused and in 1902 it sold for over six thousand
dollars, having devoted six or seven years to its
cultivation and improvement. He then removed
to Yanton, where he ran a dray line for seven
years, and in 1889 bought his present farm near
Mission Hill, which is an improved place of one
hundred and sixty acres. He has since re-
modeled the residence, barns and sheds and made
other improvements which add greatly to the
value and attractive appearance of the place. He
carries on general farming and is also engaged
in the buying, feeding and sale of stock, having
sixty head upon his place during the winter of
1902-3. He makes a specialty of Poland-China
hogs and Percheron horses and upon his farm he
raises corn, wheat, oats, timothy and alfalfa.

In June, 1880, Mr. Nielsen was united in
marriage to Miss Hannah Andrasen, who is also
a native of Denmark, where her parents lived
and died. Unto the subject and his wife were
born two children, but Julia died in, infancy.
Harry is now fourteen years of age and is at-
tending school. Mr. and Mrs. Nielsen support
the Lutheran church and he is a member of Mis-
sion Hill Camp, No. 7209, Modem Woodmen of

America. He votes for the men whom he be-
lieves best qualified for office and takes a deep in-
terest in school work.

HARRY H. MAUPIN, one of the represent-
ative business men and honored citizens of Egan,
Moody county, is a native of the Old Dominion,
having been born in the beautiful mountain town
of Staunton, Augusta county, Virginia, on the
9th of jNIarch, 1868, and being a son of Junius F.
and Elizabeth Maupin. In 1870 his parents re-
moved to Washington, D. C, where his father
was employed in the government printing office
for twenty years. In politics he was a stanch
advocate of the principles of the Republican party.
The subject secured his early educational disci-
pline in the public schools of the national capital
and thereafter continued his studies in a private
school at Standardsville, Virginia, where he
completed a course in higher mathematics, his-
tory, the classics, etc., being graduated as a mem-
ber of the class of 1885. After leaving school he
learned the drug business in Washington, where
he remained until 1888, when he came to South
Dakota and located in Elk Point, Union county,
where he secured employment in the drug store
of J. S. Talcott. Later he removed to Sheldon,
Iowa, where he was similarly engaged in the es-
tablishment of Fletcher Howard, being a regis-
tered pharmacist in both Iowa and South Dakota.
In 1891 he returned to the latter state and located
in Beresford, L'nion county, where he engaged in
the drug business on his own responsibility.
About two years later he sold his business to
Ramsdel Brothers and then removed to Dell Rap-
dis, Minnehaha county, where he was in the em-
ploy of M. E. Collins until the spring of 1897,
when he came to Egan, where he has ever since
maintained his home. For a short interval he was
here employed in the drug establishment of Tay-
lor Brothers and then purchased the business,
which he has since successfully continued, hav-
ing a well-equipped establishment and carrying
a comprehensive stock. In 1901 he was appoint-
ed postmaster at Egan. and has since been incum-
bent of this office. He established and equipped

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the Egan Telephone Exchange and also organ-
ized the Farmers' Egan Telephone Company, of
this place, having disposed of the local exchange
on the 1st of October, 1903. He was for a short
time editor and publisher of the Egan Express,
which he sold to R. E. Hartman. the present
publisher. He served for two years as justice
of the peace, and has at all times been foremost
in support of all enterprises tending to further
the upbuilding and material prosperity of his
home town and county, while in politics he is
a stanch advocate of the principles and policies
of the Republican party. Mr. "Maupin became
a member of the local lodge of the Knights of
Pythias while a resident of Beresford, this state,
and was elected commander of the same, while
he was twice a delegate to the grand lodge of the
order in the state. He is also afifiliated with Ty-
rian Lodge, No. 100, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons, of Egan.

At Elk Point, this state, on the 226. of Jan-
uary. i8go. Mr. ]\Iaupin was united in marriage
to Aliss Enilura S. }iIorris, the only daughter of
Hon. Emery Morris, who was a member of the
territorial legislature in 1872, being one of the
honored pioneers of the state. Mr. and Mrs.
jMaupin have one son, Morris Luverne. who was
born on the 2d of December. 1890.

BERXART Snv:MAN^', a well-known resi-
dent of Yankton county, was born in Munster,
Germany, on the 2d of February, 1843, liis par-
ents being lifelong residents of that countr}-.
At the age of twenty-seven years, in 1870, he left
his native land and came to the United States,
first locating in Dubuque, Iowa, where he spent
a year and a half. He next went to Arkansas,
where he remained nine months, and then re-
turned to Iowa, making his home there until 1878,
when he came to South Dakota, Yankton county
being his destination. After working for others
for nine months he took up one hundred and
sixty acres of land eight miles north of the city
of Yankton, but did not immediately turn his at-
tention to agricultural pursuits. For two years
he was employed in a brickyard and in 1875 em-

barked in the same line of business on his own
account, operating that yard for eight years. He
met with success in that undertaking and erected
for himself a fine brick residence and two barns.
During the flood of 1881 he lost a kiln of brick
and his house was damaged to some extent, his
loss amounting to about one thousand dollars. In
1882 Mr. Sikmann bought one hundred and
eighty acres of wild land in Yankton county and
engaged in its operation in connection with the
manufacture of brick in Yankton. He built a
good residence and barns upon his place in 1892
and in July of that year took up his residence
there, it being still his home, though he contin-
ues to own property in the city to the amount of
about eight acres. His farm now comprises two
hundred and eight acres, which with the assist-
ance of his sons he has placed under a high state
of cultivation.

On the 3d of June, 1880, Mr. Sikmann was
united in marriage to Miss Lena Mader. a daugh-
ter of Henry and Christina IMadcr, who were
both natives of Germany, but were living in New
York at the time of Mrs. Sikmann's birth. In
1873 h^'' father brought his family to South Da-
kota and entered a tract of wild land in Yankton
county, soon becoming a well-known and suc-
cessful farmer of this locality. He died April 23,
1894, having survived his wife for several years,
she having passed away on the 15th of May,
1877. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sikmann have been
born five children : Fred, now twenty-one years of
age; Joseph, Frank, Rosa and Lillie (died July
21, 1891). All are at home and have been given
good conuuon-school educations, the daughter
being still a student in the local schools. So-
cially the family is one of prominence in the
community where they reside, and the wife and
mother is a member of the Lutheran church. Mr.
Sikmann is a Democrat in politics and does all in
his power to insure the success of his party.

W. L. PALMER, a prominent banker at
Carthage, was born at Watertown, New York,
in 1844. attended the public schools and later
took a course in a commercial college at Pough-

I3SO

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

keepsie. When nineteen years old he went over
to the Brooklyn navy yards and ofifered his serv-
ices in the cause of his country. His enlistment
occurred in August, 1863. In 1866 he obtained
an honorable discharge and shortly thereafter
engaged in the hardware business, but two years
later built at Watertown the first manilla paper
mill ever erected in the United States. He began
the manufacture of paper flour bags on a large
scale and did a thriving business in this line for a
number of years, but finally decided to cast in
his lot with the enterprising emigrants then
swarming to the territories beyond the Missouri.
It was in 188 1 that he turned his face westward,
stopping in Qiicago, but going to South Dakota
in the following year. Taking up his residence
at Langfort, he established the James River
Bank of Palmer, but in 1888 came to Carthage,
where he founded the bank of that name and is
at present the owner of the Farmers' Bank. Mr.
Palmer is an ardent Republican and many promi-
nent offices at the hands of his party have been
within his reach had he not persistently declined
owing to reluctance to take the time from his im-
portant business affairs. At one time he was vig-
orously urged by the Republican press to accept
the nomination for secretary of state, and this
movement was aided by prominent Republicans
all over the state, but Mr. Palmer politely de-
clined this alluring honor. He has been a mem-
ber of the Grand Army of the Republic ever since
its organization in 1867, and was elected com-
mander of the South Dakota branch in 1899. He
filled that ofiice for one year and is now quarter-
master general of the department.

In October, 1883, Mr. Palmer was married to
Miss Stella Driscoll and they have one child.
Miss Edna, a pretty and vivacious girl of four-
teen summers.

PARK DAVIS, of Sioux Falls, South Dako-
ta, one of the leading lawyers of South Dakota,
was born in Athens, Windham county, Vermont,
September 24, 1837, son of Elijah and Miriam
Davis. His father died when the subject was

quite young and left him largely dependent on his
own resources for advancement. He attended
Leland Seminary at Townshend, Vermont, and in
1862 was graduated from Middlebury College.
He read law under Butler & Wheeler, prominent
attorneys of Jamaica, Vermont ; was admitted to
the bar in Windham county in 1864 ; and in Feb-
ruary, 1865, commenced the practice of his pro-
fession at St. Albans, Vermont, with Dana R.
Bailey, under the firm name of Bailey & Davis.
Later he was admitted to the supreme court, the
circuit court of the United States, and the su-
preme court of the United States. He prospered
as a general practitioner of law at St. Albans un-
til 1879, when he removed to St. Paul, Minne-
sota, and, in connection with Hiram F. Stevens,
of that city, successfully practiced his profession
until September i, 1881. Then he temporarily
withdrew from the law and engaged with his
brother-in-law in a mercantile venture at Albany,
New York, under the firm name of Gray &
Davis. In October, 1885, he went to Sioux
Falls, South Dakota, formed a partnership with
his old friend and former partner, Dana R.
Bailey, and since has ranked as one of the lead-
ing lawyers of his state. In 1874 he represented
St. Albans in the general assembly of Vermont
and was a prominent and influential member of
that body.

Mr. Davis is highly distinguished in Masonic
circles. He served three temis as grand master
of Masons of Vermont. His record in this im-
portant office was a brilliant one. Since coming
to South Dakota he has been honored with the
office of grand high priest and many other po-
sitions of honor and trust by the Masonic frater-
nity. He is the author of a treatise on Masonic
trials and forms for procedure which have been
incorporated into a monitor published by the
grand lodge of Vermont.

Mr. Davis was married at Townshend, \'^er-
mont. October 27, 1863, to Delia S. Gray and
they have two children, Henry P. and May L.
Mr. Davis is one of Sioux Falls' leading citizens
and is favorably known throughout the state.
He is an able lawyer, a genial gentleman and
his record as a man is without reproach.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1351

TAMES STANAGE is one of Yankton coun-
ty's native sons, for he was born here on the nth
of May, 1862, and is a worthy representative of
an honored pioneer family, his parents being
John and Bridget (Murnan) Stanage, both na-
tives of Ireland. They were married, however,
in Minnesota. For some years the father was in
the government employ in that state, being con-
nected with the commissary department until
1871. During the 'fifties he was sent by the gov-
ernment to Fort Pierre, South Dakota, and in
1 86 1 he secured one hundred and sixty acres of
government land in Yankton county, where he
made his home until called to his final rest on the
22d of July, 1898. He was in several Indian
raids during his connection with the army, and
was a man well known and highly respected. He
took an active interest in political affairs, being an
ardent Democrat, and was a member of the first
territorial legislature. Both he and his wife were
earnest and consistent member of the Episcopal
church. She is still living and continues to re-
side on the farm of two hundred acres left by her
husband.

In the family of this worthy couple were four
children: John, who now operates the old home-
stead and owns two other farms here ; Mary and
Elizabeth, who are also at home with their moth-
er ; and James, of this review. All were given
good educational advantages and the daughters
have engaged in teaching school for several
terms.

James Stanage remained under the parental
roof until he attained his twentieth year and then
started out in life for himself as an agriculturist,
operating a rented farm for three years. At the
end of that time he purchased two hundred acres
of wild land in Yankton county, which he has
since broken, fenced and improved by the erec-
tion of a good house and barns. He keeps a good
grade of horses, cattle and hogs, and is meeting
with fair success in business.

On the 14th of October, 1885, was celebrated
the marriage of Mr. Stanage and Miss Kate
Garvey, a daughter* of Edward Garvey, one of
the early settlers and successful farmers of the
countv. Nine children blessed this union,

namely : Katherine ; Ray ; George ; Ethel ; Frank ;
John, who died at the age of eighteen months;
Mark; Blanch, who died at the age of sixteen
months ; and Leone. The older children are now
in school. Mr. and Mrs. Stanage are members
of the Catholic church and he is a Democrat in
politics. Fraternally he is identified with Mis-
sion Hill Camp, No. 7209, Modern Woodmen of
America.

ALBERT S. HARVEY is a native of the
state of Minnesota, having been born in Dodge
county, on the 27th of February, 1855, and be-
ing a son of Wiles and Harriet Harvey, the
former of whom is now deceased, he having been
a farmer by vocation. The subject's educational
advantages were those afforded in the public
schools of his native county, and from his youth
up he has been identified almost continuously
with agricultural pursuits. Hfe continued to re-
side in Minnesota until 1878, when, as a young
man of twenty-three years, he decided to cast in
his lot with the territory of Dakota, toward which
the tide of immigration had begun to set in. He
arrived in what is now Moody county in March
of that year, and took up a homestead claim of
three hundred and twenty acres of government
land, in Colman township, being one of the
first to settle in that section, while the popula-
tion of the county at the time was summed up in
a small number of families, the land being practi-
cally all in its primitive condition and bearing
slight resemblance to the condition which today
obtains, with attractive villages, well-cultivated
farms, churches, schools and all other evidences
of an advanced civilization. Mr. Harvey began
life here in a mode.st way, his original dwelling
bemg a rude sod house of the sort so common in
the early pioneer era, and through energy, perse-
verance and good management he has developed
a fine farm, being now the owner of three hun-
dred and twenty acres of most arable land, while
the place is improved with good buildings and
yields excellent returns for the labor expended
in its cultivation. Mr. Harvey has shown a
proper interest in all that has touched the general

[352

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

welfare and material advancement of the county,
and has aided the cause of education and all other
enterprises for the enhancement of the prosper-
it\' of the community, while in politics he is a
stanch adherent of the Populist party.

Mr. Harvey has been twice married. In 1884
he wedded Miss Frances Scoville, who was born
and reared in Wisconsin, and whose death oc-
curred in 1889. She is survived by two children,
Gilbert and \'olney. On the 21st of February,
1895, Mr. Harvey married Mrs. Emily Morse,
who was born in Wisconsin and who was a res-
ident of Colman at the time of her marriage,
while she is a daughter of C. L. Meeker, who
was numbered among the early settlers in
Moody county. Of this union has been born one
child. Myrtle. One stepson and all four of the
children still remain at the parental home.

CHARLES POWER, one of the representa-
tive business men of Lake county, is a native of
the state of Minnesota, having been born in Fill-
more county, on the 17th of August, 1858, and
being a son of William and Margaret (Knox)
Power, both of whom were born and reared in
Ireland, while their marriage was solemnized in
Ireland. The parents of the subject immigrated
to America in 1854, and about 1856 took up their
residence in Fillmore county, Minnesota, where
they developed a farm, having been early settlers
of the county. He there remained until 1868,
when he died. In 1872 the mother and six chil-
dren came to South Dakota. His widow is still
living, at the venerable age of eighty years, and
makes her home with her son. Joseph. This
worthy couple became the parents of eight chil-
dren, of whom six are living.

The subject of this review remained at the
parental home in South Dakota until he had at-
tained the age of twenty years, having in the
meanwhile received his rudimentary educational
discipline in the district schools. He then, in
1872, came as a youthful pioneer to the present
state of South Dakota, and he passed the first
five years thereafter in Minnehaha county, work-
ing on various farms and in the meanwhile at-

tending school in Sioux Falls, where he com-
pleted a course in the high school. In 1879 Mr.
Power came to Lake county, where he took up
three hundred and twenty acres of government
land and forthwith bent his energies to its recla-
niation and improvement. His success became
cunuilative, and as prosperity attended his efforts
he added to his landed possessions in the county,
until he is now the owner of six hundred and
forty acres of valuable land, of which about five
hundred are under effective cultivation, while
he has made the best of improvements of a per-
manent nature. His farm is located in Went-
worth township, two miles east of Wentworth,
where he maintains his home and where he owns
a considerable amount of realty aside from his
elevator and attractive modern residence. Mr.
Power continued to reside on his ranch until
1887, when he removed to Wentworth and estab-
lished himself in business as a buyer and shipper
of grain, while he later erected his present ele-
vator in the village. He is a stanch advocate of
the principles of the Democratic party, and takes
a lively interest in local affairs of a public na-
ture. He served three years as president of the
village council of Wentworth, and was chairman
of the township board for two years. Frater-
nally he is affiliated with Wentworth Lodge, No.
156. Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
Wentworth Camp, No. 4980, Modern AVoodmen
of America.

On the 3d of August, 1898, Mr. Power was
married to Miss Minnie Peters, who was bom
in West Bend, Washington county, Wisconsin,
and who is a daughter of Henry and Minna
(Schultz) Peters. Mr. and Mrs. Power have a
winsome little daughter, Fern, who was born on
the 2ist of ]\Iarch. igoi.

ANDREW LARSON, whose farm is located
seven miles from Flandreau, the attractive county
seat of Moody county, is a native of Norway,
where he was born in October, 1845. His par-
ents died when he was a boy, and he was reared
to maturity in his fatherland, securing his early
education in the national schools, and thereafter

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1353

being engaged in fishing until 1867, when he
came to the United States and settled at La
Crosse, Wisconsin, where he found employment
in connection with the great lumbering industry
of that state, continuing to make his headquar-
ters in La Crosse for eleven years, at the expira-
tion of which, in 1878, he came to the territory
of Dakota and became one of the pioneers of
Moody county, where he entered claim to one
hundred and sixty acres of government land,
which constitutes a portion of his present finely
improved ranch. He labored sturdily and unceas-
ingly, meeting witii his quota of trials and dis-
couragements, but his courage never flagged, and
his determination and perseverance have had
their reward in the good gift of prosperity and
independence, for his success has kept pace with
the development and progress of the country,
which he has seen transformed from a wild and
desolate section to one marked by all the evi-
dences of a splendid civilization. He is the owner
of six hundred and forty acres of land, the greater
portion of which is under cultivation and de-
voted to diversified agriculture, while he has made
the best of improvements of a permanent nature,
including the erection of a good farm residence
and a large and substantial barn, besides other
requisite farm buildings, for the care of stock,
produce, implements, etc.

Mr. Larson has also been very successful as
a stock grower and gives preference to the short-
horn type of cattle, and to the Poland-China
swine. In politics Mr. Larson gives his support
to the Republican party, as do also his sons. Both
he and his wife are prominent and consistent
members of the Lutheran church, in whose work
thev take an active interest.

DAVID EASTMAN, one of the prominent
and influential citizens of Wilmot, Roberts I
county, was born in Allegany county. New York,
on the 1st of June, 1847, being a son of Tilton
and .A.im (Palmer) Eastman, both of whom were
born and reared in Steuben county. The family
lineage is of English, German, Scotch and Irish
extraction. The Eastmans are English, the pa-

ternal grandmother was German, the maternal
grandfather, Joshua Palmer, was Irish, and his
wife was Scotch. Tilton and Ann Eastman re-
moved in 1864 to Blue Earth county, Minnesota,
where he was a farmer known for integrity and
ability. Both died in South Dakota. David
Eastman was about seventeen years of age at the
removal to Minnesota, where he grew to man-
hood under the eflfective discipline of the farm,
while he attended the common schools and the
graded school at Plainview. He was associated
with his father until he had attained the age of
twenty-five years, when he engaged in teaching at
Belleview, Minnesota, and was identified with the
profession for five years, when he was for two
years engaged in farming in Blue Earth county,
Minnesota. In 1878 he located six miles south
of the site of Wilmot where he entered govern-
ment land, devoting himself to its reclamation and
cultivation. In 1884 he was elected register of
deeds and county clerk, remaining incumbent of
the dual ofiice for four years, having removed to
Wilmot. He then engaged in the farm imple-
ment business and to the negotiating of farm
loans and represented leading fire-insurance com-
panies. In April, 1895, he was appointed deputy
state commissioner of school and public lands,
being elected commissioner in 1898. He rendered
valuable service in this important office four
years, when he retired to his pleasant home in
Wilmot, where he has since given his attention
principally to the supervision of farming inter-
ests, whle he is president of the Farmers' State
Bank of Wilmot, and also does a general real-es-
tate business. Mr. Eastman has ever accorded
allegiance to the Republican party, and was a
member of the state central committee for a
number of years. He was sergeant-at-arms of the
state senate during the sessions of 1893 ^nd 1895.
He and his family attend the Presbyterian church
and fraternally he is identified with the Independ-
ent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pyth-
ias and the Dramatic Order of Knights of Kho-
rassan.

On the 24th of May, 1884, Mr. Eastman was
united in marriage to Miss Eliza Wilson, who
was bom in Columbia countv, Wisconsin, on the

'354

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

3d of January, 1851, being a daughter of Wil-
liam L. and Janette Wilson. Mr. and Mrs. East-
man have two daughters, Jessie May and Flor-
ence I.

WILLIAM H. PARKER was born in Dan-
ville, Pitts3'lvania county, A^irginia, May 4, 1847.
He served in the Lhiited States army from the
24th day of June, 1861, until the 26th day of
October, 1866, when he resigned from the army
while stationed at Fort Kearney, in the then
territory of Nebraska. After leaving the army
he entered the law department of ColumbiTU
College, Washington, D. C, graduating with the
class of 1868. Since this time he has been en-
gaged in the practice of his profession with
the exception of three years that he was collector
of internal revenue of the territorv of Colorado,
being appointed by President Grant. While hold-
ing the position of collector of internal revenue
he resigned to accept the appointment of assistant
United States attorney, and subsequently was ap-
pointed United States attorney of that terriory.
He removed to South Dakota in July, 1877, where
he has been constantly engaged in the practice
of his profession, being at the present time state's
attorney of Lawrence county. He was a mem-
ber of the constitutional convention that framed
the constitution of South Dakota and a member
of its first legislature.

O. M. OSBON, son of Joseph and Rhoda
(Reed) O.sbon, was born at Ripley, Ohio, May
20, 1846, but owing to the removal of his par-
ents to Illinois, was reared and educated in the
last mentioned state. His father being a farmef,
the son went through the usual routine of helping
on the fann during the busy season and picking
up his schooling during the months of winter.
Though .still a hoy at the outbreak of the civil
conflict, Master Osbon, like all typical young
Americans, was eager for "the pride, pomp and
circumstance of glorious war" and finally gained
his desire by being allowed to enlist in October.
t8('i2, as a member of Battcrv A. Second I'linois

Light Artillery. Though only sixteen years old,
he was entrusted with the charge of a number of
recruits with instructions to convey them to Hel-
ena, Arkansas, a duty which he performed with
promptness and fidelity. The youthful volunteer
had enough danger and adventure to satisfy even
the most ardent seeker after such things, inas-
much as he participated in many of the impor-
tant battles of the Civil war before receiving his
honorable discharge in 1865. He has not, how-
ever, escaped the perils incident to exposure and
returned to his Illinois home shaking with a gen-
uine attack of old-fashioned "chills and fever."
In hope of obtaining relief from this ailment he
sought the salubrious climate of Colorado, but
eventually found his way to Kansas, and it was
after reaching the state made famous by John
Brown and the "border ruffians" tha^ he entered
the field of journalism. His first venture in this
line was with the Waterville Telegraph, but in
1884 he disposed of this plant to remove to Mis-
souri, where he spent six years in the combined
occupation of farming and editing. It was in
1897 that Mr. Osbon "made his bow" to the pub-
lic at Howard in the first issue of "The Spirit
of Dakota," a weekly paper devoted to the best
interests of Miner county and the dissemination
of Republican principles. During his residence
in Kansas Mr. Osbon served three terms in the
state legislature' and was the first mayor of West-
moreland, county seat of Pottawatomie county,
in the same state. He was also commander of the
Kansas department of the Grand Army of the Re-
public and is a member of the Knights of Pythias.
In 1873 Air. Osbon married Miss Oral E.
Reed, a native of Ripley, Ohio, and has six sons :
Orman K., Will M.. Kenneth A., Guy. Don
and Clarence.

DANIEL BROWN, present judge of Miner
county, was born in Jackson county, Indiana,
February 11. 1835, and it has been his fortune
to owe allegiance to five of the great common-
wealths until eventually he found a permanent
abiding place in the "land of the Dakotas." When
Mr. lirown apiiearcd in the scene there was no

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1355

organized educational system in the Hoosier state,
such schools as they had being of the primitive
character supported by private benevolence, the
teachers '"boarding around" and taking uncertain
pay from patrons of the neighborhood. It was
by irregular attendance at such fountains of
learning that Mr. BTOwn acquired the rudiments
of knowledge out of the old-fashioned speller and
Pike's Arithmetic. When twelve years old his
father migrated to Illinois, where he purchased
land in Stephenson county and lived by farming
the same until 1870. .^t this juncture Mr. Brown
abandoned the paternal homestead and removed
to Republic countv, Kansas, but after a residence
there of two years located in Franklin county,
Nebraska. He lived in this county for twelve
years and then made the final migration, as the
result of which he became a permanent resident
of South Dakota. When Mr. Brown settled in
Spink county in 1884. the population was still
sparse and the country undeveloped, but condi-
tions speedily changed for the better as emigrants
continued to pour in from all parts of the world.
Until 1886 his occupation had been that of farm-
ing, but about that time he entered the practice
of law, which vocation he has continued up to
date. In politics he had been a Democrat until
the formation of the People's party, but when
that movement assumed form in the west Mr.
Brown became one of the active participants. In
1897 he settled in Miner county and in 1900 he
was nominated and elected on the fusion ticket
as candidate for judge of Miner county, and two
years later was re-elected on the fusion ticket and
is now serving his second term in that office.

On December 24, 1857, while residing in Illi-
nois, Mr. Brown was married to Deborah J. Cain,
who died about two years later, leaving no issue.
February 6, 1861, Mr. Brown married Miss Cath-
erine Hawk, and has had five children, of whom
those living are Mrs. Jennie Craig, D. F. and
C. P. Brown. Since his residence at Hbward
Mr. Brown has proven himself a useful and in-
telligent citizen. He is a student of public ques-
tions and especially well informed on the great
economic issues which have divided parties so
radically since the memorable campaign of i88g. j

He was painstaking and industrious as a fanner,
equally so in the transaction of legal business
and Ijrought to the bench a good stock of com-
mon sense as a basis for correct interpretation of
the law.

JOSEPH CABALKA, a highly esteemed res-
ident of Yankton county, was born in Bohemia
in 1858 and is a son of Joseph and Katie (Vava-
ruska) Cabalka. The parents were married in
their native coimtry and when they arrived in
the new world they took up their abode in Chi-
cago, where they remained for two and a half
years. In 1870 they came to South Dakota,
bringing their children with them and here the
father secured a homestead claim upon which he
lived until called to his final rest. He always
carried on agricultural pursuits and in this man-
ner provided a comfortable living for his family.
He had six children, all of whom are yet resi-
dents of South Dakota and are representatives of
its agricultural interests. The widowed mother
is now living with her son Anton upon his farm
in Yankton county and has attained the age of
seventy years. She bore the maiden name of
Rosa Czwomka.

Joseph Cabalka, whose name introduces this
record, was but a young boy when the parents
emigrated to the new world and with them he
came to Dakota when he was but twelve years
of age. He continued to attend the public schools
here until he reached the age of fourteen and his
educational privileges in the United States sup-
plemented the early advantages which he had re-
ceived in Bohemia. Through the summer months
he assisted his father in the cultivation of the
home farm and after putting aside his text-books
he devoted all of his time and attention to agri-
cultural pursuits. He has made farming his life
work and is today a wtell-known representative
of agricultural interests in Yankton county.

In the year t886 Mr. Cabalka was united in
marriage to Miss Rosie Czwonka, who was born
in Poland, and by this union they have become
the parents of four children : Anton, Charles,
.\nnie and Sophia, all of whom are yet under the

1356

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA,

parental roof. The parents are communicants of
the Roman Catholic church. Mr. Cabalka takes
no active part in political affairs, preferring to
devote his attention to his business pursuits. He
has depended upon his own resources from an
early age and his labor and energy have formed
the foundation upon which he has built his suc-
cess. He is now a well-known farmer and his
property is constantly increasing in value because
of the excellent care which he takes of it.

HERMAN H. GAREY, of Mount Vernon,
Davison county, was bom in Oswego county,
New York, on the 6th of December, 1859, being
a son of James W. and Susanna (Griffin) Garey,
of whose three children he was the first in order
of birth. He received his rudimentary education
in the public schools of his native state, and when
he was about ten years of age his parents removed
to Iowa, where he continued to attend the dis-
trict schools until he had attained the age of
twenty years. He then learned the art of teleg-
raphy, and for three years was employed as tele-
graph operator and station agent by the Chicago
& Northwestern Railroad, at various points in
Iowa. In the autumn of 1888 he came to South
Dakota, having previously been employed in a
banking institution in the state of Nebraska for
about three and one-half years. Upon coming to
the present state of South Dakota he located in
Mount Vernon, where he established the Davi-
son County Bank, of which he became one of the
principal stockholders, while he served as cashier
of the institution until igoo, when he resigned his
executive office, though still retaining his capital-
istic interest in the bank. In 1892 Mr. Garey
organized the Mount Vernon Milling Company
and in 1896 he further manifested his progressive
spirit by effecting the organization of the Mount
Vernon Co-operative Creamery Company, while
he was also actively identified with the organiza-
tion of the Mount Vernon Merchandise Com-
pany, in all of which concerns he still retains a
financial interest, while all have exercised impor-
tant functions in connection with the industrial
advancement of this section of the state. In 1000

Mr. Garey established himself in ^he real-estate
business, and in the line he has built up an exten-
sive and prosperous enterprise, to which he de-
votes much of his time and attention. In politics
he is a stanch advocate of the principles of the
Republican party, but his many business interests
are so insistent in their demands that he takes
no active part in political affairs. He is a mem-
ber of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has
attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish
Rite, while he is also affiliated with the Benevo-
lent and Protective Order of Elks.

On the 24th of February, 1889, ^Ir. Garey
was united in marriage to Miss Mary Samuels,
of Mount Vernon, South Dakota, she being a
daughter of John and Sarah Samuels.

JOSEPH PETERKA, a native son of Yank-
ton county, was born here in November, 1879,
and is a son of Frank and Alary (Behensky) Pc-
terka, both of whom were natives of Bohemia.
In their childhood days they left that country
and came to the United States, settling with their
respective families in South Dakota, where they
were married. Upon his arrival here in 1869.
the father secured one hundred and sixty acres
of land and subsequently he purchased two more
quarter sections so that at the time of his death
he was the owner of a very valuable property,
comprising four hundred and eighty acres. Es-
tablishing his home here in an early day he took
an active part in the work of development and
improvement and became an influential and lead-
ing citizen. He served as school director for
many years and the cause of education found in
hnr. a warm friend. His political support was
given the Democratic party and he kept well in-
formed on the questions and issues of the day.
His widow is still living on the old homestead
and is now fifty-two years of age. Since her hus-
band's death she has purchased four hundred
acres of rich and arable land and her property
holdings now aggregate seven hundred and
twenty acres, the entire farm being utilized in the
work of carrving on agricultural interests. iMuch
of the land is cultivated and large portions are

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

used for pasturage, for stock raising is carried on
extensively on this place. Unto Mr. and Mrs.
Peterka were born nine children, of whom one
sister is now deceased. The others are Rudolph,
John, Frank, Joseph, Mary, Charles, Rosy, Emmil
and James. All are now living in this state with
the exception of Frank, who has gone to Colorado
for the benefit of his health. Rudolph and John
are merchants in Mica, where they are carrying on
general mercantile pursuits.

Joseph Peterka was educated in the public
schools of this county, continuing his studies until
he attained his majority and gaining a broad and
comprehensive knowledge to which he is continu-
ally adding by reading and observation. When
he had reached man's estate he resolved to follow
as a life work the occupation to which he had
been reared and continued to operate his father's
old homestead. He was married to Miss Annie
Hladke. of Yankton, the wedding being cele-
brated on the 22(1 of April, 1902. Mr. Peterka is
a young man of good business ability and readily
comprehends intricate business situations and
problems. He views things from a practical stand-
point and he also possesses the enterprising spirit
which has been the dominant factor in the splen-
did development of the west.

WILLIAM J. THORNBY, one of the influ-
ential pioneers of the state and an honored citi-
zen of Deadwood, was born in Greenwich, Wash-
ington county, New York, on the 27th of April,
1856. and is a son of James H. and Catherine
(Conron) Thornby, the former of whom was
born in County Armagh, Ireland, and the latter
in the city ot Troy, New York. The paternal
grandfather of the subject likewise bore the name
of James Hanna Thornby, and, like his son and
namesake, was born in County Armagh, of the
fair Emerald Isle. He was a member of the
Inniskillen Dragoons and served under Welling-
ton in the battle of Waterloo, while the medal
for bravery which was accorded him at that time
by the crown is still retained in the possession
of his descendants. James Hanna Thornby, the
father of the subject of this review, was reared

and educated in his native land, where he re-
mained until 1846, when he made a trip to Amer-
ica. At the time of the Irish rebellion of 1848
his loyalty to his oppressed fatherland led him
to return and tender his services in defense of
the righteous cause of his compatriots, and he
was accompanied by Hon. A. L. Morrison, now
collector of internal revenue in New Mexico,
both being imprisoned after the overthrow of the
rebellion in which they took part. They were in-
carcerated in Carlow jail, near the city of Dublin,
where they were held for six months, at the expi-
ration of which they received pardons. Mr.
Thornby then came again to America, and lo-
cated in the city of Troy, New York, where he
engaged in the manufacture of boots and shoes,
and where he passed the remainder of his life,
his death occurring in 1870, while his wife passed
away in 1874. Of their five children the subject
is the eldest, and all are yet living, there being
four sons and one daughter.

Colonel Thornby,' as the subject is familiarly
known, received his early educational training in
the public schools of Troy, and in 1870, when
about fifteen years of age, entered the foundry of
Fuller & Warren, in that city, where he learned
the trade of patternmaking, which he there con-
tinued to follow until 1876, when he set forth for
the r)lack Hills, inspired by -a love of adventure
and a desire to learn what fortune had in store
for him. 'He left Troy in November of that year
and came through to Cheyenne. Wyoming, arriv-
ing on the 1st of December and there waiting to
join the first freighting train enroute to his final
destination. This train left for the Hills in
March, 1877, and was known as Wade's Fast
Freight. There were about three hundred men
in the party and all were well anned, the ma-
jority having come from Montana, California,
Missouri and Colorado, and all being attracted
by the discoverey of gold in the Black Hills, while
it is a noteworthy fact that our subject was the
only eastern man in the company. They made
the trip in nineteen days and, owing no doubt
to the numerical strength, were not molested by
the Indians. They arrived in Deadwood in April,
and here Colonel Thornby entered the employ of

1358

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

A. W. Merrick, proprietor and publisher of the
Deadwood Pioneer, with whom he remained two
years, having been the pioneer up-gulch reporter
for the paper and having full charge of its cir-
culation in this district. The Colonel was the
only man who succeeded in making the journey
between Deadwood and Lead during the memor-
able and terrific snow blizzard of March 12-15,
1878, in which so many sacrificed their lives.
The snow was five feet deep on the level and he
broke the trail and carried through his papers.
In May, 1879, he left the employ of the Pioneer
and joined Professor Walter P. Jenney on his
trip to the southern Black Hills district, where he
assisted in the completion of some important geo-
logical and topographical work which the Profes-
sor had initiated in 1^75, at the behest of the
government. On the 15th of June, 1879, while
out on an incidental expedition with Prof. W. P.
Jenney, the subject and his companion located
the now famous Hot Springs, which have be-
come a popular health and pleasure resort. In
that year the Colonel located in Custer, and was
elected the first assessor of Custer county, serving
two terms, while in 1886 he was further honored
by being elected county judge, presiding on the
bench for two years, with ability and marked dis-
crimination. In 1892 he was elected to the state
senate, representing the district comprised of Cus-
ter and Fall River counties, and he served in this
dignified position during the third general assem-
bly of the state legislature in 1893. In the mean-
while he had become interested in the develop-
ment of the mica-mining industry in this section,
and realizing the value of scientific knowledge in
regard to the mining and handing of the various
precious and industrial metals, he entered the
State School of Mines, at Rapid City, where he
completed the prescribed course and was gradu-
ated in i8q6. He also took a two-years course in
metallurgy, and thus is specially well equipped
for all kinds of work. In 1886 he was elected
a member of the board of trustees of the School
of Mines, serving five years in this capacity and
being president of the board during the last year.
In 1897 the Colonel established upon his
own responsibility an assay office at Ragged

Top, Lawrence county, conducting the same
one year, at the expiration of which, in 1898,
when the government opened an assa}' office in
Deadwood, he returned to this city to assume the
duties of the office of melter in the office, having
been appointed to the position at the start and
having ever since continued to serve in the capac-
ity, while he has gained a high reputation for his
careful and accurate work. In 1893 he was one
of the judges in the mining department at the
World's Columbian Exposition, in Chicago, being
the only such representative from any of the
gold-mining states of the Northwest, while in
1882 he was appointed commissioner to the min-
ing exposition in Denver, taking his specimens by
bull train to Cheyenne, a distance of three hun-
dred and fifty miles, and thence forward by rail
to Denver. In i8go and 1891 he had charge of
the Black Hills mineral exhibits in the corn pal-
aces in Sioux City, Iowa. The Colonel was one
of the three promoters and organizers of the
Black Hills Mining Men's Association in 1901
and in 1897-8 he was president of the Custer
County Agricultural, Mining and Stock Raising
Fair Association, which, during his regime, held
two fairs in Hermosa, that county, the same hav-
ing been the most successful ever held in the
Black Hills district.

In politics the subject is a stanch advocate of
the principles of the Republican party, and takes
an active part in the promotion of its cause, while
fraternally he is identified with the Masonic or-
der, in which he has attained the commandery de-
grees, and also those of the Ancient Arabic Order
of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine ; and also with
the Modern Woodmen of America and the Wood-
men of the World. He is well known throughout
the Black Hills and his circle of friends is cir-
cumscribed only by that of his acquaintances.

On the 26th of July, 1894, Colonel Thornby
was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Youmans,
who was born and reared in Winona, Minnesota,
and who comes of a stanch old Revolutionary
stock. She is a niece of Prof. Edward Living-
ston Youmans, the founder of the Popular Sci-
ence Monthly and Youman's Qiemistry. She is
a woman of gracious presence and fine intellectual

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1359

attainments, and was a teacher in the State Nor-
mal School at Spearfish, South Dakota, for some
time prior to her marriage. Of this union have
been born two children, Mary Youmans and
Catherine Moore.

HERMAN BISCHOFF, city treasurer of
Deadwood, was born in Wittenberg, Prussia, on
the 29th of May, 1849, being a son of Hemian
and Marie (Schuz) Bischoflf, who were likewise
native of the same place, the former dying when
the subject was a child of about one year, while
the latter passed away in 1897. Mr. Bischoff
received his early educational training in the
excellent schools of his fatherland, and thereafter
was employed in mercantile houses in the city of
Wittenberg, until 1868, when he decided to seek
his fortune in America. He arrived in due
course of time in the port of New York citv and
thence came westward to Chicago, where he se-
cured a position in a grocery in the Haymarket
Square, later made notable by the riot in which
a number of brave policemen met their death.
He continued to reside in the western metropolis
tmtil after the ever memorable fire of 1871, and
followed up the course of the Union Pacific Rail-
road, which was then in course of construction
toward the Pacific coast. He located in Laramie,
Wyoming, where he followed various occupa-
tions until 1877, tbe well-known humorist, "Bill"
Nve, having at that time been incumbent of the
office of justice of the peace in the town. In
March, 1877, l\Ir. Bischoflf arrived in what is
now the attractive city of Deadwood, South Da-
kota, the place at the time having been a ragged
but stirring mining camp. From this point he
made two freighting trips to Cheyenne, and then,
in x^ugust, 1877, he joined a party of one hun-
dred and fifty men who started forth with
teams on the great stampede to the Big Horn \
district of Wyoming, where gold had been dis-
covered but a short time previously. The sub-
ject took out supplies with which to open a gen-
eral merchandise store in the new mining camp,
but the alluring tales of the gold to be secured
proved to have the most meager foundation, as

has often been the case, and but few of the ad-
venturous gold seekers met with appreciable suc-
cess. After prospecting in the mountains for
three or four months Mr. BischofY returned to
Cheyenne, Wyoming, from which point he en-
gaged in freighting to Deadwood, while in 1877
he established his pennanent residence in the latter
place. In 1879 he here engaged in the machinerj'
and farming implement business, in company
with John Farley, the firm being pioneers in this
line of enterprise. Their establishment was de-
stroyed in the great fire wdiich practically wiped
out the town in 1879, but they resumed business
and successfully continued the same until 1883,
when disaster again overtook them, when they
lost practically their entire stock in the flood
which swept part of the city. This second mis-
fortune practically reduced the financial resources
of Mr. Bischoflf to the lowest ebb, and he thus
accepted the position of bookkeeper at the D. &
D. smelter, and the Homestake store at Lead
City and in 1890 was made deputy county treas-
urer, under Kirk G. Phillips, retaining this in-
cumbency for a period of four years, at the ex-
piration of which, in 1898, he was elected city
treasurer, of which office he has ever since re-
mained in tenure, by successive re-elections, while
on two occasions no opposing candidate was en-
tered for the office, and he has been re-elected
without opposition for the fourth term.

Mr. Bischoflf has been to a considerable ex-
tent engaged in the promoting of mining in-
terests in this section, and has recently eflfected
the organization of the Lexington Hill Gold Min-
ing Company and the Gold and Copper Mining
and Development Company, of which he is
secretary, being a stockholder in each and assist-
ant secretary of the former. He owns valuable
real estate in the city, including his attractive
modern residence. In politics he gives an un-
qualified allegiance to the Republican party, and
fraternally he is identified with Eureka Lodge,
No. 13, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of
which he is secretary at the time of this writing,
and with Deadwood Lodge, No. 51, Ancient
Order of United Workmen, and Dakota Lodge,
No. I, Improved Order of Red Men. He is

[360

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

also a valued member of the Black Hills Mining
Men's Association and the Business Men's Qub
of Deadwood. He became an active member of
the South Deadwood Hose Company, a volunteer
fire company, in 1879, ^"d '^ still a member, being
one of the oldest in organization. During his long
and faithful service he was foreman four years,
secretary for six years, besides other offices, and
at present he is the chairman of the board of
trustees.

On the 29th of March, 1888, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Bischoi? to Miss Alice
Baker, a native of Missouri and a daughter of
John Baker, who was postmaster of Deadwood
from 1898 until 1903. Mr. and Mrs. Bischoflf
have four children, namely : Eugene, Madge,
Ivan and Alice.

HENRY C. MUSSMAN, proprietor of the
Mussman House, one of the well-equipped and
popular hotels of the state, is one of the repre-
sentative citizens of Chamberlain and is now a
member of the state legislature from his district.
He was born in Cook coimty. Illinois, .\pril 25.
1857, and is a son of William and Sophia (Heit-
zig) Mussman, of whose four children he is the
eldest of the three surviving. His sister Sophia
is the widow of Frank Parker and resides in Min-
neapolis. Minnesota, as does also the younger
sister, Mary, who is not married. The father of
our subject was born in Hanover, Germany,
-where he was reared and educated and where he
learned the trade of ship carpenter. He followed
a seafaring life for many years and visited all
the principal ports in the world. About 1848 he
located in Cook county. Illinois, where he was
engaged in farming until December, T857. when
he removed with his family to Houston county,
Minnesota, where he purchased government land
and became a pioneer farmer, there continuing to
reside about seven years, at the expiration of
which he sold his farm and engaged in the hotel
business in Brownsville, that county. About
eight years later he removed thence to Iowa, lo-
cating in the town of Decorah. where he continued
in the hotel business until his retirement, in 1890,

when he removed to Minneapolis, Minnesota,
where he passed the remainder of his life, his
death occurring in December. 1899, while his
devoted wife passed away in i860. In early years
he was a Democrat, but subsequent to 1875 was a
stanch advocate of the principles of the Republi-
can party. Both he and his wife were members
of the Lutheran church and were folk of sterling
character, honored by all who knew them.

The subject of this sketch remained at the
parental home until he had attained the age of
fourteen years, when he began to depend upon
his own resources. For several years he was in
the employ of the lumber firm of Knapp, Stout
& Company, of St. Louis, Missouri, making his
headquarters in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and being
engaged principally in rafting logs down the
Mississippi river to the headquarters of the com-
pany. Later he was employed about three years
as traveling salesman and then took up his abode
in Iowa, where he was engaged in traveling for
a brewing company for three years, at the expi-
ration of which, in 1880, he came to Running
Water, Dakota, where he became interested in the
business of the firm of Chester B. Dyke & Com-
pany, wholesalers and distributors of beer over a
wide area of cotmtry, and also proprietors of the
Riverside hotel. A disastrous fire wiped out
their business in February, 1881, and shortly aft-
erward our subject came to Chamberlain, which
was scarcely a year previous a village of a few
tents and no permanent buildings, and here he
was engaged in the liquor trade until 1888, when
he sold out his business. He was thereafter var-
iously engaged at different points in the Union
for several years. Being a machinist by trade, he
worked for a time in Minneapolis, where he had
charge of the Lowrey's electric-car shops, while
in 1892-3 he assisted in installing the sewerage
system in Grand Forks, North Dakota. In 1895
he returned to Chamberlain and assisted in the
construction of the pontoon bridge across the
Missouri river at this point, and during the sum-
mer of the following year he was collector of the
bridge, operated on the toll system. In 1897 Mr.
Mussman was appointed water commissioner of
Giamberlain. in which capacity he served one

HENRY C. MUSSMAN.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1361

year. He lias been identified with the hotel busi-
ness in the town for about nine years, Mrs. Muss-
man having assumed the management of tlie
Arlington hotel here about a year prior to his
return to Chamberlain. Later they conducted the
Tremont and the Merchants' hotels, in turn, and
in December, 1898, rented their present building,
known as the Mussman house, and this is one of
the leading and most popular hotels in the city,
no pains being spared in catering to the wants of
the traveling public, while Mr. and Mrs. Muss-
man are known as the most genial and courteous,
as well as capable, hotel folk.

Mr. Mussman has ever been a stalwart Re-
publican and has taken an active interest in the
party cause. In the fall of 1902 he was elected
to represent the seventeenth district in the state
legislature, and he is proving an able member of
that body. He is identified with Sioux Falls
Lodge, N'o. 262, Benevolent and Protective Or-
der of Elks, and also with the local organizations
of the Modern Woodmen of .^.merica and the
Ancient Order of United Workmen.

On the 24th of April, 1879, Mr. Mussman
was united in marriage to Miss Mary Takal, of
Decorah, Iowa, and they have five children :
]\Tack H., who assists in the management of the
hotel and who is secretary of the state fire com-
mission ; and Gertrude, Fannie, Charlotte and 1
A^'ilIiam, all of whom are at the parental home.

ADELBERT H. BOWIMAX, M. D., one
of the popular and able physicians and surgeons
of the city of Deadwood, is a native of Rock
county, Wisconsin, where he was born on the
27th of October. 1851, being a son of William
P. and Charlotte L. (Boynton) Bowman, both of
whom were born and reared in the state of New
York, the former being a son of Thaddeus Bow-
man, who was born in \'ermont, of old colonial
stock, while the maternal grandfather of the Doc-
tor was Ephraim Boynton, who was born in Mas-
sachusetts, being a descendant of one of the val-
iant minutemen of that state who gave so mate-
ial service in the cause of independence during the
war of the Revolution. This honored ancestor

was Captain John P>oynton, who was born in
Rowley, Massachusetts, on the 8th of Septem-
ber, 1736, and he held the rank noted during his
service in the Continental line. The original
American progenitor in the line was John Boyn-
ton, who settled in Rowley, Massachustts, in
1638, and Captain John mentioned was of the
fifth generation, having been a son of Joseph,
who was a son of Joseph, who was a son of
Ephraim, who was a son of the original settler in
Rowley. The father of the Doctor manifested
the same intrinsic patriotism and loyalty during
the war of the Rebellion, in which he served as a
member of the First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery
during the latter part of the great civil conflict.
In the spring of 1866 he removed with his family
to Osage, Iowa, and he and his devoted wife now
reside in Spencer, that state, where they cele-
brated their golden wedding in 1897, while both
are well preserved in mental and physical vigor,
the father, at the venerable age of eighty years,
being still actively engaged in the mercantile busi-
ness. Of their eleven children eight are still liv-
ing, the subject of this sketch having been the
third in order of birth.

Dr. Bowman received his early educational
discipline in the public schools of Wisconsin, and
was about fifteen years of age at the time of the
family removal to Iowa, where he continued to
attend the public schools until 1869, when he en-
tered the Cedar Valley Sem.inary, at Osage, that
state, where he pusued his studies during the win-
ter months until 1872. Later he took up the study
of medicine under Dr. McAlister, of Spencer,
Iowa, and in 1876 entered the renowned Rush
Medical College, in the city of Chicago, where
he completed the prescribed course and was grad-
uated on the 25th of February, 1879, receiving
his well-earned degree of Doctor of Medicine and
coming forth admirably equipped for the work
of his chosen profession. He initiated his pro-
fessional career in his home town of Spencer,
Iowa, where he continued in successful practice
until 1887, when he came to Deadwood, where
he met with success from the start and where he
now controls a large general practice as a phy-
sician and surgeon. The Doctor is a member of

1362

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the American Medical Association, the Iowa
State Medical Society, the South Dakota State
Medical Society and the Black Hills Medical As-
sociation, of which he is president. In politics the
Doctor is arrayed as an intelligent and loyal sup-
porter of the principles and policies of the Repub-
lican party and fraternally he is identified with
Central City Lodge, No. 22, Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons ; Dakota Chapter, No. 3, Royal
Arch Masons; Dakota Commandery. No. i,
Knights Templar; and Naja Temple, Ancient
Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
At the time of the Spanish-American war the
Doctor enlisted as assistant surgeon in the First
South Dakota Volunteer Infantry, with which he
served ten months in the Philippines, returning
to his home in March, 1899.

On the 1 6th of October, 1886, was solemnized
the marriage of Dr. Bowman to Miss Ida Potter,
who was born in West Springfield, Pennsylva-
nia, being a daughter of Riley and Hulda (Aus-
tin") Potter, the former of whom was engaged
in merchandizing at West Springfield at the time
of his death, which occurred in 1884, while his
wife passed away in 1900. Dr. and Mrs. Bow-
man are the parents of three children, namely :
Laura L.. Potter and Dorothy.

ALBERT W. COE, one of the honored pio-
neers and prominent business men of the city of
Deadwood, is a native of Madison county. New
York, where he was born on the 14th of August,
1833. being a son of Albert E. and Mary
(Bridge) Coe. both of whom were likewise na-
tives of that county, the former having been born
in the same ancestral homestead as was the sub-
ject. The grandfather, who bore the name of
David Coe, was a native of Middletown, Con-
necticut, while the name has been prominently
identified with the annals of New England from
the early colonial epoch. The ancestry is traced
back in direct line to Roger Coe, who was burned
at the stake in England, during the reign of
Queen Mary, so commonly known as "Bloody
Mary." The original progenitor in America was
Robert Coe, who emigrated from the "tight

ttle isle" to this country in 1634. From one of
j his three sons the subject of this review is direct-
ly descended. A number of representatives of
the family rendered valiant service in the cause
of independence during the war of the Revolu-
tion, and the subject's daughter. Miss Clara D.,
is thus entitled to and maintains membership in
the Daughters of the Revolution. David Coe was
a lad of twelve years at the time of his parents'
removal from Connecticut to Oneida county. New
York, where he was reared to manhood. He
married at the age of twenty-one years and there-
after removed to Madison county, that state,
where he engaged in agricultural pursuits and
where he passed the remainder of his life. The
father of the subject passed his entire life in that
county; he died in 1887, and his wife passed
away in 1844. They became the parents of six
sons and three daughters, of whom one of the-
sons and one of the daughters are still living.

Albert W. Coe, who was the third child in or-
der of birth, was reared to the study discipline of
the home farm and secured his education in the
common schools of the locality and period. Up-
on attaining his legal majority he set forth to
seek his 'fortunes in the west. He located in what
is now the city of Qiicago, where he remained
until 1856, when he removed to Milwaukee, Wis-
consin, as one of the pioneers of the Cream City,
and there continued to make his home for nearly
thirty years — until the time of his removal to
what is now the state of South Dakota. It may
be consistently noted in tlie connection that a
brother of his present wife was the third white
child born in that city. i\lr. Coe was one of the
charter members of the Milwaukee board of trade
and was for a number of years prominently iden-
tified with the commission business, after which
he engaged in the hardware business, in which he
there continued until 1883, when he came to
South Dakota and located in Deadwood, where
he has since maintained his home. Here he be-
came associated with J. K. P. Miller in the gro-
cery business, of which they continued for some
time, then disposing of the enterprise and engag-
ing in the real-estate business, of which the sub-
ject assumed control upon the death of his hon-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

^3^3

orcd partner. He has since been identified with
this line of enterprise and has been concerned in
many important transactions and assisted mate-
rially in the developing of the great resources of
this section of the state. Mr. Miller, with whom
he was so long associated, was the promoter and
builder of the Deadwood Central Railroad and the
Deadwood street railway, while Mr. Coe was sec-
retary of both companies during the building of
both systems, while after their completion he held
the office of manager until the properties were
sold. Mr. Coe is at the present time a member
of the Business Men's Club, of Deadwood, and
also the Mining Men's Association, while he is a
member of the directorate of the Franklin Hotel
Company and the Masonic Benevolent Associa-
tion. He is one of the prominent and honored
members of the Masonic fraternity in the state,
and is at the present time treasurer of the lodge,
chapter and commandery with which he has af-
filiated, while he has attained the thirty-second
degree in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite and
is also affiliated with the Ancient Arabic Order
of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. In 1897 he
had the distinction of serving as grand master of
the Masonic grand lodge of the state, and he is at
the present time president of the South Dakota
Masonic Veteran Association, having been a Ma-
son for more than forty years.

( hi the 13th of July, 1854, Mr. Coe was
united in marriage to Miss Emeline Gregg, who,
like himself, was born and reared in Madison
county. New York, and she died in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, in 1857, leaving no children. On the
31st of March, 1859, was solemnized the mar-
riage of Mr. Coe to Miss Sarah D. Gregg, a
daughter of Hendrick Gregg, who removed from
Madison county. New York, to Milwaukee, Wis-
consin, in 1836, being numbered among the early
settlers in that locality and being one of the hon-
ored pioneer fanners of the Badger state. Mr.
and Mrs. Coe have one son, Albert G., and a
daughter, Clara D. The former was born in Mil-
waukee, Wisconsin, on the i8th of April, i860,
and is now associated with his father in business.
On the i8th of September, 1883, he was united
in marriage to Miss Agnes L. Foster, who was

born in Racine, Wisconsin, l)eing a daughter of
Alfred Foster, who removed thence to Milwau-
kee when she was a child, so that she was reared
and educated in the latter city. Of this union
was born one child. Alberta, who died in infancy.
iVlbert G. is a member of the Olympian Club, and,
like his honored father, has attained the thirty-
second degree of Scottish-rite Masonry, while his
political faith is that of the Democratic party.
The daughter, Clara D., also assists in the man-
agement of the business interests of the Coe es-
tablishment. She has been active in the afifairs
of the Order of the Eastern Star and has of-
ficiated as worthy matron of the local lodge.

WILLIAM S. ELDER, of Deadwood, is a
native of Warsaw, Coshocton county, Ohio,
where his birth occurred on the 15th of October,
1858, being the son of John G. and Jane Elder, of
Ohio and Pennsylvania respectively. The father,
who was also born in the county of Coshocton,
still lives there ancj is a farmer by occupation;
the mother, who before her marriage bore the
name of Jane Moffatt, was born in Washington
county, Pennsylvania, being descended on the
father's side from a Revolutionary soldier who
in an early day settled in Orange county. New
York.

William S. Elder was reared in his native
state, and after attending for soine years the pub-
lic schools entered an academy at Canonsburg,
Pennsylvania, where he was prepared for college.
With this training he became, in 1882, a student
of Princeton College, New Jersey, and in due
time was graduated from that institution, finish-
ing the classical course and receiving his degree
in the year 1886, immediately after which he ac-
cepted the position of reporter of the New York
Commercial Advertiser. After one year in this
capacity he resigned his position and in 1887
started for Dakota, arriving at the Black Hills on
April 2 1 St of that 3'ear, when he at once engaged
in journalism, as editor of the Black Hills Week-
ly Herald, which paper he published from August
to the following December. In 1888 Mr. Elder
began reading law at Deadwood in the office of

f364

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Moody & Washabaugh, the leading legal firm of
the city, and one year later was admitted to the
bar and began the practice of his profession. He
soon obtained his share of patronage, built up a
lucrative business, achieved the reputation of an
able lawyer, and in addition to his legal work,
took an active interest in the growth and devel-
opment of the city, by encouraging all laudable
enterprises calculated to promote these ends. He
was elected in 1902 on the citizens' ticket to
represent the second ward in the city council, and
as a member of that body labored earnestly for
the municipality. Mr. Elder was one of the or-
ganizers and promoters of the Black Hills Min-
ing Men's Association, and, with such associates
and co-workers as S. W. Russell, George S. Jack-
sriu. W. J. Thornby, Harris Franklin and R. H.
Driscoll. who compose the personnel of the en-
terprise, pushed the undertaking to successful
issue, being made a director and later secretary
and treasurer, which offices he fills at the present
time. He was also a leading spirit in organizing
and building up the Imperial Gold Mining and
Milling Company, which now has the largest dry
crushing cyanide plant in the Hills, being presi-
dent of the company, also its legal counsel. To
Mr. Elder's energy and business-like methods
the above enterprises owe much of the success
which has characterized their history. Wide-
awake, enterprising, full of enthusiasm and opti-
mistic in all the term implies, he has demon-
strated qualities of leadership and shown himself
able to cope with and overcome adverse circum-
stances and to carry out successfully and worth-
ily any undertaking to which he addresses him-
self.

Mr. Elder is positive in opinion, energetic in
action, a man of honesty, independence of spirit
and great executive ability to manage exten-
sive enterprises. He is a Democrat, and since
coming west he has been influential in the coun-
cils of his party, locally and throughout the state.
He was secretary of the county central commit-
tee in 1892, and one year later was chosen state
committeeman from Lawrence county, in both of
which capacities he rendered valuable service.

Mr. Elder is a married man. his wife, who

was formerly Miss Maude Eccles, of Qiicago,
having borne him one child, a son by the name
of Duncan Elder. Mr. and Mrs. Elder are mem-
bers of the Congregational church of Deadwood
and move in the best social circles of the citv.

JAMES C. MOODY, a member of one of
the strongest law firms in the state, that of
Moody, Kellar & Moody, of Deadwood, is a na-
tive of the Hoosier state, having been born in
Jasper county, Indiana, on a farm near the town
of Rensselaer, on the 3d of January, 1863, while
in 1864 his parents came to what is now South
Dakota and located in Y^ankton, the original cap-
ital of the territory. He secured his early educa-
tional discipline in the public schools of that city,
being graduated in the high schools as a member
of the class of 1882, and having in the meanwhile
learned the printer's trade. Soon after leaving
school he came with his father to Deadwood,
where he forthwith identified himself with the
newspaper business. In 1884 he effected the
purchase of the plant and business of the Dead-
wood Pioneer, the first paper published in the
Black Hills district, being associated in the pur-
chase with William H. Bonham, the present pro-
prietor. He continued to be identified with the
publication of the Pioneer until 1888, when he
disposed of his interest in the enterprise. Mr.
Moody early became interested in political afifairs
in the territory, as his father was specially prom-
inent in public affairs in the early days, being one
of the pioneer members of the bar of the terri-
tory. He thus went through the early territo-
rial campaigns with his father, ex-Senator Gid-
eon C. Moody, concerning whom much specific
data is entered within the pages of this publica-
tion. After the election of his father to the United
States senate, in 1889, the subject left South Da-
kota and went to the city of Washington, where
he remained for several months as a newspaper
correspondent, and thence went to the territory
of Oklahoma, where he was for a time engaged
in newspaper business, while he also superintend-
ed the compilation and publication of the first
statutes of the territory. He next engaged in lit-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

iA=;

erary work in Kansas City, Missouri, where he
also began a careful study of the law, securing
admission to the bar of that state in 1893.. He
then returned to Oklahoma, locating in Perry,
where he was successfully engaged in the practice
of his profession for three years, at the expiration
of which, upon the invitation of his father, he
returned to Deadwood to enter the law firm of
Mood}-, Kellar & Moody, of which his father was
the senior member. This is one of the leading
firms of corporation lawyers in the state and con-
trols a very extensive and representative prac-
tice. In 1902 the subject was elected to repre-
sent Lawrence county in the state senate, serv-
ing during the eighth general assembly and prov-
ing a valuable working member of the upper
house. In politics he is a stanch Republican.
Fraternally he is a member of the Modern
Woodmen of America and Black Hills Mining
Men's Association. He was married in 1891 to
Miss May Willliams, and as a fruit of this mar-

riage they have two children, Curti
Mav.

Ele

MAL,COLM CHARLES CAMPBELL, of
Lead, was born in Brock township, province of
Ontario, Canada, December 23, 1849, ^''^d is the
son of Peter and Catherine ( Macfee) Campbell,
the father a farmer, contractor and millwright.
When ;\Ia!c3lm was quite small his parents moved
to Bruce county, Ontario, and it was in that part
of the country that he grew to young manhood
on a farm, obtaining the meanwhile a limited ed-
ucation by attending a few months of each winter
season a school three miles distant from his
home. On attaining his majority he went to
Marquette, Michigan, where he worked for some
time at carpentry, later finding employment in a
livery stable, the two kinds of labor occupying
his attention until 1873, when he changed his lo-
cation to Ishpeming, where he followed contract-
ing and building until his removal the same year
to Michigamme. From the latter place he subse-
quently went to Lance, Michigan, where, in addi-
tion to erecting a number of dwellings and other
buildings, he constructed during the fall and

early winter of 1873 seventeen miles of road for
the government, which being finished, he worked
for some time in the Calumet and Hecla mines
at Hancock. Later he built twenty-seven resi-
dences at Osceola for a mining company. In
the summer of 1875 he went to Copper Harbor,
where he was employed for some months building
homes for another mining company, going from
that town the following winter to Oconto, Wis-
consin, near which place he worked in a lumber
camp until the ensuing spring, when he started
for Dakota.

Owing to the trouble then existing in the
Black Hills, Mr. Campbell did not complete his
journey, but returned to Wisconsin, where until
the winter of 1876 he sold a patent right, making
the city of Oshkosh his headquarters. The lat-
ter part of the above year he returned to Han-
cock, jMichigan, where he remained until May,
1877, at which time he again turned his face west-
ward, reaching Crook, Dakota, on the 25th of
June. Immediately after his arrival, he made
one of a party of five that started out on a pros-
pecting tour, spending about one year in that ca-
pacity, during which time the little company trav-
eled over a large section of the territory, expe-
riencing many interesting vicissitudes and meet-
ing with a number of thrilling adventures, also
locating several valuable mining properties,
which subsequently yielded rich returns. In the
winter of 1877 Mr. Campbell located in Dead-
wood and resumed his trade, which he followed
in that city until the spring following, when he
engaged as carpenter and millwright with the
Homestake Mining Company at Lead City. After
remaining with that large and wealthy corpora-
tion until 1886, he resigned his position to take
charge of the Campbell Hotel at Lead City, which
he had erected three years previously, and wliich
as originally constructed, consisted of fifteen
rooms, a capacity entirely inadequate to meet the
rapidly increasing demands of the traveling pub-
lic. Shortly after assuming the duties of "mine
host" he began adding to the building and the
improvements continued until the number of
apartments increased from fifteen to seventy. He
made the Campbell the leading hotel in Lead City,

[366

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

spared neither pains nor expense in furnishing it
throughout with the latest modern improvements
and during the twenty years of his management
it became widely and favorably known as a first-
class stopping place. As a landlord, Mr. Camp-
bell justified the expectations of the most critical
and exacting of his numerous guests, being al-
ways pleasant and agreeable, and hesitating at
no reasonable sacrifice for the entertainment and
comfort of those seeking his hospitality.

Mr. Campbell has been an influential factor
in the public afifairs of Lead since locating in the
citv, and he is now serving his third term in the
common council, having been a member of that
body since about 1895. He is a Republican in
politics and an active party worker, the success
of the local ticket upon divers occasions being
largely the result of his untiring efforts in its be-
half. His fraternal relations are represented by
the Odd Fellows, Elks and Pythian orders, in
all of which he has held important official posi-
tions.

On the 6th day of July. 1S99. :Mr. Campbell
contracted a matrimonial alliance with Miss Mar-
garet McKinney, a native of Missouri, but at the
time of her marriage a resident of the Black
Hills. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell have an enter-
taining family of four children, all sons, their
names in order of birth being as follows : Mal-
colm P., William A., Walter D. and George Al-
bert.

HON. WILLIAM S. O'BRIEN, of the
Homestake Mining Company, was born in Ca-
lais, Washington county, Maine, on the 25th of
February, 1846. When four years old he was
taken by his parents to Detroit, Michigan, and
in 1855 accompanied the family to Minneapolis,
Minnesota, where he lived mitil the breaking out
the great Rebellion. In August, 1862, although
but a lad of fifteen, young O'Brien enlisted in
Company A, Ninth Minnesota Volunteer Infan-
try, with which he shared the fortunes and vicis-
situdes of war until honorably discharged on the
24th of .August, 1865. participating during his
period of service in a number of battles and

minor engagements, among the more noted of
which were Nashville, Tennessee, siege of Mo-
bile, Alabama, Tupelo and Gun Town, Missis-
sippi. He was with General Sibley during the In-
dian war of Minnesota in the fall of 1862, and
the summer of 1863 took part in much of the
hard fighting with the savages. At the close of
the war he returned to Minneapolis, but after re-
maining the following winter in that city, de-
cided to go to Montana territory, where he was
convinced more favorable opportunities awaited
him. Accordingly he procured a wagon and an ok-
team, and with his outfit started west, with Hel-
ena as an objective point. In due season he
reached his destination, and from that time until
1877 he devoted his attention to mining and lum-
bering in Montana. Nevada, Washington and
Arizona.

From Nevada Mr. O'Brien came to Dakota
and after spending about seven months in the
Black Hills, returned to that state, thence in
1880 to Arizona, where he continued variously
employed until his removal, in 1883, to Idaho.
In 1885 he again returned to South Dakota, and
since that time has been almost continuously em-
ployed at the celebrated Homestake Mining Com-
pany, in the Black Hills, serving in various ca-
pacities, such as laborer, miner, sampler, time-
keeper, state inspector of mines, shift boss and
foreman of the mines, proving in every situation
faithful to his every obligation, and at all times
making the company's interests his own. His
series of continued promotions from the humble
position of a common laborer with pick and
shovel to the high and responsible station of fore-
man of one of the largest and richest mining
properties in the world, demonstrate the strong
fiber of which the man is made and indicate the
confidence and esteem in which he is hekl by
those to whom his services have been rendered.

When the constitutional convention was
called in 1890 Mr. O'Brien was a member of the
house of representatives and the following year
he was chosen to represent Lawrence county in
the state senate. His record while a member
of those latter bodies was eminently honorable,
creditable to himself and satisfactor\- to his con-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1367

stituents, and his name appears in connection
with some of the most important legislation of the
the different sessions.

In 1894 Mr. O'Brien was furthered honored
b\' being appointed state mining inspector, in
which capacity he served the commonwealth un-
til his resignation for the purpose of accepting
the more lucrative position with the Homestake
■Mining Company, which he has since so abl-y and
worthily held. He has been for many years an
influential worker in the Republican party, and
in the fall of 1896 was nominated sheriff of Law-
rence county, but by reason of the overwhelm-
ing strength of the opposition that year failed of
election, although running ahead of other candi-
dates on his ticket.

Mr. O'Brien, on the 2d day of December,
1885, was happily married to Miss Bessie Tre-
week, a native of Cornwall, England, the union
resulting in the birth of three interesting children
whose names are Ida W., Flora B. and Elizabeth
J. Mr. O'Brien is public-spirited, an expert in
the great industry to which he has so long de-
voted his time and energies, and his popularity
with all classes and conditions of people is by no
means circumscribed by 'the narrow limits of the
community in which he lives. Wherever known
he is esteemed for his many admirable qualities
of head and heart, and as an honorable man and
upright citizen he ranks with the most enterpris-
ing and progressive of his contemporaries. He
is an enthusiastic member of the Grand Army
of the Republic, belonging to E. M. Stanton
Post, No. 81, at Lead.

HEXRY ROSENKRANZ. of Central City,
was born in Germany, on October 14, 1846, and
came with his parents to the LInited States when
he was nine years old. The family settled twenty
miles east of Buffalo, New York, and there the
father engaged in farming. Henry lived at
home until he reached the age of sixteen, attend-
ing the district schools and aiding in the work
on the farm. His mother died on June 12, 1902,
and his father is still living on the New York
homestead, being eighty-six years old. At the

age of sixteen the son went to work in a brewery
in Buffalo, and after four years of faithful serv-
ice there secured a position as foreman in a sim-
ilar estal)lishment at Niagara Falls. He re-
mained there until 1868, then moved to Kansas
City, Alissouri, where he passed two years, again
working in a brewery. In 1870 he went to Hel-
ena, Montana, and soon after his arrival at that
place found employment in the mines at Union-
ville for a few months, then went into a distillery
at Helena. In the following spring he turned his
attention to prospecting in the neighborhood of
that city, and during the summer joined a govern-
i ment survey under the direction of Professor
j Marsh. He was with this expedition four months
when he was taken ill and returned to Helena,
j where he was laid up eight months. In 1872 he
! again went to work in a brewery, this time at Hel-
i ena, remaining there so employed until 1876. In
' July of that year he started for the Black Hills
and arrived at Deadwood on August loth. He
at once found employment in drain ditching,
I working at this until the next spring. He then
opened a retail liquor store at Central City. In
September of that year, 1877, he went with sev-
eral other men on a prospecting expedition
through the hills west of the town. They en-
countered a band of hostile Indians who killed
all their horses and one man named Thomas
Carr. On his return from the disastrous trip Mr.
Rosenkranz started a brewery at Central City
in partnership with Dan Warner, and in 1880
he bought Mr. Warner's interest and became sole
owner of the plant and business. He conducted
the enterprise until 1890, when he suspended op-
erations and went into the coal and ice business,
at the same time doing considerable prospecting
in the vicinity of the town. The year 1893 was
passed on the reservation where he had cattle, and
in 1894 he reopened his saloon at Central City,
continuing the business until April, 1903, when
he again sold out. It is his present intention to re-
tire from active business for a time and take a
well-earned and much-needed rest, spending
some time in California. He is interested in a
large extent of mining property in the Black
Hills, and also owns considerable real estate at

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Centra! City and Deadwood. His place is prop-
erly among the old-timers, as he was an early
settler here, and he is a valued member of the
Pioneers' Society of the Black Hills.

On September 5, 1873, Mr. Rosenkranz was
married at Helena. Montana, to Miss Louise
Kaiser, a native of California. They had four
children, Lizzie, Annie, Lillian and Qara. Their
mother died on December 14, 1887, and on De-
cember 31, 1889, at Lead, this state, Mr. Rosen-
kranz married a second wife, Miss Mary Nuder-
icker, a native of Austria. He belongs to the
Odd Fellows at Deadwood and the Red Men at
Central Citv.

EUGENE F. IRWIN, timekeeper for the
Homestake Mining Company, Lead City, South
Dakota, was born in Clinton, DeWitt county, Il-
linois, on June 27, 1865. On the maternal side he
is a direct descendant of General Putnam, of Rev-
olutionary fame, and his great-grandfather,
Hiram Smith, was an aide-de-camp on the staff
of General William Henry Harrison during the
war of 1812. William R. Irwin, the subject's
father, is a native of Ohio, and for a number of
years resided in Illinois, but in 1881 removed to
Missouri, where he has since been practicing law.
He served five and a half years in the United
States army, participated in many of the noted
campaigns of the great rebellion, and after the
close of the war was stationed for some time at
Ft. Laramie, Wyoming, retiring from the serv-
ice with the rank of captain. Mattie M., wife of
\^'illiam R. Irwin, and mother of the subject, is
at the present time actively engaged in Grand
Army and Woman's Relief Corps circles and for
the past thirty years has been prominently iden-
tified with the mission work of the Presbyterian
church.

Eugene F. Irwin was reared in his native
state, received his education in the public schools
of Clinton and remained in Illinois until 1881,
when he accompanied his parents upon their re-
moval to Nebraska. From 1881 to 1883 he
worked as an apprentice on the Waterloo Ga-
zette, but the latter year quit the office and en-

tered the railway service with headquarters at
Blair, Nebraska. After spending a. short time
railroading he resigned his position and in 1884
resumed newspaper work as compositor on the
Blair Pilot, in which capacity he continued about
one year. Severing his connection with the Pilot
office, he worked for some time with the Crom-
well Lumber and Grain Company, at Craig, Ne-
braska, and on quitting that finn returned to
railroading, which he followed at various places
and in various capacities until 1893. While thus
engaged, he filled the position of bill clerk in the
Omaha freight office, was station agent at differ-
ent points, ticket agent and train dispatcher, quit-
ting the same at Chadron, Nebraska, on April
26th of the year noted to enter the employ of the
Homestake Mining Company at Lead, South Da-
kota, with which large and wealthy enterprise he
has since been identified as timekeeper.

Mr. Irwin's career has been varied and active
and, in the main, financially successful. He has
the unbounded confidence of the wealthy cor-
poration with which he is connected and dis-
charges the duty of his responsible post with
credit to himself and to the satisfaction of all
concerned, enjoying not only the high esteem of
his superiors, but the kindest regard of his asso-
ciates and fellow workmen as well. Mr. Irwin
is a Republican in politics and ever since old
enough to exercise the right of franchise has been
an active worker for the success of his party.
In April, 1902, he was elected mayor of Lead
City and his administration of the municipal gov-
ernment has been satisfactory in every way to
Democrats as well as Republicans.

Mr. Irwin is a zealous Mason and enjoys
worthy prestige in the fraternity, having been
honored with a number of important official po-
sitions. ,He joined the blue lodge in October,
1886; the Royal Arch degree, February, 1890;
Knights Templar, July, 1890: thirty-second or
Scottish Rite degree, April, 1893; Shrine, Au-
gust, 1892; Order of the Eastern Star, 1891, and
Royal and Select Masters, August. 1895. He has
served as worshipful master of Golden Star
Lodge, No. 9 ; high priest of Golden Belt Chapter,
No. 35, Royal Arch Masons ; eminent commander

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1369

of Dakota Commandery, No. i, Knights Templar ;
grand junior warden and grand senior warden
of the grand commandery of Knights Templar,
of South Dakota ; grand junior warden and grand
master of the first veil, grand chapter. Royal
Arch Masons, of South Dakota ; grand royal arch
captain and grand principal sojourner of the same
chapter, and grand junior deacon of the grand
lodge. Free and Accepted Masons. By the fore-
going list it will be seen that Mr. Irwin has held
many of the most prominent positions within the
power of the brotherhood to bestow, his elevation
to the same attesting his capability and high
standing in an order where merit and not pres-
tige is the pathway to honorable station.

Mr. Irwin was married, in Waterloo, Ne-
braska, July 29, 1886, to Miss Lucy M. Royce,
whose ancestors were among the early settlers of
northern Vermont, and whose family has long
lived in that state. Three children have been
born of this union, namely : Georgie D., Helen
F. and Edith F., all living.

M. VINCENT MULCAHY, M. D., who is
successfully established in the practice of his
profession in Vermillion, Clay county, comes of
stanch old Irish lineage and is a native of the
dominion of Canada, having been born in the
town of Orillia, province of Ontario, on the 28th
of January, 1868. He is a son of Thomas and
Mary (Collins) Mulcahy, the former of whom
was born in Ireland, whence he came to Canada
in his youth, and he is still living there. His wife
was a native of Canada and of Irish descent, and
there her death occurred in 1875. Dr. Mulcahy
completed the curriculum of the public schools
in his native town, being graduated in the Orillia
high school as a member of the class of 1885.
He then entered the medical department of the
University of Toronto, where he completed the
prescribed course and was graduated in 1889,
while in the same year he completed a course in
the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons,
in the same city, receiving license to practice in
the province of Ontario. To further advance him-
self in the knowledge of his profession the Doc-

tor took a post-graduate course in the New York
Polyclinic Institute in the year 1890, which fact
is indicative of his devotion to his profession and
his desire to keep in close touch with all advances
made in the same. In 1890 he entered upon the
practice of medicine at Smith Falls, Canada,
where he remained one year, at the expiration
of which he came to South Dakota and estab-
lished himself in practice at Elk Point, Union
county, where he built up a successful practice,
there continuing his residence until 1898, when
he located in Vermillion, where he now controls
an excellent and representative practice. In 1897
he took a second post-graduate course in the Poly-
clinic Institute in New York City. He served as
superintendent of the board of health of Union
county while a resident of Elk Point, and he is
at the present time medical examiner for the New
York Life Insurance Company, the Mutual Life
Insurance Company, of New York, the North-
western Life Insurance Company, of Milwaukee,
and others of importance. He holds membership
in the South Dakota State Medical Society and the
American Medical Association, while fraternally
he is identified with the Masonic order, in which
he has passed the capitular degrees; the Knights
of Pythias, and the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks.

On the 2d of October, 1892, Dr. Mulcahy was
united in marriage to Miss Laura Fox, of Orillia,
Canada, and she died on the 23d of February,
1898, leaving one child, Vera. On the 2d of
July, 1 90 1, the Doctor consummated a second
marriage, being then united to Miss Bertha
Chamberlain, of Pasadena, California.

JOHN BAGGALEY, of Deadwood, is a na-
tive of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, born June
26, 1849, '" the town of New Hope, where his
parents, Francis and Ann (Mulcaster) Baggaley,
settled about two years prior to the date of his
birth. Francis Baggaley, a native of England,
was by occupation a flax dresser, his father hav-
ing been a manufacturer of pottery on an exten-
sive scale in the county of Yorkshire. The Mul-
casters, for several generations, were miners, the

[370

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

family still holding large coal interests in various
parts of England and Wales. Francis Baggaley
moved from Pennsylvania to Connecticut when
the subject of this sketch was quite small, thence
to Andover, Massachusetts, and still later to New
York city, where his death occurred in 1890; his
wife dying in January, 1883, in Albany, New
York. '

John Baggaley, as already indicated, was a
child when his parents moved to Connecticut and
Massachusetts, and his first educational experi-
ence was in the schools of Andover, in the latter
state, where he acquired a fair knowledge of the
branches constituting the prescribed course of
study. At the age of fifteen he laid aside his
books and entered a newspaper office, to learn
the printer's trade, but after serving a short time
gave up the business and started out to make
his fortune by other means. When about sev-
enteen years of age he left home and went to
Missouri, where he worked at different places
as a farm hand during the ensuing six years, at
the expiration of that time joining his parents at
Galesburg, Illinois, to which place they had in the
meanwhile removed. From 1872 to 1877 he oper-
ated an express business at Galesburg, but in
April of the latter year he came to Deadwood,
South Dakota, from which place he started out
on a prospecting tour.

Mr. Baggaley devoted about nine years to
prospecting, during which time he traveled over
various parts of the territory, acquiring a prac-
tical experience in mining and meeting with the
vicissitudes which usually attend people engaged
in this not always successful search after hidden
wealth. In the main, however, he was reasonably
fortunate as he succeeded in locating several val-
uable properties, which ultimately resulted greatly
to his advantage, besides organizing and promot-
ing a number of mining enterprises from which
he received a liberal income. He became a stock-
holder of the Iron Hill Mining Company, of
which, for the past twelve years, he has been
secretary and treasurer. About one hundred and
twenty-five men were employed and the property
was among the most productive mining proper-
ties in the Black Hills country prior to the low
price of silver.

In 1886 Mr. Baggaley discontinued promoting
as a specific work, and since that time has devoted
his attention principally to the brokerage and
commission business, later adding real estate, in
all of which lines he has a large and lucrative
patronage. He has a wide correspondence with
all sections of the Union, by means of which he
has induced men of capital to invest their surplus
in the Black Hills and other parts of South Da-
kota. In connection with his regidar business, he
has recently been dealing in curios of all kinds,
for which there is always a great demand by
tourists, his stock of these articles being large,
valuable and representing much labor and expense
in the collecting.

Mr. Baggaley served as treasurer of Dead-
wood from 1896 to 1898, inclusive, and proved
a capable and popular official. As a Republican
he is interested in politics, but is more of a busi-
ness man than a politician, devoting his attention
closely to his interests, with the result that he is
now the possessor of a fortune of considerable
magnitude, which through his energy is being
continually augmented. Mr. Baggaley was initi-
ated into the Odd Fellows order at Galesburg,
Illinois, in 1876, and has been actively identified
with the fraternity ever since, being at this time a
leading member of Eureka Lodge at Deadwood.
Years ago he united with the Baptist church, and
began the earnest Christian life which he has
since lived, being one of the pillars of the con-
gregation worshiping in Deadwood. He was
the first clerk and treasurer of the church in this
city, both of which positions he held for a number
of years, and since about 1898 he has been a dea-
con, besides contributing liberally of his means
to the support of the gospel, both at home and in
other places.

The domestic life of Mr. Baggaley dates
from 1870, on August 22d of which year he was
tuiited in the bonds of wedlock with Miss Jennie
Evans, daughter of Edward and May Evans, of
Brookfield, Missouri, where the ceremony was
solemnized. The children born of this union,
three in number, are May E., who married J. C.
Gregory, editor of the Auburn Argus, Auburn,
Washington; Maud A., wife of A. H. Stillvvell,
the subject's business associate, and George F.,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

who is also a partner of his father in the latter's
various enterprises. Thus in a somewhat cursory
way have been set forth the leading- facts and
characteristics in the Hfe of an enterprising,
broad-minded man, who has indeed been the
architect of his own fortune and who, standing
four square to every wind that blows, exercises a
wholesome influence upon the community of
which he has been a respected and honored cit-
izen.

COL. JOHN L. JOLLEY, of \-ermillion.
Clay county, is a native of the city of Montreal,
Canada, where he was born on the 14th of July,
1840, being a son of James and Frances (Lawlor)
Jolley. both of whom are now deceased. In 1846,
when he was a lad of six years, his parents re-
moved to the city of Hamilton, Ontario, and
there he secured his early educational training
in a private school. In 1853 the subject began
working at the trade of harnessmaking, in the
employ of his father, and thus continued until
May I, 1857, when he removed to Portage City,
Wisconsin, where he beg-an the study of law
the following year, prosecuting his technical read-
ing with much zeal and being admitted to the
bar of the state in October, 1861.

On August 21, 1862, Mr. Jolley enlisted as a
private in Company C, Twenty-third Wisconsin
Volunteer Infantry, with which he proceeded to
the front, and he continued in active service until
the close of the war, having participated in many
important engagements and having risen to the
rank of second lieutenant of his company, receiv-
ing his honorable discharge as such, at Mobile,
Alabama, on the 4th of July, 1865. He then re-
turned to the north and took a short course of
study in the Eastman Commercial College, in the
city of Chicago. On the lOth of July. 1866, John
L. Jolley came to the territory of Dakota and be-
came one of the pioneers of the present flourish-
ing city of Vermillion, Qay county, where he es-
tablished himself in the practice of his profession,
in which he has ever since continued, having
gained distinctive prestige in the same and being
one of the oldest practitioners in this section of

the state. He is a stalwart advocate of the prin-
ciples of the Republican party and has long been
a prominent figure in its local ranks, wielding
much influence in its councils in the state. In
1884 he was delegate from the territory to the
national Republican convention, which nominated
James G. Blaine for tlie presidency, and he has
been frequently a delegate to the territorial and
state conventions. He was four times elected a
member of the territorial legislature and twice
represented his county in the state legislature,
after the admission of South Dakota to the
Union. In 1891 he was elected to congress, to fill
the unexpired term of the late Hon. John R.
Gamble. In 1877 Mr. Jolley was chosen as the
first mayor of the city of Vermillion, and in 1885
he was again called to the chief executive office
of the municipality. He was a member of the
state constitutional convention of 1889 and at all
times has been recognized as a citizen of utmost
loyalty and highest public spirit. Fraternally he
manifests his abiding interest in his old comrades
in arms by retaining membershp in Miner Post,
No. 8, Grand Army of the Republic.

On the 20th of April, 1874, near the city of
Dubuque, Iowa, was solemnized the marriage of
John L. Jolley to Miss Harriet J. Grange, and
they are the parents of three children, viz : Fran-
ces, who is the wife of Hon. Charles H. Dillon,
a prominent member of the bar of Yankton, this
state; Cliarles W., who is a successful farmer of
Gay county, and Mary L.. who remains at the
parental home.

DANA REED BAILEY, one of the distin-
guished members of the bar of Minnehaha county,
and county judge, is a native of the old Green
Mountain state, having been born in Montgomery,
Franklin county, Vermont, on the 27th of April,
1833. He was reared to the sturdy discipline of
the farm and after completing the curriculum of
the district schools, he continued his studies in
Leland Seminary, at Townshend, Vermont, and
finally completed his education in Oberlin Col-
lege, Oberlin, Ohio, in 1858. He taught
three terms in the district schools. was

1372

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

for six months an instructor in a select school,
and later was a teacher in the Beekman
school, at Saratoga Springs, New York, for
one year. In June, 1856, Judge Bailey began
reading law and in the following year entered
the office of the late Chief Justice Royce, of the
supreme court of his native state, under whose
preceptorship he continued his technical reading
for some time. He then entered the Albany Law
School, at Albany, New York, where he was
graduated in April, 1859. In the following
month he entered upon the practice of his chosen
profession, locating in Highgate, Vermont, being
there established in practice until the ist of Sep-
tember, 1864. In that place he held for two
years the office of town agent and for an equal
period was trustee of the United States reserve
fund. He was also deputy collector of the
United States customs at Highgate, having
charge of the office for three years and three
months, while for six months he acted as special
agent of the war department. In 1863 he was
appointed secret aid of the United States treasurj-
department, serving in this capacity for three
years. On the 1st of September, 1865, Judge
Bailey opened a law office in St. Albans, Vermont,
and on the 3d of the following February he en-
tered into a professional partnership with Park
Davis, while a year later H. C. Adams became
a member of the firm. The subject was a delegate
to the Republican national convention in 1868,
and was a member of the state central committee
of the party in Vermont two years. He served
two years as state's attorney of Franklin county,
and in 1870 was elected a member of the state
senate, being chosen as his own successor two
years later and serving with marked ability and
distinction, having been chairman of the judiciary
committee, while by vote of the joint legislature
he was appointed one of a committee of five to
investigate the Vermont Central Railroad, which
investigation was not concluded until July, 1873.
He was for two years a member of the board of
school directors of St. Albans.

In 1869 Judge Bailey became identified with
the interests of the west, having, in 1871, laid out
the town of Baldwin, St. Croix county, Wiscon-

sin, of which he was the original proprietor. He
there built the Matchless flouring mills and was
the owner of three sawmills and half-owner of
two grain elevators. He had in the meanwhile
taken up his permanent abode in the town and for
a decade was there engaged in the manufacture
of flour and lumber and in farming and merchan-
dising as well. For several 3-ears he maintained
a large herd of high-grade shorthorn cattle, sell-
ing the same in 1877, in the Chicago market, for
the highest average price offered for any herd
in the United States in that year.

In 1874 Judge Bailey removed to Baldwin,
St. Croix county, Wisconsin, where he served
three years as president of the municipal council,
as treasurer one year and as school director for
seven years. In 1877, at the Republican district
convention, he was nominated by acclamation
for the state senate, as representative of the
twenty-fourth senatorial district, comprising
seven counties, and in the county in which he
resided he received in the ensuing election all the
votes cast, with the exception of fifty-seven, the
total vote being three thousand one hundred and
thirty-one, while the Republican nominee for the
lower house of the legislature had only ninety-
nine majority in the county. He was chairman
of the judiciary committee in the senate during
the session of 1879. In 1880 the Judge was
elected a member of the board of county commis-
sioners of St. Croix county, and was re-elected in
each of the two succeeding years, resigning his
position on the 19th of December, 1882, at which
time he was also chairman of the board, and on
the 2 1st of the same month he arrived in Sioux
Falls, South Dakota, where he has ever since
maintained his home. From the time of his ar-
rival until March, 1884, he had charge of the
Dakota business of the Northwestern Mutual Life
Insurance Company, of Milwaukee, and on the
1 1 th of the month last mentioned he opened a law
office here, in the Masonic Temple, being the first
tenant to occupy rooms in the new building, and
here he actively resumed the practice of his pro-
fession. In January, 1886, he formed a co-part-
nership with Park Davis, who had been his pro-
fessional colleague in Vermont many years previ-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ously. and in 1888 William H. Lyon became a
member of the firm, which was known as Bailey,
Davis & Lyon, and which held a foremost posi-
tion among the legal associations of the territory
and state during the entire time of its existence.
Judge Bailey served as city attorney of Sioux
Falls from 1885 until 1889, and on the 21st of
August, 1890, upon the resignation of Charles
O. Bailey, he was appointed state's attorney for
I^Iinnehaha county, retaining this office, by sub-
sequent re-elections, until 1895, when he resumed
the private practice of his profession. In No-
vember, 1900. he was elected county judge of
Minnehaha coui)ty, serving for a term of two
years and being then re-elected, in 1902, for a
second term of equal duration. In the territorial
davs the Judge was for two years a member of the
Repul)lican central committee of the territory, and
in 1895-6 he was a member of the state agricul-
tural board. In 1899 he edited and published a
history of Minnehaha county, a valuable contribu-
tion to the histors' of the territory and state in
the field covered, and the work is considered au-
thoritative, gaining distinctive commendation
from those most capable of judging its true mer-
its. Judge Bailey has ever been a stanch advo-
cate of the principles of the Republican party
and has been prominent in its councils in the
three states in which he has lived and labored
so eflfectively. Fraternally he is identified with
the Masonic order.

WILLIAM C. NOTMEYER. register of
deeds of Hughes county, was born in the city of
Bismarck, North Dakota, on Christmas day, 1877,
being a son of Henry L. and Nellie (Inman)
Notmeyer, both of whom were born in Ohio. At
the time of the Mexican war Henry L. Notmeyer
offered his services to his country, but failing to
secure a commission he engaged in a survey in
Kansas and during the winters of those early
years he was with Colonel W. F. Cody (Bufifalo
Bill) on expeditions in hunting buffaloes on the
great western -plains, the animals being shipped
to the markets in Cincinnati and St. Louis. At
the opening of the Civil war he enlisted as a mem-

ber of the Fifty-second Regiment Indiana Volun-
teer Infantry and served until victory had crowned
the L^nion arms, participating in the battles of
Vicksburg, Shiloh and many other of the famous
battles incidental to the great civil conflict. In
an early day he came to what is now North Da-
kota and located in the frontier village of Bis-
marck, where he remained until 1881, when he
came with his family to Pierre, the attractive lit-
tle capital city of South Dakota, where he en-
gaged in the grocery business. Here he passed
the remainder of his life, his death occurring in
1894. He was well known to the old-timers of
the territory, was a man of inflexible integrity
and had a host of friends in the two great com-
monwealths which originally constituted the ex-
tensive domain of the territory of Dakota. His
wife died in the year 1880 at Bismarck: of their
three children, two are living. Prior to settling
in Bismarck he had been a scout in Kansas, dur-
ing the Indian troubles, having been appointed
to this position by Colonel Cody, who was chief
of scouts at the time.

The subject of this sketch received his edu-
cational training in the public schools of Pierre,
and thereafter was for several years employed as
bookkeeper in the cattle and loan establishment
of March Brothers. On the 28th of April, 1898,
he enlisted as a private, and was later promoted
to sergeant, in Company A, First South Dakota
Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel A.
S. Frost, being mustered in at Sioux Falls and
thence proceeding with the command to San
Francisco, where they embarked at once for Ma-
nila, making the voyage by way of Honolulu.
Their first engagement with the insurgents oc-
curred on the 4th of February, 1899, in Manila,
the conflict continuing on the following day, while
on the 23d of the same month they had other
spirited engagements on the outskirts of the city,
while they were again engaged with the natives
on the 28th. On the 4th and 5th of May they
moved out and captured the town of San Fer-
nando, where they remained on provost duty un-
til May 24th, when they again were in battle, as
were they also on the 25th, this being the last
active engagement in which the regiment took

t374

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

part. They then returned to Santa Mesa, three
miles distant from Manila, where they recruited
before returning, remaining there stationed about
four weeks, at the expiration of which they were
again called into the field and kept on duty until
they returned to San Francisco, by way of Japan,
having been mustered out on the 5th of October,
1899. Mr. Notmeyer while thus in service well
upheld the military prestige gained by his hon-
ored father, and was always found at the post of
duty.

After the close of his military career he re-
turned to his home in Pierre, and was instru-
mental in the organization of Troop B, First
Squadron. South Dakota Cavalry, National
Guard, located at Pierre, of which troop he was
made first lieutenant. In November, 1900, he was
elected register of deeds of Hughes county, in
which capacity he has since continued to serve,
having been chosen as his own successor in 1902.
He is a real-estate dealer to some extent and also
contracts for the construction of cement side-
walks, curbing, etc., being associated with the
cement firm of Stover & Engelsby, and frater-
nally is identified with the Knights of Pythias,
the Knights of the Maccabees and the Brother-
hood of American Yeomen. He is a very active
member of Pierre's volunteer fire department, and
has served several years as first assistant chief.
Religiously he is member of the First Metho-
dist church of the capital city.

On the i6th of May, 1900, Mr. Notmeyer was
united in marriage to Miss Arlie B. Pond, who
was bom in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, and
who is a daughter of Albert A. Pond, now a well-
known citizen and business man of Pierre.

:\10RITZ ADELBERT LANGE, deputy su-
perintendent of public instruction in the state of
South Dakota, was born at Smith Mills, Chau-
tauqua county. New York, on the 28th of Janu-
ary, J855, and is a son of Moritz Jacob Lange,
who was born in Grossenhein, kingdom of Sax-
ony, Germany, on the 5th of March, 1824, and
who came to America in 1848, with the renowned
Franz Sigel, who rendered so brilliant service in

defense of the Union during the war of the Re-
bellion. The maiden name of the subject's mother
was Margaret J. Dawley, and she was born in
Gowanda, Cattaraugus county, New York, on
the 25th of October, 1835, being of stanch Eng-
lish lineage. The original ancestors in the new
world settled on Long Island in 1700, and a col-
lateral relative was Ethan Allen, of historic fame.
In 1856 the parents of our subject came to the
west and took up their residence in Decorah,
Winneshiek county, Iowa, being numbered among
the pioneers of the Hawkeye state, where the fa-
ther engaged in farming and where both he and
his wife passed the remainder of their lives.
Moritz A. Lange was a mere infant at the time
of the family removal to Iowa, where he was
reared to manhood, having completed the curric-
ulum of the graded schools of his home town
and having then engaged in teaching, by which
means he earned the funds which enabled him to
avail himself of higher educational advantages.
He was graduated in Stanford Seminary, at Stan-
ford, Iowa, in 1872, and thereafter completed the
normal course in the Decorah Institute, in Dec-
orah, being graduated as a member of the class
of 1874. He contiiuied his residence in Iowa
until 1878, when he came to what is now the state
of South Dakota and cast in his lot with the pio-
neers of McCook county, where he filed entry on
the west half of section 26, range 102, township
55, perfecting his title in due course of time and
improving the property, which he retained in his
possession until 1902, when he disposed of the
same, receiving forty dollars an acre, though he
is still a land holder in the county. He promptly
identified himself with the industrial and public
affairs of the county, having served as county
surveyor for the decade from 1880 to 1890,
while in 1892 ne was again chosen as in-
cumbent of this office, serving one year. He has
taken a prominent part in educational work from
the early days to the present, having been county
superintendent of schools from 1882 to 1894,
while in 1895 he was appointed institute conduc-
tor, in which office he did an admirable work. In
1897 he was appointed deputy superintendent of
public instruction for the state, and in 1903 he

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

375

was agfain appointed to this office, of which he is
in tenure at the time of this writing, giving prac-
tically his entire time and attention to his execu-
tive duties and enjoying marked popularity in the
educational circles of the state. In politics he has
ever given an unfaltering allegiance to the Re-
publican party, and fraternally he is affiliated with
Eureka Lodge, No. 71, Ancient Free and Ac-
cepted Masons, at Bridgewater, this state ; Salem
Ompter, No. 34, Royal Arch Masons, at Salem;
and Capital City Chapter, No. 39, Order of the
Eastern Star, at Pierre, where he has maintained
his home since 1903.

In Decorah, Iowa, on the 2d of April, 1879,
Mr. Lange was united in marriage to Miss Eva
May Punteney, who was born on the 2d of Janu-
ary, 1 86 1, and they have one son, Moritz Arthur,
who was born September 14, 1880, and w'ho was
married to Miss Susie May Evans, on the nth
of November, 1902.

JOHN E. MALLERY, one of the represent-
ative business men of the city of Pierre, is a na-
tive of the Badger state, having been born in the
village of Waukau, Winnebago county, Wiscon-
sin, on the loth of December, 1858, and being a
son of Ebenezer J. and Jane E. (Silsbee) Mallery,
both of whom were born in the state of New
York, whence they came to Wisconsin and be-
came numbered among its pioneer settlers. They
are still both living, the father being a farmer
by vocation and a man of prominence and influ-
ence in his communi'ty. The subject received his
early educational discipline in the public schools
of his native town, completing a course in the
high school and supplementing this by a thorough
course in the Janesville Commercial College, at
Janesville., Wisconsin. After leaving school he
secured employment as a school teacher in Win-
nebago county, Wisconsin, and he continued to
reside in Wisconsin until 1882, w^hen he came to
South Dakota, where he has since made his home,
and he has built up an excellent business in
Pierre, being known as a loyal and progressive
citizen. In politics he accords a stanch allegiance

to the Republican party, though he has never been
an aspirant for office, and fraternally he is iden-
tified with Tent No. 8, Knights of the Maccabees,
while both he and his wife are valued members of
the Congregational church in their home city.

On the 23d of February, 1881, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Mallery to Miss Nancie
Shove, who was born in Waukau, Wisconsin, on
the 4th of February, 1858, being a daughter of
Francis and Mary (Hallows) Shove, who are
now both dead, Mr. Shove having been for many
years engaged in the farming business in Wau-
kau. Mr. and Mrs. Mallery have three daugh-
ters, all of whom remain beneath the home roof
and all of whom are popular in the social circles
of the capital city, their names being as follows :
Blanche I., Jennie P. and Miriam I.

IRA L. NICHOLS, of Elk Point, Union
count}-, has the distinction of being a native of
the old Buckeye state, having been born in Bel-
mont county, Ohio, on the 12th of June, 1853,
and being a son of Balaam and Abigail
(Hatcher) Nichols, the former a farmer by vo-
cation. After duly availing himself of the ad-
vantage of the common schools of his native
state Mr. Nichols continued his studies for
some time in Washington and Jefiferson College,
at Washington. Pennsylvania, and later entered
Franklin College, at New Athens, Ohio, where
he was graduated in 1879, with the degree of
Bachelor of Arts. For about three years he was
successfully engaged in teaching in the pubHc
schools of Ohio, and then took up the study of
the law at St. Clairsville, Belmont county, under
the preceptorship of the well-known firm of A.
H. and W. Mitchell. In 1882 he came to the
present state of South Dakota and took up his
residence in Elk Point, where he was admitted to
the bar, becoming one of the early practitioners
in the county and having soon gained distinctive
precedence as an able and discriminating trial
lawyer and counselor. He has remained con-
tinuously in practice, and has had to do with
much important litigation during the intervening
vcars. He has ever accorded a stanch allegiance

[376

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

to the Republican party, and on its ticket, in 1884,
he was elected state's attorney of Union county,
while the same preferment came to him again in
1888, 1900 and 1902, so that he is incumbent of
this important office at the time of this writing.
Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic or-
der, being affiliated with the lodge and chapter
of the same in his home town.

On the 2d of July, 1881, Mr. Nichols was
united in marriage to Miss Mary Emma Hewet-
son, of St. Qairsville, Ohio, and they have three
children.— Charles B., Albert H. and Nellie C.

HIRAM C. SHOUSE, M. D., who is suc-
cessfully engaged in the practice of his profession
in Plankinton, merits consideration in this work
as one of the able physicians and surgeons of
the state. He was born in Johnson county, Indi-
ana, August 10, 1844. being a son of Lewis and
Sarah (Kelly) Shouse, of whose eleven children
only four are living. namely : David,
Louisa and Harrison, all of whom are resident
of the state of Illinois ; and Hiram C. whose
name initiates this paragraph. The father of the
Doctor was born in Germany, in 1800, and the
mother was a native of Ireland. Lewis Shouse
emigrated to America, in company with one of
his brothers, when eighteen years of age, resided
for a time in Kentucky and thence made his way
to Indiana, where he engaged in teaching in the
common schools, having thus devoted his atten-
tion to pedagogic work in one building for the
long period of eighteen years, while later he was
engaged in farming, while for several years prior
to his death he was engaged in merchandising,
his death occurring in 1883, while his wife passed
away in 1867. both having been members of the
Campbellite or Christian church, while in politics
he was first a Whig and later a Republican.

Dr. Shouse was reared on the home farm and
in his youth received a good common-school ed-
ucation. At the age of seventeen years, in July,
1R61, he tendered his services in defense of the
Union, enlisting in Company G, Eleventh Illi-
nois Volunteer Infantry, with which he served
until Lite in the following year, when he received

his honorable discharge. In 1864 he re-enlisted,
becoming a member of Company C, One Hun-
dred and Thirty-fifth Illinois Infantry, and receiv-
ing his discharge in October of that year, after
which he continued in the government employ
for some time as forage master. On the 15th
of February, 1862, the Doctor was severely
wounded in the engagement at Fort Donelson,
being injured in the leg. arm and hand. After
the close of the war he returned home, where he
remained until January I. 1867. when he entered
the Illinois Soldiers' College, at Fulton. Illinois,
where he was graduated in 1871, with the degree
of Bachelor of Science. In the same year he
was matriculated in the Hahnemann Medical
College, in Chicago, having previously devoted
three years to reading medicine under the direc-
tion of Dr. A. O. Blanding. of Lyons, Iowa, while
he was prosecuting his studies in the Soldiers'
College. He was graduated in medicine in the
spring of 1873, receiving his degree of Doctor
of Medicine. He soon afterward located in Dav-
enport, Iowa, where he built up a large and re-
munerative practice. In 1885 he came to Plank-
inton, South Dakota, with the intention of re-
maining but a brief interval, but the outlook ap-
peared so favorable that he determined to take
up his permanent residence here, and the suc-
cess that has here attended his professional en-
deavors has amply proved the wisdom of his
choice, for he controls a very large and represent-
ative practice and has the esteem of all who know
him. He is public-spirited and progressive, is
independent in his political views, voting in sup-
port of men and principles meeting the approval
of his judgment, and in 1900 he was a delegate
of the People's party national convention, while
he has frequently served as delegate to state and
county conventions, though invariably refusing to
permit his name to be used in connection with
nomination for office. He and his wife are zeal-
ous members of the Baptist church. He is a
member of the South Dakota State Medical So-
ciety, is superintendent of the county board of
health and fraternally is identified with the Mod-
ern Woodmen of America, the Home Guardians,
the American Yeomen and the Fraternal Brother-

HIRAM C. SHUUSE, M. D.

MR8. H. C. 8H0U.se.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1377

hood, being examining surgeon for the local
lodges of each of these orders and also for the
New York Life Insurance Company.

On the 14th of October, 1874, Dr. Shouse was
married to Miss Jennie Jacobs, of Fultort, Illi-
nois, and of their eleven children eight are living,
namely: Alice J., a graduate of the Sioux Falls
University, class of 1893, who was for four years
superintendent of schools for Aurora county, be-
ing the youngest incumbent of such office ever
known in the history of the state, is now the wife
of B. J. Thompson, of Denver, Colorado ; Willis
D. is a member of the class of 1905 in the law de-
partment of the State University ; James B. is in-
<;tructor in mathematics in the high school at Red
Wing, Minnesota, having graduated from the
literary department of the State University, class
of 1891 ; Arthur C. is a student in the State Uni-
versity ; Aion W. is a graduate of the Plankinton
high school, and will enter the university in 1904;
and Kara. Raymond and Gerald are attending the
public schools, the Doctor making it a special \
efTort and ambition to afford all of his children
the best possible educational advantages. Mrs.
Dr. Shouse departed this life January 4, 1904,
at the age of forty-seven years, and at the time
the following mention was made in the local pa-
per:

On last Friday morning the sad news was passed
around that Mrs. H. C. Shouse had answered the last
summons and but the earthly remains were left of
one of Plankinton's most respected residents, a noble
Christian mother and wife. The final summons came
late Thursday evening, after an illness extending
over a period of a year. The cause of her illness
Isaffled the most expert medical knowledge and she
suffered greatly until within a short time of her death
-when all pain left her and, with it, hope for the sav-
ing of a useful life.

To the members of the bereaved family the most
sincere sympathy is extended, and. in conclusion
we can but echo the following sentiments expressed
by Rev. Janes in his remarks concerning the dead
■woman :

"Death has invaded our community and taken
from us one of heaven's choicest gifts, a devoted
Christian mother and a virtuous woman.

"What can we say in honor of our departed sister
and loved one. but to tell of her patient toiling, her
Tinselfish devotion, her daily sacrifice to her home and

family which was dearer to her than any other
earthly thing. All those among her large circle of
acquaintances understand as well as the speaker,
how much of her thought and labor was given to
the interest of her children, how anxiously she
watched over them and how earnestly she sought to
promote their moral and intellectual development.
When those faithful mothers leave us here we won-
der it there is not a larger place awaiting them in the
world beyond.

"Our departing sister had the larger part of her
family here, but some had preceded her to the better
world and were there waiting to give her welcome.
She went out from one home where there were tears
and sorrow into another where there was gladness."

MARTIN E. CURRAN, one of the most hon-
ored citizens of Fort Pierre, was born in Port
Washington, Ozaukee county, Wisconsin, on the
22d of February, 1849. His father, Thomas Cur-
ran, who was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, whence
he accompanied his parents on their removal to
America, became one of the pioneers of Wiscon-
sin, where he died when our subject was a boy
of about eight years, the mother surviving a
number of years. The subject passed his early
youth in Columbia county, Wisconsin, where he
received his educational training in the common
schools. He learned the carpenter's trade, to
which he continued to devote his attention in Wis-
consin until coming to South Dakota, in 1883.
He took up his residence in Fort Pierre and
turned his attention to contracting and building,
meeting with success in this vocation, in which
he has ever since been concerned, being one of the
reliable and straightforward business men of the
town and one whose name is a synonym of abso-
lute integrity. Upon the organization of Stan-
ley county, in 1890, he was elected its treasurer,
serving three years and giving a most satisfactory
administration of fiscal affairs, while in the same
year he was elected city treasurer, of which posi-
tion he remained incumbent for six consecutive
years, while for an equal period he held the office
of treasurer of the school district, being a mem-
ber of the board of education and one of its most
progressive and valued workers for nine years,
within which time was erected the fine union

'378

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

school building in Fort Pierre, his influence hav-
ing been most potent in bringing this improve-
ment to. a satisfactor)' issue, so that tlie building
stands in a sense as a monument to his enterprise
and public spirit. Within late years his hearing
has become quite seriously impaired and he has
thus refused to accept further nomination for pub-
lic office though he still maintains the deepest in-
terest in all that concerns the progress and mate-
rial and civic prosperity of his home town and
county as well as the state of his adoption. He is a
man of broad information, having read widely
and with marked discrimination and having an
excellent library of the best standard literature.
He is well known in the county and has the un-
qualified respect of all classes. In politics he is a
stanch Republican and fraternally is identified
with the Masonic order and the Ancient Order
of United Workmen, while in 1884 he was one
of the organizers of the local lodge of Good
Templars in Fort Pierre, taking an active part
in its work until the organization lapsed, after
a period of about three years.

At Stevens Point, Wisconsin, on the i6th of
June, 1873, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Curran to Miss Charlotte E. Coleman, who was
born and reared in that state, and they have four
living children, Harry, Richard, Clinton and Wal-
lace. Harry, the eldest of the children, enlisted
in the Thirty-fourth Regiment of United States
Volunteers, with which he went to the Philip-
pines, serving nineteen months and being mus-
tered out in the city of San Francisco. In April,
1901, he was in the state of Washington, and
since that time his parents have lost all trace of
him, causing to fall upon them a great burden
of grief and constant anxiety.

E. R. SCHMIDT, of Tea, Lincoln county.
South Dakota, is a native of Germany and was
born February 22, 1853. He was brought to
America when quite young, and lived with his
parents until young manhood, the meanwhile at-
tending at intervals the public schools of Wiscon-
sin, where he lived until 1873. In the latter year
he accornpanied the family to Lincoln county,

South Dakota, where he married Miss Emma
Erb, and immediately thereafter moved into a
half section of land in Perry township, where he
carried on agriculture and stock raising with en-
couraging success until the year 1895, when he
disposed of his farm and took up his residence
in the village of Tea. Since the latter year Mr.
Schmidt has been proprietor of a general store
in the above town, and he now commands an ex-
tensive and lucrative patronage, being one of the
most enterprising and succesful business men in
the northwest part of Lincoln county. He car-
ries a full stock of merchandise demanded by the
general trade, manages his affairs with excellent
judgment and occupies a prominent place in
commercial circles.

ALONZO A. COTTON, M. D., who is suc-
cessfully engaged in the practice of medicine and
surgery at Vermillion, Clay county, is a native
of the state of Iowa, having been born in Cedar
county, on the 28th of October, 1861, and being
a son of Luzerne and Mary A. (Dwigans) Cot-
ton, the former of whom is now engaged in the
real-estate business at Jennings, Louisiana, while
the latter died at Jennings in 1889. The Doctor
received his early educational training in the
public schools of Iowa City, and then entered
the state university, in the same city, where he
completed the scientific course and was graduated
as a member of the class of 1884, receiving the
degree of Bachelor of Science. He was then
matriculated in the homeopathic medical depart-
ment of the same great institution, where he
completed the prescribed technical course and was
graduated in 1886, with the degree of Doctor of
Medicine. In January of the following year he
engaged in the active practice of his profession
in Sioux City, Iowa, where he remained for the
ensuing five years, after which he was in prac-
tice at Dixon, Nebraska, for one year, removing
thence to X^ermillion, South Dakota, in 1893, and
having here been specially successful in the up-
building of a large and representative practice.
In politics the Doctor is a stanch Republican, but
so exigent are the demands placed upon his time

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[379

and attention by his professional duties that he
has not found it expedient to take an active part
in poHtical affairs, though he is essentially loyal
and public-spirited in his attitude. He is a mem-
ber of the lodge and chapter of the Masonic fra-
ternity in his home city of Vermillion, and both
he and his wife are valued members of the
Methodist Episcopal church.

At Newton, Iowa, on the 17th of September,
1886, Dr. Cotton was united in marriage to Miss
May E. Lyon, who was born and reared in that
state, and they are the parents of six children,
namely: Earl L., Carl, Schuyler, Daniel L.,
Alonzo and Cornelia M. Mrs. Cotton is a
graduate of the class of April. 1886, of Drake
University (medical department), Des Moines,
Iowa, and she and Mr. Cotton combine the prac-
tice of medicine. Dr. Cotton is a member of the
Homeopathic Medical Society of South Dakota,
and the Ouadri-state Homeopathic Society, the
headquarters being at Sioux City; also the
American Institut,e of Homeopathy, it being the
national society. Mrs. Cotton is a member of
the Order of the Eastern Star, Ladies of the
Maccabees and the Degree of Honor. Mr. Cot-
ton is also a member of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, the Woodmen of the World,
Modern Brotherhood of America, Yeomen and
other kindred societies.

L. K. LORD, president of the First National
Bank of Parker, Turner county, is a native of
the state of Connecticut, having been born at
Stafford Springs, on the 31st of December, 1851,
and being a son of John K. and Sarah (Spell-
man) Lord, the former of whom was born in
Maine and the latter in Connecticut, while both
families have long been identified with the an-
nals of New England history. The father of the
subject was a contractor by vocation, and both
he and his wife died in the state of Connecticut.

L. K. Lord was reared to manhood in his
native state, in whose public schools he secured
his early educational training. He continued his
residence in Connecticut until 1883, when he came
to the west and located in the state of South

Dakota, where he was engaged in the grain busi-
ness. He was one of the projectors and organ-
izers of the First National Bank of Parker, which
was founded in 1887 and of which he has been
president since then. It is one of the popular
and substantial financial institutions of the state,
basing its operations on a capital of twenty-five
thousand dollars, while its deposits have now
reached the notable aggregate of nearly two hun-
dred thousand dollars. Mr. Lord devotes the
major portion of his time and attention to the
executive duties devolving upon him in this con-
nection and to the management of his other cap-
italistic and industrial interests.

Oil the 29th of October, 1872, Air. Lord was
united in marriage to Miss Nettie M. Converse,
who was likewise bom in his native town of
Stafford Springs, Connecticut, being a daughter
of Orrin and Marietta Converse. Mr. Lord is a
Mason, having attained the Royal Arch degree,
and also belongs to the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and the Knights of Pythias. In 1902-3
he was president of the South Dakota Bankers'
Association.

SAMUEL EDGAR FOREST, cashier of the
First National Bank of Britton, Marshall county,
is a native of the city of Brooklyn, New York,
where he was born on the 23d of April, 1865, be-
ing a son of Samuel A. and Lydia E. (Mortimer)
Forest, the former of whom was born in Eng-
land and the latter in the state of New York,
while they are now living in St. Paul, Minnesota,
moving there from Brooklyn in 1886, the father
being- a merchant by vocation. The subject of
this sketch was reared to manhood in his native
city, in whose public schools he secured his early
educational discipline, while in 1880 he entered
the celebrated Polytechnic Institute of that city,
where he completed the collegiate course and was
graduated as a member of the class of 1884. He
initiated his business career in 1884, when he
entered the employ of the Standard Oil Com-
pany, in Xew York city. He remained with that
company for three years. In 1887 he came west
to St. Paul, and in 1889 to Britton. South Da-

1380

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

kota, and engaged in the lumber and coal busi-
ness in the firm of Hamilton & Forest. He
served as county treasurer of Marshall county in
1896. He was one of the organizers of the Citi-
zens' Bank, of which he was cashier, but whenthe
Citizens' was succeeded by the First National
Bank he continued as cashier of the latter.

In politics Mr. Forest is a member of the
Republican party. Fraternally he is affili-
ated with the Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons, belonging to the chapter and com-
mandery, and the Ancient Arabic Order of the
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine ; also to the Ancient
Order of United Workmen and the local organ-
ization of the Mutual Benefit Association.

On the 24th of January, 1900, Mr. Forest was
united in marriage to Miss Frances C. Hall, who
was born in Canandaigua, New York, being a
daughter of S. P. and Mary Hall. They have
■one daughter, Margaret Elizabeth.

JOHN ALBERT CLEAVER, a representa-
tive business man and popular citizen of Huron,
Beadle county, was born in Havana, Mason
county, Illinois, on the 28th of October, i860, be-
ing a son of Hiram R. and Isabelle (Wilburn)
Cleaver, the father being a druggist by vocation
and being long one of the prominent business
men of Havana. The subject received his early
educational training in the public schools of his
native town and later continued his studies in the
Presbyterian College, at Lincoln, Illinois. Upon
leaving school he initiated his business career by
securing a position as bookkeeper for a firm of
retail implement dealers, in Havana, Illinois, and
in 1881 he engaged in the same line of enterprise
on his own responsibility, in his native town of
Havana. In 1884 he entered the employ of the
A. J. Hedges Header Company, in the capacity of
traveling representative, and he came to the ter-
ritory of Dakota in the interest of the company,
and, as he states the case, he "managed to get
mixed up in the Highmore cyclone in 1885 and
was scared out of a year's growth." He passed
the winter of 1886-7 i" South America, as a rep-
resentative of the same company, which was suc-

ceeded by the Acme Harvester Company in 1891,
and Mr. Cleaver facetiously remarked to the
writer that he "went with the assets," passing the
years 1891 and 1892 in Lincoln, Nebraska, as the
local representative of the company, while during
the ensuing two years he was in the home office
of the company, at Pekin, Illinois, while in 1895
he returned to South Dakota and took up his
residence in Huron, where he has since main-
tained his home, being the general agent of the
same company for this state.

In 1898 Mr. Cleaver was elected mayor of
Huron, his administration proving so acceptable
that he has ever since been retained at the head of
the municipal government, by successive yearly
elections. Fraternally he is identified with Huron
Lodge, No. 26, Ancient Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, of which he is past master ; Huron Chapter.
No. 10, Royal Arch Masons, of which he is past
high priest ; Lacottah Commandery, No. 6,
Knights Templar, in which he is captain of the
guard at the present time; South Dakota Con-
sistory, No. 4, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite;
and El Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of
the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Sioux Falls.
He is one of the prominent and popular members
of the time-honored fraternity, and in igoo and
1 90 1 served as the grand master of the Masonic
grand lodge of the state. He also is affiliated
with Huron Lodge, No. 17, Ancient Order of
United Workmen, of which he is past master
workman. He and his wife are members of the
Presbyterian church in Huron. While a resident
of Illinois Mr. Qeaver was for five years a mem-
ber of the National Guard of the state.

On the 27th of December, 1882, Mr. Cleaver
was united in marriage to Miss Effie Pierce, of
Havana, Illinois, she being a daughter of John
and Mary Pierce.

JAMES H. DWYER. one of the leading
business men of Clay county, is a native of the
state of Illinois, having been born on a farm
near Woodstock, on the loth of April, 1850. His
boyhood days were filled with arduous work on
the farm, and he secured such educational ad-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1381

vantages as were afforded in the district schools,
which he attended in an irregular way until he
had attained the age of fourteen years. By this
time he had grown dissatisfied with home and
farm life and determined to set forth to seek his
fortunes and prove his independence, though
but a mere boy. He made his way to Fond du
Lac, Wisconsin, where he secured employment
in a sawmill, receiving two dollars a week and
board in compensation for his services. He was
thus employed for one summer and then went to
Chicago, Illinois, where he secured work in the
Tremont House, which was then the leading
hotel of the city. He was an attache of this
hostelry for two years, after which he was em-
ployed one year in the Briggs House, from
which he went to the Hyde Park hotel, which
was then a summer resort, located seven miles
distant from the center of the city. It is interest-
ing to note in the connection that the fine hotel
of the same name and in nearly the same location
is now in the very heart of the finest residence
district of the south side division of the great
western metropolis. Mr. Dwyer was employed
there until 1869, when he came to what is now
South Dakota, making his way to Clay county
and here taking up a homestead claim of gov-
ernment land, in April, 1871. He forthwith be-
gan to improve his land and place it under culti-
vation, and he continued to there devote his at-
tention to farming and stock growing until 1887,
when he removed to the village of Wakonda,
where he engaged in the hardware business, be-
ginning operations with a capital of nine hundred
dollars. With the growth and development of
this section his business has steadily expanded in
scope and importance and is now one of tlie
leading enterprises of the sort in this section,
his trade being derived from a wide area of ter-
ritory naturally tributary to the thriving town.
An evidence of the success which he has attained
is that afforded by the fact that he is now worth
about thirty thousand dollars. He was mayor of
the town for two years, but has never been ambi-
tious for public ofiice. His political allegiance is
given to the Democratic party, and his religious
faith is that of the Catholic church, in which he

was reared. In 1895 Mr. Dwyer became a mem-
ber of the Modern Woodmen of America, while
at the present time he holds the office of worthy
advisor.

On the 22d of December, 1874, Mr. Dwyer
was united in marriage to Miss Margaret
Colagau and they are the parents of six children,
whose names, in order of birth, are as follows:
Mary (now Mrs. E. W. Babb), Lizzie, Thomas,.
Ella, Harry and Lcowa.

MORRIS J. CHANEY, who. since 1893, has
been engaged in banking at Wakonda, South
Dakota, was born in Ogle county, Illinois, Octo-
ber I, 1858, the son of Osborn and Amanda
(Rice) Chaney, the father for many years a suc-
cessful lumber merchant of the county noted.
The subject spent his youthful years under the
parental roof and after obtaining his preliminary
education in the public schools of his native place,
entered the East high school in the city of Rock-
ford, from which institution he was graduated
with the class of 1878. Following his graduation,
Mr. Chaney devoted two years to teaching and
at the expiration of that time went to Iowa, locat-
ing in 1880 at Newell, Beuna Vista, where for a
period of thirteen years he was engaged in farm-
ing and stock raising, making a specialty of fine
cattle. He met with most encouraging success
as an agriculturist and stock man, and during the
time mentioned succeeded by close attention and
good management in accumulating a handsome
capital, with which, in 1893, he established a bank
in Wakonda, South Dakota, where he has since
lived and prospered.

Mr. Chaney is essentially a self-made man,
and his career since beginning life upon his own
responsibility has been creditable in every respect.
The bank of which he is now proprietor and ex-
ecutive head is one of the popular and successful
financial institutions, not only of Clay county,
but in the southeastern part of the state, being
liberally patronized by the leading business men
of Wakonda, and proving a great stimulus to
the industrial and commercial interests of a large
section of the surrounding country. Since locat-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ing at Wakonda he has manifested a lively in-
terest in the growth and prosperity of the place,
giving his encouragement and material aid to
enterprises making for the common good and
using his influence to further all laudable meas-
ures tending to the moral, as well as the material
welfare of his fellow men. His fraternal rela-
tions are represented by the Modern Woodmen
of America and the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, and for the past twenty years he has
been a regular attendant of the Congregational
church, though originally a Baptist in belief. By
reason of there being no church of the latter de-
nomination where he has spent the last twenty-
three years of his life, he has given a generous
support to other religious bodies, being a devout
believer in Christianity and always endeavoring
to exemplify its beauty and great value in his
daily walk and conversation.

On the 1 8th day of November, 1886, at Port-
ageville. New York, was solemnized the mar-
riage of Mr. Chaney with Miss Helen McFarline,
of that place, the union being blessed with three
children, namely: Florence C, Dorothy L. and
Morris A. Mr. and Mrs. Chaney, with their
children, constitute a happy household and the
family is one of the most highly respected in
Wakonda. Politically Mr. Qianey votes the
Republican ticket and while deeply interested in
the welfare and success of his party and widely
informed relative to the leading questions and
issues of the day, he is too much immersed in
business to become a politician or to seek the
honors and emoluments of office.

HARRY ELMER PHELPS, the present able
and popular incumbent of the office of state's at-
torney of Marshall county, was born in Hillsdale,
Mills county, Iowa, on the 23d of June, 1876, and
is a son of Phineas and Fanny V. (Fogg) Phelps,
the former of whom was bom in New Hamp-
shire and the latter in Maine, while the ancestry
is of mingled English, Scotch and Welsh strains.
When the subject was a child his parents removed
to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and in the public
schools of that fair citv he received his earlv

educational training, being graduated in the
South high school in June, 1895, after which he
was matriculated in the law department of the
University of Minnesota, in the same city, com-
pleting the prescribed technical course and being
graduated on the 2d of June, 1898, with the
degree of Bachelor of Laws, and being duly ad-
mitted to the bar of the state. He initiated the
active work of his profession in Minneapolis,
where he was engaged in practice one year, at
the expiration of which, in March, 1900, he came
to Britton, South Dakota, where he has since
won recognition and distinctive prestige in his
profession, while he has proved a very discrim-
inating and capable public prosecutor, having been
elected state's attorney of Marshall county in
November, 1902. In politics he accords an un-
compromising allegiance to the Republican party
and is an active worker in its behalf in the vari-
ous campaigns. Fraternally he is identified with
the local lodges of the Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows.

On the 13th of June, 1901, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Phelps to Miss Vivian E.
Furber, who was born in Owatonna, Minnesota,
on the 31st of January, 1875, being a daughter
of Charles M. Furber, of Britton, South Dakota.

JOHN EDMUND McDOUGALL, a rep-
resentative citizen of Britton, Marshall county,
as the name implies, comes of stanch Scottish
lineage on the paternal side, and he is a native
of Prince Edward Island, having been born in
the village of Campbellton, on the 24th of Febru-
ary, i860. He is a son of John and Grace
(Mercerau) McDougall, the former of whom
was born on Prince Edward Island, while the
latter was a native of New Brunswick. The pa-
ternal grandparents of the subject were of pure
Scotch lineage, being representatives of the sterl-
ing clan McDougall. of the highlands of the
fair land of hills and heather. Both were born in
Scotland, whence they emigrated to America
about the year 1820, settling in Malpeque,
Prince Edward Island, and there passing the re-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1383

mainder of their lives. The mother of the sub-
ject represented the Scotch, Irish and French
strains, her father having been a Scotchman.
She died when our subject was but thirteen
years of age, and his father subsequently mar-
ried Miss Jennie McLean, five sons and four
daughters having been born of the first union and
one son to the latter union. The father died in
the month of May, 1902.

John E. McDougall was reared on the home-
stead farm and received his educational discipline
in the public schools of his native place. He
remained at home until he had attained the age
of twenty years, having in the meanwhile learned
the carpenter's trade. At the age noted he went
to Maine and thence to A'lassachusetts, being ab-
sent about nine months, after which he returned
home, where he remained a few months, at the
expiration of which, on November 23, 1880, he
started for the west, locating in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, where he engaged in the work of
his trade. In November, 1883, he went to Nor-
ton, Massachusetts, where was solemnized his
marriage to Miss Isabel R. Munro, and six
weeks later he returned, with his bride, to Min-
neapolis. In August, 1884, a son was born to
them, Edward James, who was graduated in
Tune, 1904, from Pittsburg Academy, Minnesota,
and is now at home. On the 26th of Decem-
ber, 1884, Mrs. McDougall was summoned into
eternal rest, her remains being interred in Maple
Hill cemetery, Minneapolis. On the 25th of
May, 1886, Mr. McDougall left Minneapolis
and came to Britton, Marshall county. South
Dakota, where he has ever since maintained his
home. During his residence in Minneapolis he
followed his trade, having been for three years
foreman for the firm of McCleary & Ouigley,
and thereafter having been independently en-
gaged in contracting and building, in which line
of enterprise he has successfully continued in
Britton. many evidences of his skill and ability
being found here. He has ever accorded an un-
wavering allegiance to the Republican party, in
whose ranks he has been an active and valued
worker, having been a member of the state cen-
tral committee for two years, and also having

served as a member of the county central com-
mittee, while in 1896 he was president of the
Republican club of Marshall county. In May,
1904, he was nominated by the Republican party
for lieutenant governor. In 1900 he was captain
of a Roosevelt rough-rider company, which had
a membership of seventy-five and which was
iiuicli in evidence during the campaign of that
>ear. In November, 1900, Mr. McDougall was
elected to represent his county in the lower
house of the state legislature, having been the
first Republican elected to this office in the county
in four years. His record was such that a further
manifestation of popular appreciation was given
in the election of November, 1902, when he was
elected senator from the thirty-second district,
comprising the counties of Marshall and Day,
being thus a member of the upper house during
the eighth general assembly, in 1903, and being
made chairman of the appropriation committee,
while he was also assigned to other important
committees, proving an efficient working mem-
ber of the deliberative body and still farther
fortifying himself in popular esteem. On the
14th of October, 1884, Mr. McDougall united
with the Andrew Presbyterian church, in Min-
neapolis, and in 1887 was admitted by letter to
the First Presbyterian church of Britton. He
organized a Sunday school in the church in
January of that year, and continued as its super-
intendent for the long period of ten years, at
the expiration of which he resigned, and during
the ensuing four years refused to accept the po-
sition again, though urged to do so. In January.
1901, however, he again resumed the duties of
the superintendency, and has since continued to
fill the office, his earnest and zealous labors being
greatly appreciated, while he is also active in the
other departments of church work.

In July, 1883, Mr. McDougall became a mem-
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
and in January, 1888, he was primarily instru-
mental in the organizing of Britton Lodge, in
Britton, having been its first noble grand and
having represented the same in the grand lodge
of the state. He is also affiliated with the Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons, of which he was

1384

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

worshipful master for two years, while he has
also served as treasurer and chaplain' of the
same. He is identified with the Royal Arch Ma-
sons, and also with the local organizations of
the Ancient Order of United Workmen and
Mutual Benefit Association. On the 3d of
August, 1 90 1, he was mustered into the South
Dakota National Guard and on the same day
was elected captain of Company A, Third Regi-
ment, located in Britton, while on the ist of
April, 1902, he was promoted to the office of
major of the First Battalion of this regiment,
of which office he remains incumbent at the time
of this writing.

On the 13th of June, 1893. Mr. McDougall
consummated a second marriage, being then
united to Miss Nettie A. Marsh, of Britton. She
was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and is a
daughter of George J. and Amanda Melvina
Marsh. Her mother is dead, while her father
resides near Kalamazoo, Michigan. Mr. and
Mrs. McDougall have two children, Tyrrell
Glenn, who was born on the 29th of March,
1894, and Portia Lois, who was born on the
24th of November. 1896.

GEORGE BINGHAM, who is presiding with
ability on the bench of the county court of Mar-
shall county, is a native of the old Empire state
of the Union, having been bom in the city of
Buffalo, New York, on the 8th of December,
1865, and being a son of Stamford and Mary
(Boddy) Bingham, the former of whom was
born in Ireland and the latter in England, while
they came to America when young. Stamford
Bingham was engaged in law practice in the city
of Buffalo at the time of the outbreak of the war
of the Rebellion, and he promptly tendered his
services in defense of the Union, going to the
front with a New York regiment of volunteers
and proving a loyal and valiant soldier. He was
severely wounded while in the army and never
recovered from the effects of this injury, his death
occurring in the city of Buffalo, in 1870, his wife
dying in the same year at Buffalo, while of their
three children two are yet living.

Judge Bingham passed his youthful years on
a farm in Minnesota and early became inured to
hard work, while his educational privileges were
confined to the public schools. He remained in
his native state until 1877, when he removed to
Minnesota, where he remained until 1886, when
he came to South Dakota and located in Marshall
county. In 1889 he began the reading of law
in the office and under the direction of H. R.
Turner and J. H. McCoy, showing marked pow-
ers of application and assimilation and being so
well fortified in technical knowledge as to gain
admission to the bar of South Dakota in 1892.
He began the practice of his profession in Brit-
ton, where he has ever since maintained his home,
and he gained distinctive success and prestige as
an able trial lawyer and counselor, securing a
representative clientage and continuing in active
practice until November, 1900, when he was
elected county judge of ]\Iarshall county, making
an excellent record on the bench and being chosen
as his own successor in the election of 1902, for
a second term of two years. In politics he gives a
stanch allegiance to the Republican party and is a
prominent figure in its local councils, while he is
known as a progressive and public-spirited citizen
commanding the high regard of all who know
him and are appreciative of sterling character.
In 1902 Judge Bingham established in Britton
the Marshall County Bank, and of the same he is
cashier at the time of this writing, being the prin-
cipal stockholder, while the institution has been
successful from the time of its inception.

In March, 1891, Judge Bingham was united
in marriage to Miss Eva Chadwick, who was
born in Iowa, being a daughter of Henry J. and
Mary (Thorn) Chadwick, who are now residents
of Marshall county, South Dakota. Judge and
Mrs. Bingham have five children, Charles, Stella,
George, Webster and Marion.

WILLIAM R. DONALD, editor and pub-
lisher of the Marshall County Sertfinel, of Brit-
ton, Marshall county, comes of stanch Scottish
lineage and is a native of the fair Emerald Isle,
having been born in Newry, County Down, Ire-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1385

land, on the 8th of November, 1854, and being a
son of Robert and Katlierine Donald, both of
whom were likewise born in Ireland, where they
passed their entire lives, the father having been
a coachman to a gentleman.

The subject was reared to maturity in his na-
tive town and received his early educational dis-
cipline in the excellent national schools, while in
1870, at the age of sixteen years, he entered upon
an apprenticeship at the printer's trade in Newry,
becoming a skilled artisan in connection with the
"art preservative of all arts." He continued to
reside in Ireland until 1871, when he came to
Canada in August, and resided at St. Mary's,
Perth county, Canada, until 1882, when he came
to Andover, South Dakota, remaining there until
June, 1886. In the latter year he located at
Langford, where he continued until 1902, and :
then came to Britton and purchased the Sentinel,
which he has since conducted. In politics he has I
ever accorded stanch allegiance to the Democratic
party; fraternally is identified with the Modern |
Woodmen of America, the Modern Brotherhood !
of America, the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, and the Royal Neighbors of America. He
and his wife are both zealous and valued members
of the Presbyterian church.

On the 20th of November, 1895, Mr. Donald
was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Anders
Byer, who was born at Bound Brook, New Jer-
sey, on the 4th of January, 1864, being a daughter
of Charles and Rosa Byer. Mr. and Mrs. Don-
ald have no children.

DAVID L. PRINTUP, of Britton, Marshall
county, is a native of the old Empire state of
the Union, having been born in Fultonville,
Montgomery county. New York, on the 29th of
December, 1857, and being a son of Lieutenant
Colonel William H. Printup, United States army,
who was likewise born in the state of New
York, being a scion of the sturdy Holland Dutch
stock who early settled in the Mohawk valley.
The subject secured his early educational dis-
cipline in the district school of his native town.

later attended the Fort Edward Collegiate In-
stitute, at Fort Edward, and the high school at
Schoharie, New York, and in June, 1877, he
entered the United States Naval .\cademy, at
Annapolis, Maryland, where he was graduated
in June, 188 1, while his post-graduate degree
was received in June, 1883. He was honorably
discharged from the United States navy in the
month and year last mentioned, as midshipman,
having served in this capacity on naval vessels
from July, 1881, up to that time, in European,
Asiatic and North and South American waters.
In August, 1883, Mr. Printup came to what is
now the state of South Dakota, and in February,
1885, he took up his permanent abode in Britton.
where he was engaged in the business of driving
deep wells until 1887, when he was appointed
deputy register of deeds, in which capacity he
served until 1890, inclusive, in which year he was
elected register, serving from 1891 to 1894, i'l"
elusive, and giving an admirable administration
of the affairs of the office. In 1895 he was
elected cashier of the state bank of J. Voak &
Company, of Britton, and in 1896-7 was the local
representative of the Perkins Brothers" Com-
pany, of Sioux City, a printing and publishing
firm. In January, 1898, he engaged in his
present business enterprise with E. A. Cooper,
in which he has been very successful, having
handled a large amount of city and farming
property, grazing lands, etc., while he has made
a specialty of the extension of financial loans on
approved real-estate security, and is the repre-
sentative of a number of the leading fire and life
insurance companies and gives careful attention
to collections. He is an out-and-out Republican,
unswerving in his allegiance and never diverted
by heretical movements in the party ranks, while
he is one of the local leaders in party affairs,
being chairman of the Republican central com-
mittee of Marshall county at the time of this
writing, and having shown much skill in the
manoeuvering of his forces. He is identified
with the Odd Fellows lodge and Daughters of
Rebekah degree, and also with the Knights of
the Maccabees, the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, and the United Commercial Travelers.

[386

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

He attends the Presbyterian church, of which
Mrs. Printup is a member.

On the 26th of April, 1890, Mr. Printup was
united in marriage to Miss Manon H. Gamsby,
who was born in Dodge Center, Minnesota, on
the 17th of October, 1867, being a daughter of
Ralph and Rosalthea Gamsby. Mr. and Mrs.
Printup have one child, a winsome little daughter,
Dorothy. Mrs. Printup was appointed by Gov-
ernor Herreid as a member of the ladies' auxil-
iary board of conventions and charities, to fill a
vacancy, and was then appointed for a full term.

EDWARD C. TOY, one of the representative
business men of Andover, Day county, was born
on a farm near Columbus, the beautiful capital
city of the state of Ohio, on the i8th of Decem-
ber, 1857, and is the youngest of the seven liv-
ing children born to Harrison and Rebecca (Bro-
beck) Toy, the former being of English and the
latter of German descent. Harrison Toy enlisted
as a soldier in an Ohio regiment of volunteers
soon after the outbreak of the war of the Rebel-
lion and was in active service for three years,
receiving his honorable discharge and returning
to his home, where he died a few days later, as
the result of injuries and hardships endured while
in the army. The subject was a lad of about
seven years at the time of his father's death, and
passed his boyhood days principally on the home
farm, while his educational training was secured
in the public schools of Mount Vernon, Ohio,
where he completed a partial course in the high
school. He early became inured to the sturdy
work of the farm, and after leaving school was
successfully engaged in teaching for several
terms, also clerking in a store, and being thus
engaged until he bad attained the age of twentv-
one years. In 1880 he went to Kansas City,
^lissouri. where he was associated with his
brothers Frank, John and Seymour in the general
store business until the latter part of the year
1884. In the spring of 1885 he came to .Andover,
Dakota territory, and here has ever since main-
tained bis home. He became identified with
farming interests and also established himst-lf in

the general merchandise business, to which latter
he is now giving his entire time and attention,
though he is still the owner of an excellent farm
in the county. In politics he has ever accorded
an unqualified allegiance to the Republican party,
and was continuously incumbent of some one or
other of the village and county offices until his
election to the state senate, in 1899, since retiring
from which dignified and responsible position he
has not permitted his name to be used in con-
nection with nomination for any office. He and
his wife are prominent members of the Methodist
Episcopal church in their home town and enjoy
the utmost popularity in the social affairs of the
community.

On the 13th of June. 1886. Mr. Toy was
united in marriage to Mrs. Olive J. Curtice, of
Andover, who was born in Stewartville. Min-
nesota, being a daughter of William Smith, a
representative citizen of that place. Mr. and
Mrs. Toy have two children, Victor and Horace,
aged respectively fifteen and nine years at the
time of this writing, in T\Iay, 1904.

PHILIP A. GROSS, of Webster, Day county,
is a native of Sweden, where he was bom on the
23d of May, 1865, being a son of Benjamin and
Johanna Gross, of whose four children he was the
second in order of birth. The subject was reared
in his fatherland and there received his educa-
tional training in the well-equipped national
schools. At the age of sixteen years he emi-
grated to America and located in Hutchinson,
Minnesota, where he was employed until the
spring of 1884, when he went to Illinois, where
he passed the summer. He then returned to
Minnesota and there remained until the autumn
of 1885, when he came to Day county. South Da-
kota. In the following year he purchased relin-
quishment claims and turned his attention to
farming, developing and improving his property
and continuing to be successfully identified with
agricultural pursuits until the autumn of 1892,
when he rented his ranch and took up his resi-
dence in the town of Webster. Here he found
employment in connection with the management

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[387

of the lumbering business conducted by H. O.
Frank, with whom he remained in this capacity
for two years, after which he was for six years
employed by Mr. Frank in the buying and ship-
ping of grain. He then entered into the employ
of the Miller Elevator Company, and they have
since conducted a most prosperous business, the
concern having a well-equipped elevator and con-
trolling a large and important business. Mr.
Gross is a man of indefatigable industrv' and it
may be noted in this connection that during his
eleven years' residence in Webster he has never
lost a day's pay, having always been found at his
assigned post. He is the owner of a valuable
farm of three hundred and twenty acres, one mile
distant from Webster, and is also the owner of
village property, having four dwellings in Web-
ster and renting three of the same, as does he also
his farm.

In his political proclivities Mr. Gross is a
stanch adherent of the Republican party, and
takes a deep interest in public affairs of a local
nature. He is a member of the city council of
Web.ster. and in 1904 was made the nominee of
his party for the office of sheriff of the county.
Fraternally he is identified with the lodge and en-
campment of the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, and also with the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America.

On the 7th of June, 1890, Mr. Gross was
united in marriage to Miss Emma Olsen, who
was born in Sweden, and they have five children,
Vina, Cora, Mabel, Herman and Dewev.

JOHN J. McCAUGHEY, one of the leading
business men of Aberdeen, being president and
general manager of the Aberdeen Hardware Com-
pany, is a native of the state of New Jersey, hav-
ing been born in the historic old town of New
Brunswick, Middlesex county, on the nth of
June, 1857, and'being a son of Robert and Agnes
(Cummings) McCaughey, the former of whom
was born in County .A.ntrim, Ireland, about twelve
miles distant from the city of Belfast, on the 12th
of March, 1833, while his wife was born in the
same localitv, on the 12th of Januarv, of that

year. The paternal grandfather of the subject
was a weaver and a designer of shawl patterns,
and removed from Paisley, Scotland, in which
city he became one of the leading designers of
the famous Paisley shawls, to Ireland in the fall
of 1832, just prior to Robert McCaughey 's birth.
The latter and a younger brother were born in
Ireland and two older brothers and two sisters
in Scotland. From Ireland he immigrated with
his family to America and located in the city of
Philadelphia, where he was associated with two
of his sons, John and William, in the manufac-
turing of shawls. About 1858 or '9 the grand-
parents moved to Wisconsin, near Madison, there
continuing to reside until the close of their long
and useful lives. Robert McCaughey was a child
at the time of the family immigration to the
United States, and in his youth he learned the
tanner's trade, continuing to follow the same in
New Jersey until i860, when he came west and
joined the family near Madison, Wisconsin. He
was there engaged in farming until the autumn of
1875, when he removed to Kasson, Dodge county,
Minnesota, where he devoted his attention to
farming for the ensuing five years, at the expira-
tion of which he came to the present state of
South Dakota, being among the first to file claim
to government land in township 120, range
62, Spink county, making entry on the 28th of
May, 1880, while he did the first plowing in said
township. June II, 1880, he and his son John
J. first filed on land in range 63, but this filing
was rejected, as the land had not as yet been
thrown open, and thus each of them secured
claims in range 62. In the spring of 1881 the
remainder of the family came to the county from
the old home in Minnesota, and the land secured
here in the early pioneer epoch is still retained
by the family, the same being located in LaPrairie
township and being well improved and under ef-
fective cultivation.

John J. McCaughey received his educational
training in the public schools of Wisconsin, and
accompanied his parents on their removal to Min-
nesota and eventually to South Dakota, as noted.
He remained on the farm until the spring of
1884, when he accepted a position as traveling

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

salesman for farming machinery, being thus
engaged for one year, at the expiration
of which he estabhshed himself in the
implement and farming machinery business at
Northville, Spink county, where he continued op-
erations two years. He then disposed of his in-
terests in that line, and thereafter was engaged in
the buying and shipping of grain until the autumn
of 1896, when he became traveling representative
of the Acme Harvester Company, of Pekin, Illi-
nois, covering a very considerable territory in the
northwest and being thus engaged until the spring
of 1899, when he and W. G. Wells purchased the
hardware business of E. O. Mead, of Aberdeen,
which was thereafter continued ■ under the firm
name of Wells & McCaughey until the 1st of
January, 1902, when the subject effected the pur-
chase of his partner's interests and forthwith or-
ganized the Aberdeen Hardware Company, which
was duly incorporated under the laws of the
state. He became president and general manager
of the company and has since remained incum-
bent of this important dual office, while he is
directing the business of the concern with con-
summate discrimination and ability. The com-
pany utilize a store fifty by one hundred and forty -
two feet in dimensions, with basement, and also
have a large warehouse located on the line of
the Chicago, Minneapolis & St. Paul Railroad.
They carry a full and comprehensive stock of
heavy and shelf hardware, stoves, ranges, paints,
oils, glass, etc., while in addition to controlling
a large and representative retail business their
jobbing trade is one which is far ramifying and
constantly expanding. In politics Mr. Mc-
Caughey is stanchly aligned with the Republi-
can party, but has had no ambition for official
preferment. He has attained to the thirty-sec-
ond degree of Scottish-rite Masonry and is also
affiliated with the Ancient Arabic Order of the
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, the Ancient Order
of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen
of America.

On the nth of June, 1884, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. McCaughey to Miss Nettie L.
Austin, who was born in Minnesota, being a
daughter of Philip B. Austin, who was one of the j

honored pioneers of LaPrairie township, Spink
county, where he located in 1881, there continu-
ing to reside until 1900, when he removed to the
city of Aberdeen, where his death occurred Au-
gust 26, 1903. Mr. and Mrs. McCaughey have
one son, Lester, who is employed in the establish-
ment of which his father is the head.

MICHAEL F. BOWLER, a representative
business man of Groton, Brown county, was
born in Sparta, Wisconsin, on the 15th of Oc-
tober, 1871, and is a son of William and Bridget
(Maloney) Bowler, both of whom were born
in Ireland. As a young man William Bowler
emigrated from the Emerald Isle to America,
remaining for a number of years in the eastern
states and then removing to Wisconsin and
settling near Sparta, where he engaged in farm-
ing, having been one of the pioneers of that sec-
tion and having attained definite success. His
devoted wife passed away in 1896, and he is now
living practically retired in the city of Sparta.
Of the nine children in the family eight are liv-
ing at the present time, the subject of this re-
view having been the sixth.

JNIichael F. Bowler was reared on the home
farm and duly availed himself of the advantages
of the public schools, after which he completed
a course of study in the Northern Indiana Nor-
mal School and Business College, at Valparaiso.
Shortly after leaving school, in 1882, he came to
South Dakota and joined his two brothers.
Patrick and John A., at Groton, the elder of the
two having been here established in the imple-
ment business at the time. This brother, John
A., was one of the pioneers of the state, and
was one of the first to engage in business in
Groton, where he continued to maintain his
home until 1894, when he removed to Sioux
Falls, where he has since resided, being president
of the Western Surety Company, of that city.
The subject assumed charge of the business in
Groton after the removal of his brother and has
since continued the same most successfully,
handling all kinds of farming machinery and
implements and having a trade extending over

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

a wide radius of country. The enterprise is still
conducted under the name of his brother, who
was the pioneer implement dealer of the town,
and who is still associated in the business. The
subject also carries on operations most success-
fully in the handling- of real estate in Rrown
county, and also is a.s^ent for a number of the
leading- insurance companies. He is the owner
of a stock farm of two hundred and sixty-five
acres, twenty-two acres of the property being
within the corporate limits of Groton, and he
makes a specialty of raising the Chester White
swine and registered Hereford cattle. Mr.
Bowler is a stanch adherent of the Democratic
party and is one of the leaders in its local ranks.
In 1894 he was appointed postmaster of Groton
by President Cleveland and was reappointed
under President McKinley in 1897, the appoint-
ment having originally been made by Cleveland,
but the commission not having been sent forward
until after President McKinley was installed in
the presidential chair. His term expired in 1898.
On the 30th of August. 1898. Mr. Bowler
was united in marriage to Miss Mabel Robinson,
who was born in Minnesota, being a daughter of
Franklin C. Robinson, now a representative citi-
zen of Groton. Mr. and Mrs. Bowler have three
children, namely: Maurice Cliflford, Marvin Ed-
win and Margaret Jane.

GUSTAVUS C. THORP, deceased, who was
one of the leading citizens of Britton, was born in
r^Ionmouth county. New Jersey, on the 24th of
December, 1847, being a son of Alexander and
Martha Thorp, who were likewise born and
reared in that state, where the respective families
were founded in an early day, the lineage on the
paternal side being of stanch English origin. Mr.
Thorp secured his early educational training in
the public schools and supplemented this by a
course of study in the academy at Hightstown,
New Jersey. When about twenty-three years of
age he secured a position as United States revenue
officer in Virginia, and later he engaged in the
manufacture and sale of illuminating oils in New
York citv, having been secretarv of the New

York Refining Company from 1880 to 1885. In
November, 1886, he came to what is now the state
of South Dakota, and located in Britton, Marshall
county, where he continued to make his home
during the remainder of his life, save for an in-
terval passed in North Dakota, as will be noted.
Upon locating in Britton he established himself-
in the real-estate business, having confidence that
this section of the Union would experience a rapid
development as its attractions and magnificent
natural resources became more fully known. He
succeeded in building up a most prosperous en-
terprise in this line of business, showing marked
discrimination and initiative power. He contin-
ued to be identified with this business until the
time of his death, which occurred on the nth of
May, 1901. From 1891 to 1894 Mr. Thorp was
an incumbent of the responsible office of inspector
of immigration for North Dakota, having head-
quarters at Pembina, that state, and his work in
that department was highly commended by the
commissioner of immigration. Mr. Thorp at
all times manifested a lively interest in the public
affairs of his town, county and state, and his aid
and influence were extended in support of all
measures tending to conserve progress and ma-
terial prosperity. He was a. stalwart and zealous
adherent of the Republican party and was an
influential factor ill its councils in South Da-
kota, representing his county repeatedly in both
territorial and state conventions and having done
much to promote the party cause. He will be re-
membered as one of the loyal and progressive
citizens who were influential in molding public
opinion and directing civic afifairs in the state dur-
ing its infancy. His death was deeply deplored by
public men throughout the commonwealth, while
his loss was felt as a personal bereavement by the
wide circle of loyal friends whom he had gath-
ered about him. Mrs. Thorp became associated
with her husband in the real-estate business and
after his death continued the enterprise with
marked success, largely extending its ramifica-
tions during the years 1901-2, when there was
marked activity in transaction in realty. She still
controls a satisfactory and profitable enterprise
and is recognized as a woman of exceptional ex-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ecutive ability and mature judgment. She re-
tains her home in Britton, where her circle of
friends is coincident with that of her acquaint-
ances.

On the 24th of September, 1876, Mr. Thorp
was united in marriage to Miss Chestina S.
Greene, who was born in Oxford, Maine, on the
13th of May, 1849, being a daughter of Jonas
and Louisa Greene. Her father was a man of
prominence in the old Pine Tree commonwealth,
and served for several terms as a member of the
state senate. Mr. and Mrs. Thorp became the
parents of one son, Walton W., who was gradu-
ated in the law department of the University of
Minnesota, as a member of the class of 1904. He
is at present adjutant, with rank of lieutenant, of
the First Battalion, Third Regiment, South Da-
kota National Guards.

WILLIAM T. CLARK, one of the repre-
sentative business men and popular citizens of
the thriving town of Bath, Brown county, was
born in Randolph, Columbia county, Wisconsin,
on the 6th of March, 1864, being a son of Samuel
and Julia (Howse) Clark, and there he was
reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm,
v.'hile he received his educational training in the
I^ublic schools, having been graduated in the
high school at Cambria, Wisconsin, as a member
of the class of 1882. At the age of eighteen
years he began teaching in the district schools
during the winter terms, while he continued to
assist in the work of the home farm during the
summer seasons, following this plan until he
had attained the age of twenty-three years,, at
which time, in the autumn of 1887, he came to
Bath, South Dakota, as a teacher in its public
schools, while later on he devoted two winters
to pedagogic work at other points in the county.
In 1888 he opened a hardware store in Bath, and
later became associated with William Fisk and
added a grocery department, while in 1893 he
became sole owner of the business, which is ex-
tended to include all lines of general merchandise
demanded in connection with his trade. In 1898
Alattliew Kerr became a partner in the enterprise.

and so continued until his death, three years
later, since which time the subject has again
remained in sole control, having purchased the
interest of his deceased partner. Mr. Clark
carries a stock reaching an average valuation of
about eight thousand dollars, while his annual
business has attained an annual average of about
fifteen thousand dollars. Mr. Clark is also
manager of the Farmers' elevator at Bath, the
same having been purchased in 1901 by a stock
company composed of farmers in the vicinity,
each owning a small block of stock. This com-
pany ships from its elevator about sixty-five
thousand bushels of wheat each year and its in-
terests are ably handled by the subject, who is
himself a stockholder, while he is also the owner
of a well-improved farm of one hundred and
sixty acres, one and one-half miles southeast of
the town. Mr. Qark takes a deep interest in
political affairs and gives his allegiance to the
Republican party, being frequently a delegate to
local and state conventions. Fraternally he is
a' prominent member of Bath Lodge, No. 117,
Ancient Order of United Workmen, which he
has represented in the grand lodge of the state.
On the 27th of Noveinber, 1886, in his native
town of Randolph, Wisconsin, Mr. Clark was
united in marriage to Miss Jennie Phelps, who
was likewise born and reared in that state, and
they have two children. Rubv and Carl.

THOMAS M. STUART, register of deeds
of Marshall county, and a well-known stock
grower, was born at Colerain, Londonderry
county, Ireland, on November 18, 1855, the son
of John and Jane M. Stuart, both natives of Lon-
donderry county. The father was for years a
linen merchant at Colerain. and there died in
1894. His widow still resides on the old home-
stead.

Thomas M. Stuart received a collegiate edu-
cation at Queen's College, Belfast. Leaving col-
lege he served an apprenticeship with a wholesale
dry-goods house at Belfast. In 1874 he came to
the United States, and for six months clerked in
a large mercantile house at Indianapolis, Indiana.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1391

In 1880 he engaged in the importation of woolen
goods, which he distributed from New York city,
Cleveland, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and other
centers. He was engaged in this line of business
until i8go, when, his health failing, he came to
South Dakota and in 1892 engaged in fanning
and stock raising in Marshall county. In 1902 he
was elected by the Republican party to the office
of register of deeds. Mr. Stuart continues his
farming and stock raising, making a specialty of
shorthorn cattle and Arabian horses. He is a
member of the Ancient Order of United Work-
men, Degree of Honor and Brotherhood of Amer-
ican Yeomen organizations.

Mr. Stuart married Genevieve Kingsbury,
who was born in Pennsylvania, the daughter of
Benjamin Kingsbury, an oil man of that state.
Mr. and ]\Irs. Stuart are members of the Presby-
terian church.

JOHX J. REES is a native of Wales, having
been Ijorn on the 21st of January, 1839, ^"d
being a scion of stanch old Welsh stock. His
paternal grandfather, George Rees, was a farmer
of Pembrockshire, as was also the maternal
grandfather, John Johns. The subject was the
eldest of the four children born to William and
Elizabeth (Johns) Rees, the latter of whom died
when he was but nine years of age, while his
father later contracted a second marriage. In
1852, when the subject of this sketch was a lad of
twelve years, his father came with his family to
America and settled near Utica, Oneida county,
New York, where he engaged in farming, a vo-
cation which he had followed in his native land.
He remained in the old Empire state until 1857,
when he removed with his family to Portage
county, Ohio, where he passed the remainder
of his life, his death occurring in i860, after
which the members of the family became scat-
tired, the home being broken up.

John J. Rees secured his preliminary edu-
cational trainmg in the schools of his native land,
and after coming to the United States continued
his studies in the common schools as opportunity
afforded, while he early began to render his

father effective assistance in the work of the
farm. He continued to be identified with agri-
cultural pursuits until the outbreak of the war
of the Rebellion, when he showed his loyalty to
the country of his adoption by tendering his
services in defense of the Union. On the 21st
of April, 1861, he enlisted as a member of Com-
pany F, Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, this
being one of the first regiments recruited and
sent into the field from Ohio, in the three-
months service. After the expiration of his
original term Mr. Rees re-enlisted, for three
years, and thereafter continued at the front until
physical disability compelled his retirement from
the service. Upon being mustered in his regi-
ment was sent to Benwood, West Virginia, and
the year 1861 was passed in that state. He par-
ticipated in the battle of Cross Lanes and in De-
cember of that year the regiment moved to
Romney, West Virginia, where it lay in camp
until the following March. In the spring of 1862
the subject took part in the battles of Winchester
and Port Republic, and later was in the engage-
ment at Cedar Mountain and in the second battle
of Bull Run. Soon afterward he suffered a
severe attack of malarial fever, and he never fully
recovered from the effects of the disease, his
disability finally becoming such that he received
his honorable discharge on the 4th of March,
1863. He thereupon returned to his home in
Ohio, where Governor David Tod gave him a
captain's commission in the Home Guard, in
which he served until the close of the war. He
purchased a farm of fifty acres in Ohio and gave
his attention to its cultivation, in so far as his
health would permit. In 1867 he leased a tract
of coal land and continued to engage in coal
mining and farming for the ensuing thirteen
years, meeting with excellent success.

In the spring of 1883 Mr. Rees disposetl of
his property in Ohio and came as a pioneer to
what is now the state of South Dakota. Locating
in Edmunds county, he entered claim to the
southwest quarter of section 15. Powell town-
ship. He secured pre-emption and tree claims
at this time and later a homestead, the three
tracts constituting one body, and by hauling hmi-

[392

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ber and supplies from Aberdeen, thirty-five
miles distant, was able to erect a good house
and establish a comfortable home, his provisions
in this line being far better than those of the
average pioneers of the section and period. At
that time no other buildings were to be seen
from his home, and to the east of his place there
were but a few shanties to indicate the claims
of the new settlers. Mr. Rees is now the owner
of a finely improved landed estate of four hun-i
dred and eighty acres, and also leases additional
land, having control of and cultivating all of
section 15, Powell township.

From the early days Mr. Rees has been a
prominent figure in local affairs of a public na-
ture, and he was one of the first to be elected
justice of the peace in the county, while in 1898
he was given a distinctive token of popular
esteem in being elected to represent his district
in the state legislature, while his fidelity and able
service in the capacity gained to him unqualified
commendation on the part of his constituency.
He is a stanch supporter of the Republican
party, having voted for Abraham I^incoln and
having never since wavered in his fealty to the
"grand old party." He has served many times
as a member of the Republican central committee
of Edmunds county and has rendered effective
aid in the various campaigns in the county.

In 1863 was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Rees to Miss Mary A. Thomas, a daughter of
John W. Thomas, of Talmage, Ohio, in which
state she was born and reared. Of their children
we enter the following brief record: William is
engaged in the grain business at Ipswich, the
county seat of Edmunds county ; Frank is en-
gaged in the general merchandise business in
that place ; Arthur ; George, and Hattie. Ida and
Edith remain at the pn rental home.

JOEL W. P.\RKER.— Most consistently
may we enter memoir in this work to one who
stood as one of the honored citizens and pioneer
business men of Sioux Falls, and who through
the long years of an active and useful life ever re-
tained the high regard of his fellow men, by rea-

son of his sterling attributes of character. Joel
Webster Parker was born on a farm in Oneida
county, New York, on the 28th of March, 1817,
being a son of Joel and Mary (Benham) Parker,
the former of whom was born in Berkshire
county, Massachusetts, and the latter in Hartford,
Connecticut, while both families, of English ex-
traction, were early established in America, hav-
ing been founded in New England in the colonial
epoch of our national history. The paternal
grandmother of the subject was a cousin of the
renowned lexicographer, Noah Webster. Mr.
Parker was educated in the common schools of
the old Empire state, where he was reared to
maturity on the homestead farm and where he
continued to maintain his residence until about
1836, when he removed to Ohio, where he re-
mained until 1841, when he numbered himself
among the pioneers of Illinois, where he was en-
gaged in the merchandise business, selling goods
from a wagon, as was the general custom of the
locality and period, the major portion of the mer-
cantile business of the section being accomplished
bv this method. In 7852 he opened a general
store in Warren, Jo Daviess county, that state,
where he built up a prosperous enterprise, there
continuing operations until 1868, when he re-
moved to Hillsboro, Vernon county, Wisconsin,
where he was engaged in the same line of en-
terprise until 1875. He then removed to ]\Iill-
ston. Jackson county, that .state, where he estab-
lished himself in the mercantile and lumber busi-
ness, continuing operations there until 1879, when
his health became so impaired as to prompt his
removal to what is now the state of South Da-
kota, in the hope of recuperating his energies
under the invigorating climatic conditions. He
accordingly disposed of his business in Wiscon-
sin and took up his abode in Sioux Falls, which
was then a small and straggling frontier town.
Here he engaged in the retail lumber business in
company with his son. James W., concerning
whom specific mention is made on another page
of this compilation. The enterprise was orig-
inally conducted under the firm name of J. W.
Parker & Son. and upon the admission of James
W. Leverett to the firm the title was changed to

JOEL WEBSTER PARKER.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[393

the Sioux Falls Lumber Company, under which
name the business has since been continued, his
son being now at the head of the concern.

In 1886 Mr. Parker disposed of his interest
in this enterprise and thereafter devoted his at-
tention to the management of his various capi-
talistic and ]iroperty interests. He was always
found in the forefront as a progressive citizen,
lending liis influence and tangible aid in the pro-
motion of all measures tending to conserve the
material upbuilding and the civic advancement
and prosperity of his home city and state, while
his circle of friends was ever coincident with that
of his acquaintances. One who has all of reason
to appreciate him and his sterling character has
spoken of him as follows : "He was a most
kindly, lovable, Giristian gentleman, and all of
his friends and acquaintances are the better for
having known him."

Mr. Parker did much for the material ad-
vancement of Sioux Falls, having erected a num-
ber of good buildings and having been a gener-
ous subscriber to public enterprises. In politics
he gave his allegiance and stanch support to the
Prohibition party, and thus showed in a sig-
nificant way, as did he in all the relations of life,
that he had the courage to stand boldly forwrard
as an advocate of and worker for those principles
which he believed to be right. He was hu-
manitv's friend, and as such did all in his power
to uplift his fellow men and enrich their lives, this
spirit, not less than definite principle, accounting
for the exalted attitude which he maintained in
political matters. He was an uncompromising
foe to the liquor traffic, as was he to all else that
tends to lower the standard of human ideals, and
his labors in the moral field, in which he taught
not less bv personal example than by precept and
kindh- admonition, were such as to justify the
revering of his memory for all time to come.
While Mr. Parker thus took an active concern in
public afifairs, he never sought or desired the
honors or emoluments of office, and withheld
himself from the contentions and turbulence of
active political affairs. He was one of the zeal-
ous and influential members of the Freewill
Baptist church of Sioux Falls, and was a deacon

in the same at the time of his death, having rested
from his labors and passed forward to the life
eternal on the 14th of April, 1893, -i' t'^c vener-
able age of seventy-six years. He was a distinct
man, one of forceful individuality and one whose •
life counted for good in an ever-widening angle
of beneficent influence.

On the 26th of February, 1845, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Parker to Miss Mary
W. Colburn, who died on December 6tli of the
following year, without issue. On the 23d of
July, 1848, he was united in marriage to Miss
Rebecca Brown Colburn, who survives him. She
was born in Sacket Harbor, New York, being
a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Colburn and a
lineal descendant of Rev. Samuel Whiting, of
Lynn, Massachusetts, who came from England to
America in 1636. Mrs. Parker still resides in
Sioux Falls, surrounded by a wide circle of
devoted friends and sustained and comforted by
the gracious and hallowed memories of the past
and the hope of the future reunion with the
loved and devoted husband by whose side she
walked down the pathway of life for so many
years. She became a member of the Presbyterian
church prior to her marriage, but afterward at-
tended the Freewill Baptist church, of which her
husband was a member, formally identifying
herself with the same and becoming an active
factor in the church work. Mr. and Mrs. Parker
became the parents of seven children, namely :
George and Mary E., who are deceased; Carrie
A. : James W., who is individually mentioned
elsewhere in this work; Jessie R., wife of Rev.
J. C. Mitchell, pastor of the L^nitarian church of
Lebanon. Xew Hampshire; Fannie C and Sarah,
who is deceased.

CHARLES ALBERT LU^vI, well-known
citizen of Aberdeen, South Dakota, and treasurer
of the Aberdeen Mill Company, was born at
Utica, New York, October 23, 1849, the son of
Charles L. and Cornelia (Battel) Lum, both of
tives of New York state, and both now deceased.

Charles A. Lum was reared at Ogdensburg,
St. Lawrence county, New York, to which point

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

his parents removed from Utica. In 1869 he
went to St. Joseph, Missouri, where for fifteen
years he held the position of cashier in a large
wholesale and jobbing house. In July, 1885, he
came to Aberdeen and became interested in the
milling business, and has since continued. He
was for a time secretary and treasurer of the
Dakota telephone lines.

Mr. Lum married Anna Elliott, the daughter
of Charles Elliott, of Louisville, Kentucky, and to
this union two sons and one daughter have been
born, namely : Elliott, Berenice and Robert. Mr.
Lum is a member of the Masonic order, and he
and family belong to the Episcopal church.

JAMES H. SHEPARD, who occupies the
chair of chemistry in the State Agricultural Col-
lege at Brookings, is a native of the state of
Michigan, having been born in Lyons, Ionia
county, on the 14th of April, 1850, a son of Dan-
iel E. and Lydia M. (Pendell) Shepard. His
grandparents in the paternal line were Seth and
Ruth (Perry) Shepard, natives of the state
of Vermont, and John Shepard, the eminent jurist
of New York, was of the same family line. The
father of the subject was one of the sterling and
honored pioneers of Michigan, and at the time
of his death, in 1855, he was engaged in farming
at Pewamo, that state, being survived by his
widow and their two sons, James H., the imme-
diate subject of this sketch, and William E. The
latter was imbued with the spirit of adventure and
in 1870 he went on a prospecting tour for gold
in British Columbia, and nothing has since been
heard from him or the members of his party.
There was a great uprising of the Indians in that
section at the time and it is supposed that the
valiant little party suffered death at the hands
of the savages.

Professor Shepard was but five years of age
at the time of his father's death and he was then
placed in the home of his paternal uncle, W.
Proctor Shepard, of Maple Rapids, Michigan,
with whom he remained two years. At the expi-
ration nf this period he became an inmate of the
home of his maternal uncle, Henry Pendell, while

two years later he found a permanent home with
Albert W. Reynolds, an influential farmer and
capitalist, residing near Concord, Jackson county,
Michigan. He remained with Mr. Reynolds until
he was able to depend upon his own resources,
having attended the public schools until he had
attained the age of eighteen years. He then en-
tered Albion College, at Albion, Michigan, paying
his expenses through his own efforts and there
continuing his studies for three years. After
completing his sophomore year, classical course,
he became principal of the schools at Athens,
Calhoun county, that state, retaining this in-
cumbency one year, after which he was matric-
ulated in the University of Michigan, at Ann
Arbor, where he completed the scientific course
and was graduated as a member of the class of
1875, receiving at the time the degree of Bach-
elor of Science. Soon afterward he was chosen
superintendent of the public schools at Holh'-,
Michigan, where he remained two years, after
which he held a similar position in the city of
Marquette, that state, for an equal length of time.
The next two years he was superintendent of the
schools at Saline, that state, and then he passed a
year in post-graduate work in his alma mater,
the University of Michigan. He next became the
instructor in natural sciences in the seminary at
Ypsilanti, Michigan, this being practically the
first high school ever established in the United
States. He remained there for seven years, doing
most efficient work and then, in 1888, came to
Dakota. While a resident of Ypsilanti Professor
Shepard published a text-book on chemistry, and
the same is now used by the best schools in the
Union, having passed through a number of revis-
ions at his hands. It is used in three or four hun-
dred colleges and normal schools and in more
than one thousand high schools, while the work
was republished in England, by the Isbisters, and
is now being used in Europe. It has practically
superseded every text-book on the subject which
was in the market at the time of its introduction.
At the time when Professor Shepard prepared
the text for this able work he was a young man
and comparatively unknown in the field of science,
and his manuscript was first put through the test

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of being submitted to expert criticism in three of
the great educational institutions of America,
Yale, Harvard and Johns Hopkins University,
and the favorable reception which has been ac-
corded indicates the technical superiority of the
work. After coming to Brookings, South Da-
kota, he issued an abridged course in chemistry,
and this book has been extensively used in smaller
and more elementary schools. In autumn of
1888 Professor Shepard took up the supervision
of the chemical department of the State Agricul-
tural College of South Dakota, the institution
having at that time been maintained under the
supervision of the still undivided territory of
Dakota. In that year he equipped the laboratory
and did the first work in analytical chemistry ever
done in the state. For a time he was at the head
of the departments of physics and pharmacy, con-
tinuing in charge of the same until the growth of
the department of chemistry demanded his entire
attention. In the meanwhile he had given special
time and attention to training two young men for
the special work of the other two departments
mentioned, and they still remain in charge of the
same, being numbered among the valued instruc-
tors of the college. Professor Shepard was vice-
president of the institution for ten years and for
five years was director of the government experi-
ment station here maintained. He was for two
years director of farmers' institutes in the state,
and in 1901 received the appointment of state
engineer of irrigation, of which office he is still
incumbent. Within the last fifteen years he has
issued many publications on the water, soils,
crops, etc., of the state, in which line his services
have been of inestimable value, while at the same
time he has consecutively given his personal su-
pervision to the work of the chemical departinent
of the college and that of chemistry in the local
experiment station. At the time of this writing
he is giving special attention to investigation and
experimentation in connection with the nitrogen
control of the cereals, while under his direction
are being carried on the milling and analyzing of
the maccaroni wheats, which the United States
department of agricultural is introducing in the
state. He is also employed as a chemical expert

for the state dairy and food commission and acts
in the same capacity for the state in those cases
requiring his services.

He is the owner of a quarter section of valua-
able land, one mile east of the college, and there
he is giving special attention to the breding of
Duroc Jersey swine, Shropshire sheep and Jersey
cattle, all stock being thoroughbred and regis-
tered, having one of the finest herds of Duroc
Jersey swine in the northwest, while he is also
growing the maccaroni seed wheat for the gov-
ernment experiments.

In politics Professor Shepard is a stanch ad-
vocate of the principles of the Republican party,
and fraternally he is identified with the Masonic
order, in which he has attained the Knights Tem-
plar degree, being a charter member of the com-
mandery in Brookings. He holds membership in
the American Association of Natural Sciences
and also in the Society of Official Agricultural
Chemists of the United States. He and his fam-
ily are members of the Presbyterian church of
Brookings, in which he is an elder and teacher of
the bible class in the Sunday school, this being
one of the largest classes in the state. His wife
also is active in the church work, having been
formerly secretary and treasurer of the Central
South Dakota presbytery.

On the 28th of June, 1888, Professor Shepard
was united in marriage to Miss Clara R. Durand,
who was'born in the city of Ypsilanti, Michigan,
on the 30th of May, 1867, being a daughter of
Seneca and Helen R. (Phelps) Durand, the lin-
eage in the agnatic line tracing back to stanch
French extraction. Seneca Durand was a son
of Samuel W. and Catherine (Oren) Durand, the
former of whom was born in Burlington, Ver-
mont, in 1806, while he later became a resident of
the state of Pennsylvania, where he held a posi-
tion as superintendent of masonrv' in the employ
of the state. He later became a pioneer of Geauga
county, Ohio, where he was for a time engaged
in mercantile pursuits, later becoming a drover.
He was a prominent figure in the political aiTairs
of Ohio, having been the first Democratic member
of the state legislature from the Western Reserve.
Seneca Durand was born in Pennsvlvania, in

'396

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1832, and was a child at the time of his parents'
removal to Ohio, where he received his educa-
tional training. In 1858 he married Helen R.
Pheljis, of Westfield, Xew York, daughter of
L. F. and Cornelia M. (Dustin) Phelps. His
wife died on the 15th of October, 1902, at the
home of the subject of this sketch. They were
the parents of three children, namely. DeLacy,
who is a railroad man, residing in Lansing, Mich-
igan ; Samuel, who died at the age of two years ;
and Gara R., who is the wife of Professor Shep-
ard, of this sketch. To Professor Shepard and
wife have been born the following children :
Helen Bernice, born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, July
25, 1889; Albert Durand, born June 27, 1891, and
James Henry. Jr., born .\pril 12, 1896.

DYER PL CAMPBELL, the able and popu-
lar sheriff of Brookings county, is a native of the
old Keystone state of the Union, having been
born in the town of Edinboro, Erie county,
Pennsylvania, on the 28th of November, 1858, a
son of John W. and .Susan (Walker) Campbell,
the former of whom was likewise born in that
cotmty, in 181 7, being a son of John and Mary
(Laughrey) Campbell, who were natives of
Scotland, the grandfather having emigrated
thence to America in the early part of the seven-
teenth century. Fie located in Pennsylvania,
where he devoted the remainder of his life to
agricultural pursuits. The father of the subject
was likewise identified with the great basic art
of agriculture and was also engaged in the mer-
cantile business in Edinboro, while he served
two terms as a member of the Pennsylvania legis-
lature. In 1865 he removed with his family to
Olmstead county. Minnesota, where he was en-
gaged in farming for the ensuing three years.
In 1869 he removed to the town of Rochester,
that cmiiitv. where he was for six years an at-
taclu- c.f the office of register of deeds. He
served as justice of the peace and held other
offices of local trust and responsibility, his death
occurring in Rochester in 1887, while his widow
was summoned into eternal rest in 1892, at
Moorhead, Minnesota. Of their three children

we enter the following brief record : John V. is
a resident of Erie, Pennsylvania ; Martha J. be-
came the wife of Arthur G. Lewis, of Moorhead,
Minnesota, and is now deceased, and Dyer H.
is the immediate subject of this sketch.

Dyer H. Campbell was seven years of age
at the time of his parents' removal from Pennsyl-
vania to Minnesota, and there he attended the
district schools until the family located in
Rochester, where he continued his studies in the
public schools for two or three years. At the
age of fifteen years he initiated his independent
career, securing a position in a meat market in
Rochester, and being thereafter employed in the
same and in a grocery about three years. He
then secured a position in an abstract insurance
office, in which he remained until 1881, when he
came to Brookings, Dakota, having been married
about two years previously. Upon arriving in
Brookings he secured a position in what was
then the Brookings County Bank, but is now the
First National Bank, where he held the office
of assistant cashier until the institution was re-
organized, as the First National Bank, in 1883,
from which time forward he continued to retain
the position of assistant cashier luitil the ist of
January, 1903. when he resigned his office to as-
sume the duties of the shrievalty, having been
elected sheriff of the county in November of the
preceding year, as the candidate of the Republican
party. Sheriff Campbell served for fifteen terms
as citv treasurer of Brookings, while for seven-
teen years he was secretary of the Brookings
Building and Loan Association. For the past
twenty years he has been identified with the In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, and is one of
its prominent representatives in the state, being
at the present time grand master of the grand
lodge in South Dakota. He is also a member
of Brookings Lodge, No. 24, Free and Accepted
^lasons, as well as of the Modern Woodmen of
.\merica and other fraternal bodies of auxiliary
character. He has served four years as chief of
the fire department of Brookings, and has been
chosen as incumbent for another term of two
years. He is one of the wheclhorscs of the Re-
publican party in the county, and is chairman of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1397

the county central committee at the time of this
writing, w liile he has been a delegate to various
state anil c<iinit\- conventions of the party. He
and his family attend the Presbyterian church.

On the 9th of November, 1879, Mr. Campbell
was united in marriage to Miss Emma Haber, a
(laughter of George and ]\relissa Haber, the
former oi whom was born in Germany and the
latter in the state of Ohio, and of this union have
been born six children, namely : Walter, who is
serving as deputy sheriff : Bertha is the wife of
E. F. McCarl ; Arthur, Martha and Horace,
who remain at tlie parental home ; and Harriet,
who died at the age of one year.

TA:MES G. HOPKINS, of Keystone, was
Iiorn on January 12, 1870, at Lexington, Mc-
Lean county, Illinois, and is the son of Joseph
and Louisa (Hemline) Hopkins, the former a
native of Indiana and the latter of Illinois. In
the spring of 1877 the father came to the Black-
Hills, leaving his family on the farm in Illinois,
and arriving at Rockerville in March. He re-
mained there until the following spring, then lo-
cated at Rockford where he engaged in mining
and prospecting. In June, 1881, his family
joined him at Rockford. and they all lived at
that place until the spring of 1885, when he
bought a ranch near Custer on which they set-
tled. The son had but limited opportunities for
schooling, and they were found chiefly at Rock-
ford. \\'hen he reached the age of thirteen he
went to Deadwood and found employment in the
mines. By industry and capacity he gradually
rose through mine and mill work to the position
of amalgamator, and in 1889 went to Hill City in
the employ of the Harney Peak Mining and Mill-
ing Company. Before the end of the year the
]iarents also moved to Hill City where they have
since had their home. Mr. Hopkins worked for
the Harney Company two years, and at the end of
that period opened a butchering business in part-
nership with Mr. Van Allen and under the firm
name of A^an Allen & Hopkins. At the end of the
first year he sold his interest to his partner and
went to Oregoji under contract with a mining

com]iany operating in the eastern part of the
state. Six months later he left the service of this
compmy and returned to Hill City, arriving in
November, 1892. He again went to work for
the Harney Peak Company and the following
spring came to Keystone as amalgamator in the
Keystone mill, a position he helil until the fall of
1804. He then engaged with the Holy Terror
Company as amalgamator, being the first man
emploved as such bv that company, which was
started about that time. Later he worked in the
mines until he was disabled by an accident in the
spring of 1897, and after recovering from the ef-
fects of this he was employed on a hoisting en-
p-ine until June, 1900, when he resigned to take
his place as manager of the Haves & Hopkins
Supply Company, of Keystone, which he had or-
ganized in the preceding October. This company
conducts an extensive business in general mer-
chandise, and carries as complete a stock of goods
as can be found in the city. The volume of its
business is large and its patrons are among the
best classes of the people. Mr. Hopkins is also
interested in the cattle industry in company with
j his brother on a ranch near Custer, and has some
j valuable mining property. He is a Knight of
Pythias and a Modern Woodman, with member-
ship in the bodies at Keystone.

On May 19, i88g, Mr. Hopkins was married
at Hill City to Miss May E. Wakefield, a native
of Illinois, who died on October 20, 1894, at the
birth of her only child, Ira M. On January 3,
1897, he married a second wife at Keystone, Miss
Alice A. Hayes, also born in Illinois. They have
three children. Earl A.. Hazel aiul Joseph.

JOHN H. LUND, county judge of Day
county, and a representative member of the South
Dakota bar, is a native of Norway, where he
was born March 31, 1859. He was an infant
of nine months when his parents, Helge and
Inga Lund, came to America. The parents first
settled in Columbia county, Wisconsin, from
where they removed to Emmet county. Iowa, in
1867. Judge Lund passed through the common
schools, and then entered Luther College at

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Decorah, Iowa, wliere he was orradiiated in 1884,
with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In 1885
he went to Campbell count}'. South Dakota, and
in 1886 he left his claim in that county and went
to Aberdeen, and entered the law office of M.
1. Gordon, subsequently chief justice of the state
of Washington. After two years as a student in
Judge Gordon's office he was admitted to the
bar on .A.pril 4, 1888. On the iqth of June,
1888. Judge Lund located in Webster. In 1894
he was elected state's attorney for Day county,
and in 1896 was re-elected to the same office. In
1900 he was elected county judge of the county,
and was re-elected in 1902. and at the present j
time is the nominee of the Republican ]5arty for I
another term of the same office. I

a Republican in politics, and has given his party
faithful and helpful service from his early man-
hood.

OIn September 11, 1873, at Hemingford,
province of Quebec, Mr. Hare was united in
marriage with Miss Louisa S. McFee, a native
of that town. They have seven children, Donald
M., Alicia L.. William, Lyle, Charles, Stella and
Madeline.

JOSEPH HARE, owner and editor of the }
Keystone Republican, a publication devoted to
the mining interests of the Black Hills in South
Dakota, was born in 1853, at Franklin Center,
province of Quebec, Canada, and is the son of
William and Alice Hare, natives of Portadown,
County Armagh, Ireland. At the age of fourteen
Mr. Hare enlisted in the Canada militia, and was
at the last Fenian raid at Trout River Lines in
1867. He served in his command seven years,
being a first lieutenant at the age of eighteen.
He moved to Franklin Grove, Illinois, in 1874,
and after a residence of two years at that place,
migrated to Boone county, Nebraska, where he
passed nine years. He engaged in the newspaper
business at Cedar Rapids. Nebraska, owning a
one-half interest in the Era of that town. In
1885 he moved to Box Butte county, in that state,
and founded the town of Hemingford there,
establishing at the same time the Hemingford
Gleaner, the first newspaper in the county. In
1889 he located at Hill City, South Dakota,
and established the Hill City Tin Miner. He
also became postmaster of the town and rendered
efficient service to its people in this capacity for
four years. In 1893 he located the Bismarck
ranch, since which time he has lived on this
ranch and at Keystone, purchasing the Recorder
;\t the Iritler place in igo2. He has alwavs been

THE HEGEMAN FA:\[ILY.— The irtercst-
ing pages of American history would not be
complete if the biognapher failed to mention John,
Adrian and Peter Hegeman, the three brothers
who, in an early dav, came to Dutchess county.
New York, from Holland, being direct lineal
descendants from William, Prince of Orange.
This notable and interesting family were of that
stanch and hardy pioneer class who were known
well in every community with which they came
into touch, for their integrity and simplicity of
truthfill uprightness. After a limited residence
in Dutchess countv, they moved into Saratoga
and Albany, New York.

Adrian Hegeman. the second brother of this
interesting family, was the great-grandfather of
the branch of this family now located in South
Dakota, and was married to Bashaba Prilmer, in
New York. His life was spent in canal buildirg,
boating and shipping, and he was the father of
eight children, whose names are given in order
of their birth: Cornelius. Micah, Peter, John,
Esther. Sallie. Peba and Jane, four boys and four
girls. The old Dutch burial ground of Cli+'t'-n
Park, New York, contains the remains of bnth
Adrian and Bashaba Hegeman, who died at Half
Moon, Saratoga county.

John Hegeman is the grandfather of the Da-
kota branch, and was married to Ere Tohn^on
in 1818. By hard labor and careful management
thev, in time, became known as among the most
thrifty of the local families where they th'.m re-
sided, having also come from Holland and set-
tled in Saratoga. New York, where th- fa'hc-,
John Hegeman, was actively engaged in farming,
milling and lumbering for a number of years.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

His wife departed this life in the year 1854, and
he in the year i860, in the county of Fulton, New
York. The names of the children of John Hege-
nian are as follows: Peter J., John A. (died in
infancy), Margaret (also died in infancy), Car-
oline, Hezekiah, Bethsheba, Martha A., Micha
and Hannah, nine children in all.

Peter J. was also father of nine children,
Adrian (died in infancy), JMagdaline (died in
infancy), Eva A., Peter J., Daniel (died in in-
fancy, Eva Ann, John A., Jennie, and Sarah C,
who is the wife of John H. Hendrecks.

Hezekiah Hegeman was the father of George
and Hezekiah, Jr., both of whom reside in the
city of Schenectady, New York.

Martha Hegeman was married to James H.
Roberts, of Fnlton comity. New York, and to this
union were born the following children : Netta,
Minnie, John and Ella. Micah Hegeman is the
fnther of two children, Julia and Roy, now de-
ceased, while Hannah, the youngest sister, mar-
ried Darius Baker, and to them were born five
children, namely: Nellie. Carrie. Bennie. Alice
and Hannah.

Peter J. Hegeman is the father of the South
Dakota lineage of the Hegeman family, and grew
to manhood in the state of New York, where he
married Miss Catharine Allen, who was a daugh-
ter of Daniel Allen, a native of Scotland. Cath-
arine Allen's mother, Magadaline Houghtaling,
was what was known as Mowhawk Dut?h, of
New York, and her mother was a daughter of
Lord Etherington.

The Aliens came as early settlers into the
state of New York and were of Scotch descent.
Daniel Allen was one of seven sons, and the
Hoiightalings are still residents of New York
state, and are a thrifty and well-to-do people.

Peter J. Hegeman was married in Perth,
New York, and afterwards settled in Glovers-
ville. the same state, engaging actively in the
occupations of farming and manufacturing, in
which city he lived until 1S64. when he moved to
Sparta, Wisconsin, and there again engaged in
manufacturing until the year 1878, when he
moved to Brookings countv. South Dakota, and
settled eight n-iles east of where the town of

White is now located, taking up one hundred and
sixty acres of land as a homestead, and also a
tree claim, remaining upon said land and culti-
vating it for eight and one-half years, after
which lin-ie he moved to White and there lived a
retired life imtil the year 1892, in which year his
wife Catharine passed away upon the 27th day of
May. His home having been broken by the
hand of death, he then removed to the town of
Brookings and made his home with his daughter,
Mrs. Eva A. Wright, where he died, October 16,
1900.

Peter J. Hegeman was a man who lived an
upright, honorable life, and was well si)oken of
by his fellow citizens, thus going down to his
grave in peace, and showing, that the ancestral
teaching of the Hegeman family, which tena-
ciously clung to the religion of the Methodist
Episcopal church, had not been taught to him in
early childhood in vain. The above statements
will, however, only appear too modest when we
state that under urgent and pecrliar circum-
stances Peter Hegeman walked to Brookings,
twenty-three miles, in order to be present and to
aid in the organization of a Masonic lodge in that
place, he having previously became a member of
the above order in Gloversville, New York, in the
vear i860.

CLARENCE A. BARTLETT, editor and
publisher of the dailv and weekly Capital
Journal, at Pierre, was born in West Vienna,
Oneida county. New York, on the 2Qth of June,
1859, and is a son of Aldis and Mary (Cbishnlm)
Bartlett, the former of whom was born in Ver-
mont, of English descent, while the latter is of
Scotch ancestry and was born in the state of New
York, where their marriage was solenmized. The
Bartletts were numbered among the earlv Pur-
itan settlers of the New England colonies, and
the great-grandfather of the subject of this re-
view was a soldier in the Continental line during
the war of the Revolution and was a brother of
Tosiah Bartlett, one of the signers of the Declara-
tion of Independence. The Chisholm family was
established in America iti tli? early part of the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

nineteenth century, the founders of the same in
the new world having come hither from Scotland.
In 1865 Aldis Bartlett removed with his family
to Minnesota and located in Fillmore county,
where he and his wife still maintain their home,
being numbered among the honored pioneers of
that section.

The subject of this sketch received his early
educational training in the public schools of Fill-
more county, having completed a course in the
grammar school at Preston, and having thereafter
been a student in Curtis College, in the city of
Minneapolis. In 1880. when twenty-one years of
age, he came to what is now the state of South
Dakota and became ticket agent and cashier for
the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad at Pierre,
while in the same year, as deputy county treas-
urer, he opened the first set of books for Hughes
countv. In 1886 he was transferred to the city of
Deadwood as agent for the Fremont & Elkhorn
Railroad and the Northwestern Express, Stage
& Transportation Company, remaining a resident
of that city until 1890, and having in the mean-
while accumulated a nice sum through judicious
speculations in mining properties. In the year
last mentioned he returned to Pierre, and here
made notable investments, having erected two
substantial business blocks and also other build-
ings and tlius identifying himself permanently
with the capital city. In 1900 he effected the pur-
chase of the Capital Journal, which was es-
tablished in 1881, being the oldest paper in this
section of the state, as previously noted, and of
this he has ever since continued as owner, pub-
lisher and editor, both the daily and weekly edi-
tions being models in their line and exerting
much influence in local and state affairs of a
public nature. In politics Mr. Bartlett has ever
been a radical adherent of the Republican party,
in whose cause he has rendered most effective
service in a personal way and through the
medium of his paper. In January, 1893, he was
appointed deputy county treasurer, in which
capacity he continued to serve for eight con-
secutive years, while in November, 1900, he was
elected treasurer, being chosen as his own suc-
cessor in the electirm of Xovember, 1902, so that

at the time of this writing he has been con-
secutively identified with the administration of
the fiscal affairs of the county for the long period
of twelve years. Fraternally he is a member in
good standing of the local organizations of the
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the
i\ncient Order of United Workmen.

On the 15th of September, 1894. Mr. Bartlett
was united in marriage with Miss Elsie M. Glea-
son, who was born in the city of Chicago. Il-
linois, on the 2d of December, 1871, being a
daughter of Alonzo and Sarah Gleason. Mr. and
Mrs. Bartlett have, six children, namely: Aldis,
Eveline, Elsie, Elwin, Cora and Ella.

TRUELS MADSEN, an extensive and suc-
cessful stock grower of Stanley county, but who
maintains his home in the city of Pierre, is a na-
tive of Kolding, Denmark, where he was born on
the 14th of December,i850, being a son of Law-
rence and Magedlene Madsen, the fonner of
whom devoted his attention to a woolen mill in
the fatherland tmtil 1869, when he came to Amer-
ica, in company with his wife, and located in
Yankton, territory of Dakota, where he engaged
in the stock business, remaining a resident of that
county until 1882. when he joined his only son,
the subject of this sketch, in whose home he
passed the remainder of his long and useful life,
his death occurring in 1894. His devoted wife
passed away in i8g8, and of their two children
one is vet living, being a resident of America.

Truels Madsen received his early educational
training in his native land, where he remained
until he had attained the age of twenty-two years,
when he came to America and joined his father,
arriving in Y'ankton on the 12th of August, 1872.
Shortly afterward he initiated his independent
career, though he was hardly more than a boy
at the time. He located on the James river, in
Hudson county, where he took up land, and in
that locality he continued to be actively en-
gaged in farming and stock raising until the
spring of t88i. his energy and good management
bringing him due success. He then came to
Pierre, where he has since made his home and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

headquarters, though he passes much of his time
on his ranch, which is located twenty-two miles
to the west of Pierre, on the Bad river, so that an
ample supply of water is afforded. He runs from
one to two thousand head of cattle, principally
graded Hereford, while he also has a large band
of sheep upon the ranch each season, while he
raises draft and road horses in large numbers.
He is a man of strong individuality, and his
genial and generous qualities are in harmony
with his sturdy physique, the significance of this
statement being patent when we note that he
weighs two hundred and thirty-five pounds. Fra-
ternally he is affiliated with the Knights of
Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees.

On the 14th of December, 1870, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Madsen to Miss
Caroline M. Olson, who, like himself, was born
in Denmark and who accompanied him on his
emigration to America. Of this union have been
liorn eleven children, and the family circle has
not been br(iken by the hand of death. The
names of the children in order of liirtli, are as
follows: Kruse, Marie, Hannah, I.aura, Mar-
garet. Nellie, Lawrence, Christenia, .\llis, Car-
rie and Truels.

RICHARD W. AIATHIESON, one of the
prominent and honored citizens of Fort Pierre,
Stanley county, was born in Cole.sburg, Delaware
county, Iowa, on the 5th of August, 1849, and is
a son of Robert and Ann (Wood) Mathieson, the
former of whom was born in Scotland, where
records extant trace the lineage back through
thirty-four generations, while the latter was born
in England. The father of the subject was
killed in the Indian massacre at Spirit Lake,
Iowa, in 1857, his devoted wife surviving him by
several years. The subject came with other mem-
bers of the family, including his widowed mother,
to the territory of Dakota in the spring of 1862,
settling first in Bon Homme county and remov-
ing thence, in the fall of the same year, to Yank-
ton, which was the family home for several
years, Mr. Mathieson having completed his early
educational training in the public schools of that

city. In 1863 he entered upon an apprenticeship
at the printer's trade in the office of the LTnion
and Dakotan, a paper published in Yankton, and
on the 29th of February of the following year he
enlisted in Company B, First Dakota Cavalry, of
which William Tripp was captain, and in the same
}-ear accompanied his regiment on the expedi-
tion to the Yellowstone river, under General
Sully. In 1865 he took part in the expedition to
Devil's Lake, and was mustered out of the service
in November of that year, at Sioux City. There-
after he was for some time emjiloyed at his
trade, and also identified with early surveying
work in the territory. Thereafter he conducted
a wood yard and farmed and freighted four
miles below Yankton for about five years. In
the spring of 1871 he went to Colorado, where
he was engaged in prospecting and mining during
the major portion of the next eighteen months.
In 1873 hf made a trip up the Missouri river
with a mule-team and assisted in the erection of
Fort Lincoln, and in 1874 had charge of the
sutler'.s teams in General Custer's expedition to
the Black Hills. There he panned out about fifty
cents, in gold dust, which he brought back with
him, the amount being sufficient to prove to
others that gold was to be found in that section.
In September, 1874, he was associated with an-
other man in the building of a skifif. in which they
came down the Missouri river from Bismarck to
Yankton. In March, 1875, Mr. Mathieson went
to the Black Hills with a stock of merchandise,
and disposed of the same, returning to Yankton
in the fall. He then purchased teams and en-
gaged in freighting to the Black Hills, making the
enterprise a most profitable one and continuing
the same until 1882, when he disposed of his
outfit and purchased a stock of general merchan-
dise in Fort Pierre, in company with his brother,
George D., \Yhile they also purchased a bunch
of cattle and engaged in the raising of stock.
After two years the partnership was dissolved, the
subject taking the cattle while the brother re-
tained the store as his share. In 1887 our subject
removed his cattle to the range on the Cheyenne
river, and when the reservation of that name was
opened up he took up his residence in Fort Pierre,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

where he has since maintained his home, while
simultaneously he removed his cattle to a ranch at
the Bad river, at the mouth of the Grindstone
river, where he has since continued to be engaged
in stock growing on an extensive scale. Mr.
^Mathieson has ever taken a deep interest in the
civic and material development and progress of
the state of which he is a sterling pioneer. He
served one term as a member of the board of
commissioners of Stanley county and one term as
mayor of the city of Fort Pierre. Fraternally he
is affiliated with the following named bodies :
Hiram Lodge, No. 123, Ancient Free and Ac-
cepted Masons, at Fort Pierre ; Pierre Chapter,
No. 22, Royal Arch Masons, in the capital city
of the state ; De Molay Commandery, No. 3,
Knights Templar, in Yankton ; and Lodge No.
75, Ancient Order of United Workmen, at Fort
Pierre.

On the 28th of August, 1884, Mr. Mathieson
was united in marriage to Miss Clara B. Pratt,
who was the adopted daughter of David Pratt.
She was born in Anoka, Minnesota, on the 14th of
March, 1862, and is a daughter of Jonathan L.
and Emilv Nash, who died when she was a child.
Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Mathieson we
enter the names, with respective dates of birth :
Maud E., July 28, 1886; Kenneth W., June 19,
1890: Donald E.. December 19, 1897.

FRED. W. DRICKEN, an able and repre-
senative member of the bar of South Dakota, be-
ing now engaged in the practice of his profession
in White. Brookings county, is a native of the
state of Wisconsin, having been born in West
Bend, Washington county, on the 2d of Septem-
ber, 1875, and being a son of William and Caro-
line (Seibert) Dricken. William Dricken came
to South Dakota and located in Brookings
county, as a pioneer.

Judge Dricken was a child of about three
years at the time of his parents' removal to
this state, and he passed his boyhood days on
the homestead farm, in Afton township, where
he secured his preliminary educational discipline
in the district schools, later continuing his studies

in the public schools of White, which he attended
until he had attained the age of sixteen years.
In 1893 he entered the Northern Indiana Normal
School, at Valparaiso, Indiana, from which in-
stitution he received the degree of Bachelor of
Science.

He was educated in the law, in the law de-
partment of the celebrated University of Michi-
gan, at Ann Arbor, and was admitted to the
bar of South Dakota, September, 1897, and forth-
with established himself in the practice of his
profession in White. His intrinsic loyalty and
patriotism, however, soon led him to lay aside
for a time the work of his profession, for in the
spring of the following year he enlisted as a
private in Company G, First South Dakota Vol-
unteer Infantry, with which he shortly afterward
proceeded to the Philippine Islands, where he
remained in service for the following eighteen
months. He was twice promoted for bravery and
meritorious service and was recommended for a
third promotion, having been mustered out with
the rank of sergeant. He participated in all the
engagements in which his regiment took part,
and with the others of his command made a
record which reflects lasting honor upon his state.
He returned to his home in the autumn of 1809
and the next day after his arrival reopened his
office in White and resumed the work of his pro-
fession, in which he has been eminently success-
ful, gaining a prestige which many an older prac-
titioner might well envy. He now practices
before the United States district and circuit
courts and has presented not a few important
cases in the former. In 1900 he was elected
county judge, and so ably exercised his functions
on the bench that he was chosen as his suc-
cessor in the fall of 1902, for a term of two
years, so that he remains in tenure of the dig-
nified and responsible office at the time of this
writing. Politically the judge was reared in the
faith of the Republican party, and he has never
wavered in his allegiance to the same, while he
has taken an active part in furthering the party
cause and has been a delegate to various state,
congressional and county conventions. He is
affiliated with the Masonic order and with the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Order of the Eastern Star, of which last his wife
likewise is a member.

On the 29th of July, 1902, Judge Dricken
was united in marriage to Miss Mabel le A.
Brown, who was born in Chicago, and who is a
daughter of Dexter G. Brown, a prominent cit-
izen of Aberdeen, South Dakota. Mrs. Dricken
is a communicant of the Episcopal church.

JOHN T. POTTER, of Keystone, is a na-
tive of Boston, Massachusetts, where he was born
on September 14, 1847. He is the son of William
E. and Elizabeth (Lewis) Potter, the former also
a native of Boston, and the latter of historic Ply-
mouth, in the same state. They were descend-
ants of old colonial families, active and promi-
nent in the early history of New England, the
members of which bore their parts creditably in
the affairs of that section in peace and war. The
father's American ancestors came to this coun-
try and settled at Concord, Massachusetts, in 1635
and the mother's to Plymouth in 1630. The pa-
ternal great-grandfather was a soldier in the Rev-
olution, participating in the siege of Boston and
many other important engagements, and in sub-
sequent wars members of both -families have
served their country with efficiency and manly
courage. Both families have maintained their
homes in Massachusetts from the time of their
first arrival on American soil. Mr. Potter's fa-
ther was a bookkeeper and accountant in Boston,
and there the son .grew to the age of twenty years
and was educated for mercantile life. In 1877
he came west to Earlville, Iowa, and during the
next two years was engaged in merchandising
there. In 1879 he returned to Boston and en-
tered the service of a large wholesale house, first
in the establishment and later as traveling sales-
man. In 1880 he came to Fort Meade to take a
position in the post trader's store, and he re-
mained there employed in the store until the
post tradership was abolished in 1883, when he
came to Sturgis and opened a dry-goods and
gents' furnishing store of his own. The town
had then only a village organization, and soon
after his arrival there he was elected chairman

of the board of trustees. When the place was
incorporated as a city he became its first mayor.
In the fall of 1890 he was elected to the state sen-
ate on the Republican ticket, thus becoming a
member of the second state legislative assembly.
In the ensuing sessions of the body he demon-
strated that he had legislative capacit)' of a high
order, shrewdness in the management of public
business and a wide knowledge of the needs of
the state and his section in particular. He has
always been prominent in public and social af-
fairs at Sturgis, and is recognized on all sides as
one of the leading and most useful citizens of the
community. He has long been active in Free-
masonry, and while living at Fort Meade organ-
ized a Masonic lodge at Sturgis, which he served
four years and a half as its worshipful master.
He was successful in trade at Sturgis and con-
ducted a large business. In 1891 he sold out and
went to Chicago, where he secured employment
with Carson, Pirie, Scott & Company, wholesale
Hry-goods merchants, with whom he remained
until 1 90 1. He then returned to this state and
locating at Keystone, taking charge of the Key-
stone Trading Company as manager. This com-
pany was formed by the consolidation of the Bee
Hive, owned by J. C. Haines, and the Stone-Fin-
ney Company's store, which had been doing busi-
ness at Keystone for a number of years. By the
consolidation and necessary enlargement of the
stock the Keystone Trading Company became the
largest general merchandising establishment in
this part of the Hills. It is incorporated, with J.
O. Haines, of Rapid City, as president and Mr.
Potter as secretary, treasurer and manager, the
latter being also one of the principal stockholders.
He is enterprising and progressive, makes a
study of the needs of his trade and is diligent in
providing for them, and always enforces the up-
most integrity and fair dealing on the part of his
employes toward his patrons. In fraternal rela-
tions he is an enthusiastic Freemason, belonging
to lodge, chapter, council and commlandery in the
fraternity, and taking a leading part in the work
of each.

On September 5, 1865, Mr. Potter was mar-
ried at Boston, Massachusetts, to Miss Fannie F.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Trott. a native of that city. By virtue of his an-
cestry and through his own desire Mr. Potter is
an honored member of the Sons of the Revolu-
tion at Boston. Massachusetts.

JOHN F. MURPHY, of Rapid City, one of
the most enterprising and progressive of South
Dakota's citizens, is a native of Ireland, born on
June 20, 1835, and remained in his native land
until he reached the age of eighteen years. In
1853 he came to the United States and settled at
Cincinnati, where he served an apprenticeship in
a foundry. After completing this he worked at
his trade there and at St. Louis for a number of
years. In 1858 he started for Pike's Peak over-
land, in company with one other man, they hav-
ing a wagon and two yoke of oxen. When they
reached Denver they found hard times and the
people suffering great hardships. There was no
work and food was extremely scarce, many per-
sons being almost in a starving condition. They
sold their wagon and oxen and Mr. Murphy
tried to go down the Platte river, in a boat, but
was wrecked near where Columbus now stands.
He then took the stage for Omaha, and from
there he went to St. Joseph, where he secured
work at his trade. When Mr. McGregory, the
discoverer of gold in Colorado, ordered ma-
chinery for a stamp mill Mr. Murphy cast it. This
was the first stamp mill that went into the state,
and it is much to his credit that it was well made
and did its work in a satisfactory manner. He
worked at his trade in St. Joseph until the begin-
ning of the Civil war, when he went to Cincinnati
and after working at his trade for awhile opened
a foundry of his own there. This he continued to
operate for four years. The plant was then de-
stroyed by fire, and soon after that Mr. Murphy
returned to St. Joseph and began an enterprise in
the lumber business, which continued for a
year, after which he dealt in grain and produce !
up and down the Missouri for a time, following
this with pork packing at Brownville for four
yrars. Tlic winter of 1874-5 he passed on the
board of trade in Chicago, dealing in pork. Be-
ing stricken with the gold fever in the spring of

1875, he started with seven others for the Black
Hills. They proceeded as far as the Red Cloud
agency, hidden in freight wagons so as to escape
the vigilance of the soldiers who were ordered to
prevent everybody from entering the Hills. When
the agency was reached Mr. Murphy took a con-
tract to furnish wood for it and enrolled his com-
panions as choppers. They spent a week there
cutting down trees when observers were looking,
and at other times were busy making pack sad-
dles. W'hen everything was ready they started
north over an unknown country ; but they reached
Hot Springs in safety and then went on to Custer
City. Claims were located on French Creek and
later on Spring Creek, but before the end of the
\-ear General Crook ordered them out of the coun-
try. Mr. Murphy went to Sidney and bought the
Calamity Jane mine, which was named after the
renowned woman cowboy and Indian fighter, and
was located two miles and a half from Custer.
After wintering at Brownville, Nebraska, he
started again for the Hills, arriving at Custer City
in February. He brought a sawmill, which had
been brought to Custer, the first ever set up in
that section, and when the stampede to Dead-
wood started he closed the mill down. He had
then a number of oxen, and buying others and
some wagons, he engaged in freighting between
Cheyenne and Deadwood, continuing this work
until 1880, when he moved the mill to Rawhide
Buttes, Wyoming. During the next two years he
ran his sawmill and selling it in 1883, he went to
Laramie, Wyoming, where he bought a large
flock of sheep which he brought into the Hills,
placing them on Battle creek near the site of the
present town of Hermosa. In the spring of 1884
he took up a ranch on the creek about four miles
from Hermosa, and since then this has been his
home ranch. It comprises four thousand acres, for
all of which he has deeds. Since the death of his
wife, in 1891, he has lived much of the time at
Rapid City, with his daughter, Mrs. Robert Boyd.
Since starting with sheep in 1863 he has devoted
his attention almost exclusively to this branch of
the stock industry, and is now the oldest and
most extensive sheep grower in the state. The
Mills brothers ran sheep in this country before he

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

came, but the\' are gone and he is now the patri-
arch of the business in this part of the world. His
tiocks cover one hundred and fifty miles of terri-
tory, north and west, many large bands being
leased out on shares ; and in addition to his home
ranch he has extensive tracts of land elsewhere
in various places. Although never taking an ac-
tive part in partisan politics, he is public-spirited
and enterprising for the welfare of the communi-
ty, and is highly respected by all who know him.
(Jn January 14, 1868, Mr. Murphy was mar-
ried, at St. Joseph, Missouri, to Miss Mary Ryan,
a native of Ireland, who came to this country
with her parents in childhood. She died on April
II, 1892, leaving four children, Mary E., now
]\Irs. Robert Boyd, Paul C, Catherine C. and
Dolly Agnes. Paul is associated with his father
in business, the fimi name being John F. INIur-
ph>- & Son.

J. GEORGE LAM PERT.— Having come to
the Black Hills region in his childhood and passed
the greater part of his life in this section, J.
George Lampert. of Keystone, one of the rising
and prominent young business men of that por-
tion of the state, is thoroughly imbued with the
spirit of the west and in full sympathy with the
enterprise and aspirations of its people. He was
born on March 13, 1871, at Oshkosh, Wisconsin,
and is the son of Jacob and Lena (Kresse) Lam-
pert. the former a native of Switzerland and the
latter of Germany. In 1875 the family moved to
Stevens Point. Wisconsin, and in 1881 came to
South Dakota, arriving at Rapid City in June.
Mr. Lampert was ten years old at that time, and
had been without much opportunity for schooling
in his previous residences, so he received his
scholastic training mainly in the schools of that
town, also taking a course of special instruction
in the State School of Mines, located there.
Thereafter he was employed in a merchandising
establishment at Rapid City until 1892, when he
moved to Hill City and secured work in mills for
three years, coming to Keystone in the fall of
1893. He at once secured an engagement with
the Holv Terror Mining Company to work in

its mill and in that and the Keystone mill was em-
ployed as an amalgamator until February 11,
i(p2. .\t that time he bought stock in the Hayes-
Hopkins Supply Company, and took a position
in the store as assistant secretary and treasurer
of the company. He is an active and zealous
member of the Masonic order, the Odd Fellows
and the Knights of Pythias, in lodges at Key-
stone. On June 25, 1902, at Keystone, he was
married to Miss Edna M. Clifford, a native of
Nebraska.

GEORGE A. CLARKE, of Keystone, Penn-
ington county, was born April 3, 1849, at the
bustling little city of Newcastle, Pennsylvania,
and he is the son of Frederick J. and Maria L.
( Savward ) Clarke, descendants of old New
England families, the former being a native of
Connecticut and the latter of Massachusetts. In
1856 the family moved to Mount Pleasant, Iowa,
where George grew to manhood and was ed-
ucated. After leaving school he engaged in the
grain business at that place until 1874. He then
went to Atchison, Kansas, and after a residence
of two years there, came to the Black Hills, ar-
riving at Custer on May 4, 1876. He was in
business at various places in the Black Hills until
1878, then moved to Rapid City, where for awhile
he was occupied in the lumber industry and later
followed merchandising, remaining there until
1893. In that year he closed out his interests at
Custer and located at Keystone, which was a new
camp at that time. Here he opened an assay of-
fice, and being an experienced and well-qualified
assayer, he soon built up a lucrative business,
which he is still conducting. He is well known
throughout the Hills as one of the progressive
and representative men of Keystone, and having
been studious and observant in his profession, has
made valuable contributions to the scientific and
technical knowledge of his section. He has a
rare and valuable collections of fossils taken from
the Bad Lands, which show the sort of animal life
prevalent in that part of the country^ during the
prehistoric ages. In addition to his work as an
assaver he is extensively interested in mining, be-

1406

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ing president of the Red Canyon Stucco Com-
pany, which he helped to organize and which has
one of the largest and most valuable deposits of
g\-psum in the United States. He is also secre-
tarj' of the Mt. Aetna Mining and Milling Com-
pany.

On October 4, 1874, Mr. Clarke was mar-
ried, at Washington. Kansas, to Miss Susan
Seidenbender, a native of Iowa. They have two
children, Charles A. and Grace C. The son is an
engineer by occupation and resides piost of the
time at Keystone. The daughter is the wife of
a Mr. Graham.

WILLIAM BIRD, a representative fanner
and stock grower of Spink county, is a native
of Waukesha county, Wisconsin, where he was
born on the 23d of October, 1843, being the sev-
enth in order of birth of the nine children of Wil-
liam and Elizabeth Bird. The father of the sub-
ject was born in England, whence he came to
America in 1842, becoming one of the pioneer
farmers of Waukesha county, Wisconsin, where
he passed the residue of his long and useful life,
his wife likewise dying in that state, while of
their children five are still living. The subject
was reared to the sturdy discipline of the pioneer
farm and early began to assist in its reclamation
and cultivation, remaining at home until the out-
break of the Civil war, when he gave prompt ev-
idence of his loyalty and patriotic ardor, by re-
sponding to President Lincoln's first call for vol-
imteers. In April, 1861, he enlisted as a private
in Company K, First Wisconsin Volunteer In-
fantry— Colonel Starkweather and Captain Fair-
child — and was mustered into service in the fol-
lowing month. He proceeded with his command
to the front, and, crossing the Potomac with Pat-
terson at Williamsport, took part in the battle of
Falling Water, continuing on active duty until
the expiration of his three-months term of enlist-
ment. In August, 1862, he re-enlisted, becoming
a member of Company E, Twenty-third Wiscon-
sin \'olunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel
Guppy. and with his regiment he marched from
Covington, Kentucky, to the city of Louisville,

where they embarked on a transport packet boat
for Memphis, Tennessee, and thence continued
onward, under General Sherman, to Haines Bluff,
in rear of Vicksburg, taking part in the engage-
ments at that point and then returning and par-
ticipating in the conflict at Arkansas Post. In
this engagement Mr. Bird received a severe
wound and was sent to the hospital in the city of
St. Louis, where he received his honorable dis-
charge, in August, 1863. He then returned to
Wisconsin, where he devoted his attention to
grain buying, in Iowa county, until 1881, when
he came to South Dakota and took up a home-
stead claim of government land, six miles south-
east of the present town of Mellette, where he has
ever since devoted his attention to general farm-
ing and stock growing, in which he has met with
distinctive success, making a specialty of rais-
ing of the shorthorn type of cattle. He has since
added an entire section to his ranch, so that he
now has a well-improved and valuable landed es-
tate of eight hundred acres. In politics he has
ever given his allegiance to the Republican party,
with which he identified himself at the time of its
organization and in 1891 he was elected to rep-
resent his district in the state senate, proving a
valuable working member of the deliberative body
of the legislature and being honored with a re-
election in 1893. thus serving two consecutive
terms. He is at the present time treasurer of the
school board of his district and is loyal to all du-
ties of citizenship. Religiously he is affiliated
with the Methodist Episcopal church.

On the 2ist of December, 1892, Mr. Bird was
united in marriage to Miss Annie Meigs, who
was born and reared in Wisconsin, being a daugh-
ter of Gardner Meigs, a well-known resident of
the Badger state. They have three children, La-
visa E., Mary R. and Geneva A., all at the pa-
rental home.

BENJAMIN M. MITCHELL, an enterpris-
ing and prosperous pioneer of the Black Hills and
other portions of the northwest, is a native of
Portsmouth, Ohio, born on March 19, 1843, and
is the son of Walter and Matilda (Masters)

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1407

Mitchell, natives of Maryland. Benjamin's pa-
ternal grandfather came to America in company
with the great-grandfather of Gen. Robert E.
Lee, Mr. Lee securing land in Virginia and Mr.
Mitchell in Maryland. The father of Benjamin
was a farmer and moved to Kentucky and later
to Ohio in the early days, and in the latter state
he was occupied in fanning until his death. The
son grew to the age of twenty and was educated
in his native state. In February, 1863, he en-
listed in defense of the LTnion in the Twelfth Mis-
souri Cavalry, in which he served to the end of
the Civil war, being most of the time in the
Army of the Mississippi. He was mustered out
of the service at Fort Leavenworth on March g,
1866, and after a short visit to his Ohio home,
settled in Linn county, Missouri, where he re-
mained busily engaged in farming until 1874. He
then went to Denver, Colorado, and after pass-
ing two years there, came to the Black Hills in the
spring of 1876, arriving at Dead wood on May
9th, having prospected all the way up from Cus-
ter. He continued his activity in this line on his
own account in and around Deadwood until the
spring of 1880, when he moved to what is now
Keystone. That year he and others located the
"Bullion" claims, which promise to be the best
paying property in the Hills, and also the "Co-
lumbia," which is full of promise. Mr. Mitchell
has put in twenty-three years prospecting and
mining in this section of the country and is one
of its oldest settlers. He is known and esteemed
throughout the whole mining country of the
northwest, is an active Republican in politics, a
member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and
a highly estimable and universally admired citi-
zen.

CAPTAIN NATHANIEL POPE, of Key-
stone, Pennington county, was born on March 27,
1830, at St. Louis, Missouri, and is the son of
William and Eliza (Douglas) Pope, the former
a native of Kentucky and the latter of Missouri.
His forefathers came to America in colonial days
and several members of the family were soldiers
in the Revolutionary war. His maternal grand-

parents were among the first settlers in Missouri
and aided in bringing that great state into being.
He grew to the age of twenty in his native city
and received his education in its public schools.
In 1859 the family moved to Springfield, Illinois,
where they were living at the beginning of the
Civil war. Volunteering in defense of the Union
in that memorable contest, he received a staff ap-
pointment as captain, and when his uncle. Gen.
John Pope, applied to President Lincoln, who was
a friend of the family, to have his nephew as-
signed to duty on his staff while he was in com-
mand of the Army of Virginia, the request was
granted and the captain served on his uncle's
staff during the whole time of his command of
that part of the Federal forces. In the spring of
1864 General Sully applied to have the captain
go with him on an expedition up the Missouri to
quiet the Indians, and he was attached to this ex-
pedition and its works are matters of history. It
fitted out at Sioux City with three thousand men
and proceeded up the river to the site of old Fort
Rice, which General Sully then built. Captain
Pope was in command of the Prairie Battery, and
on the trip he met Father De Smet who gave him
his first information of the prevalence of gold in
the Black Hills. They had a number of engage-
ments with the Indians, one of which, in the Bad
Lands at the headwaters of the Little Missouri,
was disastrous to the savages, but the whites es-
caped with small losses. Captain Pope was mus-
tered out of service at Fort Leavenworth in Feb-
ruary, 1866, and in the spring of that year he
went to Montana. Locating at Fort Benton, he
followed merchandising for a year and was then
appointed agent for the Indians on the upper Mis-
souri. After four years' service in that capacity,
he was appointed by President Grant, in the fall
of 1870, superintendent of Indian affairs in New
Mexico. He held this position three years, after
which he remained in the territory two more, en-
gaged mostly in mining. In 1875 he went to Cal-
ifornia, where he passed four years mining, then
went to Fort Keogh on the Yellowstone in Mon-
tana. There he was manager of a large post
trader and general store until the fall of 1880,
when he came to Deadwood in this state. A vear

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

later he moved to Harney, a mile and a half from
Keystone, where he conducted a store two years
and afterward engaged in prospecting and min-
ing. Since 1884 he has lived at what is now Key-
stone, which he helped to found, there being no
town at the point when he settled there,
and has been continuously connected with
the mining industry in this section. For
three years he was bookkeeper for the old
Keystone Mining Company, and in 1902
accepted a position in the ofifice of the
Holy Terror Mining Company, which he still
holds. He has a number of mining claims of his
own which are full of promise. Fraternally, he
belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic.

ANDREW G. WILLIAMS, who has been a
resident of Gettysburg, Potter county, for the
past score of years, is a native of the Badger
state, having been born in Portage, Columbia
county, Wisconsin, on the 12th of February, 1861,
and being a son of O. P. and Mary A. Williams,
his father a real-estate and insurance agent. He
secured his educational training in his native
town, where he duly availed himself of the ad-
vantages afforded by the public schools, and con-
tinued his residence in Wisconsin until 1880,
when he came to what is now the state of South
Dakota and took up his residence in Gettys-
burg in 1884, where he now controls a large and
flourishing real-estate business, his books show-
ing at all times most desirable investments in
town property and farming and grazing lands.
He is one of the popular and public-spirited cit-
izens of Gettysburg and a man of nuich force and
initiative ability. Fraternally he has attained the
thirty-second degree in Masonry, belonging to
Aberdeen Consistorv.

ARTHL'R C. VAN METRE.— It is with
feelings of respect and admiration that the writer
essays the task of entering a brief memoir of one
of the earliest pioneers of the great territory of
Dakota, a man of distinct -individuality, intrepid
courage, exalted integrity and noble generosity.

— Arthur C. \'an Metre, who lived up to the full
tension of the early life on the great western
frontier, whose life was one of adventure and
many vicissitudes and who left his impress on the
history of the territory and state. We can not
do better than to quote somewhat fully from an
article concerning hiiu which appeared in the
Stock Journal of Fort Pierre at the time of his
death : "Arthur C. Van Metre, familiarly known
as 'Van,' is no more. Sunday morning (Januan.'
18, 190,^). while walking along the road on Bad
river, he fell into the arms of Carl ^lathews, who
was with him, and died almost instantly, aged
sixty-four years, nine months and sixteen days.
He was boni at Winchester, ^^irginia. on the
2d of April, 1837, and there attended school until
he had attained the age of eleven years, when
he went to Missouri, where he remained with
relatives until he was sixteen, when he joined
the General Harney expedition as teamster and
went to Fort Leavenworth, being with him on
the Platte and coming to Dakota in 1855, when
only seventeen years old. In the following year
he assisted in building the old fort, which stood
about four miles north of the present site of the
city of Fort Pierre. He married Mar>' Aungie,
a five-eighths Sioux Indian girl, in Sioux City,
Iowa, on November 28, 1858, and located on
the Vermillion river, Dakota, where the town
of Vermillion now stands. It was then but an
Indian village and it was there that his eldest
daughter was bom. She was the first white
child born within the limits of the territory of
Dakota, but history has not hitherto recorded the
fact, because of the Indian blood in her veins.
He built the first ferry on the Vermillion and
transferred all the government troops as well as
the Indians. He coveted for his children what
circumstances had denied to him personally, and
saw that they were all well educated. His son
John T. was admitted to the bar in 1890 and was
the first man of Sioux extraction ever given that
distinction.

"During his early years in Dakota he endured
all kinds of hardships. He was thoroughly con-
versant with Indian life and customs and was
present at the signing of the treaty opening the

Wi^^MjiXa^

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Sioux reservation, at tlie Qieyenne river agency,
in 1889. It was through his influence that Chas-
ing Crow, a full-blooded Sioux Indian, from Bad
river, signed the bill when the hostile Indians
threatened to kill the first man who put his name
to the treaty. He acted as interpreter at that
time, as he was well acquainted with the lan-
guage of the Sioux. He was a very successful
manager of his affairs and was at one time one
of the wealthiest men in Clay county. He was
one of the founders of Vermillion and was an
active participant in many of the transactions
which are recorded as a part of our state history.
Arthur C. Van Metre was one of the noble char-
acters who, leaving the advantages and benefits
of civilization behind, plunged into the unknown
regions of the new west. To all who knew him
there is a feeling of sadness for the loss of a
dear friend."

It may be said farther in comiection with the
subject's life here in the pioneer era that he was
with General Harney in his various movements in
the west until 1857, and during much of the time
he was the driver of the General's private ambu-
lance. He was appointed to carry the govern-
ment express for the government from Sioux
City, Iowa, to "Fort Randall. Dakota, and in the
•connection met with many hazardous experiences
and hardships, often holding out in the accom-
plishment of his purpose when old and more
experienced men quailed from the ordeal. On
one occasion he was compelled to kill his horse
and lie by its side in order to keep from freezing,
while he often found it necessary to hide in the
brush to avoid the hostile Indians. His wife was
a daughter of Henry Aungie, who was of three-
fourths Indian blood, his ancestry being French
on the paternal side. He was an interpreter for
the American Fur Company, and his wife was a
Tialf-breed Indian, her ancestry being Scotch
on the paternal side. Mr. and Mrs. Van Metre
became the parents of five children, namely :
A'iola. who is the wife of Lewis D. Bentley, of
Evarts. this state; Jane E., who is the wife of
Cliarles W. Waldron, of Fort Pierre; Alvira K.,
who is the wife of William P. Oakes, of Fort
Pierre : John Todd, who was named in honor of

General Todd, and is a lawyer by profession,
ritory and state. He served as one of the early
being located at White Earth agency, in Minne-
sota, in the government employ, while he was
sent by the government to attend the golden
jubilee of the late lamented Queen Victoria; and
Charles Luther, who is a successful farmer and
stock grower on the Bad river. Fort Pierre being
his postoffice address. Mr. Van Metre was de-
voted to his wife and children, who were ever
the objects of his most solicitous care and un-
qualified afifection, and while he was a typical
frontiersman his noble characteristics were most
gratefully shown in his home life. In 1858 he
located in Vermillion, being the first white settler
' in Clay count}', and he there engaged in farming
! and trading, while at one time he was there en-
gaged in the livery business. In 1876 he went
to the Black Hills, upon the discovery of gold,
and was one of the owners of the first mill es-
tablished in this section for the handling of the
ore. He established a freighting business to
Deadwood and bought and sold supplies on his
own account. He lost heavily in these ventures,
by reason of the unsettled condition of affairs in
the hills, one of the powerful companies causing
him to be unable to continue his operations in
opposition. After returning to Vermillion, in
1878, he disposed of a portion of his landed in-
terests in Caly county and moved to Brule county,
where he engaged in trading and stock growing,
soon recouping his fortunes to a considerable ex-
tent. In 1882 he located in Pierre, and in the
same year went to Montana with his sons and
sons-in-law on a Imffalo hunt, and on the ex-
pedition several hundred of the animals were
killed, while the subject had his sight nearly de-
stroyed by the premature discharge of his rifle.
In 1883 he returned to Dakota and took up his
abode in Fort Pierre, establishing a ranch on
the Bad river and continuing to be engaged in
stock raising and trading until his death, which
resulted from, heart disease, his wife having
passed away on the 15th of July, 1894, a true-
hearted, noble woman and one \«ho was ever his
faithful and loyal companion and helpmeet. Mr.
\''an Metre was a Democrat of the old school and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

rendered much service to his party in the ter-
sheriffs of Gay county and in 1879 "^^^ elected
to the same office in Brule county, while fra-
ternally he was identified with the Masonic order,
being affiliated with the lodge at Vermillion. In
concluding this brief memoir we quote from an
appreciative estimate written by his long-time
friend, John L. Jolley, at the time of the death of
the subject : "Good bye. Van ! The memories of
the many happy hours your old friends have
passed in your genial company will live while life
lasts. All is good that we can remember about
}-ou. The world at large may not sing your
praises, but in the heart of hearts of all the old
settlers of both Dakotas you have a place, and
each old friend, in the quiet of his home, will
shed many burning tears when he learns that our
old happy, merry, brave, honest, gallant, kind,
generous, chivalrous and unselfish 'Van' is no
more."

WILLIAM J. LILLY, formerly assistant
master mechanic for the Homestake Mining
Company, at Lead, and now engaged with an
English mining company at El Oro, Mexico, is
a native of England, and may almost be said to
have been born to his business. His life began
on December 26, 1859, and he is the son of
Richard and Ann (Clark) Lilly, also English by
nativity. His mother died when he was yet a
child, and when he was ten years old his father
emigrated to the Lhiited States, leaving* him in
the care of relatives in his native land. There
he received the greater part of his education, re-
maining until 1874. when he joined his father in
the Lake Superior imining regions, where the
parent was master mechanic for a large mining
company. He went to work in the mechanical de-
partment of the mines under the direction of his
father, with whom he remained three years. In
1878 he came to the Black Hills, arriving in
May. Here he prospected and worked at placer
mining on his own account three years, then for
a number of years was employed by various min-
ing companies putting up machinery and running
shops. In 1 888 he took a course of training at

Bryant & Stratton"s Business College, Chicago,
and at its conclusion returned to the Hills and
again went to work in the mining industry. Since
then he has taken a course in mechanics with the
Scranton Correspondence Schools. In 1890 he
made a prospecting trip through Oregon and
Washington, and in 1891, being back in the Hills,
engaged in mechanical work for different com-
panies for nearly a year. In June, 1892, he
again entered service in the Homestake
Company, working in the machine shops and put-
ting up machinery. In Etecember, 1901, he was
promoted assistant master mechanic, a position
which he filled most acceptably in every respect,
until recently, when he resigned his position with
the Homestake Company, and accepted a position
as master mechanic for the El Oro Min-
ing and Railway Company, a large Eng-
lish firm, operating extensively in the re-
public of Mexico. He is well educated,
an excellent penman, a skillful draughtsman, and
in other respects is well qualified for his work,
having acquired facility in it by technical study
and active practice. Throughout the commun-
ities where he has resided he is well esteemed for
his business capacity, his active and helpful inter-
est in public affairs and his genial and companion-
able social qualities.

On August 30, 1892, at Spearfish, this state,
Mr. Lilly was married to Miss Bina Faartoft, a
native of Denmark. They have two children,
Arthur R. and Edna M. Mr. Lilly is a member
of the Modern Woodmen of America, belonging
to the camp of the order at Lead.

FRED DE KRAFFT GRIFPTN. the able
editor and publisher of the \\'ahvorth County
Record, at Selby, has the distinction of being a
native of the national capital, having been born
in the city of Washington, D. C, on the i6th of
January, 1862, and being a son of Robert C. and
S. Adelaide Griffin, both of whom were likewise
born and reared in that city. The lineage on the
paternal side is traced back to Lawrence Griffin,
who settled near Leonardtown, Maryland, in 1742,
having emigrated from England, his native land.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Baron J. C. P. de Krafft, the maternal great-
grandfather of the subject, assisted L'Enfant in
laying out the city of Washington, and his son.
Lieutenant de Krafift, was with Decatur at
Tripoli, as a member of the United States navy.
The Baron's grandson, Rear Admiral de Krafift,
of the United States navy, died within recent
years, having well upheld the prestige of the
honored name which he bore.

The subject was reared in his native city, in
whose public schools he received his early edu-
cational discipline, having been graduated in the
high school as a member of the class of 1878.
He initiated his association with the "art pre-
servative of all arts" on the 1st of January, 1881,
when he secured a position in the office of the
Evening Critic, of Washington, while from 1884
to 1887 he was employed in the treasury branch
of the government printing office. In July of the
latter year he came to the present state of South
Dakota and located in Bangor, Walworth county,
and on the i8th of the following September he
became the editor and publisher of the Central
Dakotan, the name of which was changed to the
Walworth County Record in 1890, since which
time he has continued the publication under that
title, while the office and general headquarters of
the paper were removed from Bangor to Selby in
1900. In his political proclivities Mr. Griffin is
a stalwart supporter of the Republican party, and
personally and through the columns of his paper
he has done much to further its success in the
state, being one of the party leaders in his section
and having served for several terms as chairman
of the Walworth county central committee, while
for six terms he was a member of the Republican
state centra! committee. Fraternally he is identi-
fied with the Masonic order, the Modern Wood-
men of America and the Knights of the Macca-
bees, and both he and his wife are communicants
of the Protestant Episcopal church.

On the loth of February. 1882, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Griffin to Miss Emma
B. McNelly, who likewise was born and reared
in Washington, D. C, being a daughter of Ar-
thur and Mary McNelly. Mr. and INIrs. Griffin
have seven children, the first two having been

born in the capital city and the others in Wal-
worth county. South Dakota, their names, in
order of birth, being as follows : Charles, Evelyn,
Fred, Arthur, Elton, Clifford and Edwin.

HON. SYLVESTER JONES CONKLIN
was born in Penn Yan, Yates county, New York,
May 5, 1829, and is of Holland-Dutch descent on
his father's side and Welch and French on the
side of his mother. His father died when he was
but four years of age, leaving the widow without
other means than her own labor to support three
children, of which the subject was the eldest. At
the age of twelve years he was apprenticed to a
shoemaker and tanner ; at the age of sixteen years
he had mastered both trades and worked as a
journeyman until he was eighteen years of age,
when he went into the business of tanning and
shoemaking for himself. In 1856 he left the shoe-
bench and took the stump for John C. Fremont,
then the first Republican candidate for the presi-
dency. The defeat of Fremont nearly broke his
heart and in January, 1857, he disposed of his
business and settled in Waterloo, Wisconsin.
There he studied law and was admitted to
practice in the circuit and supreme courts of that
state, and also in the district, circuit and supreme
courts of the L^nited States. In 1859 he was
elected to the Wisconsin state legislature and
served one term. He enlisted for service during
the Civil war and served in the several capacities
of regimental quartermaster, post quartermaster,
post commissary, and judge advocate of a general
court martial. He was mustered out at Leaven-
worth in December, 1865, and at once resumed
the practice of his profession, being again elected
to the Wisconsin legislature in 1869. He accepted
an appointment in the United States revenue
service, in which he served over four years, and
then engaged in journalism in Waterloo, Wis-
consin, until the spring of 1879. In April of that
year he removed to Watertown, South Dakota,
and established the Dakota News. Five years
later he sold that paper to Hon. A. C. Mellette,
and established Conklin's Dakotan, also at
Watertown. for which he obtained a large circu-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

lation in both South and North Dakota. He con-
tinued its publication until 1896, when he was so
severely injured in a railroad accident in Sioux
Falls that for a year and a half he was unable to
attend to his paper and was compelled to sus-
pend its publication. His recovery was slow, but
eventually he regained in a measure his former
health and usefulness. At the first organization
of the South Dakota Press Association he was
chosen its president and was twice thereafter re-
elected to the same position, and, although the
demand was almost unanimous, he declined
further election.

During his long residence in South Dakota,
Mr. Conklin has persistently refused to hold
office, but he has ever taken a deep pride in the
military affairs of his state, and, seeing that they
were at a low ebb and that the state militia had
practically ceased to exist, he accepted the ap-
pointment he now holds, being commissioned ad-
jutant general of the state by Governor Herreid
on the 9th of March, 1901. He was induced to
imdertake these duties because he firmly believed
that he could organize a militia that would com-
pare favorably with other states possessing like
opportunities and means. Since that time he
has recruited a state guard composed of twenty-
nine companies, and has held two battalion en-
campments, one at Yankton and the other at
Aberdeen, and three annual encampments (if all
arms. During this time he has, as required by
law, discharged the duties of adjutant general,
quartermaster general and chief of ordnance and
commissary. Governor Herreid, in his biennial
message to the legislature of 1903. speaking of
the reorganization of the militia, said : "For this
work I selected a man whom I knew, from a
long personal acquaintance, to be pre-eminently
(lualificd by education, experience and individual
force of character for the manifold duties devolv-
ing upon the adjutant general. On March 9, 1901,
thoroughly aware of the difficulties to be encount-
ered, Hon. S. J- Conklin accepted the appoint-
ment, and from that day until this hour he has,
with singular energy and enthusiasm, devoted all
his time to the service of the state. How well he
has succeeded, even beyond the most sanguine

expectations of his friends who prevailed upon
him to undertake the work and who expected suc-
cess, will be manifested by a careful perusal of the
report of his department."

Now, at the age of seventy-five years. General
Conklin is possessed in a remarkable degree of
the energy and executive ability which has char-
acterized his entire history. He is manifestly
a self-educated and self-made man, for while the
record of his life shows that he had little op-
portunity for schooling, his ability as a writer
and speaker tell the story of toiling hours in
manhood's years while others slept, to acquire the
store of knowledge with which he has been
armored for every occasion and every duty he
has undertaken to perform.

General Conklin was married in 1848, to Miss
Mary Wait, and three childrm were born to this
union, namely : Alice, Emmet F. and Charles A.
Mr. Conklin was again married, in 1884, to Miss
Mattie Greenslate, and again, in 1895, to Mrs.
.Anna Duff. Fraternally the General is a Mason,
having attained to the thirty-second degree in
the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.

NICHOLAS J. SCHLACHTER. a popular
and progressive business man of Gettysburg, Pot-
ter county, is a native of the state of Wisconsin,
having been born on a farm in Sheboygan covmty,
on the 9th of October. 1865, and being a son of
Thomas and Martha Schlachter, the fonner of
w1iom was born in the state of New York and the
latter in the old country. The father of the sub-
ject took up his residence in Wisconsin in the
early 'fifties, being one of the pioneers of She-
boygan county, and in the Badger state he con-
tinued to maintain his home until 1883, when he
located in Sully county. South Dakota, where
he has since been engaged in farming and stock
raising. In his family were four sons and five
daughters, all of whom are living except two.
the subject having been the fifth child. Nicholas
J. Schlachter secured his educational training in
the public schools of his native county, and at the
age of fourteen years entered upon an apprentice-
ship at the carpenter's trade, becoming a

HISTORY (W SOUTH DAKOTA.

[415

Ihoroughlv skilled artisan. He accompanied his
parents on their removal to South Dakota, and
during- the first year was engaged in freighting
from Pierre to the Black Hills, after which he
worked at his trade in Deadwood, while in the
fall of 1883 he assisted in the erection of the
court house in Pierre. The following spring he
went to Fairbank, Sully county, where he engaged
in contracting and building on his own account,
his " success there being excellent during the
period when the town was booming, and after the
reaction came he was for a few months employed
as clerk in the store of Allen & Heale, at I^"air-
bank. The following year he engaged in deal-
ing in horses, and in 1887 he put in a crop of
wheat on his father's ranch, the venture proving
a failure, as the crop was destroyed by hail. He
then took up his residence in Gettysburg, where
he has ever since maintained his home. The
town of Fairbank had liy this time fallen into de-
cadence, and he there purchased twenty-seven
buildings and removed a part of them to the pros-
perous village of Gettysburg, where he disposed
of the same at a profit after putting them into
good order on lots which he had purchased for
the purpose. He thereafter was actively engaged
in business as a contractor and builder for several
years, and about three-fourths of the business and
residence buildings in the town stand as monu-
ments to his skill. In 1895 he erected the present
attractive high-school building. In i8g6 Mr.
Schlachter established himself in the lumber busi-
ness, and he has been an independent operator in
this line ever since, having successfully held his
ground against the encroachments of the various
coml.nnes and having built up a large and pros-
perous business, as is evident when we note the
fact that he handles annually an average of about
one hundred thousand dollars' worth of dressed
and plain lumber. He is an excellent judge of
values, has exceptional facilities and has given a
service to patrons which has begotten the ut-
most confidence in his integrity and his abso-
lute fairness in all his dealings. He is the owner
of a number of pieces of valuable real estate in
the town, and is known as one of its most progres-
sive and public-spirite'1 citizens. In iqoo, con-

vinced of the value of creamery facilities in the
county, through the promotion of the dairy in-
terests, he erected a modern creamery in Gettys-
burg and another at Onida, in Sully county, these
being the first in the two counties. For a time his
labors w^ere attended w'ith but questionable suc-
cess, but his courage and his confidence in ulti-
mate success never wavered, and he has been able
to find both amply justified. At Gettysburg he
receives the cream from Sully county* as well as
from Potter county, and during the summer
months he turns out about twelve thousand
pounds of butter a week, disposing of the product
m the markets of Chicago and New York. While
other ventures of the sort have proved failures
he has brought to bear that energy anrl good
management which have made for definite suc-
cess, and he receives the ]5roduct from about ten
tliousand cows, which fact indicates the value of
the undertaking to the farmers of this section.
In politics he is stanchly arrayed in support of the
principles and policies of the Republican party,
and while never ambitious for public office he
has served several terms as a member of the vil-
lage council. Fraternally be is identified with
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the
Knights of P}-thias and the }dodern Woodmen of
.-\merica.

In January, 181)4, ^f''- Schlachter was united
in marriage to Miss Matilda Van Wald. of
Gettysburg. She was horn in Wisconsin, in
which state she was reared, being a daughter of
Len and Mattie Van Wald. Of this union have
been born two sons. Guv and Leo.

ABRAHAM D. GRIFFEE, register of deeds
of Potter count}', is a native of the state of Iowa,
having been born in the city of Oskaloosa, on the
2ist of September, 1861, and being a son of Abra-
ham and Nancy (Higgenbotham) Griff ee, the
fomier of whom was born in Virginia and the
latter in Ohio, while their marriage was solem-
nized in the state of Ohio. The Griffee family is
of German extraction and was founded in the old
and patrician state of Virginia in the early colo-
nial era, with whose historv the name has been

I4I4

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

prominently identified. The father of the subject
was reared and educated in Virginia, and as a
young man removed thence to Ohio, where he
maintained his residence for a few years, and then
about 1840, made the long overland journey to
Iowa with team and wagon, being accompanied
by his wife and their three children, the other
four of the children in the family having been
born in the Hawkeye state. He became one of
the pioneers of Mahaska county, where he re-
claimed and improved a valuable farm, and there
he continued to reside until his death, which oc-
curred in 1886. He became a man of prominence
and distinctive influence in the community and
passed away in the fullness of years and well-
eanied honors. His devoted wife was sum-
moned into eternal rest in 1899, and of their chil-
dren all are still living, the subject of this review
having been the sixth in order of birth.

Abraham D. Griffee was born in the town of
Oskaloosa, Iowa, and from his sixth year was
reared on the farm and in his youth was accorded
the advantages of the excellent public schools of
his native state, completing a course in the high
school at Oskaloosa. He continued to be asso-
ciated in the work and management of the home
fann until 1884, when he came to South Dakota
and took up land in B'aulk county, whose organi-
zation had been effected about a year previously.
Upon this pre-emption claim he made good im-
provements, the place being eligibly located near
the village of Seneca, and there he continued to
be engaged in farming and stock growing until
1893, while he still retains possession of the prop-
erty, which has greatly appreciated in value in
the intervening years. In the year mentioned
he came to Gettysburg, the official center of Pot-
ter county, and here engaged in the grain busi-
ness, owning an interest in the elevator here, and
he continued to be identified with this line of en-
terprise for the ensuing five years, at the expira-
tion of which he disposed of his interests in the
same and turned his attention to the lumber busi-
ness, at which he was engaged until 1900. In
1900 he was elected to the office of register of
deeds of Potter county. He gave an able and sys-
tematic administration of the office and was

chosen as his own successor in the fall of 1902,
for a second term of two years. He manifests a
lively interest in public affairs and is an uncom-
promising Democrat in his political adherency,
having been an active worker in the party cause.
Mr. Griffee is a man of ability and has been suc-
cessful in his business affairs since casting in his
lot with the people of South Dakota. In addition
to his landed interests in Faulk county he is also
the owner of valuable realty in Potter county.
Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic or-
der. Knights of Pythias, Ancient Order of United
Workmen, Modern Woodman of America and
Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

On the 2d of February, 1886, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Griffee to Miss Mary
E. Douglas, who was born and reared in Lonacon-
ing, Maryland, being a daughter of Capt. John
W. and Ellen Douglas, and a sister of Herbert
Douglas, who is now an official of the Crow
Creek Indian reservation. Mr. and Mrs. Griffee
have one daughter, Rhea, who was born on the
19th of July, 1887.

OLIVER ELTON MESICK, one of the
leading business men of Gettysburg, is a native
of the Badger state, having been born in Prince-
ton, Green Lake county, Wisconsin, on the 30th
of June, 1861, and being a son of David S. and
Elizabeth Jane (Moore) Mesick, both of whom
were born and reared in the state of New York.
The Mesick family is of stanch Holland Dutch
extraction, and the original progenitors in Amer-
ica, located at Troy, in the state of New York, in
the early colonial epoch, while representatives of
this sterling Knickerbocker family were num-
bered among the earliest settlers in the vicinity
of the present capital city of Albany. The Moore
family, of Scottish extraction, was likewise early
established on American soil. Tlie father of the
subject removed from New York to Wisconsin in
1856, becoming one of the pioneers of Green
Lake county, where he improved a valuable farm,
upon which he continued to reside until his death,
in October, igoi. at the venerable age of seventy-
three years. His wife died in April, 1897, on the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

home farm. They became the parents of five
children, of whom four are Hving. the sulaject of
this review having been the third in order of
birth.

OHver E. Alesick was reared to the sturdy
discipline of the home farm, and was afforded
the advantages of the excellent public schools of
his native state, having completed a course in the
school at Princeton, Wisconsin, in which he was
graduated as a member of the class of 1880. In
1893 he was matriculated in the law department
of the University of Minnesota, where he com-
pleted the prescribed course and was graduated
in 1895, '^^'itli the degree of Bachelor of Laws,
while he was admitted to the bars of Minnesota
and South Dakota in the same year.

After graduating from the high school Mr.
Mesick engaged in teaching in the public schools
of Wisconsin, proving successful in his pedagogic
efforts and continuing the same until 1883, when
he came to South Dakota and located in Potter
county, being one of the very first settlers in the
county, which was not formally organized at that
time, while he was the first to pay taxes in the
county, and still holds as a souvenir the first re-
ceipt for taxes issued by the county, the same
bearing date of January, 1885. He filed on a
tract of four hundred and eighty acres of govern-
ment land five miles southeast of the present vil-
lage of Forest City, and forthwith instituted the
improvement of his claim, while he also engaged
in teaching school at irregular intervals until
1893, having been principal of the public schools
in Gettysburg during the last three years of his
service in this line. In the year mentioned he
entered the law department of the University of
Minnesota. After leaving the University he re-
turned to Gettysburg and here established him-
self in the practice of his profession, in which
he met with gratifying success, and he served
during 1897-98 as state's attorney of the county.
Prior to entering the law school he had become
interested in the agricultural implement business
in Gettysburg, being associated with August
Maas, under the firm name of Mesick & Maas, the
enterprise being carried on by Mr. Maas during
the subject's absence while in the university.

Upon his return he divided his attention between
his professional work and his implement business,
and the latter so rapidly increased in scope and
importance that he found it expedient to practi-
cally withdraw from the practice of law that he
might give his entire attention to his business
interests. In 1901 he purchased Mr. Maas' inter-
est in the business, which he has since individ-
ually continued, carrying a large and complete
stock of agricultural implements and machinery,
and owning the three commodious warehouses
utilized in the connection, while he also owns and
operates the large grain elevator near the tracks
of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, and
he also does a large business in the handling of
coal, being the leading dealer of the county. His
office building he still owns and utilizes, while he
is the owner of other realty in the county in ad-
dition to the properties noted. He retains his
original pre-emption claim, and also three other
quarter sections adjoining, and the family im-
proved ranch is devoted to general farming and
stock growing. In politics Mr. Mesick gives an
unwavering allegiance to the Republican party,
and fraternally he is affiliated with Gettysburg
Lodge, No. 83, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons, of which he is worshipful master at the
time of this writing ; he is also a member of the
Modern Woodman of America. He is a member
of the Baptist church and his wife belongs to the
Congregational church.

On the 17th of September, 1902, Mr. Mesick
was united in marriage to Miss Minerva C. Car-
ter, who was born and reared in Wisconsin, being
a daughter of Louis and Margaret Carter, who
now maintain their residence in Ripon, Wiscon-

SAMUEL E. ATKINSON, who is num-
bered among the progressive and representative
citizens of Gregory county, is a native of Toledo,
Tama county, Iowa, where he was born
on the 24th of August, 1869, being a
son of William and Margaret (Guthrey) Atkin-
son. The former was born in Lancaster county,
Pennsylvania, near the old homestead of Presi-

I4I6

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

dent I'.uchanan, and as a youth he assisted in
planting trees on this historic place. William At-
kinson lived a life of signal usefulness and honor
and attained the venerable age of eighty-four
years, his death occurring in 1891. The motlier
still lives with her daughter at Little Rock, Iowa.
The father of the subject was reared to manhood
in the old Keystone state and was there employed
in rolling mills and in the great steel works in the
city of Pittsburg for a number of years. In 1868
he removed to Tama county, Iowa, where he was
engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1885, when
he removed to Brown county, Nebraska, where he
took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty
acres, developing and improving a good fami and
there continuing to reside until about two years
prior to his death, when he took up his abode in
Little Rock, Iowa, where he passed the residue of
his life in the home of his only daughter, Mary,
who is now the wife of Romance E. Botkin, of
Little Rock, she having been their third in order
of birth in a family of four children, all of whom
are living. James resides in Alt. X'ernon, South
Dakota, and Hamilton is a resident of Remsen,
Iowa, the subject of this review being the young-
est of the children. The parents were worthy
members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and
in politics the father was a stanch Republican.

Samuel E. Atkinson received his educational
training in the public schools of Iowa and Ne-
braska, and continued to assist in the work and
management of the home farm until he had at-
tained the age of twenty-three years, when he be-
gan an apprenticeship at the barber's trade, in
Coleridge, Nebraska, continuing to follow this as
a vocation for two years, after which he became
identified with the real-estate and loan business,
in which he has since successfully continued, hav-
ing been established at various places and having
been a resident of South Dakota since 1901. In
1 90 1 he established himself in this business in
Fairfax, where he was the first to establish the
enterprise of making loans on farming proper-
tics in the county, having in. the year 1901 placed
one hundred and sixty thousand dollars on lands.
Here he has also built up an excellent business in
the general handling of real estate, while he is

the owner of valuable town property and has
represented on his books at all times many desira-
ble investments. In his political proclivities he is
a stalwart Democrat, and fraternally is identified
with the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

On the 22d of December, 1887, Mr. Atkin-
son was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude M.
Jones, who was born in Toulon, Stark county, Il-
linois, on the 15th of October, 1872, being one of
the eight children of, Reuben S. and Martha
(Taylor) Jones, the father being a successful
.farmer of the county mentioned. Mrs. Atkinson
was reared and educated in the schools of Illinois
and Nebraska, where he was successfully en-
gaged in teaching for eight years, while she is
is also an accomplished musician and has acted
as church organist and choir leader in the var-
ious towns in which she and her husband have
lived since their marriage. Both belong to the
Methodist Episcopal church of Fairfax. One
child, a girl, was born June 27. 1899, but died in
infancv.

JA]\IES B. CLARK, member of the firm of
Clark & Sparling, dealers in general merchan-
dise in Gettysburg, was born on a farm in Harri-
son county, Ohio, on the ist of December, 1846,
being a son of Joseph and Sarah (Dunlap)
Oark, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania,
while both died in Ohio, where the father gave
his attention to agricultural pursuits until the
time of his demise. His grandfather was of
English lineage and came to America prior to the
war of the Revolution, in which he served as a
loyal soldier in the Continental line.

The subject was reared on the homestead
farm and was afforded the advantages of the com-
mon schools. He continued to be associated in
the work and management of the home farm un-
til 1878, when he removed to Nebraska, becoming
a pioneer farmer of Pawnee county, where he re-
mained until April, 1883, when he came to South
Dakota to repeat his pioneer experiences in Pot-
ter county. He filed entry on one hundred and
sixty acres of government land, twelve miles

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

southwest of the present attractive village of Get-
tysburg, and there improved a valuable farm, on
which he was actively engaged in diversified ag-
riculture and stock raising until 1890, when he
was elected to the office of register of deeds, while
at the expiration of his term he was re-elected as
his own successor, thus ser\-ing four consecutive
years and giving a most accejitable administra-
tion. Upon retiring from office he established
himself in the general merchandise business in
Gettysburg, and has ever since been prominently
and successfully identified with this line of enter-
prise. He continued the business individually un-
til March, 1903, when he admitted John E. Spar-
ling to partnership, under the firm name indicated
in the opening .paragraph of this sketch, Mr
Sparling being the husband of his eldest daugh-
ter and the subject of a personal sketch on an-
other page of this work. In politics Mr. Clark is
a stanch adherent of the Republican party ; and
fraternally he is identified with the Masonic or-
der, in which he has attained the thirty-second
degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, be-
ing affiliated with Aberdeen Consistory.

On the 26th of April, 1876, Mr. Clark was
united in marriage to Miss Mary J- Jameson, who
was born and reared in Harrison county, Ohio,
being a daughter of William and Sarah Jameson,
and they are the parents of three daughters,
namely : [Maud C, who is the wife of John E.
.Sparling, associated in business with the subject ;
Nellie, who is a clerical employe in the Potter
County Bank, of which her father is .a stockholder;
and Elizabeth, who is at the time of this writing
assistant principal of the public schools at Red-
field, Spink county.

EDWIX :M. STARCHER, president of the
Gregory County State Bank, at Fairfax, Gregory
county, is a native of West Virginia, having been
born in Ripley, Jackson county, on Christmas day
of the year 1863, and being a son of Jacob L. and
Marian G. (Webb) Starcher, the former of
whom was likewise born in Jackson county, that
state, in 1832, while the latter was born in the
city of Charleston, West Virginia, at that time

having been still an integral portion of the Old
Dominion state. The father of the subject was
reared and educated in his native state and is a
man of high intellectuality and marked business
acumen. In his earlier years he was a successful
teacher, having been thus engaged in different
places, while he also followed mercantile pur-
suits as a young man, being now identified with
this line of enterprise in Ripley, West Virginia,
where he was also engaged in the banking busi-
ness for some time. He has accumulated an es-
tate of four hundred thousand dollars, the same
representing the results of his own efforts since
the close of the Civil war. He was a stanch Union
man during that crucial epoch and was sheriff of
his county at the time, and he is a stanch Dem-
ocrat in politics. He visited various portions of
the great northwest in a very early day, having
been with a government surveying party which
made its way up the Red river through what is
the present state of South Dakota, the same being
then on the very frontier of civilization. He is a
member of the JMasonic fraternity, and both he
and his devoted wife are communicants of the
Protestant Episcopal church. They have only two
children, the elder of whom, Floyd, is now a res-
ident of the city of Richmond, Virginia.

^^'hen the subject was a child of six years his
parents removed to the state of Minnesota, and
located in Hastings, in whose public schools he
secured his early educational training. In 1880
he entered the Xorthwestern Ohio Normal Uni-
versity, at Ada, where he continued his studies
for one year. He then entered the law depart-
ment of Washington and Lee University, at Lex-
ington, Virginia, and was there graduated in
June, 1888, coming forth well equipped for the
practice of his chosen profession. Shortly after
his graduation Mr. Starcher came to South Da-
kota and located in the town of Wheeler, Charles
Mix county, where he established himself in the
practice of law, and that he soon gained popu-
larity and professional prestige is evident when
we revert to the fact that within the first year of
his residence here he was elected state's attorney
of his county, of which office he remained in-
cumbent for two years, proving an able and dis-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

criminating prosecutor. This was before the ad-
mission of the state, and he served as the last dis-
trict attorney and first state's attorney in that
county, being in office at the time of the admission
of the state to the Union. He continued in the
active practice of his profession in that county
for a period of ten years, at the expiration of
which, in 1898, he took up his residence in Fair-
fax, where he has since maintained his home.
In his youthful days he was employed in a drug
store and gained a thorough knowledge of the
business, being now a registered pharmacist.
He has been consecutively engaged in the drug
business ever since he came to South Dakota,
and thus it may be seen that he is distinctively a
man of affairs, having a great capacity for work
and that of a successful order, both in profes-
sional and business lines. When he took up his
residence in the present thriving little city of
Fairfax, in 1898, the county had not yet been
organized, and he was prominently identified with
public affairs here from the start. He is a stanch
advocate of the principles of the Democratic
party, and as a candidate of the same he was
elected the first county judge of Gregory county,
to which dignified position he has since been three
times re-elected, being incumbent of the office at
at the present time and having made an enviable
record on the bench, as has he also in the active
practice of his profession. He has also served
for four years as city attorney, having been the
first and only occupant of the position in this city.
He is the owner of the only drug store here, is
president of the Gregory State Bank and is the
owner of valuable realty in the village and county.
As if all'these interests were not sufficient to tax
his powers of supervision. Judge Starcher is also
engaged in the abstract business, having an ex-
cellent system of records and being the pioneer
in this line in the county. He and his wife are
communicants of the Episcopal church, and fra-
ternally he is affiliated with the Masons, the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of
Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America.
On the nth of November, 1901, was solem-
nized the marriage of Judge Starcher to Miss
Marian B. Hck'nl)olt, who was born in Minne-

sota, being a daughter of Harry and i\Iary E.
(Blake) Helenbolt, who removed to Nebraska
when she was a child, her father being now one

of the successful farmers of that state.

JOHN E. SPARLING, of Gettysburg, Pot-
ter county, being a member of the general mer-
chandise firm of Clark & Sparling, is a native of
"merrie old England," having been born in the
town of Barwick-in-Elmet, Yorkshire, on the
27th of October, 1870, and being a son of George
and Sarah (Dyson) Sparling, who were born
and reared in the same locality. The father and
the subject came to America in 1883, and reached
Spink county. South Dakota, in April of the
same year, where they remained about two years
and then removed to Potter count}-, where the
father of the subject was engaged in fanning un-
til 188-9, when he removed to Gettysburg and en-
gaged in the hardware business. In 1894 he re-
moved to Bowdle, Edmunds county. South Da-
kota, and in 1899 he took up his abode in Mar-
shall, Minnesota, where he has since devoted his
attention to the implement business. The subject
received his early educational training in his na-
tive town and after coming to the United States
continued his studies in the public schools of
South Dakota, as opportunity permitted. He was
associated with his father in the general merchan-
dise and implement business until the spring of
1899, and thereafter he was engaged in the im-
plement business in Bowdle, Edmunds county,
tliis state, until the spring of 1903, when he be-
came associated with his father-in-law, Mr. Clark,
in the mercantile business in Gettj'sburg, as noted
in the initial paragraph of this article. He is in-
dependent in politics and has attained the thirty-
second degree in Scottish-rite Masonry, being
identified with the consistory at Aberdeen, and
with the temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of
the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Sioux Falls,
while he also holds membership in the Knights of
Pythias, the Ancient Order of United Workmen
and the Modern Woodmen of America.

On the 6th of I\Iay. 1896, Mr. Sparling

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

wedded Aliss Maud C. Clark, daughter of James
B. Clark, of Gettysburg;, and they are prominent
ill the social circles of their home town, enjoying
marked popularity in the community.

SAMUEL WOi )DARD COSAXD. a rep-
resentative citizen of Potter county, was born on
a farm in Boone county, Indiana, on the 27th of
June, 1843, being a son of Samuel and Mary
Cosand. The father was born in North Carolina.
The iiriginal progenitor of the Cosand family
in America was the great-grandfather of the sub-
ject, who was born and reared in France and
who was one of the valiant soldiers who ac-
companied General Lafayette when he came to
this country to assist the struggling colonists in
their war for independence. He continued to
serve under the noble general mentioned until
victory had crowned the colonial arms, and then
located in North Carolina, where a grateful
government presented him with a large grant of
land. The father of our subject was reared to
manhood in his native state, where he continued
to make his home until 1820, when he came west
to Indiana, making the trip with a team and small
wagon and thus conveying all of his worldly ef-
fects. He was one of the pioneers of Boone
county, where he reclaimed a farm in the midst
of the sylvan wilderness, and there he and his
devoted wife passed the remainder of their lives,
the father passing away on June 6, 1863. and the
mother on April 16, 1876. The eldest _son,
Robert, served as a soldier in an Indiana regiment
during the war of the Rebellion, and is now living
in Indiana.

The subject of this sketch was reared on the
pioneer homestead in Indiana, early becoming
inured to hard work, while his educational ad-
vantages in his youth were necessarily somewhat
limited. Alert in his mentality and apprecia-
tive of the value of knowledge, this deprivation
did not constitute a serious handicap, and through
strenuous personal effort and application he
rounded out in due time what may well be desig-
nated as a liberal education. On the i6th of Julv,
1862, at the age of nineteen years, Mr. Cosand

signalized his intrinsic loyalty and patriotism by
enlisting as a private in Company D, Seventy-sec-
ond Indiana Mounted Infantry, commanded by
Colonel A. O. Miller. He was mustered in at
Indianapolis and thence proceeded with his regi-
ment to Louisville, Kentucky, where they were
assigned to Wilder's brigade, in the Army of
the Cumlierland. They were sent to Tennessee
and soon led the advance against General Bragg,
through Hoover's Gap, where they had a severe
engagement, being attacked, just after passing
through the gap, by Hardy's entire corps. This
was the first occasion during the war that the
new Spencer rifles were brought into active
service, and they proved disastrous to the enemy,
the four regiments holding their position until the
regular infantry came up to reinforce them, the
same night, and each man had fired three hundred
rounds in the engagement. The regiment con-
tinued to serve under General Thomas until after
the battle of Jonesburg, having taken part in the
battle of Chickamauga, where has recently been
created a handsome monument in memory of
the brigade of which the subject was a member.
After the battle of Nashville they were organ-
ized into a cavalry corps and placed in the com-
mand of General Wilson, under whom thev
served in Georgia, having a number of spirited
engagements. With the others of his regiment,
Mr. Cosand was honorably discharged, on the 6th
of July, 1865. He then returned to Indiana,
where he remained a brief interval, after which
he went to Iowa, where he engaged in teaching
school, and also in farming and dealing in live
stock. In 1870 he returned to Indiana, having
in the meanwhile made a careful and compre-
hensive study of the law, and he was admitted to
the bar of his native state, after which he located
in Warsaw, Indiana, where he was engaged in
the practice of his profession until 1879, when
he located in Burlington Junction, Missouri,
where he was engaged in practice for two years,
after which he returned to Indiana, where he
remained until 1883, when he came to Potter
county. South Dakota, which was organized in
that year, and took up a tree claim of one hun-
\ dred and sixtv acres, and also filed on another

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

claim of one hundred and sixty acres. In 1885 he
was elected state's attorney of the county, being
the first incuntbent of the office in the county,
and holding the position two years, after which
he returned to his ranch, four miles south of
Gettysburg, where he continued to devote his at-
tention to farming and stock raising until March,
1894. In 1898 he served again as state's at-
torney, filling out the unexpired term of Mr.
Medbury, who died while in ofifice. In 1890 Mr.
Cosand was a candidate for attorney general of
the state, on an independent ticket, but met de-
feat with the rest of the ticket. In 1900 he was
again elected to the office of state's attorney, serv-
ing two years, since which time he has devoted
himself to the practice of his profession in Gettys-
burg and to the supervision of his fine ranch. His
farm, which is the original tree claim, is well im-
proved and under a high state of cultivation,
while he is also the owner of valuable realty in
Gettysburg, where he has maintained his home
since 1894. In politics he is an independent and
fraternally is identified with Meade Post, No. 32,
Grand Army of the Republic, and the Independ-
ent Order of Odd Fellows.

On the 15th of November, 1871, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Cosand to Miss Mary
J. Donnire, who was born and reared in Union
county, Indiana. She died on the 8th of August,
1882, and is survived by two children, Carl, who
is residing in Gettysburg, and Nellie, who is now
the wife of Grant M. Lambert, who is farming
six miles south of Gettysburg. On the isth of
November, 1883, the subject consummated a sec-
ond marriage, being then united to Miss Eliza-
beth Cisco, who ivas born in Shelby county, Ohio,
being a daughter of William and Percilla (Bow-
ersox) Cisco. This marriage was the first one
solemnized in Potter county.

MATTHEW OWENS, who has charge of
the business of tlie Trttle Lumlier Company at
Humboldt, Minnehaha county, claims as the
]ilace of his nativity the old Pine Tree state, hav-
ing lieen horn in Franklin countv, Maine, on the
5tli of June, 1832. and being a son of Thomas

and Abigail (Tarr) Owens, the former of whom
was born in Countv Wicklow, Ireland, while the
latter was born in Maine. The father of the sub-
ject was reared and educated in the Emerald Isle,
where he remained until he had attained the age
of twenty-three years, when he emigrated to
America, where he believed better opportunities
were afforded for the attaining of success through
individual effort. He located in the state of
Maine, where his marriage occurred, and in 1852
he removed thence with his family to \Visconsin,
becoming one of the pioneers of Lafayette county,
that state, where he continued to reside until 1864,
when he located in Wabasha county, ^Minnesota,
wdiere he continued to be identified with agricul-
tural pursuits until his death, his wife also pass-
ing the closing years of her life in said county.
Of their twelve children five are yet living, the
subject of this sketch having been the ninth in or-
der of birth.

Matthew Owens passed his boyhood days in
Wisconsin and Minnesota, where he secured
such educational advantages as were afiforded in
the public schools, in the meanwhile assisting
his father in the work of the farm. x\t the age of
twentv-one years he secured employment in a
hardware store at Plain View, Minnesota, and
there learned the tinner's trade, to which he gave
his attention until 1879, when he came to the pres-
ent state of South Dakota and cast in his lot with
its pioneers. He arrived at his destination on the
22d of July and shortly afterward filed entry u])-
on a homestead claim in Buft'alo township, Min-
nehaha county, retaining the property in his pos-
session for two years and then exchanging the
same for a farm about a mile distant from the
same. There he continued to be engaged in farm-
ing and stock growing for the ensuing two
years, at the expiration of which he removed to
Madison, Lake county, where he followed the
work of his trade for the following four years,
within which time he assisted in the erection of
the normal school building and other large struc-
tures. He thereafter devoted his attention to the
cultivation of his farm until 1891, when he took
up his residence in Afnntrose, McCook county,
and there engaged in the hardware business. In

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the following year he sold his farm, and in De-
cember, i8q3, his hardware establishment was de-
stroyed b\- fire, entailing practically a total loss,
with no insurance indemnity, and under these ad-
verse conditions he found it expedient to again
resume work at his trade, which he there followed
for two years. In i8g8 Mr. Owens came to Hum-
lie dilt and accepted his present position in charge
of the local interest of the Tuttle Lumber Com-
[Kuiy, in which connection he has accom-
plished an excellent work in extending the
scope of the business, while he is also a
stockholilcr in the Farmers' liank and the
owner of good town property. In politics
Mr. Owens is arrayed in suppo-t of the principles
of the Po])ulist party, and he has shown a deep
interest in public affairs and in the furthering of
the cause of his party. He has held various town-
ship and school offices, and in 1890 was candidate
I in the independent ticket for representative of his
district, making a spirited canvass, but meeting
defeat with the remainder of the ticket. He is
identified in a fraternal way with the local lodge
of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and
also with that of the Ancient Order of I'nited
Workmen.

On the 13th of October, 1875. in Minnesota.
;\tr. Owens was united in marriage to Miss Au-
gusta Fricke, who was born in the state of New
Ynrk, of stanch German lineage, and of their
children we enter the following brief record :
Earl ( i. died at the age of nine years ; Mabel I.
completeil her education in a normal school at
Winona, Minnesota, and is now a successful
teacher in the public schools of Minneapolis,
Alinnesota; Alfred E., who was born in the orig-
inal sod house built by his father on section 3,
Buffalo townshi]), on the 30th of December, 1880,
a winter memorable in the annals of the state by
reason of its extreme severity, was a young man
of fine character and marked ability, and a most
promising life was cut short by his death, at
Lead, in the Black Hills, on the 22d of March,
1904: Mattie was graduated in the state normal
school in Madison, as a member of the class of
1904, and remains at the parental home, as do
also the vounger daughters, Annie and Minnie.

THOMAS H. AYRES, president of the Gas
Belt Land and Abstract Company, with head-
quarters at Pierre, was born on a farm four miles
from Akron, Summit county, Ohio, on the 3d of
October, 1865, and is a son of Homer C. and
Emma T. ( Fessenden) Ayres, who removed to
Osceola, Iowa, wdien he was a child. There the
subject attended the public schools until he had
attained the age of fifteen years, and his further
discipline was secured under those conditions
which have been consistently designated as oflfer-
ing the advantages of a liberal education, that is,
he thoroughly learned the printer's trade. In
1884, at the age of eighteen years, he came to the
territory of Dakota, and began the publication
of a paper known as Plain Talk, in Vermillion,
Clay county, continuing its publication until 1891
and making it a potent factor in local and political
affairs. He then went to North Dakota and as-
sumed the editorial management of the North
Dakota Independent, at Grand Forks, the same
being the official organ of the Farmers' Alliance
of the state. During the. campaign of 1892 he
was secretary of the Populist state central com-
mittee of North Dakota, Governor Shortridge and
the other candidates on the fusion state ticket
being elected. He was later associated with W.
R. Bierly in the publication of the Daily Grand
Forks News, but in 1893 returned to Vermillion
and resumed the publication of Plain Talk, being
thus engaged until August. 1901, when he sold
the plant and business to W. R. Colvin, the pres-
ent owner and publisher. On the 12th of Janu-
ary, 1897. Mr. Ayres was appointed secretary
to Governor A. E. Lee and retained this incum-
bency during that executive's two terms. In
1900 he did special newspaper work during the
session of the legislature, and in July, 1 90 1, he
here engaged in the real-estate business, in which
he individually continued operations until De-
cember, 1 901, when he associated himself with
John I. Newell in the organization of the Gas
Belt Land and Abstract Company, which is in-
corporated for 'ten thousand dollars and which
already controls a large and important business
and which is exerting distinctive influence in fur-
thering the progress of this section of the state.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Mr. Ayres having been president of the company
from the time of its inception. In February,
1903, he was chosen a member of the Pierre capi-
tal committee and is taking a most active inter-
est in the work of the committee in connection
with strenuously maintaining the claims of Pierre
against other towns which are striving to wrest
the capital from the city. Fraternally he is iden-
tified with the Knights of Pythias.

In Sioux City, Iowa, on the nth of June,
1892, Mr. Ayres was united in marriage to Miss
Cora Kelsey Smith, who was at the time a teacher
in the public schools and who was born in Flor-
ence, \"ermont. They have four children, Clara,
Fanny. Homer and Rollin.

ARTHL^R LINN came to the territory of
Dakota in December, 1869, locating at Yank-
ton. In January. 1870, he purchased the Union
and Dakotian, the only paper at the capital and
the first paper issued in the territory. He took
an active part in territorial affairs, political and
otherwise, and was elected chairman of the Re-
publican county committee in 1870, and took a
leading part in the campaigns of 1870, 1872, 1874
and 1876. His first newspaper experience was
gained in the editorial rooms of Harper's Weekly
■ in 1858, when a boy. The editor of Harper's
Weekly in 1858 was John Bonner, a warm friend
of Mr. Linn, and he offered him a position, which
was accepted. He remained in Harper's until
the summer of i860, going to the editorial rooms
of the New York Herald, then under the per-
sonal management of the elder Bennett, with
Fredric Hudson as editor in chief. During Mr.
Linn's connection with Harper's Weekly he met
nearly all the prominent people of the nation, in-
cluding Edward Everett, Stephen A. Douglas,
Alexander FI. Stephens, of Georgia, the blind
preacher, Mr. Milburn, ex-President Fillmore,
General Thonins. Francis Meagher, and all the
prominent literary men and women of that time.

When tlie echoes of rebellion rolled up from
Charleston. Mr. Linn was with the Herald, and
had the honor of climbing the flagstaff on the
old riLTald hnilding, corner of Nassau and Ful-

ton streets, and raising the first American flag
put up over any newspaper building in New
York City. After the news came that Sumter
had fallen, a patriotic mob composed of thou-
sands visited every newspaper office in the city
the next day and compelled every one of them
to purchase a flag and show their colors. The
raising of the flag over the Herald office on the
afternoon of April 14, 1861, saved that office from
the demonstrations which followed.

On August 23, 1861, Mr. Linn enlisted and

became a member of Company H, Tenth New
York National Zouaves, and joined the regiment
at Fortress Monroe. It is not material to this
sketch how old Linn was when he enlisted,
but as a matter of record it may be stated that he
was just fourteen years and eight months old
when he donned his zouave uniform in New
York city, but the recruiting officer was made
to believe that he was eighteen, or he could not
have become a soldier. He served three years
in the Army of the Potomac, and was on guard
on the beach at Fortress Monroe the night the
"^Monitor" arrived from New York and clnl-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

lenged Lieutenant Worden and his boat as he was
seeking a pilot so that he could go to the relief of
the frigate "Minnesota," which ran into a sand
bar while going to the relief of the "Cumberland"
and "Congress," which were destroyed by the
"Merrimac" in the fatal encounter March 8, 1862.
He took part in the capture of Norfolk, Virginia,
May 10, 1862, which resulted in the destruction
of the "Merrimac," and Linn saw her burn and
then blow up in the night, after the Union troops
had captured Norfolk and Portsmouth. From
Norfolk his regiment was ordered to join General
McQellan's army in front of Richmond, and his
regiment was one of the first to meet the on-
slauglit of Hill's corps at Mechanicsville, which
opened the seven-days fight in front of the rebel
capital. After the bloody campaign his regi-
ment was sent to Washington, along with the
Army of the Potomac, and took part in the
bloody battles which stayed Lee's advance against
Washington, and again marched to meet Lee at
Antietam and again at Gettysburg.

;\Ir. Linn was mustered out at Norfolk, Vir-
ginia, August 23, 1864, and was offered a posi-
tion with the field staff of the New York Herald,
with headquarters at City Point, and the Herald
was the only paper that had headquarters within
the sacred circle which surrounded General
Grant at City Point during the siege of Peters-
burg. In the fall of 1865 Linn returned to New
York, and in ^larch, 1866, left for Iowa to visit
relatives at Charles Cit}-, and, strange as it may
seem, he had not visited his old home on Staten
Island, below the city, until February. 1904, when
he was a guest of President Hill to witness the
launching of the great steamship "Dakota," at
New London, Connecticut, February 6th. After
the launching he visited the scenes of his boy-
hood in New York, Brooklyn and Staten Island,
and returned to his home at Canton, South Da-
kota, better satisfied with his home and state
than ever before.

During the summer of 1872 Mr. Linn made a
visit to Spotted Tail's hostile camp, half way
between the Missouri river and the Black Hills,
and while on that trip was shown a bag of gold
by old James Bordeau, which he easily proved

came from the Black Hills. On Mr. Linn's re-
turn to Yankton he published a full account of
the matter, with such proof as to convince all
that there was plenty of gold in the Hills, and
from that time the excitement grew and continued
to develop until finally the white man had driven
the Indians out and the great stampede of 1876
began. Linn's account was the first evidence of
the great wealth of the Hills, and in 1873 the
famous Collins expedition was organized at Sioux
City, which was stopped by General Hancock.
In 1874 General Custer was sent into the Hills to
explore the country and Linn's account was found
to be correct. In 1875 a few daring gold hunters
got into the Hills, but the Indians and soldiers
drove them out. In 1876 a stampede began which
the Indians were powerless to stop, and the his-
tory of the famous Deadwood gulch began. In
1897 Arthur Linn was appointed commandant of
the South Dakota Soldiers' Home and remained
in command until May, 1901, when his successor
was chosen. Mr. Linn returned to Canton and
again took charge of his paper which had been
in charge of his son Arthur during his absence,
and he says he expects to remain in the editorial
harness for the balance of his active life, and con-
tinue to promote the best interests of the state
which he has done so much for. He was secre-
tary of the territorial council during the session
of 1874-75, but declined a second term in 1876-7.

Mr. Linn is a thirty-second-degree Mason
and a member of Consistory No. i, of Yankton,
and is also a Knight Templar. He is the editor
and proprietor of the Dakota Farmers' Leader at
Canton and owns one of the best printing plants
in the state.

On June 7, 1870, Mr. Linn married Etta
Brown, daughter of Colonel and Mrs. E. M.
Brown, of Montpelier, Vermont. Three children
came to bless their home, but only one remains,
Horence Jean Etta, born November 24, 1890.
The eldest son, Arthur Edward, bom May 8,
1876, died January 21, 1901. Alexander, born
November 24, 1880, died May 18, 1895.

Mr. Linn is a member of the Methodist
church, and the oldest newspaper editor in the
state. He has seen Dakota grow from fourteen

1424

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

thousand people in 1870. to nearly five hundred
thousand in 1904, and expects to see a popula-
tion of one million before he retires from the ac-
tive management of the Leader.

GEORGE \V. BURNSIDE, the able chief
executive of the municipal government of the
beautiful city of Sioux Falls, is one of the repre-
sentative business men of the place and a pro-
gressive and public-spirited citizen. Sioux Falls
owes to hini a perpetual debt of gratitude and
approval for what he has accomplished in her
behalf, and as mayor of the city his course has
been that of a broad-minded, liberal and inde-
pendent executive, — one whose policy has been
dictated by consummate tact and good judg-
ment.

George Washington Burnside was bom in
Delaware county. New York, on the 3d of No-
vember, 1858, being a .son of Thomas and Mary
(Walley) Burnside, the former of whom died in
August, 1892, while the latter was summoned
into eternal rest in June, 1902, the father having
been a carpenter by trade and vocation. The
subject received limited educational advantages,
having attended the public schools of his native
count}- during his boyhood, while he was a
student in night schools in Iowa for a short
time. At the age of thirteen years Mr. Burnside
left the parental roof and went to Linn county,
Iowa, where he lived in the home of his uncle
for the ensuing two years, at the expiration of
which, when fifteen years of age, he located in
Cedar Rapids, that county, and initiated his in-
dependent career. He there learned the mason's
trade, becoming a skilled artisan in the line, and
he continued to follow his trade in Iowa until
1883. on the 28th of April of which year he ar-
rived in Sioux Falls, where he established him-
self in business as a contractor and builder, con-
tinuing operations in this line for the ensuing
three years. In 1888 he established himself in
the omnibus and general transfer business, and
in the following year also added a livery depart-
ment to his enterprise, while another feature of
the business was the undertaking department, the

equipment being of the best throughout. His
became the leading concern of the sort in the city
and he successfully continued operations until
August, 1903, when he disposed of the livery and
transfer business, still retaining the undertaking
branch, which he continues to conduct. Mr.
Burnside was one of the promoters and or-
ganizers of the Citizens' Telephone Company,
which was incorporated on the ist of January,
1902. and which inaugurated business in July of
the following year, with a thoroughly complete
and modern plant. He was made vice-president
of the company at the time of its organization,
and in September, 1903, was chosen general
manager, of which office he has since been in-
cumbent, giving his attention to the duties in-
volved and also to the superintendence of his un-
dertaking business.

In the spring of 1886 Mr. Burnside was
elected city marshal, serving two years. In 1893
he was elected to represent the fifth ward on the
board of aldermen, being retained in this posi-
tion five successive terms and making a most
creditable official record. In i8g8 he was the
Republican nominee for the mayoralty and was
defeated by only ten votes, and in 1900 he again
became the nominee of his party for this office
and was victorious at the polls, giving so able an
administration as to gain to him distinctive
popular confidence and endorsement, as was
shown in his re-election as his own successor
in 1902, the consensus of opinion being that the
city has never had a more discriminating, in-
dependent, conscientious and public-spirited
executive. It was in natural sequence that he
should receive the nomination of his party for a
third term, on the 12th of April, 1904, and in
the ensuing election he again demonstrated his
hold upon popular confidence and esteem, the re-
sult being his re-election by about six hundred
majority. It should be noted in this connection
that he has been from the start an uncompromis-
ing advocate of the municipal ownership of such
public utilities as the water-works and the electric
lighting system, and it is principally due to his
indefatigable efforts that Sioux Falls now con-
trols both its fine water and electric systems, the

GEORGE W. BURNSIDE.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

water-works being practically completed at the
time of this writing. Through this system will
be afforded the city a far superior supply of water
than that given by the old system, controlled by
eastern capital. While he met with much op-
]30sition in his plans for the installing of the
new plant, he had the courage of his convictions
and the determined spirit which enabled him to
bring them to consummation, and citizens in
general will have cause to commend him for his
action for many years to come. The original
water company was bonded for fnur lunidred
and thirt)' thousand dollars, while the cit\' has
installed a much better plant at a cost of only
two hundred and ten thousand dollars. Under
Mayor Burnside's administration the city also put
in its own electric-lighting plant, which is modern
in all respects and gives the best of service at
a minimum cost, while he has infused vitality and
business-like methods into all other departments
of tlie municipal service, keeping all details under
his |iersonal attention and sparing neither time
nor effort in his labors to protect and promote the
general welfare. He is known as a most liberal
and unostentatious supporter of charitable ob-
jects and enterprises, and in these lines his aid
and influence are ever freelv and graciouslv
given.

In politics Mr. Rurnside was affiliated with
the Democracy until 1896, when he gave his sup-
port to the late lamented President McKinley,
and since that time he has given a stanch al-
legiance to the Republican partv, in whose cause
he is a most zealous and enthusiastic worker.
Fraternally the Mavor is identified with Min-
nehaha Lodge, No. 5, Ancient Free and Accepted
j\Iasons ; Sioux Falls Chapter, No. 2, Royal Arch
IMasons; and Cyrene Commandery, No. 2,
■Knights Templar. He is one of the prominent
and influential members of the time-honored
fraternity in the state, and is past grand com-
mander of the grand commandery of Knights
Templar of South Dakota. He is a charter
member of El Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic
Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and
of Sioux Falls Lodge. No. 262, Benevolent and
Protective O^der of Elks.

On the 17th of November, 1881, Mr. Burn-
side was united in marriage to Aliss .\nnie E.
Reed, of \"inton, Iowa, and they have three
children, Clarence Ambrose, May Reed and Elsie
Elizabeth.

PETER B. DIRKS, cashier of the Citizens'
State Bank at Oacoma, the first banking institu-
tion incorporated in Lyman county, was born in
Poland, on the 29th of September, 1869, being a
son of Benjamin and Agnes (Schartner) Dirks,
whose eleven children are all living. The parents
came with their children to the LInited States in
1885, locating in Turner county. South Dakota,
and there the father and mother still maintain
their home.

Peter B. Dirks acquired his early education
in the German schools of his native land, his par-
ents having been residents of that part of Poland
which is under German dominion, and he was
seventeen years of age at the time of the family
emigration to America. He remained at the pa-
rental home for two years after they located in
South Dakota and then secured a clerical position
in a general store at Marion Junction, Turner
county, where he was salesman for three years
and bookkeeper for the concern for the ensuing
four 3'ears, and the knowledge gained through
this practical experience has enabled him to at-
tain success and to be recognized as one of the
able and progressive young business men of his
adopted state. In 1893 Mr. Dirks came to Lyman
county and became associated with his brother
Isaac in establishing a general store at Dirks-
town. Our subject was made postmaster at this
point and the village which grew up about their
store was named in honor of the two brothers,
who were practically the founders of the town.
In connection with their mercantile enterprise
they became extensively interested in the live-
stock business, and soon gained a position of
prominence in connection with the industrial af-
fairs of this' favored section of the state. In 1896
Isaac Dirks was elected county auditor, and the
subject removed to Oacoma, the county seat,
where he assumed charge of the office, as deputy

1426

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

to his brother. In 1898 he was elected county
treasurer, serving one term and then withdrawing
from active politics to engage in the real-estate
loan business in company with his brother Isaac,
under the firm name of Dirks Brothers. Upon
him devolved the responsibility of supervising
this enterprise, while his brother continued to
have charge of their extensive ranching interests.
In 1902 the Citizens' State Bank was organized
and the subject was elected cashier of the same,
and in this capacity he has since given efficient
service, gaining to the institution a high standing
and marked popularity in this part of the county.
He is a stanch advocate of the principles of the
Republican party and is at the present time secre-
tani- of the county central committee. He was
the prime mover in organizing the Old Settlers'
Association of the county, of which he was presi-
dent for the first two years, since which time
he has served as secretary, having been one of
the leading spirits in the organization, which now
has about four lumdred members. He is secre-
tary of the Lyman Creamery Company, whose
plant, in Dirkstown, was completed in May, 1903.
He is also vice-president of the Bankers" Associ-
ation of Lyman county and is one of the repre-
sentative citizens of this section of the state.
Fraternally he holds membership in Chamber-
lain Lodge, No. 126, Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, and Chamberlain Lodge, No. 88, An-
cient Order of United Workmen, Mr, Dirks
is still a bachelor, and enjoys marked popularity
in business and social circles.

DA\ ID AlOORE, one of the sterling citizens
of Stanley county, and who was prominently con-
cerned in the organization of the county and also
of the present county seat, the city of Fort Pierre,
is a native of the state of Indiana, having been
born on a farm in Washington township, Qay
county, (-in the iSth of September, 1838, and be-
ing a son of Levi and Tndiann (Slaven) Moore,
the former of whom was born in Kentucky and
the latter in Indiana, while both were descended
from stanch old Irish stock. Mrs. Moore was
the first white rliild linni in the old fort at Terre

Haute, Indiana, during the war of 1812. The
Moore family was early established in America,
and the records show that the paternal grandpar-
ents and great-grandfather of the subject were
born in Pennsylvania, while the great-grandfa-
ther, tlie grandfather and two brothers of the
former were valiant soldiers in the Continental
line during the war of the Revolution, serving
during the greater portion of the time under
General Washington. The maternal great-
grandparents of the Judge were born in Ireland,
and the maternal grandfather was a soldier in the
war of 181 2. Levi and Indiann Moore continued
to reside in Indiana until about 1855, when they
removed to Tazewell county, Illinois, where they
passed the remainder of their long and useful
lives, having become the parents of nine chil-
dren, of whom five are now living, the subject
having been the third in order of birth. Levi
Moore devoted the greater portion of his life to
agricultural pursuits, and was a luan of strong
individuality and sterling integrity of character.
He died in 1886 and his wife in 1865.

David Moore was reared to the sturdy disci-
pline of the farm, and received his early educa-
tional training in the common schools of Indiana
and Illinois, having been seventeen years of age
at the time of his parents' removal to the latter
state. After his school days he continued to be
identified with farming until there came the call
to higher duty, as the integrity of the nation was
menaced by anued rebellion. On the ist of Au-
gust, 1862, at Bloomington, Illinois, he enlisted
as a private in Company H, Ninety-fourth Illi-
nois A'olunteer Infantry, being appointed fourth
sergeant of his company at the time of its organi-
zation, while on the ist of January, 1863, he was
promoted second lieutenant, which office he held
until January 5, 1864, when he was made cap-
tain of his company, serving as such until the
regiment was mustered out, at Galveston, Texas,
in July, 1865, while he received his honorable
discharge at Galveston, in July, 1865, His com-
mand was assigned to the Army of the Frontier
in 1863 and was assigned to the Department of
the Gulf and was in that department until the
end of the war, participating in many important

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1427

engagements, among the more notable of which
may be mentioned the following : Siege of Vicks-
burg, Yazoo City, siege and capture of Fort Mor-
gan, Alabama, Spanish Fort, Alabama, and other
severe battles.

After the close of his long a*nd faithful mili-
tary service Judge Moore returned to McLain
county, Illinois, where he resumed his active
identification with the great basic industry of ag-
riculture, to which, it may be said, he continued
to devote his attention until 1890. He first lo-
cated in Hand county in 1883, and in 1884 located
in Hyde county, where he took up a tract of one
hundred and sixty acres of government land and
engaged in farming. In April. 1887, he was ap-
pointed postmaster at Highmore, that county, and
remained incumbent of this position until April,
1889, in the meanwhile continuing to supervise
his farming interests. He resigned the office at
the time noted and removed to Fort Pierre,
where he aided in organizing Stanley county, in
1889, and the city of which he was a resident, in
the spring of 1890, being elected its first police
justice. It should be stated that he had held
various minor offices while a resident of McLain
county, and the appreciation of his ability in a
popular way has led to his being called to office
at all times, as he has never been an active seeker
of the same. In the general election of Novem-
ber, 1892, he was elected county judge of Stan-
ley county, serving two years, and in 1896 he
served as state's attorney of the count>', making
an excellent record as a public prosecutor. In
November, 1902, he was again elected to the
county bench, for a term of two years, so that he
is in tenure of this responsible position at the time
of this writing.

Judge Moore has ever been a stanch adherent
of the Democratic party, in whose cause he has
taken a lively interest at all times. He cast his
first presidential vote for Stephen A. Douglas,
in i860, and has voted for every Democratic pres-
idential candidate since that time with the excep-
tion of General George B. McQellan, in 1864,
having been denied the franchise at that time by
reason of being absent from home as a soldier.
Fraternallv he is affiliated with John .A.. Dix Post,

No. 30, Grand Army of the Republic, at High-
more, this state, and retains an abiding interest in
his old comrades in arms.

On the nth of October, 1867, Judge Moore
was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Low-
ery, who was bom in Jefferson county, Ohio,
on the 3d of February, 1840, being a daughter of
William and Martha Ann (McCoy) Lowery, and
the names of the children of Judge and Mrs.
Moore are as follows : Levi A., Laura A., John
W., Ethel M., Albert L., Alice B. and David L.
Laura Ann is the wife of J. F. Comstock, sub-
agent at the White Horse Indian camp. Mrs.
Comstock is field matron of the Cheyenne Indian
agency and is also past grand chief of the De-
gree of Honor of South Dakota. Ethel May is
the wife of F. W. Hungate, who is engaged in the
real-estate business. Alice Belle is the wife of
V. J. McGraw, a stockman of Ft. Pierre, South
Dakota.

ORVILLE W. THO:\IPSON, cashier of the
First National Bank of Vermillion, Clay county,
was born in the town of Vermillion, which is
still his home, on the 13th of November, 1871,
so that his boyhood days were passed under the
territorial regime. He is a son of that honored
pioneer, Myron D. Thompson, to whom specific
reference is made on another page of this vol-
ume, so that it is not necessary to recapitulate the
faniily history at this point. The subject secured
his fundamental educational training in the pub-
lic schools of his native town, having been gradu-
ated in the Vermillion high school as a member of
the class of 1887, while later he was matriculated
in the State University of South Dakota, at
Vermillion, where he completed the classical
course and was graduated in 1893, receiving the
degree of Bachelor of Arts. Shortly afterward
he became associated with his father in the grain
and lumber business, the latter having at the
time been a member of the firm of Thompson &
Lewis. In 1896 the title was changed to the
Thompson-Lewis Company, and two years later
the business was incorporated under the style of
the Thompson Lumber Company, the subject

1428

n STORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

having been vice-president of this company from
the time of its organization. In 1896 he was
elected cashier of the First National Bank of
\'enTiillion. and he has ever since retained this
incnmbency. proving himself one of the discrim-
inating and able young financiers of the state and
evincing an executive power which has done
much to further the prestige of the institution
mentioned. Mr. Thompson and his brother, Mar-
tin L., organized the Thompson Brothers Cattle
Company, of which he is president, and they con-
trol an extensive business, having a fine stock-
ranch of sixty-five thousand acres, in Potter
county.

In politics Mr. Thompson has been a stanch
advocate of the principles of the Republican
])arty from the time of attaining his legal ma-
jority, and he is one of the active and zealous
workers in its cause, being a member of the Re-
publican state central committee at the time of
this writing. He is a member of the Baptist
clnirch, and fraternally has attained the Knights
Templar degree in the Masonic order, being also
identified with the Ancient Arabic Order of the
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks.

FRANK W. WEBB, farmer and stock raiser
and ex-member of the South Dakota general as-
sembly, was born April 22, 1851, in Green Lake
county, Wisconsin, being the son of Erastus and
Jane Webb, the latter before her marriage having
borne the family name of Clute. These parents,
who were natives of New York, migrated to Wis-
consin in 1846 and lived in the latter state until
the year 1884, when they reinoved to Brown
county. South Dakota, where the father entered
land and developed a good farm on which he
spent the remainder of his days, departing this
life in the month of October, 1894.

Frank W. Webb spent his childhood in his
native county and attended the public schools
of the same at intervals until his sixteenth year.
At that age he went to Nevada where he spent
some time at farm work, was also emploved for
a period in a (|uartz mill and furnace, after which

he devoted his attention to different kinds of
manual labor, the meanwhile finishing his edu-
cational training in a normal school and giving
one year to teaching. On September 28. 1879,
he contracted a marriage with ]\Iiss Ellen Wil-
son and in the spring of the year following came
to Brown county. South Dakota, locating in .Ab-
erdeen township, of which he and a gentleman
by the name of C. F. Holms were the first settlers
west of Aberdeen. Mr. Webb took up land, built
a sod house and for several years lived the life of
a pioneer, experiencing the vicissitudes peculiar
I to this country in an early day. Two years after
1 his arrival the angel of death invaded his home
and took therefrom his faithful wife and the ten-
der, loving mother of his three young children.
Later, in January. 1884. he chose a second com-
panion in the person of Miss Penila Wilson, who
has borne him one child, a son by the name of
Rov W. The offspring by his first marriage,
three in number, are Sadie, Flossie aiid Frantic,
all at home and, with the other members of the
family, constituting a happy and contented do-
mestic circle.

Mr. Webb's career as a farmer has been cred-
itable in every -respect and he is today one of the
enterprising and successful men of the county,
owning a fine tract of lanil, and in addition
thereto his wife has a desirable place of four hun-
dred and eighty acres, which he also manages.
He raises abundant crops of grain, -which he
makes a specialty, and on his place may be seen
herds of fine Holstein cattle, also a number of
valuable blooded horses, while the splendid con-
dition of his home bespeaks the industry and deep
interest with which he prosecutes his labors. Mr.
Webb has been an active participant in political
and public affairs ever since becoming a resident
of Brown county, and in 1896 he was elected a
member of the state senate. He entered that
body as a Populist, served during the sessions of
1897-8 and became an influential factor in legis-
lative matters, as well as a party leader. During
his incumbency he was chairman of the commit-
tee on military affairs, also served in several other
important committees, besides taking a prominent
part in the general deliberations. When the great

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[429

political reform was inaugurated throughout the
west. Mr. Webb threw himself into the move-
ment and since then he has given his allegiance
and active support to the People's party. He has
held several local positions, spending twelve
vears as chaimian of the board of supervisors
for his township and eight years as township
clerk, and has also filled the office of school treas-
urer ever since the township organization went
into eiifect. During the early days of the Farm-
ers' Alliance he was active and influential in dis-
seminating its principles and organfzing local so-
cieties in diiTerent parts of the country, and he was
honored at one time by being elected president
of the organization in Brown county, the duties
of which position he discharged in an able man-
ner.

J. F. HALLADAY, editor and pr.iprictor of
the Iroquois Chief and a journalist and politician
of state repute, also present state auditor, is a ■
native of Kansas, born in the city of Topeka on
the 9th day of September, i860. Albert Halla-
(lay, the subject's father, a native of New York
and son of Cornelius and Priscilla Halladay, was
reared in Wisconsin, where his parents settled in
an early day, and at the age of twenty-one went
west, spending a number of years in Kansas, Ne-
braska and Colorado, before those states were
open for settlement. Later he came to Kings-
bury county. South Dakota, and engaged in fann-
ing and stock raising, to which he subsequently
added the livery business. He has now retired
from active business and is living at this time in
the town of Iroquois at the age of sixty-nine
years. Mary E. Thompson, wife of Albert Hal-
laday and mother of the subject of this review,
is also living, having reached the age of sixty-
four years. Of her three children, two are liv-
ing, J. F. and Qiarles, the 3-oungest of the num-
ber, a daughter by the name of Carrie, having
died in early childhood.

When J. F. Halladay was quite young his
parents moved to Nebraska and it was in the town
of Beatrice, that state, that he grew to manhood
and received his educational training. After at-

tending the public schools until his fourteenth
year, he entered the 1 ifticc of tlie Gage County
; Courier, with which paper and the Beatrice Ex-
j press he spent the ensuing seven years, the mean-
time acquiring efficiency as a typo, besides becom-
ing familiar with other branches of the printing
business. Leaving Nebraska in 1882. he came to
South Dakota and accepted a position on the
Huron Daily Times, which he held until some
time the following year, when he resigned and
began work on the Iroquois Herald, one of the
leading papers in -Kingsbury count}'. After two
or three years of active and effective service with
that journal, he became assistant cashier of the
Bank of Iroquois, but three years later resigned
his position and in 1888, in partnership with Karl
Gerner, he started the Iroquois Chief, the entire
interest of which he purchased in 1891, since
which time he has been sole owner of the plant
and editor of the paper. From the start the Chief
proved successful and so rapidly did it grow in
public favor that within the course of a few years
its neighbor, the Herald, was obliged to suspend
publication for lack of support. The Chief is a
neat, well-edited paper, designed to vibrate with
the public and under the able management of
Mr. Halladay it has become not only the leading
Republican organ of Kingsbur}- county but one
of the most influential political journals in South
Dakota. The present circulation is between eight
hundred and a thousand, which, with a liberal ad-
vertising patronage, returns handsome profits on
the capital invested, to say nothing of the lucra-
tive business the office does in the line of general
printing. Mr. Halladay is a terse, clear and
forceful writer, fearless in discussing the issues
of the day, and his able editorials have been influ-
ential in shaping the policy of the Republican
party in South Daokta, and promoting its suc-
cess in a number of campaigns. With a single
exception he has been a delegate to every state
convention within the last twenty-one years, and
his influence in these, as well as in local conven-
tions, has always been commanding by reason of
his ability as an organizer and leader.

'Mr. Halladay served as postmaster of Iro-
quois during President Harrison's administration,

I430

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

was re-appointed by President McKinley, and
held the office for a period of nine years, resign-
ing in July, 1903. In 1902 he was endorsed by
every Republican newspaper of South Dakota for
auditor of state, and when the convention con-
vened in July of that year he received the nomi-
nation by acclamation. His election followed as
a matter of course, and he is now filling the high
and responsible position with credit to himself
and to the entire satisfaction of the public. At
the Republican state convention held in May,
1904, he was re-nominated by acclamation for
state auditor, no other name being suggested.
Mr. Halladay served seven years as secretary of
the South Dakota Press Association and one year
as president, during which time the organization
thrived in its every department. He is interested
in the local telephone company and the Iroquois
State Bank, in both of which he is a stockholder
and director, and he is also a director in the Pub-
lishers' Mutual Insurance Company.

Mr. Halladay is a stanch and uncompromis-
ing Republican, and at no time during the great
Populist uprising throughout the west did he
swerve a hair's breadth from the time-honored
principles, but on the contrary, did yeoman serv-
ice personally and through the medium of his
paper in preserving the integrity of his party and
saving it from dissolution. His influence, al-
ways strong and forceful, was felt in ever\' part
of the state, and he continued the fight against
the popular fallacy until in due time its opposi-
tion began to give way and the triumph of true
Republican principles became assured.

Mr. Halladay owns one of the most beautiful
and attractive homes in Iroquois, the presiding
spirit of which is an estimable and refined lady to
whom he was united in the bonds of wedlock on
May 20, 1886. The maiden name of Mrs. Halla-
day was Carrie E. Hammond, daughter of Lewis
and Lucy Hammond, who were among the early
settlers of Kingsbury county, the father now a
retired farmer living in Iroquois. Mrs. Halla-
day attended Paxton College, Illinois, and has
borne her husband two children, Edna May and
Clinton Frank, aged fourteen and twelve years
respectively.

CHARLES LINCOLN MILLETT, presi-
dent of the Stockgrowers' Bank of Fort Pierre,
Stanley county, and treasurer of the Empire State
Cattle Company, was bom at Belfast, Allegany
county. New York, on the 9th of December, 1865,
and is a son of William and Jennie E. (Jagers)
Millett, the former of whom devoted his life to
agricultural pursuits, having been born in Bel-
fast, New York, which continues to be his home,
he having now attained the age of seventy-five
years, his wife being sixty-four years old at this
writing. The great-great-grandfather of the sub-
ject was Jonathan Millett, who resided at Pal-
myra, New York, as did also his son, Samuel, the
next in line of direct descent. Samuel married
Rachel Douglas on the 17th of February, 1799,
she having been a daughter of Samuel Douglas, of
Sterling, Connecticut, and a cousin of the late
Stephen A. Douglas, United States senator from
Illinois. The paternal grandfather of our sub-
ject was Milton Millett, who was born at Pal-
myra, New York, November 30, 1800. He mar-
ried Philura Sumner and they became pioneer
settlers at Belfast, Allegany county. His son Wil-
liam, father of the subject of this review, was
born at Belfast, New York, June 5, 1829, and
there both he and his wife still reside, honored
and revered by all who know them. Both are of
Scotch, English and Irish descent, and the Mil-
lett famil\- has been identified with the great
basic art of agriculture for generations. On the
maternal side the subject's great-grandmother
Jagers was a first cousin of the poet, Robert
Burns. Peter Jagers, the maternal grandfather,
was an expert stone mason by vocation and was
on the construction of some of the finest buildings
in New York city. He came from Yorkshire,
England, to America, about 1820, and his wife
was a niece of Daniel O'Connell, the Irish patriot.

Mr. Millett received his educational training
in the public schools of his native town, where
he partially completed a course in the high school,
withdrawing about four months prior to the time
when he would have graduated, in order to ac-
cept a position in the Bank of Belfast. He as-
sisted in the work of the homestead farm until he
had attained the age of nineteen years, save when

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

attending school, and was signally industrious
in both fields of application. In January, 1885,
he was tendered an unsalaried position as book-
keeper in the Bank of Belfast, and at the end of
the first year was presented with fifty dollars by
the bank and engaged for a second year at a
salary of ten dollars a month, the institution again
giving him an honorarium of fifty dollars at the
end of the second year. In March, 1887, he ac-
cepted a position with the Western Loan and
Trust Company, of Pierre, South Dakota,
whither he came direct from his native town.
In June of the same year he was sent to Parker,
this state, where he had charge of the company's
branch office while the regular manager was ab-
sent on a vacation. In July, 1887, he was assist-
ant cashier in the Traders' Bank, at East Pierre,
but still continued in the employ of the Western
Loan and Trust Company, with which he re-
mained as a valued executive until March i, 1890,
when he resigned his position and associated him-
self with S. S. Clough, of Pierre, and others and
organized the Stockgrowers' Bank of Fort Pierre
which initiated business operations the fol-
lowing month, with Mr. Clough as presi-
dent and Mr. Millett as cashier. In Janu-
ary, 1895, our subject was elected to the
presidency of the institution, of which ofiice he
has since remained incumbent, so that he has been
an executive of the same consecutively from the
time of its inception. In April, 1890, he re-
moved with his family to Fort Pierre, and in
February of the following year he associated him-
self with J. L. Keyes in purchasing from the
Traversee family their Indian rights to one hun-
dred and forty acres of land lying south of Bad
river and partly in the mile square in which the
town is included, this property having rapidly ap-
preciated in value, as it can not fail to continue to
do. Mr. Millett is a member of the directorate
of the Empire State Cattle Company, of which
he is treasurer, and he holds in the interest of the
same a five-years lease to nearly four hundred
thousand acres of the Cheyenne river Indian res-
ervation, the tract being utilized for the raising of
cattle. He is also a director of the National Bank
of Commerce, at Pierre. In politics Mr. Millett

is an uncompromising advocate of the principles
of the Republican party and is prominent in its
councils in the state, being at the present time a
member of the state central committee, as a repre-
sentative of Stanley county. He and his wife are
members of the First Baptist church in Pierre,
but for more than seven years he has held the
position of superintendent of the Sunday school
of the Congregational church in Fort Pierre,
there being no Baptist organization here.

On the 22d of September, 1887, at Belfast,
New York, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Millett to Miss Fanny Ford, daughter of John B.
and Martha Ford, of that place. Her paternal
grandfather, Treat Ford, was one of the pioneer
settlers of Belfast, that state, whither he came on
foot from Connecticut, there being no roads
through the forests at the time so that he was
compelled to make his way by following the trail
indicated by blazed trees. Mr. and Mrs. Mil-
lett have two children, Helen, who was born May
29, 1897, and Paul, who was born December 24,
1900.

CARTER P. SHERWOOD, journalist, busi-
ness man and official, was bom in Wliitehall,
Trempealeau county, Wisconsin, August 8, 1862,
His father, A. L. Sherwood, was a native of
New York, and his mother, who bore the maiden
name of Nancy P. Parsons, was born and reared
in the state of Pennsylvania. These parents were
married in the latter state, and some time there-
after moved to Dane county, Wisconsin, where
they lived on a farm several years, changing their
residence at the end of that time to the county of
Trempealeau. Mr. Sherwood continued agricul-
tural pursuits in the latter county until 1880,
when he came to Kingsbury county, subsequently
removing to Fairmount, Minnesota, where he now
resides.

In his youth Carter P. attended the district
schools of his native county, also the high school
at Whitehall, where he finished his education at
the age of eighteen. In 1877 he entered the of-
fice of the Whitehall Messenger to learn the print-
er's trade, and after spending two years at that

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

place and becoming proficient in his chosen call-
ing, accepted a position in the book department
of the State Journal at Madison, where he re-
mained until 1883. In that year he came to South
Dakota and took an interest in the Leader, pub-
lished at DeSmet, Kingsbury county, buying out
his partner two years later and becoming sole
proprietor of the paper. In 1891 the Leader was
consolidated with the News and under the latter
name the paper continues to make its periodical
visits to its numerous subscribers, having within
the last ten or twelve years become one of the
leading and influential local newspapers in the
eastern part of the state.

In addition to his successful career as a jour-
nalist. Mr. Sherwood since coming to Kingsbury
has been interested in various other lines of en-
deavor, notably among which being the DeSmet
Creamery, one of the largest and best conducted
enterprises of the kind in South Dakota. He was
a leading spirit in the organization of this con-
cern in 1895, since which time he has been its
manager and the success of the creamery is
largely due to his untiring efiforts and correct and
prompt business methods. Mr. Sherwood served
for a number of years as a member of the Na-
tional Butter-Makers' Association, and for a per-
iod of five years was secretary of the State Dairy
Association. He has also been prominent in the
local affairs of DeSmet, and, in addition to hold-
ing municipal offices, took an active part in or-
ganizing the Building and Loan Association of
the town, which he served ably and judiciously in
the capacity of secretary. He has always been
deeply interested in politics, and since attaining
his majority has never swerved in his allegiance
to the Republican party.

Mr. Sherwood, in February, 1901, was ap-
pointed state food and dairy commissioner, being
the first man in South Dakota to hold this impor-
tant and responsible office. So ably did he dis-
charge the duties of the position that he was re-
appointed, in February. 1903, and he now holds
the office with credit to himself and to the satis-
faction of all parties concerned. He is a member
of tlie .\ncient Order of United Workmen and
has filled all the chairs in the local lodge, besides

being sent at diflferent times to represent it in the
grand lodge.

The domestic life of Mr. Sherwood dates
from 1888, in April of which year he entered the
marriage relation with Miss Elgetha Masters,
of DeSmet, daughter of Samuel O. and Margaret
A. Masters, natives of New York. Mrs. Sher-
wood was educated in Corning, New Y'ork, and
after coming to South Dakota taught for four
years in the public schools of DeSmet ; she is now
the mother of three children, whose names are
Vincent, Reginald and Aubrey. The subject and
wife are' zealous and influential members of the
Firjt Baptist church of DeSmet, the fomier hav-
ing served the congregation as clerk and trustee,
the latter holding the office of treasurer at the
present time.

Mrs. Sherwood is also a member of the De-
gree of Honor, in which she has large influence,
having served the local lodge in various official
capacities. During 1902 and 1903 she was grand
chief of honor for the sta,te of South Dakota and
the latter year represented the order in the super-
ior lodge.

J. F. ADAPTS, editor and publisher of the
Leader, in the village of White, Brookings
ccnmty, is a native of Mankato, Blue Earth
county, jMinnesota, where he was born on the
9th of April, 1877, being a son of F. J. and Lena
(Kohl) Adams, of whom specific mention is
made on another page of this work, so that a re-
capitulation of the family history is not demanded
in this connection. The subject was a child of
about two and one-half years at the time of his
parents' removal from Minnesota to Brookings,
South Dakota, in 1880, and there he was reared
to maturity, having prosecuted his studies in the
public schools until he was eighteen years of age,
when he entered the office of the Brookings Press,
where he ser\'ed an apprenticeship at the "art
preservative of all arts," gaining an intimate
knowledge of the various details of the printing
business. Prior to identifying himself with his
present enterprise he worked at his trade in var-
ious towns in South Dakota, Wisconsin and Min-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1433

nesota, and in 1900 established the White Leader,
over whose destinies he has since presided, mak-
ing the paper an effective exponent of local in-
terests and also a local power in political and pub-
lic affairs, the policy of the paper being uncom-
promisingly Republican. The Leader is issued
on Friday of each week and is an eight-column
folio. The office is located in a two-story build-
ing, which is owned by Mr. Adams, and its
equipment is modern and complete, the job de-
partment having the best of facilities for turning
out all classes of work customarily handled in a
country office.

In politics Mr, Adams is a stalwart Republi-
can, and both in a personal way and through the
columns of his paper does what he can for the
promotion of the party cause. He is affiliated
with White Lodge, No. 3691, Modern Woodmen
of America, and is a member of the South Da-
kota Press Association, in which he takes a lively
interest. He and his wife are members of the
Daughters of Rebekah, auxiliary to the Odd Fel-
lows lodge, of which he is a member.

On the 2Sth of July, 1900, Mr. Adams was
united in marriage to Miss M. H. Halstead,
who was born in Mankato, Minnesota, being a
daughter of F. A. Halstead, now of Mankato.
She is a lady of culture and gracious presence
and has won a wide circle of friends in White,
being prominent in social and church affairs and
being a member of the Congregational church.
She has excellent literary taste and materially
assists her husband in his newspaper enterprise.

F. J- ADAMS, one of the successful business
men and honored citizens of White, Brookings
county, was born in Cologne, Germany, on the
2d of February, 1852, being a son of Joseph and
Elizabeth Adams, who emigrated to America in
1864, taking up their residence in New York
city, where he remained two years, the father of
the subject being there engaged in the bakery
business. In 1866 he removed with his family to
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he was employed
in a manufacturing establishment until 1871,
when he removed to Blue Earth county, Minne-

sota, and took up a tract of government land, near
Mankato, being one of the pioneers of that sec-
tion of the state and devoting the remainder of
his life to agricultural pursuits. His death oc-
curred on his home place, in 1900, while his
devoted wife passed away in 1886, both having
been communicants of the Catholic church.

The subject of this review was a lad of twelve
years at the time of the family emigration to
America, and his preliminary educational disci-
pline had been secured in the excellent schools
of the fatherland. He thereafter attended school
as opportunity afforded, and after coming to Min-
nesota he assisted in the reclamation and cultiva-
tion of the homestead farm until he had attained
the age of seventeen years, when he entered upon
an apprenticeship at the harnessmaking trade, in
Mankato, becoming in due time a skilled work-
man. In 1872 he went to the city of St. Paul,
where he was engaged in the work of his trade
for two years, after which he .returned to Man-
kota, where he continued in the work of his trade
until 1880, when he came to Brookings, South
Dakota, where, in company with his brother
Christ, he opened a harness shop, continuing to
be associated with the enterprise until 1887, when
he disposed of his interest to his brother and re-
moved to the village of White, in the same county,
where he has ever since maintained his home.
Here he established a harness shop and in the
intervening years has built up a good business.

In politics Mr. Adams has ever given an un-
qualified allegiance to the Republican party, and
he has been prominent as a worker in its ranks
since coming to South Dakota, having been a del-
egate to various party conventions and ever striv-
ing to promote the cause. He served for three
years as a member of the board of county com-
missioners, was a member of the board of alder-
men of Brookings for eight years, and has served
one term on the school board of the village of
White. He was reared in the faith of the Cath-
olic church, but is not identified with any relig-
ious body, being liberal and tolerant in his views.
Mr. Adams is one of the prominent and popular
members of the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows in the state, and at the time of this writing

1434

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

is an officer in the grand lodge of the order, to
which same he had previously been a delegate
many times. He is a member of the encampment
of the Odd Fellows and is also affiliated with the
Modern Woodmen of America. While a resi-
dent of Brookings he was for sixteen years presi-
dent and manager of the First Regimental Band
of that city, being an excellent musician. The
band accompanied the South Dakota editors on
their trip to the National Park, and also played
two weeks at the Columbian Exposition at Chi-
cago.

On the 30th of April, 1876, ^Ir. Adams was
united in marriage to Miss Lena Kohl, who was
bom in St. Paul, Minnesota, being a daughter of
John and Gertrude Kohl, both of whom were born
in Germany. To Mr. and ]\lrs. Adams have been
born seven children, all of whom are living ex-
cept one : J. F. is the subject of an individual
sketch appearing on another page of this volume ;
F. C. died at the age of nineteen years ; Gertrude
is a teacher in the public schools of Brookings
countv: and Cornelius. Walter, Louise and An-
thony remain at the parental home.

R. H. HOLDEN, of White, Brookings
county, is a native of the Badger state, having
been born in Sparta, Monroe county, Wisconsin,
on the 26th of November, 1874, and being a son
of Nelson H. and Nettie H. (Stewart) Holden,
both of whom were born and reared in the state
of New York, where their marriage was solem-
nized. The father of the subject read law for
some time and continued to make his home in the
old Empire state until the latter part of i860,
when he removed to Sparta, Wisconsin, where he
was for some time a popular teacher in the public
schools, eventually becoming superintendent of
schools in Monroe county-. In the spring of 1879
he came with his family to .South Dakota and lo-
cated on a homestead claim, in Sherman township,
Brookings county, being numbered among the
first settlers in this section. He continued to re-
side on this farm for eight years, in the mean-
while accumulating other tracts of land and be-
coming one of the prosperous farmers of the

county. In 1886 he established himself in the
banking business in White, opening what was
known as the Citizens' Exchange Bank, of whose
stock he was the sole owner. In 1898 he reor-
ganized the institution under the name of the
Bank of White, and in 1901 it was incorporated
as the F'armers' State Bank of Wliite, and con-
verted into the Fanners' National Bank of White,
in 1904, he being one of the largest stockholders.
He is now a director of the bank and is one of
the town's most influential and honored citizens.
Of his eight children we enter the following brief
record : Almond N. is a teacher in the state
school for the deaf and dumb ifi San Francisco;
Mabel is the wife of Arthur H. Kenyon, a suc-
cessful lawyer of Spokane, Washington ; Nellie
is the wife of Dr. Henry H. Clark, who is en-
gaged in the practice of his profession in Water-
town, South Dakota ; Ralph H. is the immediate
subject of this sketch ; Florence is the wife of
Delbert E. Wood, assistant postmaster at Pipe-
stone, Minnesota ; and Pearl, Patience and Netta
still remain at the parental home.

The subject of this sketch was a lad of five
years at the time of his parents' removal to South
Dakota, and he was reared to the age of fourteen
years on the homestead farm in Brookings
county, in the meanwhile attending the district
schools. After the family located in White he
entered the public schools, being graduated in
the high school as a member of the class of 1892.
In the following spring he entered the Northern
Indiana Normal School and Business University,
at Valparaiso, Indiana, where he was graduated
in 1895, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts.
He then went to the city of Spokane, Washing-
ton, where he began reading law in the office of
his brother-in-law, Mr. Kenyon. In October of
the following year he returned to White and en-
tered his father's bank, being made cashier at the
time of the first reorganization, in 1898, while
upon tlie second reorganization, under the pres-
ent title, he became a stockholder in the institu-
tion, in which he acted as assistant cashier until
April. 1902, when he was elected to his present of-
fice of cashier. He has shown marked discrimin-
ation and administrative ability and lias handled

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOT7\.

1435

executive duties to the full satisfaction of all
concerned. He is the owner of a section of val-
uable land, located in Oaklake and Sherman
townships and also of two or three residence prop-
erties in White, having accumulated about fifteen
thousand dollars since leaving school and being
one of the progressive and public-spirited young
business men of the state which has been his
home from his boyhood days. In politics Mr.
Holden gives an uncompromising allegiance to
the Republican party, in whose local ranks he
has been an active and valued worker, having
been a member of the county central committee
since 1898 and having been a delegate to several
of the state conventions of his party, as well as
to the minor conventions. Fraternally he is af-
filiated with ^\'ashington Lodge, No. iii, An-
cient Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is
master at the time of this writing.

On the 3d of July, 1902, was solemnized the
marriage of ]\Ir. Holden to Miss Grace A. West,
a daughter of Frank H. West, a prominent citi-
zen of White, and she was summoned into eternal
rest only a few months later, her death occurring
on the 20th of the followin<r November.

AUBREY LAWRENCE, a member of the
well-known law firm of Hall, Lawrence & Rod-
die, of Brookings, was born in Mineral Point,
Wisconsin, on the 13th of June, 1870, and is a
son of Philip and Matilda H. (Wilkinson) Law-
rence, the former of whom was born in Corn-
wall, England, while the latter was born in York-
shire. The father of the subject came to Amer-
ica in 1845 and settled in the town of Mineral
Point, Wisconsin, where he served for a number
of years as postmaster, while he also conducted a
book and stationery store, becoming one of the
prominent citizens of the town. He finally re-
moved to Elkader, Iowa, where he became man-
ager of the Clayton Count>- Journal, and later
he removed to the city of Milwaukee, where he
maintained his home until 1879, when he came
as a pioneer to South Dakota, locating in Arling-
ton, Kingsbury county, where he established him-
self in the general merchandise business, in which

he there continued until 1887, when he removed
to DeSmet, the capital of that county, where he
held the position of cashier of the First National
Bank for a number of years. He was clerk of
the courts of that county for two terms and also
served two terms as judge of probate, while later
he was deputy state auditor for four years and as-
sistant secretary of state for an equal length of
time. In 1901 he took up his residence in Huron,
Beadle county, where he and his wife have since
maintained their home and where he is promin-
ently engaged in the real-estate business. Of his
two children the subject is the younger, the other,
Lulu, having died at the age of eight years. The
father of the subject tendered his service in de-
fense of the Union at the outbreak of the Re-
bellion, enlisting, in 1861, as a member of the
Second ^^'isconsin Volunteer Infantry. He was
severely wounded in the first battle of Bull Run,
but re-enlisted in 1863, and continued in service
until the close of the war, having been mustered
out as first lieutenant of his company. He is one
of the prominent and popular members of the
Grand Army of the Republic in South Dakota,
and served one term as commander of the order
for the state.

Aubrey Lawrence secured his initial educa-
tional training in the public schools of Elkader,
Iowa, which he attended one year, after which
he passed a similar period in the schools of Mil-
waukee, Wisconsin, whither the familv had re-
moved. He was nine years of age at the time of
his parents' removal to Arlington, South Dakota,
and there he prosecuted the work of the public
schools until 1884, when he was matriculated in
the State Agricultural College, at Brookings,
where he completed a four-years course, being
graduated as a member of the class of 1888, with
honors, and receiving the degree of Bachelor of
Science. During the time he w-as in college he
also devoted considerable attention to the reading
of law, having as his preceptor J. O. Andrews, of
Brookings, and after leaving college he went to
DeSmet and there entered the ofiice of James F.
Watson, with whom he continued his technical
reading until 1889, when he was admitted to the
bar, at Brookings. Thereafter he was for a short

1436

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

time associated in practice with his former pre-
ceptor, Mr. Watson, after which he removed to
Sumas City, Washington, in 1890, and there con-
tinued the practice of his profession until 1894.
In 1 89 1 he was appointed United States court
commissioner for the northern district of Wash-
ington, and at the age of twenty-one years was
elected mayor of Sumas City, serving three terms.
In 1894 he removed to New Whatcom, Washing-
ton, where he was engaged in practice until 1896,
becoming one of the leading lawyers of that sec-
tion of the state, and also being secretary of the
Republican county central committee for two
rears. In May, 1896, Mr. Lawrence returned to
South Dakota and located in Castlewood, Hamlin
county, where he engaged in practice, while from
1898 until 1900 he was acting state's attorney of
the county, being elected to the office in the latter
vear. without opposition, while he was re-elected
in 1902. May i, 1903, he resigned the office
and came to Brookings, where he entered into a
professional partnership with Messrs. Philo Hall
and W. H. Roddle, with whom he has since been
associated in practice, under the firm name noted
in the opening paragraph of this article. In poli-
tics he has ever accorded a stanch allegiance to
the Republican party, and has been active in pro-
moting its cause. He was secretary of the Re-
publican central committee of Hamlin county in
1896 and 1898, and was also president of the
McKinley Club of Castlewood during the cam-
paign of 1896. Fraternally he is identified with
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the
Modern Woodmen of America.

On the 1 2th of November, 1890, Mr. Law-
rence was united in marriage to Miss Laura Rem-
ington, who was born in Mansion, Wisconsin, be-
ing a daughter of Captain William N. Reming-
ton, who served throughout the war of the Re-
bellion, having been captain of his company in
the Sixth Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteer In-
fantry. In 1880 the Captain camp with his fam-
ily to DeSmet, South Dakota, where his wife still
resides, Mr. Remington having died in 1886.
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence have one child, Raymond
Aubrey, who was born on the 20th of March,
1892.

NIELS EBBESEN HANSEN, professor of
horticulture in the South Dakota Agricultural
College, at Brookings, and horticulturist at the
government experiment station, was born near
Ribe, Denmark, on the 4th of January, 1866, be-
ing the youngest child and only son of Andrew
and Bodil (Midtgaardt) Hansen. The family
came to America in the autumn of 1873, and the
first three years were passed in the states of New
York and New Jersey. The father was a fresco
artist, of sturdy Danish farmer ancestry. In 1876
they removed to Des iMoines, Iowa, in whose
public schools the subject prosecuted his educa-
tional work, having entered the high school in
East Des Moines in 1879 'i"^ having there been
a student for two years. Something over two
and one-half years were spent as assistant in the
office of the secretary of state under appointment
of Hon. J. A. T. Hull, of Des Moines, while sec-
retary, beginning in the fall of 1881, which helped
in preparations for college. In 1887 he was grad-
uated in the Iowa Agricultural College, at Ames,
and during his collegiate course he made a spec-
ialty of study and investigation and experimenta-
tion in horticulture, under Professor J. L. Budd,
who attained national distinction and reputation
through his efifective efiforts in introducing Rus-
sian fruits, trees and shrubs and in originating-
new varieties of fruit. The four years immedi-
ately succeeding his graduation Professor Han-
sen spent in practical work in two of the leading"
commercial nurseries of Iowa, at Atlantic and
Des Moines, respectively, and he resigned his po-
sition in this connection in the autumn of 1891,
when he returned to his alma mater, the Iowa
Agricultural College, where he became assistant
professor of horticulture under Professor Budd,
remaining thus engaged for four years and then
resigning to accept his present position, in Sep-
tember, 1895. Four months of the summer and
autumn of 1894 were devoted to a study of hor-
ticulture in eight countries of Europe, including
Germany, Russia, England, Denmark, Sweden,
Austria, France and Belgium, while for four
years he served as assistant secretary of the Iowa
State Horticultural Society. Lender commission
from Hon. James Wilson, secretary of agricul-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1437

ture of the United States, Professor Hansen was
absent from June, 1897, to March, 1898, on a
ten-months tour of exploration, securing new
seeds and plants for the said department, and in
this connection he visited Russia, Siberia, the
Crimea, Transcaucasia, Turcomania and other
jiarts of Russian Turkestan and western China.
About five carloads of products were obtained,
and some of the new seeds thus introduced by
the subject have proved so valuable that larger
lots have since been imported to meet the de-
mands, notably the Turkestan alfalfa. The two-
thousand-mile overland journey made in Asia by
the Professor included a trip of thirteen hundred
miles in a wagon and seven hundred in a sleigh,
and in the connection he encountered several tus-
sels with the strenuous and turbulent Siberian
blizzards, in his endeavor to return home by way
of Omsk, on the Siberian Railway. At one time
he was fully one thousand miles from the nearest
railroad, while Kuldja, in western Qiina, was
the most eastern point reached. This adventure-
some journey showed the remarkable powers of
endurance of the young explorer, while the dan-
ger involved was the last thing considered by
him.

Professor Plansen is an honorary life mem-
lier of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society
and of many other associations in the line of his
profession, and he frequently attends their ses-
sions. He is secretary of the plant section of the
American Breeders' Association and secretary of
the South Dakota State Horticultural Society. He
has written many bulletins and papers and contrib-
utes much to the agricultural press. In 1890
he wrote and published a "Handbook of Fruit
Culture and Tree Planting for the Northwestern
States," the same being published in the Danish-
Norwegian language. In 1902-3 he assisted Pro-
fessor Budd in preparing the "American Horti-
cultural Manual," published by John Wiley &
Sons, of New York.

The present collection of trees and shrubs at
the South Dakota AgriculUiral College grounds
is very extensive and is constantly being enlarged
by importations and exchanges. ;\Iany novelties
are propagated and sent out for trial. The chief

feature of the experimental work is the originat-
ing of new varieties of fruit, especially from the
native Dakota species by hybridizing and by se-
lection from large numbers. At present the one-
quarter of a million fruit seedlings on the station
grounds is second in number only to that grown
by Luther Burbank, of California, who has the
largest fruit-breeding establishment in the world.
The object of Professor Hansen's work in this di-
rection is to obtain hardy and choice fruits for the
northwest, better adapted to this region than any
now in cultivation. Already many valuable va-
rieties have been bred up from the native species.
In short, the work means the creation of a new
pomology.

At La Crosse, Wisconsin, on the i6th of No-
vember, 1898. was solemnized the marriage of
Professor Hansen to Miss Emma Elise Pammel,
who is likewise a graduate of the Iowa Agricul-
tural College. Two children, Eva and Carl, have
come to bless their home. Mrs. Hansen was born
in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and is a daughter of
Louis and Sophia (Freise) Pammel. Professor
Hansen is a Lutheran in his religious faith, and
fraternally is a Royal Arch Mason, while both
he and his wife are affiliated with the adjunct or-
ganization, the Order of the Eastern Star. In
politics he gives his allegiance to the Republican
party.

GEORGE N. BREED, one of the editors and
publishers of the Brookings Register, was born
in Little Grant, Grant county, Wisconsin, on the
i6th of October, 1857, being a son of Samuel S.
and Maria J. (Thurston) Breed, the former of
whom was born in the state of New York and
the latter in Pennsylvania. The Breed family is
of stanch English lineage and tlie name is one
which has been identified with the annals of
American history from the early colonial epoch,
while it should be noted in the connection that
the paternal great-grandfather of the subject of
this sketch was the owner of Breed's hill, on
which was fought the battle of Bunker Hill, the
latter name having been applied at a later period.
Sanuiel S. Breed was reared and educated in the

1438

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

old Empire state, where he continued to be iden-
tified with agricultural pursuits until late in the
'forties, when he removed with his family to Jo
Daviess county, Illinois, having in the meanwhile
been married to Miss Thurston, who came of
English and German descent. To the pioneer
state of Illinois he was also accompanied by his
father and brothers, and all began improving
farms in the county mentioned, being numbered
among its earliest settlers. There the father of
the subject remained until the early 'fifties, when
he removed to Grant count)', Wisconsin, where
he continued to devote his attention to agricul-
ture until his death, which occurred in 1866, "while
his wife long survived him, her death occurring
in the year 1900, at the age of seventy-nine years.
Mr. Breed was a man of sterling character and
ever held the confidence and esteem of his fellow
men. He served as county commissioner of
Grant county about eight years and was also
chairman of the board of education of his district
during that time. Of his seven children four died
in early childhood. Byron W., who served with
honor and loyalty as a soldier in the Union
army in the war of the Rebellion, is now
a successful farmer and stock grower of
Moody county, South Dakota. Sarah J.,
who became the wife of William M. Leighton,
of Denver, Colorado, is dead. George N., the
subject of this sketch, is the youngest of the three
children who lived to attain years of maturity.
William M. Leighton, Jr., son of the subject's
sister, has been reared in the home of Mr. Breed,
while he also received the care and guidance of
his maternal grandmother until the time of her
demise.

George N. Breed attended the district school
in the vicinity of the homestead fann in Grant
county, Wisconsin, until the death of his father,
and he then accompanied his mother on her re-
moval to Bloomington, Wisconsin, where he con-
tinued to attend the public schools until he was
fifteen years of age. He then entered the office
of the Lancaster Advocate, at Lancaster, Wiscon-
sin, where he gained his initial experience in the
"art preservative of all arts." The paper men-
tioned was an advocate of the cause of Horace

Greeley at the time he was running for the presi-
dency, and when defeat ensued the paper ceased
publication, and thus Mr. Breed removed to Platt-
ville, Wisconsin, to finish his trade, where he re-
mained until 1877, becoming a skilled composi-
tor and familiarizing himself with the various
details of the newspaper and printing business.
Thereafter he was employed in offices at Gales-
burg, Illinois, and River Falls and Broadhead,
Wisconsin, from which latter point he came to
Brookings, South Dakota, in October, 1880, be-
coming one of the pioneers of the town, which
had at the time a population of not more than
two hundred persons. Here he began the publi-
cation of the Brookings Sentinel, disposing of
the plant and business in 1883 and thereafter
working at his trade until the spring of 1890,
when he became telegraph editor of the News,
at Aberdeen, this state. In June, 1890, he be-
came associated with Paul Dutcher and returned
to Brookings where they began publishing the
Brookings Register and in 1891 purchased the
plant and business of the Brookings Sentinel,
which they forthwith merged into the Brookings
Register, to whose publication they have since
given their attention, having made it one of the
best papers of the sort in the state. It is a six-col-
umn quarto and is issued on Thursday of each
week, while its standard is a high one, both in
point of editorial makeup and letter press. The
office is well equipped and the Register has been
made a success under the control of the gentle-
men mentioned, the firm name being Dutcher &
Breed. Mr. Breed, in point of consecutive serv-
ice, is one of the oldest newspaper men in the
state, while he has witnessed the growth and sub-
stantial advancement of Brookings and the county
from the time of inception. He has been specially
insistent in making the paper an exponent of
local interests and of the cause of the Republi-
can party, of whose principles he has ever been
a stanch advocate, though he has neither held
nor sought political office. He has been very
prominent in advocating the ownership of public
utilities in his home city, and he takes marked
satisfaction in reverting to the fact that he was
one of the first to urge that Brookings, as a mu-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

nicipality, should own its own electric-light, tele-
phone and water-works systems, and the plan as
adopted has proved the wisdom of his admoni-
tion, for the two plants are paying the expense of
operation and are giving to the citizens a most
effective and economical service. He is a zealous
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and
was the second superintendent of the first Sun-
day school ever organized in Brookings, this be-
ing at a time when there was but the one church
organization in the town. He is a charter member
of Brookings Lodge, No. 40, Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, of which he is noble grand at
the time of this writing, while he is also identi-
fied with the local organizations of the Modern
Woodmen of America and the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, in the latter of which he was
formerly incumbent of the office of financier. He
has been a member of the Brookings Cornet Band
for the past twenty years, still continuing to give
his services in the connection in order that the
organization ma}- be kept intact and in good
order."

On the 15th of November, 1882, Mr. Breed
was united in marriage to Miss Eva J. Thomas,
who was born in Hazel Green, Grant county,
Wisconsin, being a daughter of Thomas and Car-
oline Thomas, both of whom were born in Eng-
land, whence they came to Wisconsin in an early
day. Of the three children born to Mr. and \lrs.
Breed one died in infancy, while the two surviv-
ing are Ray, who was born on the 6th of Sep-
tember, 1883, and Lillian, who was born on the
14th of jMay, 1890, and who is now attending the
public schools of Brookings, having distinctive
talent as an elocutionar\- reader, while her brother
has shown marked ability in drawing and other
art work.

O. C. DOKKEN, cashier of the Farmers'
Exchange Bank at Toronto, Deuel county, was
Ijorn in Eidsvold, Norway, in 1858. In 1869 he
immigrated with his parents to the United States,
where they took up their residence at Rushford,
Minnesota, where they remained till 1873, when
the family moved west and came to what is now

the state of South Dakota, when they took a
homestead near Fish Lake, Deuel county, being
among the first settlers in that part of the state.
After spending his youth on his father's farm
in Deuel county, Mr. Dokken entered the normal
school at Mankato, Minnesota, in 1882, and
graduated from that institution as a member of
the class of 1887. Before, as well as after finish-
ing his course at the normal, he turned his atten-
tion to teaching, and in the fall of 1888 was
elected to the office of superintendent of schools
of Deuel county, which position he occupied for
six years. Thereafter he was for seven or eight
years engaged in the general merchandise busi-
ness in Toronto and in 1902 he was made incum-
bent of his present position, that of cashier of the
Farmers' Exchange Bank. In politics INIr. Dok-
ken is Republican. He is married and has a fam-
ily of four children.

EL:MER E. RODABAUGH. junior member
of the well-known law firm of Orr & Rodabaugh,
of Sioux Falls, who likewise maintains an office
in Garretson, comes of stanch old Pennsylvania
German stock, and the name which he bears has
been for several generations identified with the
annals of the old Keystone state of the Union.
He was born on a farm in Lycoming county, that
state, on the i8th of September, 1862, and is a
son of Benjamin F. and Martha W- Rodabaugh,
both of whom were likewise born and reared in
that county, where the father is engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits, being one of the representa-
tive citizens of this section. Our subject received
his more rudimentary educational discipline in
the public schools of his native county, and there-
after continued his studies in the Central State
Normal School, at Lockhaven, while in 1883 he
was matriculated in the University of Pennsyl-
vania, where he followed the scientific course,
being a student in that well-known institution
for a period of three years. In 1882 he began
teaching in the schools of Pennsylvania, and
thereafter continued to follow the pedagogic
profession at intervals during a period of eight-
een years, meeting with marked success in the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

educational field. In 1890 he came to South Da-
kota and took up his residence in Sioux Falls,
and here engaged in reading law under the pre-
ceptorship of Alpha F. Orr. making rapid ad-
vancement in his studies, and being admitted to
the bar of the state in 1895, since which time he
has been successfully established in practice in
Sioux Falls, having been associated with Mr.
Orr, under the firm name of Orr & Rodabaugh,
since 1895, while the firm controls a large and
representative business, both as advocates and
counselors, maintaining also an office in Garret-
son, this county, as previously noted. Mr. Rod-
abaugh is an uncompromising Republican in his
political proclivities, and takes an active part in
party work in a local sense. Fraternally he is
identified with the Masonic order, in which he
is affiliated with Unity Lodge, No. 130, Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons, while he also holds
membership in Garretson Lodge, No. 74, An-
cient Order of LTnited Workmen. Though not
a member of any religious body he has a deep
reverence for the spiritual verities and his views
are perhaps most nearly in hannony with the
tenets of the faith of the Methodist Episcopal
church. It should be noted in passing that the
subject tendered his services to the government
at the time of the Spanish-Ainerican war, but
was rejected by reason of overweight.

On the I2th of November. 1898, at Sioux
Falls, South Dakota, was solemnized the mar-
riage of Mr. Rodabaugh to Miss Lydia Bailey,
who was born in Lancaster, New York, on the
28th of October, 1862, being a daughter of Sam-
uel and Julia Bailey, who are now deceased. Mr.
and Mrs. Rodabaugh have no children.

GEORGE P. WALDRON.— An enumer-
ation of those sterling pioneers of the territorv of
Dakota and state of South Dakota who won
honor and public distinction for themselves and
honored the state to which tliey belonged, would
be signally incomplete were there failure to make
prominent reference to George Prentiss Waldron,
who identified himself with the history of what
is now South Dakota nearly a half century ago,

when it was on the very border of civilization,
and who became a most conspicuous figure in its
early history. He held distinctive precedence as
an able lawyer, was distinctively a man of aflfairs
and one who wielded a wide influence. A strong
mentality, an invincible courage, a most deter-
mined individuality so entered into his makeup
as to render him a natural leader of men and
director of opinion, and his name merits a place
high on the roll of those who have figured as
founders and builders of the commonwealth of
South Dakota.

George P. Waldron, the son of Jeremiah and
Mar>- (Scott) Waldron, was born in the historic
old town of Farmington, New Hampshire, on. the
2 1 St of .September. 1821, and in its schools re-
ceived his early educational training, while later
he completed a course of study in the law de-
partment of Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine,
where he was graduated as a member of the
class of 1843. Shortly afterward he located in
Lowell, Massachusetts, where he engaged in the
practice of his profession and where he remained
until 1854, having in the meanwhile become in-
terested in the shipping of lumber to California,
by way of Cape Horn. He was a personal friend
of General Benjamin F. Butler, General Wilson,
Charles Sumner and other eminent men of New
England. In 1857 he came to the west and num-
bered himself among the pioneers of Dubuque,
Iowa, where he engaged in the practice of his
profession and also became secretary and treas-
urer of the Western Land and Townsite Com-
pany, whose headquarters were in that city, while
Senator William B. Allison and other prominent
men of the state were associated with him in this
company, which had important influence for a
number of years in forwarding the development
of the industries of the state. In 1859 he came
with his family to South Dakota and located in
a diminutive settlement which had been estab-
lished on the site of the present beautiful city of
.Sioux Falls. During the Indian troubles of 1862
the family sought safety by fleeing to Yank-ton,
and there established a home. Mr. Waldron hav-
ing been appointed provost marshal by President
Lincoln and having served as such during the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Civil war. He was a member of the first ter-
ritorial legislature and in the same was the framer
of the exemption law, while he was otherwise a
prominent figure in public affairs in the territory.
After the war he devoted his attention to farming
until his removal to Fort Pierre in 1877, where
he held the position of United -States court com-
missioner until Stanley county was organized,
when he was elected probate judge. He remained
a resident of Fort Pierre until his death, which
occurred August 26, 1896, while his devoted wife
passed away in 1884. Their three children are
all yet living, and one still resides in South Da-
kota.

Tn the year 1849 Judge Waldron was united
in marriage to Miss Lydia E. Jones, daughter
of Elijah and Marj' (Roberts") Jones, of his
native town of Farmington. New Hampshire,
where she was born and reared, and she preceded
him into eternal rest, her death occurring at Fort
Pierre on the 8th of May, 1884. Of their chil-
dren we enter the following brief record : Charles
W. is one of the substantial farmers and stock
growers of Stanley county and one of its hon-
ored pioneers : Lulu P. is the wife of George R.
Pearsons, of Fort Dodge, Iowa ; and Au.gusta is
the wife of G. A. Bickle. of Humboldt, Iowa.

ALBERT EUGENE THROOP, of Brook-
ings, was born in Hillsdale county, Micliigan, on
the 20th of July, 1857, being a son of Erastus D.
and Angeline (Salisbun,') Throop. His father
was born in Canada, and when he was twelve
years of age he accompanied his parents on their
removal to the state of New York, where he was
reared to maturity. He finally removed to Mich-
igan, settling in Hillsdale county, where he was
married. The family there continued to reside
until the subject of this sketch was six years of
age, when they removed to Montcalm county,
that state, where the father turned his attention
to the lumbering business, in which he continued
to be engaged until his death, which occurred in
about 1900. Wlnen he took up his abode in
IMontcalm county the nearest railroad point was
fortv miles distant and he settled in the midst of

the primitive wilds, opening a lumber camp and
giving employment to a large number of men.
The mother died in Giicago, in 1898, while there
for a visit. Erastus Throop was in fair circum-
stances at the time of his death, but the subject
never took any part of the estate, having been
dependent upon his own efforts from his child-
hood and having contributed to the support of
the other members of the family until after he
had attained his legal majority. In the family
were seven children : Ella is the wife of Orlando
Scott, of Montcalm county, Michigan ; Albert E.
is the subject of this sketch ; D. L. was killed
in Colorado : A'olma D. resides on the old
homestead farm in Michigan; .\lta became the
wife of Dr. Sweet, of Crystal Lake, Michi-
gan, and is now deceased; Page still resides in
Montcalm county, that state; Maude is the wife
of a Mr. Proctor, of Chicago. Owing to the ex-
igencies and conditions of time and place the sub-
ject received very limited educational advantages
in his childhood, having had no schooling after
attaining the age of nine years. His alert and
receptive mind has, however, enabled him to
make good this handicap, and through the var-
ied experiences of a busy and useful life and
through personal application he has rounded out
his fund of knowledge and is a man of broad in-
formation. At the age of nine years he began to
assist his mother in cooking for the workmen,
and he continued to be thus employed for three
years. At the age of thirteen he was found driv-
ing team and buying supplies for the lumber
camp, and he continued to give the major part of
his time and labor to his father until he was
twenty-two years of age. At the age of seven-
teen he had charge of one of his father's camps,
and for fifteen years he ran logs on the pine river
and engaged in fishing, while he was employed
in the lumber woods for a full score of years.
From the age of twenty-two he began to person-
ally receive the rewards of his labors, and he
was united in marriage, at the age of twenty-
three, to Miss Oiarlotte Miller, who was born in
the state of New York and a daughter of Samuel
Aliller. who removed thence to Illinois and finally
to Michigan, his wife having died when her

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

daug-hter (Mrs. Throop) was but seven years of
age. The subject considers his marriage as hav-
ing been an auspicious event in his career, and
his wife has proved a devoted and able helpmeet.
Her fortitude can scarcely be measured by her
avoirdupois, since she weighs but one hundred
and ten pounds, while her husband tips the scales
at two hundred and eighty-five pounds. At the
time of their marriage they had not sufficient re-
sources to provide even the most meager equip-
ment for a home, and the struggle was one which
tested the loyalty and affection of the young folk,
who grew the stronger through the vicissitudes
through which they passed, laboring and hoping
side by side. After his marriage Mr. Throop
first took a job of cleaning out a ditch, from
which labor he received eleven dollars, working
eight hours a day. Within a short time he had
cleared about three hundred and sixty dollars,
and he then purchased a tract of wild land, soon
selling therefrom enough timber to pay the pur-
chase price, while at the end of the first year he
found himself quite well provided with this
world's goods, since he was the owner of a team
of horses, a cow, a wagon, forty acres of land
and five hundred dollars in money. He forthwith
gave evidence of his liberality by loaning three
hundred dollars to a friend — the outcome being
to him a total loss of the amount. With the re-
maining two hundred dollars Mr. Throop in-
vested in "plug" horses, which he traded for
shingles and fencing, his transactions yielding
him a good profit. In 1885 he came to Brook-
ings, South Dakota, for a visit, having at the
time about one thousand dollars. He wa's greatly
impressed with the country at that season and
decided to cast in his lot with the pioneers of this
section. By the time he had purchased a quarter
section of land and paid for the same a blizzard
swept through the state and caused him to wish
that he harl remained in Michigan, but time
proved that he had made no mistake in his orig-
inal estimate. For his farm here he paid five
hundred dollars in cash and gave in addition his
personal note for one hundred dollars. He had
as yet erected no dwelling on his place and when
he arrived here for permanent settlement he

had a little span of disconsolate mules, weighing
but nine hundred pounds with the harness on,
and, as he facetiously expresses it, "They were so
heavily mortgaged that they could not switch
their tails." In the following spring he erected
on his farm a shack thirty-two feet in length, six-
teen feet wide, and eight feet in height, one end
being partitioned off for the use of his team and
the other portion being the family home. In the
autumn he built a house sixteen by twenty-four
I feet in dimensions and twelve feet in height, and
thus segregated himself from the live stock. He
built this house without having a dollar in his
possession and without giving security for the
material, and when it was finished he was able
to pay only twenty-five cents on the dollar in ex-
tinguishment 'of the claims against him, his
yield of grain having fallen far short of expecta-
tions. He reserved sufficient wheat for bread
and for feed for his stock, selling the remainder
and from the amount received he invested in
three tons of coal and then found that he had
only eight dollars left with which to satisfy the
claims of his creditors. He then went to them and
stated the circumstances, agreeing to divide his
remaining cash equally among them and asking
for two years in which to make recompense. The
amount which was left to be paid the second year
was five hundred dollars, and that year his crop
of wheat aggregated only eight hundred bushels,
which was sold at fifty cents a bushel. The re-
turns represented all he had available to pay his
debts, maintain his family and carry on the fann
for the ensuing year, so that it may be seen that
the outlook was not altogether propitious or
gratifying. In the meanwhile, however. Mr.
Throop had purchased an old well-drilling appa-
ratus, which in October he took into Lake coun-
ty and entered vigorously to work constructing
wells for the settlers, his services being in such
demand that at the end of two months and three
days he hal saved three hundred and nine dollars.
The second time he came home from his work in
this line he dropped into his wife's apron five
hundred dollars in cash, and her query was to
ask him whether or not he had been robbing a
bank. From that time forward fortune proved

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1443

more propitious and success attended his efforts.
When he first came to the state he was com-
pelled to sow his grain by hand, having no money
with which to purchase farming implements
which were practically essential. In the early
days it was impossible to secure credit, and in
July of the first year of his residence here he
found himself with no monev. no credit and
nothing with which to provide for the daily needs
of his family. The last loaf of bread had been
used for breakfast, this being on Sunday, and it
seemed that no avenue was open to provide more.
It chanced that the young men of the neighbor-
hood assembled together for a little sport, and
finally a foot race was proposed, our subject and
his brother, V. D., having in the meanwhile
joined the little assembly. The reward to the
victor was to be the sum realized by the contri-
bution of the twenty-five cents each to the purse.
The brother of the subject was actually weak for
lack of proper food, both having gone hungry
for several days, and though the fomier was nat-
urally fleet of foot he was too weak to enter into
the contest, but the subject, who was naturally
somewhat corpulent, had been better able to
withstand the temporary privation and was in
good trim for the race, his only difficulty being
that he was unable to produce the twenty-five
cents as entry fee. This was kindly supplied by
a friend in the company, and realizing what the
little fund meant to him and his family, it is need-
less to say that Mr. Throop girded himself for
victory, and he was successful, winning the race
by one and one-half laps. The wager was then
doubled, as was also the distance to be traversed
by the contestants, and again victory crowned
the efiEorts of Mr. Throop, who realized two and
one-half dollars from his efforts. He imme-
diately sent his brother to Arlington, where was
secured a sack of flour, some codfish and a
pound of tea. Mrs. Throop made biscuit and
cooked a portion of the fish, and the family en-
joyed their meal to a greater extent than could
the pampered epicure the most extravagant
spread. Profiting by his experiences, Mr. Throop-
has husbanded his resources and is today the
owner of eleven hundred and twentv acres of

lantl. all in one body, and also a quarter sec-
tion.

The entire tract is well fenced, has two good
dwelling houses, good barjis and other outbuild-
ings, a fine grove of one hundred soft maple
trees and five hundred of ash, and a large num-
ber of wells, for which ample provision is made
for the live stock and for domestic uses. Mr.
Throop continued to reside on the farm until the
autumn of 1901, when he removed with his fam-
ily to the city of Brookings, in order to afford
his children the superior educational advantages
there offered. From the sale of the stock and
grain on his farm prior to removal therefrom
he received eleven thousand dollars. Mr. Throop
is the owner of two valuable pieces of property
in Brookings, and is now living practically re-
tired. In politics he was reared in the Demo-
cratic faith, but in bringing to bear his personal
judgment he determined that the Republican
party was eminently entitled to his support, and
he has given to the same an unqualified alle-
giance, having been an active worker in its cause
and wielding an unmistakable influence in the
public affairs of his county. Of the three chil-
dren of ]\Ir. and Mrs. Throop we record that
Lottie, who is now nineteen years of age, has
completed the business course in the State Agri-
cultural College, and it is her intention to now-
complete the full literary course in the same col-
lege: Ross, aged sixteen; and V. D., aged fif-
teen, are both attending the high school at Brook-
ings.

Later. — Since the foregoing sketch was put
in type, Mr. Throop's death has occurred, on Feb-
ruary 5, 1904, after an illness of but five days,
his remains being laid to rest in Arlington
(South Dakota) cemetery.

CFIARLES F. ALLEN, of Brookings, was
born on March 4, 1869, at Chatfield, Minnesota.
He attended the schools of this town until he was
thirteen years of age, when he entered the office
of the Chatfield Democrat, as an apprentice, work-
ing there a couple of years except for one sum-
mer, when he worked on a farm. He went to Ro-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Chester, Minnesota, in the winter of 1886, and en-
tered the employ of Blakely & Son as foreman
of the Record and Union office, where he re-
mained until December, 1899. At that time he
went to Brookings and bought the Brookings
County Press from George W. Hopp, taking
possession on the first of January, 1890. He is
still publishing the Press, which has grown and
developed into one of the best and strongest
weekly papers in South Dakota, occupying what
is conceded to be the finest country newspaper
office building in the Northwest.

Mr. Allen was married on September 25,
1 888, to Miss Julia Garvey, at Rochester, Minne-
sota, and they have three children, all girls,
namely : Norma, aged thirteen : Doris, aged
ten : and Mildred, aged six.

Mr. .-Mien is a member of the South Dakota
Press Association, of which organization he has
been president. He is also a member of the Elks,
Odd Fellows, Modern Woodmen and the Ancient
Order of United Workmen., On December 19,
1903, he was appointed by President Roosevelt
as postmaster at Brookings. He has served as
alderman and city clerk at Brookings, and has
been an enterprising citizen, doing much for the
substantial growth of the citv.

PAUL DUTCHER, senior member of the
firm of Dutcher & Breed, editors and publishers
of the Brookings Register, is a native of the
Badger state, having been born in Stoughton,
Dane county, Wisconsin, on the gth of August,
1864, and being a son of Curtis E. and Lucinda
C. fMattice) Dutcher, the former of whom was
born in May, 183 1, and the latter on the 25th of
September of the same year. The father of the
subject stood representative of one of the early
pioneer families of the state of Michigan, his
birth having occurred in Bloomfield, Oakland
county, that state, while he was a son of William
Dutcher, who was born in the state of New York,
being of sturdy Flolland Dutch stock. Curtis
E. Dutcher was reared to manhood in Michigan
and as a young man he adopted a seafaring life,
becoming a sailor before the mast and visiting

all the important ports of the globe. He con-
tinued to follow the sea until his marriage, which
was solemnized in 1861, and he then located in
Stoughton, Wisconsin, where he engaged in the
mercantile business, later removing to Lone
Rock, that state, where he continued in the same
line of enterprise for a time, finally removing
thence to Waterloo, Wisconsin, where he passed
the remainder of his life, his death occurring on
the 15th of April, 1872. His widow, who was
born in the state of New York, is now residing
in Aberdeen, South Dakota, Of her two chil-
dren, the younger is the subject of this sketch,
while his brother. Ward, is superintendent of the
job department of the Daily News office in Aber-
deen, .this state.

Paul Dutcher secured his early educational
discipline in the public schools of Waterloo, Wis-
consin, where he continued his studies until he
was about fourteen years of age, after which he
passed one year in the high school at Lake Mills,
that state, where his mother was at the time
teaching, having followed this vocation for many
years and having received her education in a
ladies' seminary at Schoolcraft, Michigan. At
the age of about ten years the subject began to
depend, to a certain extent, upon his own re-
sources, since he was but nine years of age at
the time of his father's death. He worked on
farms and in various other capacities until he
was fourteen years of age, when he accompanied
his mother to the city of Milwaukee, where his
elder brother was then located. There he served
his novitiate in the "art preservative," securing
a position in the office of the Evening Wisconsin,
and there learning the printer's trade, remaining
there employed for a period of five years, at the
expiration of which he returned to Waterloo,
that state, where he and his brother effected the
purchase of the Waterloo Journal, the publication
of which they continued for the ensuing two
years.

In August, 1884, the subject came to South
Dakota and located in Clark county, where he
was emplo}'ed in the office of the Clark Pilot for
a brief interval, at the expiration of which he
purchased the Raymond Gazette, at Raymond,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1445

Clark county, successfully publishing the same
for five years. He then removed to Aberdeen
and took a position in the office of the Daily
News. Six months later he came to Brookings,
and on the 1st of June, 1890, he established the
Brookings Register, with the publication of
which he has since been identified. In the same
year he became associated with George N. Breed
in the purchase of the Brookings Sentinel, which
they consolidated with the Register, and they
have since been associated in the conducting of
the enterprise, having made the paper a partic-
ularly successful one and developed the same in-
to one of the best papers in the state. The Regis-
ter is stanchly Republican in its political policy
and is an appreciated exponent of local interests
in all lines. The firm began operations upon a
most modest scale, and they now have one of the
best ecjuipped newspaper plants to be found in
any county seat town in the state, while the job
department is maintained at an equal standard
of excellence. Mr. Dutcher has been a member
of the South Dakota Press Association from the
time of its organization until within the past few
years, having identified himself with the same
in 1884, prior to the admission of the state to the
Union. In the Masonic fraternity he has made
the circle of the York-rite degrees, being identi-
fied with the lodge, chapter, council and com-
niandery in Brookings, as well as the chapter of
the Order of the Eastern Star, and he has taken
a deep interest in the aflfairs of this time-honored
fraternity, being past master of his lodge at the
time of this writing, while in 1903 he served as
grand steward of the grand lodge of the state.
He is also a member of the local lodge of the
Modern Woodmen of America. ^Mr. Dutcher
has been an uncompromising advocate of the
principles of the Republican party from the time
of attaining the right of franchise. He served
four years as aide-de-camp on the staff of Gov-
ernor Seldon, with the rank of colonel, and in
1895 he was assistant chief clerk of the house of
representatives in the legislature of the state. He
and his family attend the Presbyterian church,
of whose board of trustees he was chairman for a
period of six years. They have an attractive

residence in Brookings and the same is a favor-
ite rendezvous for their wide circle of friends,
the family being prominent in the social life of
the community. Mr. Dutcher has been practi-
cally dependent upon his own resources from the
early age of nine years, and on this score it is
gratifying to note the distinctive success he has
attained in temporal afifairs. Of his cherished
and devoted mother, who has now attained the
venerable age of more than three score years and
ten, it may further be said that she came of
stanch old Knickerbocker stock. Her father,
Lawrence B. Mattice, was born at Middleburg,
Schoharie county, and her mother, whose maiden
name was Bouck, was a relative of Governor
Bouck, who was a prominent figure in the early
history of the Empire state.

On the 15th of June, 1885, Mr. Dutcher was
united in marriage to Miss Susan M. Adams, a
daughter of Hon. Mic Adams, of Columbus,
Wisconsin, an honored pioner of that state and a
man of prominence and influence in public af-
fairs. Mr. and ^Irs. Dutcher are the parents of
two children, namely: Raymond A., who was
born on the 28th of March, 1886, and who is now
a student in the State Agricultural College, in
Brookings : and Gladys Pauline, who was born
on the 25th of August, 1892, being now a stu-
dent in the public schools.

HANS H. KORSTAD, the able editor of the
Individual, published at Brookings, was born in
Valders, Norway, on the nth of July, 1864, and
is a son of Helge and Siegrid (Lommeh) Kor-
stad, the former of whom was engaged in teach-
ing in the schools of his native land for a number
of years, being a man of high intellectuality. In
1870 he emigrated with his family to America
and located in Lyon county, Iowa, where he en-
gaged in teaching in a Norwegian settlement,
and also entered claims to a homestead, to whose
improvement and cultivation he gave his atten-
tion, in connection with his other vocation. In
1878 he came to Brookings, South Dakota, se-
curing land in this vicinity and devoting the bal-
ance of his days to farming. He died in 1897, and

[446

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

his widow still resides on the homestead farm,
which comprises a half section of valuable land.
In the family are seven children, all of whom
are living, namely : Ole, who resides on the home
farin; Hans H., who is the immediate subject of
this sketch ; Peter, who is likewise a farmer of
this county ; Tollef, who is a resident of Alberta,
Canada: John, who is associated in the manage-
ment of the old homestead ; Belle, who is the wife
of Rev. Nels Jacobson, of Claremont, this state;
and Mary, who remains with her mother, who
has now attained the venerable age of seventy -
five ye^rs, being a devoted member of the Luth-
eran church, as was also her husband.

Hans H. Korstad was but six years of age
at the time of his parents' iminigration to the
United States, and at the age of eight years he
became a student in the puVilic schools of Lyons
county, Iowa, having previously attended the
Norwegian schools. He continued to there con-
tinue his educational work until the removal of
the family to Dakota, where at that time educa-.
tional advantages were most meagre, as the
great territory, as yet undivided, was practically
on the frontier of civilization. The town of
Brookings had not yet been established and no
railroads penetrated the territory. During the
first few years after coming to what is now the
favored and prosperous state of South Dakota,
the subject of this sketch found his portion to
be that of arduous and consecutive toil, while he
had no opportunity to continue his education.
Finally a school was established in Brookings,
and he attended the same until he had attained
the age of twenty years, when he entered the
State Agricultural College, at this place, where
he completed the general course in 1889, having
fully profited by the opportunities there af-
forded. During 1890-91 he was engaged in
teaching and then turned his attention to farm-
ing, in which he continued until the autumn of
uSq^i. when he disposed of his land and came to
Brookings, where he became associated with
Stacy A. Cochran in the purchase of the plant and
business of the paper known as the. Individual,
whose publication they have since continued, our
subject being editor and having made the paper

an able exponent of local interests. It is issued
on Thursday of each week and is non-partisan
in politics. The paper has gained distinctive
popularity, having a circulation of about one
thousand at the time of this writing, while addi-
tions to the list of subscribers are being made
each week. Mr. Korstad is also the owner of a
quarter section of valuable land near Pierre,
while he owns his attractive residence in Brook-
ings and also the building in which the office of
the paper is located. In politics the subject has
given his support to the Poinilist party, while he
is quite in sympathy with the socialistic move-
ment in its higher and legitimate form. He and
his wife are members of the Lutheran church,
and fraternally he is identified with the Ancient
Order of United Workmen.

On the 22d of October, i8gg, Mr. Korstad
was united in marriage to Miss Dorothea E.
Skorr, who was born in Norway, being a daugh-
ter of Elias Skorr. Her mother died in Norway,
and when ^Irs. Korstad was about sixteen years
of age she came alone to the L^nited States,
where she joined her brother. Her father came
to America in 1902 and died at the home of his
son, Ole, of Bruce, South Dakota, on the 3d of
September, 1901, at the age of seventy-one
years. Mr. and Mrs. -Korstad have one son, El-
vin H.. who was born on the 22d of July, 1900.

CHARLES BRYAN BILLINGHURST
was born at Juneau, Dodge county, Wisconsin,
on the 17th of April, 1854, and is a son of
Charles and Hannah (Barber) Billinghurst, his
father being a lawyer by profession. He is a
scion of a family of distinctive pioneers, the orig-
inal American ancestors having located in New
England in the colonial epoch, while his paternal
great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolu-
tion. His grandfather and father were num-
bered among the earliest settlers in Dodge coun-
ty, Wisconsin, where they took up their abode
in the territorial days and long before the advent
of railroads. Prompted perhaps by inherent pio-
neer instinct, the subject himself came to Spink
county. Dakota territory, in the early davs. He

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

attended the common schools of his native town
until he had attained the age of twelve years,
when, in 1866. he accompanied his parents to
Horicon, in the same county, where he com-
pleted the curriculum of the village schools, sup-
plementing this by a course of study in the Spen-
cerian Business College, in the city of Milwaukee.
He was an ordinarily active boy, but not preco-
cious, being devoted to swirtiming in Rock river
during the summer season and to skating in the
winter, varying the latter amusement bv occa-
sionally breaking through the ice in dangerous
places. He early learned to milk the family cow
and to groom the horse, while his good mother
shrewdly encouraged him to effort and prompt-
ed him to do many domestic chores and to learn
how to use his hands by assuring him that there
was not a lazy hair in his head. In short, he was
just a boy, with all that the name implies. His
first work after leaving school was to paint a
foundry building for the firm of Van Brunt &
Barber, seeding manufacturers at Horicon, and
he then became assistant bookkeeper and finally
head bookkeeper for the firm, as well as cashier
and eventually a traveling salesman for the con-
cern, which he represented in this capacity in
Iowa. Minnesota, Nebraska and Dakota terri-
tory. In 1882 he took up his permanent residence
in what is now the state of South Dakota, arriv-
ing in Ashton, Spink county, on the 28th of Feb-
ruary. Here he opened a bank and engaged also
in the real-estate business. He was named
as one of the incorporators of the city of Ash-
ton by legislative enactment and was one of its
early mayors. In 1886 he was joined by his
brother, William S., and they were associated
in business, under the firm name of Billinghurst
Brothers. In 1899 he removed from Ashton to
Pierre, and in the capital city purchased a pub-
lishing business, incorporating the enterprise un-
der the title of the State Publishing Company,
Mr. Billinghurst having since been the president
and treasurer of the same. In November, 1903,
he established in Pierre the Daity and Weekly
Dakotan. His -company published the supreme
court reports, session laws and statutes of the
state known as Revised Code of 1903. He is an

occasional writer for various publications, being
the first and only one to draw up a historical
sketch of the fiscal affairs of South Dakota,
showing state expenditures, assessed valuations,
bonding o]5erations and debt per capita annually
since the admission of the state to the Union, and
these contributions are of great contemporary
and permanent value. In the same are also in-
cluded schedules of all state institutions and of
all school and state lands. His fiscal articles
continue to be in wide use for reference pur-
poses, recourse being had to the same by state
officials and by other citizens interested in the
finances and endowments of the state. He has
also C(inlriI)utod valuable articles touching the
history of Si^ink county.

At Ashton, Spink county, on the 19th of May,
1887, Mr. Billinghurst was united in marriage
to Aliss Mary E. Bowman, daughter of Hon.
Samuel W. Bowman, who settled in Spink
county as a pioneer in 1879, becoming one of its
most honored and influential citizens. Mr. and
Mrs. Billinghurst have two children, Lida, bom
February 11, 1890, and Florence, born March
10, 1895.

JOHN W. LAUGHLIN, sheriff of Hughes
county, and also deputy United States marshal,
was born in the vicinity of Mount Pulaski, Lo-
gan county, Illinois, on the 2d of January, i860,
and is a son of Robert H. and Susie (Jackson)
Laughlin, the former of whom was born in
Union county, Ohio, and the latter in Illinois.
The Laughlin family have made an enviable rec-
ord for loyalty and patriotism since its founding
in America in the latter portion of the sixteenth
century. The original progenitor in the new
v/orld was Patrick Laughlin, of ' Scotch-Irish an-
cestiy. who came to America on a French vessel
in 1597, landing in St. Augustine, Florida, and
the subject of this sketch has a complete record
of all his descendants down to the present time,
the work having been carefully and admirably
compiled by one of said lineal descendants. The
paternal great-grandfather of Sheriff Laughlin

1448

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

was a valiant soldier in the Continental line
during the war of the Revolution, having been
with Washington at Valley Forge, and his son
John C, who was born in Pennsylvania, was
the grandfather of the subject and was an active
participant in the war of 1812. Three of the
latter's sons ably upheld the military prestige of
the family during the Civil war, and one of the
number was the father of Sheriff Laughlin. It
should be noted in the connection that said Rob-
ert H. Laughlin was the first man to enlist in Lo-
gan county. Illinois, after the outbreak of the
Rebellion. He became a member of Company H,
One Hundred and Sixth Illinois Volunteer In-
fantry, in which he served for three years and
six months. He became a prosperous farmer of
Logan county.

John W. Laughlin was reared on the old
homestead farm in Logan county, Illinois, and
secured his early education in the public schools.
He continued to be associated in the management
of the home place until 1883, when he cast in his
lot with the pioneers of Hughes county. South
Dakota. He took up government land in Byron
township, and there passed the first seven years
of his residence in the state, improving the prop-
erty and being still the owner of a valuable farm
of three hundred and twenty acres. LTpon leav-
ing his ranch he removed to the village of Blunt,
where he became identified with the raising and
training of high-grade horses, having owned
some of the best standard-bred stock in this sec-
tion of the state. In May, 1898, at the time of
the organization of the well-known regiment
designated as Grigsby's Rough Riders, he en-
listed as a member of Troop E, and was mus-
tered into the United States service as second
lieutenant, while later he was promoted first lieu-
tenant. His command proceeded to Chicka-
mauga Park, where it remained for four and one-
half months, its services not being demanded in
the active military operations of the war with
Spain. A previously published article has said
of Mr. Laughlin in the connection that upon re-
ceiving his commission as first lieutenant he
"Honored the office by uncomplaining, intelligent
and loyal service at a time when sickness, hard-

ship and dull routine best tested the soldier's
mettle."

Concerning his official service in Hughes
county we cannot do better than to quote farther
from the same appreciative article published in
the Weekly Capital Journal of February 20,
IQ02: "The fact that Air. Laughlin was elected
to the office of sheriff in 1900 — an office most
hotly contested in both primary and general elec-
tions— is proof of the capacity and worth which
secured his appointment as deputy United States
marshal in 1901, and testifies to the respect in
which his large circle of acquaintances hold him
as an honorable, capable and courageous man.
Socially he is a good fellow and politically he is
an unswerving Republican who will work days
and sit up nights to further the interests of his
party, which he helps by pulling instead of
kicking." Mr. Laughlin is a Master Mason and
is also identified with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the An-
cient Order of United Workmen and the Sons
of Veterans.

On the 7th of April, 1887, Mr. Laughlin was
united in marriage to Miss Lizzie Dickey, who
was born in Indiana, being a representative of
stanch old Kentucky stock. She is a lady of cul-
ture and gracious presence, was graduated in the
high school of Greensburg, Indiana, and in the
Northern Indiana Normal School, in Valparaiso,
while in 1892 she was elected county superintend-
ent of schools for Hughes county, South Da-
kota, giving a most capable administration and
remaining incumbent of the office for four years.
Mr. and Mrs. Laughlin have one son, Robert
Virgil.

REV. HENRY STRAKS, A. M., at present
pastor of the Reformed church of Harrison,
South Dakota, was born of pioneer Dutch par-
ents in a rude cabin in a clearing near Waupun,
Wisconsin, on February 13, 1853. His father,
John Straks, elder for over fifty years in the Re-
formed church of Alto, Wisconsin, came to
America in 1846 and his mother, Johanna Van
Wcchel, came in 1848. Henry S. received his

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

common-school education in the common schools
of Wisconsin and at the same time by private in-
struction from his pastors, Revs. J. H. Karsten
and R. Pieters. Then he attended a parochial
school near his home for five years, where he
completed an academic course and at the same
time aided his teacher as tutor in the same school.
In 1873 ^^ became teacher in the same school,
and taught very successfully the same pupils that
attended with him for years as fellow pupils. En-
couraged by his success as a school teacher, his
father sent him for three years to the State Nor-
mal School at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He grad-
uated from the elementary department in 1875,
and the following year finished the full course
so nearly that he concluded to spend his time in
teaching the next year. He taught the large
village school of his school-boy days successfully
for six years, carrying along with his usual work
a class in advanced or academic work.

In 1877 the subject was married to Miss Pris-
cilla Neevel, of Alto, Wisconsin, a granddaugh-
ter of Rev. G. Baay, the first pastor of his home
church. For awhile he was interested at the
same time in the mercantile business, at which
he spent his spare time during vacation as well
as when "school kept," but he soon gave that up.
In 1885 he was engaged as principal of the high
school of Waupun. Wisconsin, which position
he resigned after two years in order to take up
his long coveted course in theology to prepare
himself for the active work of the Qiristian min-
istry. In 1891 he finished a three-years course
in the Western Theological Seminary of the Re-
formed church in America, located at Holland,
Michigan. June ,21, 1891, he was installed and
ordained as pastor of the Second Reformed
church of Cleveland, Ohio, which church became
very prosperous during his three years' service
as almost their first pastor. This charge he re-
signed in 1894 to accept the pastorate of a larger
church and a wider field of usefulness at Mau-
rice, Iowa, which charge he resigned after five
years in November, 1898, to become financial sec-
retary and educational agent of an academy of
the Reformed church at Orange City, Iowa,
then heavily in debt. After clearing away this

debt and teaching the mathematical branches the
last half year to fill out the year for the principal.
Rev. M. Kolyn, who had resigned, he resigned
this work to accept the pastorate of the Re-
formed church of Harrison, South Dakota, Au-
gust I, 1901, which church he has served for
nearly three years. Mr. Straks was stated clerk
of the classis of Iowa for a number of years and
is at present member of the board of domestic
missions of the Reformed church in America,
meeting regularly three times a year in New
York city. He is also a member of the board of
superintendents of the Western Theological
Seminary at Holland. Michigan. For successful
work in the gospel ministry and elsewhere the
council of Hope College, Holland, Michigan, be-
stowed on him the degree of Master of Arts in
June, 1900. Rev. H. Straks is the father of Rev.
John H. Straks. now pastor of the Reformed
church of Clymer Hill, Chautauqua county. New
York.

SAMUEL WAGNER RUSSELL is a na-
tive of Pennsylvania, and paternally is descend-
ed from one of the oldest families of New Eng-
land, tracing his ancestry in an unbroken line
to Hon. William Russell, who came to America
in 1632 with Lord Seal, and who was one of the
founders of Connecticut, as well as one of the
first judges of the colony. Later, when the col-
onies revolted, the Russells espoused the Amer-
ican cause, and a number of the family served
with distinction during the Revolution; subse-
quently they demonstrated their loyalty to the
government in the war of 18 12, and in the va-
rious Indian wars ; indeed, the Russells have been
represented in every war in which the United
States has been engaged, patriotism and love of
country being prominent characteristics of the
family.

Benjamin S. Russell, father of the subject,
was born in Pennsylvania and is living now in
Jamestown, North Dakota, being still active in
business. Mary Gaskill, wife of Benjamin S.
and mother of Samuel W. Russell, and also a na-
tive of the Keystone state, departed this life in

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the year 1891. Samuel Wagner Russell was
born September 27, 1857, in Towanda, Bradford
county, and received his early education in the
schools of his native town, subsequently, in 1871,
entering Shattuck School at Faribault, Minne-
sota. By reason of failing health, however, he
was not able to finish his studies ; accordingly,
in 1873, he quit school and returned home, re-
maining with his parents until 1877. In that
and the following year he took special courses
in civil and mining engineering at Lehigh Uni-
versity, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, but his health
again becoming impaired, he laid aside his stud-
ies and during the winter of 1878-9 taught school
at Chelton Hills, in his native state. The fol-
lowing summer he went to East St. Louis, Illi-
nois, as bookkeeper for the National Stock Yard
Bank, of that place, which position he held for
three years, resigning at the expiration of that
time to go on the cattle range in Nebraska and
Montana.

Mr. Russell enjoyed the free out-of-door life
on the range until 1887, when he went to El
Paso, Texas, where, in partnership with a Mr.
Newman, under the firm name of Newman &
Russell, he was engaged for five years in the
real-estate and brokerage business. Leaving the
latter place in 1892, he located at Eddy, New
Mexico, where he dealt in real estate, loaned
money, etc., until 1896, when he returned to
East St. Louis and accepted a position with the
National Stock Yard Company, holding the same
until the spring of the year following. Severing
his connections with the above concern at the time
noted, he went to Miles City. Montana, in con-
nection with one of the largest of the live-stock
commission firms, and after remaining at that
place until December, 1898, came to Dead wood,
South Dakota, where, in partnership with cer-
tain gentlemen from IMontana, he bought the
"L'ncle Sam Mine," on Elk creek in Lawrence
county. Mr. Russell, in 1899, with his partners,
organized the Clover Leaf Gold Mining Com-
pany, of which he was made vice-president and
treasurer, and he still holds these positions, con-
tributing greatly to the success of the enterprise
by his energy, executive ability and correct busi-

ness management. In 1900 he was elected vice-
president of the Black Hills Mining Men's Asso-
ciation, of which he was also one of the original
organizers, and in December of the same year he
took a leading part in organizing the Black Hills
Business Men's Club, being chosen^ its vice-
president, which position he has since filled.
In addition to the official relations referred to,
Mr. Russell at the present time holds the
office of first vice-president of the American
Mining Congress, a national organization com-
posed of the leading miners and representatives
of the largest mining properties in the L'nited
States ; this high honor, coming to him un-
sought, is a recognition of his distinguished abil-
ities as a business and a mining man, also
a graceful compliment to him as an enterprising,
public-spirited man of aiifairs and accomplished
gentleman. Mr. Russell is a master of the pro-
fession to which he has devoted so much of his
time and attention, and as a practical miner, fa-
miliar with all the varied details of the great
mining industry, has few equals and no superiors
in South Dakota. By his energy and straight-
forward business course, he has done much in
the wav of organizing companies and developing
valualile mineral properties, and while advanc-
ing his own interests in the prosecution of these
various enterprises, he has also been instrumen-
tal in promoting the prosperity of his association.

Mr. Russell, at the request of the Black Hills
Mining Men's Association, accepted the appoint-
ment of commissioner to the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition from Governor Herreid and when
the commissioners organized, in July, 1903, he
was elected president and devoted his energies
and best abilities to winning success for the state
at the St. Louis Exposition.

Mr. Russell is a Republican, but has never
entered the arena of partisan politics as an office
seeker, having no ambition whatever in that di-
rection, although by nature and training well
qualified to fill any public position within the
power of the people to bestow. Fraternally he is
a thirty-second-degree Mason and in religious
matters subscribes to the Episcopal creed, being,
with his wife, a consistent member of the church

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

r45i

of that name in the city of Deadwood. Mr. Rus-
sell has a pleasant and attractive home in Dead-
wood, his family consisting of himself and wife
only. The latter before her marriage, on the
20th of August, i8g6, was Miss Mary Logan, of
St. Louis, Missouri. Mrs. Russell was born and
reared in the latter city and is the daughter of
C. C. and Elizabeth (Finigan) Logan, also of
St. Louis.

ANTHONY G. TU\'E, the able and honored
|)resi(lent of Augustana College, at Canton, was
born in Fillmore county, Minnesota, on the 2ist
of January, 1864. and was the youngest of five
children. His parents emigrated from Norway
to America in the early 'fifties and his father was
among the pioneers of Fillmore county, where
he engaged in farming and attained a position of
independence. In 1868 the family removed to
a farm near Decorah, Winneshiek county. Iowa,
Reared in a home puritanical in its simplicity
and religious devotion, young Anthony early de-
veloped a serious turn of mind, characterized by
persistent energy and determination. When en-
tering the public schools at the age of eight
years, he had been taught to read and memorize
in the Norwegian language, but knew practically
nothing of English. His inherent energy and
alert mentality soon won him front rank in his
classes, however, and at the age of thirteen we
find him at the height of the country boy's liter-
ary ambition — presiding over the district debat-
ing society. After completing ' the course in the
district school he continued his studies for three
years in the Decorah Institute, conducted by the
late Professor John Breckenridge, a teacher of
more than local reputation. The ensuing three
years were devoted to teaching in the district
schools and completing a course in a business col-
lege. After completing a course in pedagogics,
Professor Tuve was elected principal of the vil-
lage schools of Ridgeway, Iowa, where he did
a most successful work and attained distinctive
popularity. After remaining incumbent of this
position for three years he declined re-election,
his intc-ntion being to take up the study of law.

Within a short time, however, he was called to
fill the vacant position of instructor in physics
and rhetoric in Augustana College, in Canton,
South Dakota. Although most reluctant to give
up his plans of preparing himself for the legal
profession, he was prevailed upon to enter upon
his career in connection with the college in the
autumn of 1889. The following year, at the age
of twenty-six. Professor Tuve was elected pres-
ident of the institution by the board of regents
of the United Norwegian Lutheran church,
which, after the union of certain Lutheran bod-
ies, now assumed control of the school. Under
his presidency, with the hearty co-operation of
faculty and controlling board, the college has
steadily progressed and grown in attendance and
popular favor.

One of the ambitions of Professor Tuve, to-
gether with the stanch friends of the school,
was to see it located in new and commodious
quarters. After years of persistent and inde-
fatigable effort this desideratum was largely real-
ized, for in the autumn of 1903 a large dormi-
tory and a new college building with modern
improvements stood completed. The main build-
ing is an imposing structure, built of Sioux Falls
granite.

In the hardshijis incident to pioneer educa-
tional work Professor Tuve faithfully stood at
his post and by skillful management and persist-
ent and well-directed energy enlisted the confi-
dence and support of others and carried the
school through hard times and financial difficul-
ties, with a firm faith in its future prestige and
ultimate sucess. The last few years have amply
demonstrated the consistency of his attitude in
the connection, for the school has attained an en-
viable reputation and won for itself a permanent
place among the valuable educational institutions
of the state. The president is a devoted adherent
of the Lutheran church, and both by precept and
example wields a beneficent influence over the
youth who receive instruction in the institution
of which he is chief executive, while his genial,
kindly and sympathetic nature endear him to the
students, who accord him the fullest measure of
confidence and respect. President Tuve was

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

united in marriage to Miss Ida Marie Larson, of
Ridgevvay, Iowa, on the 2d of June, 1893. They
have three children : George Lewis, Merle An-
tonv and Roscniond Theresa Marie.

WILLIAM J. ROWLANDS, a successful
farmer and stock raiser of Brown count_v, was
horn in Wales on the 14th of July, 1846, and was
hrought to America when one year old and grew
to manhood's estate in Columbia county, W^iscon-
sin, where his parents settled on coming to this
country. He was reared to agricultural pursuits
and on attaining his majority selected that an-
cient and honorable vocation for his life work,
and has followed it ever since, meeting with the
success that inevitably attends the man of in-
dustry whose efforts are directed by good natural
ability, and whose career bears the stamp of
earnestness and sincerity of purpose. Mr. Row-
lands succeeded well as a farmer and continued
his labors in Wisconsin until 1880, in the fall of
which year he sold his possessions in that state
and became a resident of Brown county. South
Dakota. Shortly after reaching his destination
he took up a homesfead, three miles northwest of
Bath, but after holding the same until 1882 and
making a number of improvements, he disposed
of the place and moved to his present home,
three miles north of Plana, where he now owns
a finely improved farm of four hundred and
eighty acres, a large part of which is in cultiva-
tion, the remainder consisting of rich pasture
land, peculiarly adapted to live-stock purposes.
Mr. Rowlands is an up-to-date agriculturist and
as a raiser of fine cattle he has a reputation sec-
ond to that of few of his fellow citizens similarly
engaged. He has prospered greatly since coming
west, being the possessor of a beautiful and at-
tractive home, while his business affairs have so
worked to his advantage that he is now in in-
dependent circumstances. While not a politi-
cian in the exclusive sense of the term, he is de-
cided in his allegiance to the Republican party
and has been a delegate to a number of conven-
tions, besides rendering valuable service to the
ticket. Religiously he subscribes to no creed or

statement of faith, but is a regular attendant of
the Presbyterian church, to which his wife be-
longs, contributing of his means to its support,
as well as to the building up and sustaining of
charitable institutions irrespective of name or
order.

The married life of Mr. Rowlands dates from
January. 1887, when he was united in the bonds
of wedlock with Miss Sarah Morris, of New
York, the union being blesed with children as
follows: John Howard. Eunice E.. Catherine J.
and Beijlah Mav.

WILLIAM McGAAN, who is serving most
efficiently and acceptably on the bench of the
county court of Clark county, was born in the
historic old town of Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland, on
the 1st of October, 1853, and his forbears have
been identified with the annals of Scottish his-
tory from the time to which the "memory of man
runneth not to the contrary." His parents, Wil-
liam and Agnes (Andrews) McGaan, came to
America in 1857, at which time he was a child
of four years, and they settled in Knox county,
Illinois, where the father engaged in agricultural
pursuits, while he still resides on the old home-
stead, having attained the venerable age of eigh-
tv-six years at the time of this writing, in 1904.
His devoted and cherished wife was summoned
into eternal rest on the 2d of October, 1893, hav-
ing been a lifelong member of the Presbyterian
church, as has also her husband.

Judge McGaan was reared on the home farm,
near Altoona, Illinois, and after completing the
curriculum of the public schools continued his
studies in Lombard University, at Galesburg,
that state, quitting in his junior year to take up
the study of law in the office of the firm of Davis
& Thompson, of Galesburg, prosecuting his tech-
nical reading with scrupulous care and fidelity
and being admitted to the bar of the state in
June, 1880, by the supreme court. In the same
month he was admitted to partnership in the firm
under whose preceptorship he had pursued his
law studies, the title being changed to that of
Davis, Thompson & McGaan, and he there con-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

tinued in practice until March, 1883. when he
came to South Dakota and located in Qark, as
one of its pioneer lawyers. In 1887-8 he served
as state's attorney of the county, and in 1898 he
was elected judge of the county court, and is now
serving his fourth consecutive term in this im-
portant office. He has gained a high reputation
for his fair and impartial rulings, which are in-
\-ariab!y based on the law and evidence, and is
known as a man thoroughly well informed in the
minutiae of the great science of jurisprudence.
For the past ten years the subject has been and
is now associated in business with Hon. S. H.
Elrod, Republican nominee for governor of South
Dakota. He has ever given an uncompromising
allegiance to the Republican party and has been
one of the leaders in its local ranks. In a fra-
ternal way he is identified with the Knights of
Pythias, the Ancient Order of United Workmen
and the Modern Woodmen of America, as is he
also with the college fraternity, the Phi Delta
Theta.

On the 5th of November. 1889, Judge Mc-
Gaan was united in marriage to Mrs. Emma L.
(Coats) Dice, who was liorn in White Pigeon,
St. Joseph county, Michigan, on the 24th of Octo-
ber. 1859, being a daughter of James and Julia
Ann Coats. The only child of this marriage, a
son, died in infancy, but Mrs. ?iIcGaan has two
daughters by her first marriage. Laverne B.. now
Mrs. \V. L. Ware, of Lakota, North Dakota, and
Vera .M. Dice.

George Bolles was reared on a farm, and at-
tended the high school and the Baptist college at
Kalamazoo. Michigan. After leaving school, -he
worked on a farm in stnnmcrs and taught school
in winter for several years, and then entered an
insurance office in Kalamazoo, where he con-
tinued until 1883, at which time he came to Aber-
deen, South Dakota. He at once engaged in the
real-estate and insurance business in that town,
now city, at the same time taking up land near
Ipswich, upon which he settled his family. Mr.
Bolles is a Republican in politics, and has served
as treasurer of Aberdeen practically all the time
since 1885, holding the same at present. He is a
member of the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias,
Ancient Order of United Workmen and the
Woodmen of America fraternities.

Mr. Bolles married Ellen A. Dennis, who was
born in Kalamazoo county. Michigan, the daugh-
ter of Wilfred and Mary J. (Downey) Dennis,
and to their union one son has been born. C.
Pdiss Bolles.

GEORGE r.OLLES, a leading real-estate
and insurance man of Aberdeen, of which city he
is treasurer, was born at Marshall, Michigan, on
June 30, 1854, the son of George Nelson and
Sarah (Polhemus) Bolles. The father of ]\Ir.
Bolles was a native of New York state, and was
descended from an old American family, his an-
cestors having come over from England in 1620,
settling in the New England states, and later the
family getting into New York state. At an early
date the father removed to Kalamazoo, Michigan,
where he died about 1883. The mother of
the subject died a few days after his l:)irth.

ALFRED ABRAHAM was born in Chisago
count}-, Minnesota, on the 14th of September,
1856, and is a son of Charles and Beata Abra-
hamson, both of whom were born and reared in
Sweden, where their marriage was solemnized
and where two of their children were born. One
of the children died on the voyage to America and
another shortly afterward, one son died in 1885,
while those who survive are four sons and two
daughters. In 1853 Charles Abrahamson immi-
grated with his family to the United States, first
locating in La Salle. Illinois, where he remained
until the spring of the following year, when he
removed to Minnesota and settled in Chisago
countv, being one of its pioneers and there devel-
oping a valuable farm. His wife died in 1886,
while he still resides in Chisago county, having
attained the venerable age of eighty-four years.
Wliile he has retired from active labor he is
blessed with excellent health and is enjoying the
rewards of his former toil and endeavor, being a
man of sterling character and one who has ever
commanded the high regard of his fellow men.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

The subject of this review was reared on the
homestead farm and secured his early educational
training in the public schools of his native county.
He continued to be identified with the work on
the home farm and teaching school until 1882,
when he came to the present state of South Da-
kota. On the i6th of February of that year he
took up a homestead claim in Riverside township,
Brown county, where he improved a valuable
farm, the property now being owned by his
brother, John A., who there maintains his home,
at the same time being engaged in business and
becoming identified with the early history of Gro-
ton. South Dakota. Mr. Abraham continued
to devote his attention to farming and stock
growing until 1889, when he located in Lang-
ford, Marshall county, where he engaged in the
clothing and men's furnishing-goods business,
continuing operations until 1894, when he closed
the business. One year later he opened his pres-
ent store at Claremont, where he handles general
merchandise, and here he controls a large and
representative business and has a finely equipped
and appointed establishment. His brother, John
A., was associated with him in the business and
in 1899 they opened a lumber yard in connec-
tion with their mercantile enterprise, continu-
ing to be associated in the carrying on of both
until 1902, when the partnership was dissolved,
on the 1st of January, the subject retaining the
mercantile and lumber business while his brother
assumed the farm previously mentioned as his
share, the original claim having in the mean-
while been materially augmented in area. The
subject is the owner of a section of well-im-
proved land in the county, rentiug the same,
while in addition to this he has equity in six
other quarter sections in the county. Through
his energy and good management he has gained
noteworthy success since coming to South Da-
kota, and he is duly appreciative of the advant-
ages which have been here afforded him and
takes a deep interest in all that concerns the
welfare and advancement of his home town,
county and state. In politics Mr. Abraham is a
stanch adherent of the Republican partv. In
1892 he was elected county treasurer, and was }

chosen as his own successor two years later, thus
serving four consecutive years and giving a most
able administration of the fiscal affairs of the
county.

On the nth of November, 1900. ^Ir. Abra-
ham was united in marriage to Miss Maude E.
Grififith, who was born in Lakeview. Michigan.
and reared in South Dakota, being a daughter of
E. E. Grifiith, one of the honored pioneers of the
state. They have one son, Arden Louellwyn, who
was born on the 13th of ( )ctober, igoi.

THOMAS J. BILLION". M. D., one of the
prominent physician and surgeons of Sioux
Falls, is a native of Iowa, having been
born in the town of Sibley, on the 25th of
October, 1878, a son of Henry and Mary
(Rooney) Billion. When he was a child
of three years his parents removed to Mimiesota,
where he received his early educational discipline,
the family continuing to reside in that state until
he had attained the age of ten years, when they
came to South Dakota and took up their abode
in Sioux Falls, where the Doctor continued his
studies in the public schools, eventually entering
the Sioux Falls Nomial School. His parents still
reside in this city, his father being a commercial
traveler by vocation. In 1895 Dr. Billion was ma-
triculated in St. Thomas College, at St. Paul,
Minnesota, where he pursued a classical course,
remaining in the institution until 1897, when he
entered upon the technical work of preparing him-
self for the profession to which he had determined
to devote his life. He became a student in the
John A. Creighton Medical College, in Omaha,
Nebraska, where he completed the prescribed
course, being graduated as a member of the class
of 1901 and receiving his coveted degree of Doc-
tor of Medicine. Shortly after his graduation
the Doctor returned to Sioux Falls, where he es-
tablished an office, and here he has since been en-
gaged in the general practice of his profession,
in which his efiforts have been attended with
gratifying success, indicating a popular apprecia-
tion of his professional talent and his devotion to
his noble and humane vocation. He is a close

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

student of his profession and keeps in constant
touch with the advances made in the sciences of
medicine and surgery. The Doctor is a member
of the State Medical Society of South Dakota,
and is serving as county physician of ^linnehaha
county. In poHtics he is found stanchly ahgned
in support of the principles and policies of the
Republican part}', and fraternally is identified
with the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks.

CHARLES ALLEN HOWARD, who is suc-
cesfully engaged in the real-estate business in the
city of Aberdeen, was born in Frontier, Qinton
county, Xew York, on the i6th of July, 1865,
being a son of Charles Adams Howard, who was
a farmer by vocation, while the maiden name of
the subject's mother was Nancy Patterson.
Charles Adams Howard was likewise born in
Frontier, being a son of Junio Howard, whose
father, Antipas Howard, was numbered among
the early settlers in that section of the old Empire
state. Antipas Howard was born in Andover,
Vermont, and was a son of James Hayward, who
was born in Mendon, Massachusetts, on the i8th
of February, 1724. The latter was a son of
Jonathan Flayward, who was the third of the
name in America, being a son of Jonathan 2d,
who was a son of Jonathan ist, born in Ashford,
Connecticut, in 1692. The last mentioned was a
son of John Hayward, who was with Miles Stan-
dish in 1643. Martha, the wife of John Hay-
ward, was a daughter of Thomas Hayward, who
came from England prior to 1638 and settled
Duxbury, Phmouth county, Massachusetts. This
data is derived from Volume XI American An-
cestry, published in 1898. The subject is also a
grandson of Rebecca J. Spaulding, also repre-
senting one of the old and prominent families
of New England, the ancestry being fully traced
in the Spalding Memorial, published in 1897.

Charles A. Howard, the immediate subject of
this review, was reared on the old homestead
farm and his educational advantages were such
as were afforded in the public schools of his na-
tive county. By the death of his father, in 1877,

he was thrown upon his own resources, and went
to Ontario, Canada, in the following year, at the
age of thirteen. In 1879 he took up his residence
in Port Huron, Michigan, entering the employ of
the Grand Trunk Railroad and continuing in the
service until 1883. In May of that year he came
to Columbia, Brown county, Dakota. In Janu-
ary, 1884, he secured a' position as clerk in the
office of the register of deeds of Brown county,
and in January of the following year was ap-
pointed deputy register. He resigned this posi-
tion in November, 1885, and engaged in the ab-
stract business, in which he has ever since con-
tinued, in connection with his extensive real-estate
enterprise.

In November, 1887. Mr. Howard enlisted as
a private in Company F, National Guard of Da-
kota, in Aberdeen. He became corporal on the
3d of June, 1889: second lieutenant January 23,
1892: first lieutenant October 2, 1893; and cap-
tain May 7, 1894. He held this position in Com-
pany F, First Regiment, South Dakota National
Guard, until the outbreak of the Spanish-Amer-
ican war. He then took his company to Sioux
Falls, the state rendezvous, arriving there on the
1st of May, i8g8, where four days later he was
mustered into the L'nited States service as cap-
tain of Company F, First South Dakota In-
fantry, LTnited States Volunteers, enjoying the
distinction of being the first South Dakota sol-
dier to be mustered into the service of the United
States. On the same day he was promoted to ma-
jor of his regiment and assigned to the command
of the Second Battalion, consisting of Companies
D, M, F and E. He proceeded with his regi-
ment to the Philippines and took part in every
march, skirmish and battle in which any of this
valiant regiment was engaged during the war.
He was mustered out of the service, in San Fran-
cisco, California, in October, 1899, with the
other members of his regiment, which had made
a gallant record in the Orient. Major Howard
has ever been a stanch supporter of the Repub-
lican party and has been an active worker for the
promotion of its interests. He served as a mem-
ber of the board of aldennen of .\berdeen in
1890, and was a member of the state senate dur-

1456

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ing the general assembly of 1895. Fraternally
the subject is affiliated with the following named
bodies : Aberdeen Lodge, No. 38, Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons ; Aberdeen Qiapter, No.
14, Royal Arch Masons ; Damascus Commandery,
No. 10, Knights Templar; El Riad Temple, An-
cient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine; Aberdeen Lodge, No. 49, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows ; Aberdeen Lodge, No. 55,
Knights of Pythias; Bab-el- Wed Temple, No. 17,
Dramatic Order Knights of Khorassan, and Ab-
erdeen Lodge, No. 30, Ancient Order of United
Workmen. Of the last mentioned he has served
as master workman, while in 1900 he was emi-
nent commander of Damascus Commandery,
Knights Templar, being now the grand general-
issimo of the grand commandery of the state, and
has held other official chairs in the various bodies
noted. He has been a member of the Theosoph-
ical Society since 1898.

In Aberdeen, on the loth of December, 1902,
Major Howard was united in marriage to Miss
Grace E. Brown, who was born in Maquoketa,
Iowa, October 5, 1874, being a daughter of Eb-
enezer C. and Emma H. (Smith) Brown.

We cannot more consistently close this sketch
than by quoting the following words uttered by
its genial and popular subject; "I have been
since coming to Dakota an ardent believer in the
grand future of the territory now embraced in
the states of North and South Dakota, and this
confidence has never wavered, while to this in-
dividual faith I attribute my success in busi-
ness."

C. J. HAZEL, the president and general man-
ager of the Golden Rule Company, who conduct
the Golden Rule, one of the best equipped and
most popular department stores in Aberdeen, was
born in Odessa, southern Russia, on the 25th of
December, 1864, and is a son of Jacob Hazel,
who was born and reared in the same place and
who came to the United States in 1886 and took
up his residence in Campbell county. South Da-
kota, where he took up government land and en-
gaged in farming and stock growing. He is now

residing on his fine ranch eighteen miles west of
Eureka, Campbell county, and is one of the prom-
inent and honored citizens of his community. Of
the nine children in the family the subject of this
sketch was the third in order of birth. He was
educated in the excellent schools of his native
land, where he remained until 1885, when, at the
age of twenty years, he came to the United
States, making the present state of South Da-
kota his destination. He passed the first year
in Menno, Hutchinson county, and then removed
to Eureka, McPherson county, where he engaged
in the general merchandise business, beginning
operations upon a very modest scale. He con-
tinued the enterprise individually until 1888, when
he admitted Frederick Hepperle and Jacob Sau-
ter to partnership, this association continuing
until 1889, when Mr. Sauter withdrew, while in
1892 Mr. Hepperle likewise retired from the firm.
The business was thereafter continued under the
title of C. J. Hazel & Company, the father of our
subject being the silent partner. Most gratify-
ing success attended the enterprise under this
regime and the firm name was retained until
1897, when the concern was incorporated under
the title of the Eureka Bazaar, and the establish-
ment has since been in operation under this name
while it controls a very large business, having
a commodious and finely appointed store and ad-
equate warehouse facilities. The subject still re-
tains his interest in the business, having been
president of the company until 1901, when he re-
moved to Aberdeen and opened the Golden Rule
dry goods store of Hon. T. F. Marshall, located
in the Ward hotel building. Within the few in-
tervening years the house has gained a place of
unmistakable priority, while its stock has been
materially increased and various departments
added to the original dry-goods store. The store
occupied by the company has a frontage of fifty
feet and a depth of one hundred and thirty-six
feet, while the basement, of the same dimensions,
is utilized for the crockery, kitchen hardware,
grocery and other departments. Mr. Hazel is
president, treasurer and general manager of the
company, and is known as an alert and discrimi-
nating young business men, while it is largely due

C. J. HAZEL.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

to his efforts that the Golden Rule has risen so
rapidly in popularity and gained place as one of
the leading mercantile enterprises of the city.

In politics Mr. Hazel accords allegiance to the
Republican part}', and while a resident of Eureka
he served four years as a member of the village
council, and for an equal period as a member of
the board of education. Fraternally he is identi-
fied with the Modern Woodmen of America and
the Knights of the Maccabees.

On the nth of July, 1892. Mr. Hazel was
united in marriage to Miss Caroline Schamber,
a sister of Frederick W. Schamber, in whose
sketch, on another page of this work, is given
an outline of the family history. Mr. and Mrs.
Hazel have four children, Othillie, Higo, Elsie
and Edgar.

JOHN F. SAWYER, one of the representa-
tive citizens of Roubaix, Lawrence county, comes
of stanch old colonial stock, the name which he
bears having been identified with the annals of
American histon,' since the middle of the seven-
teenth century. The original progenitor in the
new world was Captain William Sawj'er, who
was a royalist in England, and on this account
was expelled by the great dictator, Oliver Crom-
well. He came to America in 1640, and settled in
what is now Newburyport, Massachusetts,
whence his immediate descendants later removed
to other parts of New England.

The subject of this sketch was born in Deer-
field. Rockingham county, New Hampshire, on
the 2d of March, 1856, and is a son of Ezra and
Sarah Collins (Bean) Sawyer, both of whom
were likewise born and reared in the old Gran-
ite state, where they passed their entire lives.
Samuel Collins, great-grandfather of the subject
in the maternal line, was a drummer boy in the
war of the Revolution, and during the war of
1812 served with distinction, holding the office of
captain. He was prominently identified with the
establishing of the United States military acad-
emy at West Point, and continued to be deeply
interested in military affairs during his entire life.
]\Ir. .Sawver is a direct descendant, on the ma-

ternal side, of Hannah Dustin, whose name is
perpetuated in early American history. While a
captive of the Indians on an island in the Mer-
rimac she arose at night, awakened her compan-
ion captive, a boy of ten, with whose aid she
tomahawked and scalped the entire party of thir-
teen Indians and escaped in a canoe down the
river. A statue of this noble woman graces the
scene of her heroic exploit. The father of the
subject was successfully engaged in the lumber
business in New Hampshire during the greater
portion of his active career, and was a man of
prominence and influence in his section.

John F. Sawyer completed the curriculum of
the common schools in his native village and then
further pursued his studies in the Northwood
Academy. After leaving school in 1874, he came
west to Dubuque, Iowa, where he was in the
employ of the Illinois Central Railroad Com-
pany for the ensuing two years, at the expiration
of which he set forth for the Black Hills. Upon
his arrival he secured employment in the Home-
stake mine, where he worked two years. He
then went out as a shipper of wood and timber
on the Black Hills & Fort Pierre Railroad, in the
interests of the Homestake and associated mining
companies of this district, and has continued to
be actively concerned in this enterprise ever since,
shipping the entire supply for some time and now
having charge of all the narrow-gauge shipments
to these companies. Mr. Sawyer is a stockholder
in the First National Bank of Lead, also in the
Lead Hotel Company, having owned the corner
upon which the hotel was erected ; he is also a
stockholder in the First National Bank of Dead-
wood. He has directed his efforts with signal
discrimination and good judgment since coming
to the state, and is now one of the substantial and
highly honored citizens of the Hills. In poli-
tics he gives his support to the Republican party.
Fraternally he is numbered among the noble
band of Elks.

On the 29th of January, i8gi, Mr. Sawyer
was united . in marriage to Miss Nellie Pierce,
who was born and reared in Iowa, being a daugh-
ter of Jesse P. Pierce, who for the past thirty
vears has been identified with the board of trade

1458

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

and live-stock- interests of Chicago. Mr. and
Mrs. Sawyer have no children, having lost their
onlv child, a son, in infancy.

LEWIS E. WOOD, auditor of Spink county,
was born near Bourbon, Marshall county, Indi-
ana, on the 15th of August, 1853, and is a son of
Daniel R. and Lydia E. (Wickersham) Wood,
I)oth of whom were bom in Ohio. Daniel R.
Wood was of Welsh and English extraction and
the original ancestors in America were early set-
tled in Virginia, which was the theater of so
important a portion of the historic events of our
nation. The mother of the subject was a repre-
sentative of the old English Quaker family of
Wickershams. who settled in Pennsylvania as
colonists of William Penn. The parents of the
subject removed from Ohio to the densely tim-
bered region of Marshall county, Indiana, in
1 85 1, and there literally hewed out a home in the
midst of the virgin forest.

Lewis Edwin Wood, the immediate subject
of this review, was reared under the sturdy disci-
pline of the old homestead farm. His rudimen-
tary education was secured in the district schools
and was supplemented by efifective courses of
study in the public schools of Rochester, Indi-
ana. He taught in the schools of his native
county for three years, after which he was en-
gaged in farming in that county until 1883, when
he came to South Dakota, in company with his
brothers, Joshua F. and Joseph T. He entered a
homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres,
near the present town of Doland, Spink county,
and here developed a valuable fami. He assisted
in the organization of the first school districts
in the county and in the erection of the first
school buildings, while his efforts in looking to
the educational interests of the new county were
freely given and did not lack for popular appre-
ciation. In 1896 he located in Doland, where he
was engaged in the drug and jewelry business
imtil I goo, disposing of his interests there upon
his election to his present office. He has ever
been found a stanch advocate of the principles of
tlic Republican parly, and has striven to main-

tain the honesty of the party and to defend it
against corrupting influences. In 1895 he was
elected a member of the board of county commis-
sioners, and was re-elected in 1898. Before the
expiration of his second term he was elected to
his present office of county auditor, removing
with his family to Redfield in 1901. He gave a
most able and satisfactory administration of the
affairs of this office and was honored with re-
election in the fall of 1902. Fraternally he is
identified with the Masonic order, the Knights
of Pythias, the Ancient Order of United Work-
men and the Modern Woodmen of America.

In June, 1876, Mr. Wood was united in mar-
riage to Miss Mary T. Kirk, who was a success-
ful and popular teacher in the schools of their
home county in Indiana. She was summoned
to the life eternal in January, 1895, ^"<1 is sur-
vived by her two children, Roscoe, who is now
a commercial traveler for the Jewett wholesale
drug house, of Aberdeen, this state, and Elma,
who was graduated in shorthand and typewrit-
ing in Redfield College, and who now finds her
services much in demand in the various offices in
her home town. In May, 1897, Mr. Wood con-
summated a second marriage, being then united
to Miss Eliza Richards, who was for seven years
a teacher in the primary department of the graded
schools of Argos, Indiana, in which state she was
bom and reared.

WILLIAM A. MORRIS, one of the leading
members of the legal profession of Spink county,
and a prominent citizen of Redfield, was born
at Mount Carroll, Carroll county, Illinois, on
December 13, 1864, and is the son of J. P. and
Jamima Morris, both natives of Oliio. When a
youth the father removed to Wisconsin with his
parents, and he there grew to manhood, and was
there married. From Wisconsin the parents of
the subject removed to Carroll county, Illinois,
where they resided until 1881, then removed to
Fulton, Illinois. In 1896 they came to Redfield.
The mother died in 1899, and the father died in
July, 1901.

William A. Morris was reared on the home

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1459

farm in Illinois. He attended the district schools,
and then entered the Northern Illinois Colleg'e at
Fulton, where he was graduated in the class of
1883. While a student at college he also read
law to some extent. After leaving college he be-
came associated with his brother, S. E. Morris, in
the clothing business at Fulton, Illinois. Subse-
quently they removed their business to Darling-
ton, Wisconsin, and combined the same until
S. E. Morris came to South Dakota, at which
time the subject resumed his legal studies.
In 1888 he came to South Dakota, and the
following year was admitted to the bar of the
state. In January, 1890, he engaged in the
practice at Redfield, where he has since con-
tinued with success. In 1894 Mr. Morris
was elected state's attorney for Spink county,
and was re-elected in 1896. During 1893-4 he
also held the office of city attorney for Redfield.
At the national meeting of the Sons of Veterans
held at Syracuse, New York, in 1901, Mr. Mor-
ris was elected by that body to the position of
secretary and attorney for the Memorial Univer-
sity, the buildings for which are now in course
of erection at Mason City, Iowa. The duties of
his dual office requires the presence of Mr. Mor-
ris in Alason Citv a considerable portion of his
time.

Mr. Morris is a Republican in politics. He
is identified with the Masonic fraternity, belong-
ing to the chapter and commandery of that or-
der. He is also a member of the Knights of
Pythias.

On December 29, 1892, Mr. Morris was mar-
ried to Edna Upton, who was born in Illinois,
and who came with her parents to South Dakota
in 1886. To this union the following children
have been born : Marguerite, Helen and Merle,
the last named having died at the age of six
^ears.

HERMAN \'. SEARS, of Tlankinton, Au-
rora county, was born in Rock county, Wiscon-
sin, on the 23d of October, 1848, being a son of
Thomas W. and Elizabeth K. (Stone) Sears, of

en thr

Ht

\'., subject of this sketch; Edgar P., engaged in
tlie real-estate business in Salt Lake City ; and
Minnie, wife of J. F. Anderson, a lumber mer-
chant of Mitchell, South Dakota. Thomas W.
Sears was born in Southampton, England, and
was ten years of age at the time of his parents'
emigration to America, the family settling on a
farm in New York state, where he was reared
and educated. He came west about 1845 and set-
tled in Rock county, Wisconsin, as a pioneer
farmer, purchasing government land and there
continuing to follow agricultural pursuits until
1867, when he removed to West Union, Iowa,
where he engaged in mercantile business and was
also interested in farming. In 1882 he came to
Chamberlain, South Dakota, and here made wise
investments in connection with various enter-
prises, having likewise been in advance of the
tide of immigration in this state, as had he been
in- Wisconsin and Iowa. He here lived practi-
cally retired until his death, in 1887. He was a
Republican in politics and both he and his wife
were active members of the Congregational
church, her death occurring in 1888.

Herman V. Sears secured his rudimentary
education in the public schools and thereafter
attended the Allen's Hill Seminary, at Allen's
Hill, Wisconsin. He continued to be identified
with farming until 1873, when he engaged in the
livery and live-stock business in West Union,
Iowa. In 1881 he came as a pioneer to Cham-
berlain, South Dakota, and here, on the 1st of
January of that year, was associated with George
Wright in opening to the public the popular
hotel then known as the Wright House and now
as the Mussman House. One year later he sold
his interest to his partner and engaged in the
livery and live-stock business, disposing of his
livery a few years later and then becoming exten-
sively engaged in the ranching business in Jack-
son cotmty, being associated in this enterprise
with his eldest son. In 1900 Mr. Sears, in com-
pany with J. W. Sanford and W. L. Montgom-
ery, organized the Commercial Bank at Plankin-
ton, and he was chosen cashier of the same, in
which capacity he has since served, the bank hav-
ing gained a high reputation for stability and ca-

1460

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

pable management. In the spring of 1903 the
subject purchased the interest of Mr. Sanford and
the institution is now owned by him and Mr.
Montgomery. Mr. Sears is a progressive and
pubhc-spirited citizen, is a stalwart Repubhcan
in poHtics and served as a member of the council
and the school board while a resident of Cham-
berlain. He is a member of West Union Lodge,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in West
Union, Iowa, and also of the Iowa Legion of
Honor, while he is identified with the various
bodies of the Masonic fraternity in Qiamberlain
and with the consistory of the Scottish Rite in
Yankton, having attained to the thirty-second de-
gree in the same.

On the 5th of March, 1869, Air. Sears was
united in marriage to Miss Libbie Wade, of Sum-
ner, Iowa, who died June 14, 1882, and of their
four children three are living, namely : Fred H.,
who has charge of the ranching business in which
he is associated with his father; Nellie W., who
has charge of the books in the lumber yards of
J. F. Anderson at the headquarters in Mitchell,
this state ; and Charles W., who is in the marine
service at Yokohama, Japan, having participated
in the Chinese campaign and also in the military
maneuvers in the Philippines. On August 8,
1884, Mr. Sears was married to Miss Belle
Drury. of Mason, Illinois, and they have one
child. Lulu M. Sears, born September 20, 1889.

AARON S. STU\"ER, a well-known and
honored citizen of 'Kimball, Brule county, is a na-
tive of the old Keystone state, having been born
in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, on the
5th of January, 1842, a son of Charles and Mars'
(Santee) Stuver, of whose twelve children ten
are yet living. The ))arents removed to Summit
county, Ohio, when the subject was but seven
years of age, and there he received his prelimi-
nary educational discipline in the common schools,
after which he continued his studies in Hiram
College, at Hiram, that state, the late President
James A. Garfield having been at the head of the
institution at the time. In August, 1862, Mr.
Stuver manifested his loyalty and patriotism by

enlisting as a private in Company I, One Hun-
dred and Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry,
which was assigned to the Army of the Cumber-
land, and he continued in active service until the
I close of the war, having participated in several
I important battles and having ever been found at
the post of duty, while the history of his regiment
is the history of his military career. He received
his honorable discharge at Murfreesboro, Ten-
nessee, June 22, 1865. He retains his interest in
his old comrades in arms and manifests the same
by holding membership in the Grand .\rmy of
the Republic.

After the close of the war Mr. Stuver went to
Illinois, where he followed the vocation of land
surveyor about two years, at the expiration of
which he located in Jasper county, Iowa, where
he completed a thorough course of study in the
law, being admitted to the bar of the state in 1871.
He then entered upon the active practice of his
profession in Newton, Iowa, where he remained
until 1880, when he removed to Colorado and
turned his attention to mining and civil engineer-
ing. On the 20th of October, 1882, he arrived in
Brule county. South Dakota, and the attitude
which he held in regard to his mining operations
may be understood when we revert to the fact
that he admits that at that time he considered a
quarter section of Dakota land worth more than
an average mine in Colorado. He has been ac-
tively engaged in the practice of his profession
ever since coming to the county and he is also
engaged in the abstract business at the present
time, having maintained his home and business
headquarters in Kimball since 1885. He is at
the present time a member of the board of com-
missioners of the State Soldiers' Home, at Hot
Springs, having been appointed to this position
by Governor Herreid, in 1904, for a term of six
years. In politics Mr. Stuver is a stalwart advo-
cate of the principles of the Republican party,
taking an active part in the party councils in his
county and state, and fraternally he is identified
with the Masonic order.

In 1872- was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Stuver to Aliss Josephine Hough, who died in
Chamberlain, this state, in August, 1883. In

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

146 1

1887 he married Miss Ellen Pratt, who was sum-
moned into eternal rest in 1896, the family home
at the time having been on a farm owned by the
subject near Kimball. On the 26th of June,
iQOO, Mr. Stuver married j\Iiss Flora \\'eitzcl, at
Warsaw, Indiana. They have no children, nor
were any born of the preceding marriages.

FRANCIS D. ADAMS, deceased, late of
Groton, Brown county, was a native of the old
Green Mountain state, having been born in Wa-
terbury, Vermont, on the 21st of February, 1838,
while it can not be denied that he possessed to a
marked degree the noble characteristics which
ever typify the sturdy sons of New England. He
was reared and educated in his native state and
tliere remained until about the year 1861, when
he came west to the state of [Michigan, locating
in Grattan, Kent county, where he became asso-
ciated with his brothers, George and John, in the;
manufacturing of furniture, wagons and car-
riages. To this enterprise he was giving his at-
tention at the time when the dark cloud of war
cast its pall over the nation, and he forthwith
subordinated his personal interests to the needs
of his country. He efifected the organization of
Company D, First Michigan Engineers and Ale-
chanics, and was elected second lieutenant of the
same, later being promoted first lieutenant, while
he acted in the capacity of adjutant general. Mr.
Adams was in active service for two and one-
half years, and his record was that of a loyal and
valiant son of the Republic. After victory had
crowned the Union arms it was his privilege to
participate in the grand review, in the national
capital.

After the war Mr. Adams continued his resi-
dence in Grattan and Lowell, Michigan, until
1S80. when he came to Groton, South Dakota,
where he forthwith identified himself most inti-
mately with local affairs, his mental powers and
long business experience well equipping him for
leadership. He here became associated with S.
W. Weber and H. C. Sessions in the organization
of the Farmers' Bank, which was later reorgan-
'ized as the Brown County Bank, and of this well-

known and popular institutioil he served as a di-
rector until his death, while he also made large
and judicious investments in lands in the valley
of the James river. He ever kept in touch with
civic and public affairs, was progressive in his
ideas and did his part in promoting the develop-
ment and material prosperity of his home city,

In politics ]\Ir. Adams gave an uncompromis-
ing support t(i the |irinciples of the Republican
party, and in i8i)_' he was elected to represent
his district in the state senate, this being the
third general assembly after the admission of
South Dakota to the Union. In the council cham-
bers of the commonwealth he proved anew his
loyalty and his ability, being recognized as one
of the valuable working members of the senato-
rial body and being made chairman of the im-
portant committee on appropriations. In 1895
Governor Sheldon appointed Mr. Adams a
member of the state board of regents of education,
and here his inHuence was exerted in a mo.st help-
ful way. He continued incumbent of this office
until he was summoned from the field of life's
labors. His religious faith was liberal, mainly in
doing good to those around him. Fraternally he
was a member of the Masonic order, in which
he had attained the Knights Templar degrees,
his funeral services being conducted under the
lje;uitiful and impressive ritual and ceremonies
of this time-honored fraternity. The death of
Mr. Adams occurred on the 17th of January,
1899. and the community manifested a sense of
personal bereavement, for he was a man who ever
held friendship as inviolate and one who had
made his entire life count for good. He was
kindly and considerate, tolerant in his judgment,
earnest and sincere in all things. It is needless
to say that the passing away of such an individ-
ual must leave a distinct void.

On the isth of March, 1871, Mr. Adams was
united in marriage to Miss Jane Ashley, of Grat-
tan. Michigan, she being a daughter of Sheldon
Ashley, a pioneer of Kent county, that state, and
an influential citizen. Mrs. Adams survives her
honored husband, as do also their four children,
namely: Persis E., who is the wife of Robert
Reynolds, of Groton; George Sheldon, 'M. D.,

1462

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

who is a member of the medical staff of the state
hospital, at Yankton: John Francis, who is a stu-
dent in Rush Medical College, in the city of Chi-
cago; and Charles Edwin, who is a student in
the University of Minnesota.

H.\RRY D. CHAMBERLAIN, the efficient
and popular Indian agent at the Crow Creek res-
ervation, was born in Boone county, Illinois, on
the 3d of September, 1856, and is a son of Jo-
seph and Sally (Hovey) Chamberlain, of whose
eleven children five are still living, namely :
Helen, who is the widow of O. C. Brown, is a
resident of Sterling, Nebraska ; Eliza J. is the
wife of Eugene Reeves, of Burr, that state; Le-
roy E. is a resident of Capron, Illinois ; Harry
D. is the immediate subject of this sketch ; and
Horace resides in Belvidere, Illinois. The par-
ents of the subject were born in New York. Jo-
seph Chamberlain removed with his mother to
Boone county, Illinois, in 1832, his father having
died in Brattleboro, Vermont, and a few years
later the parents of his future wife also took up
abode in the same county, which was then prac-
tically an unbroken wilderness. The paternal
grandmother of the subject was one of the first
settlers in that section, where she lived to attain
the venerable age of ninety-eight years, while the
maternal grandparents had nearly attained the age
of ninety at time of death. Joseph Chamberlain
became one of the pioneer farmers of Illinois,
and his death occurred on the land which he se-
cured from the government fifty-nine years prior
to his demise, which occurred in 1891. After his
death his widow removed into tlie town of Ca-
pron, where she has since maintained her home,
being eighty-one years of age at the time of this
writing, in 1903. The father was originally a
Whig and later a Republican, and though he held
various local positions of trust he was never an
office seeker.

The subject of this review was reared on the
old homestead farm and his early educational ad-
vantages were those afforded in the common
schools. He was married at the age of twenty
years and then took charge of the home farm.

where he remained until the spring of 1883, when
he came to the territory of Dakota and located in
the village of Lafoon, which was later made the
county seat of Faulk county. South Dakota. In
1886 the line of the Chicago & Northwestern
Railroad was completed through Faulkton. and
the same year the subject was elected sheriff' of
the county. The county seat was removed to
Faulkton in the following year, and Mr. Cham-
berlain naturally transferred his residence to that
place. In 1888 he was re-elected to the shrievalty,
thus serving for two consecutive terms. After re-
tiring from office he was engaged in contracting
for one year, and in 1892 engaged in the general
merchandise business in Faulkton. Two years
later he closed out his interests in this line, and
he was thereafter engaged in the hotel business in
the town until June i. 1901, when he rented his
hotel property to enter upon the duties of his
present ofifice. He has been one of the leading
figures in the Republican party councils in the
state, having served two terms as a member of
the state central committee, and in May, 1902, he
was appointed to his present office as govern-
ment agent at the Crow Creek Indian reservation,
where he is rendering most satisfactory service.
He is a member of Faulkton Lodge, No. 95, Free
and Accepted Masons ; Faulkton Giapter, No.
30, Royal Arch Masons; Lacotah Commandery,
No. 6. Knights Templar; and El Riad Temple,
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mys-
tic Shrine, at Sioux Falls.

On the 29th of November, 1876, ilr. Cham-
berlain was married to Miss Ada S. Marvin, of
LTnion Center, Wisconsin, and of their seven chil-
dren three are living, namely : Iva, who is the
wife of Rude H. Sands, of Belvidere, IlHnois ;
and Josie F. and Vera, who remain at the pa-
rental home.

ALMON CASE WHITBECK, of Cham-
berlain, is a prominent figure in financial circles
in the state, being a member of the firm of Case
& Whitbeck, bankers of Giamberlain and Oa-
coma, and being individually engaged in the
banking business at Kimball, this state. He was

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[463

born in Sodus, Wayne county, New York, on
the 3d of May, '1864, and is a son of Cornelius
A. and Mary M. (Case) Whitbeck, whose four
Hving children are as follows : Minnie L., the
wife of W. G. Wallace, of Albion, Michigan;
James, paymaster's clerk in the United States
navy and now stationed on the island of Guam ;
Anna E., who remains at the parental home ; and
Almon C, the subject of this sketch. The par-
ents were hkewise born in Sodus, New York, be-
ing representatives of sterling pioneer families of
that state, and there they still maintain their
home. The parental grandparents were of the
old Knickerbocker stock, and were born in Co-
lumbia county. New York, on the Hudson, where
their respective parents settled upon coming from
Holland. The father of the subject devoted his
active life to agricultural pursuits and has lived
retired for the past three years. The maternal
grandfather was born in New England and his
wife was of Holland Dutch extraction.

The subject of this sketch was reared on the
homestead farm and after completing the curric-
ulum of the district schools continued his studies
in Sodus Academy and in the Genesee Wesleyan
Seminary, at Lima, New York, where he com-
pleted a scientific course, being graduated as a
member of the class of 1-882. He then went to
Poughkeepsie. New York, and was there gradu-
ated in the Eastman Business College, after
which he accepted a position as city editor of the
Poughkeepsie Daily News, being retained in this
capacity until after the consolidation of the paper
with the Evening Press, under the name of the
Daily News-Press. His duties in the connection
were arduous and exacting, and his health be-
came so much impaired that he resigned his posi-
tion in the autumn of 1883. After recuperating
from a serious illness he came west to Iowa and
entered the employ of his uncle, Almon G. Case,
working in his banking houses in Charles City
and Nashua. In September, 1884, Mr. Whitbeck
came to Chamberlain. South Dakota, where he be-
came the first bookkeeper of the First National
Bank, ill health compelling him to resign the po-
sition about six weeks later, whereupon he re-
turned to his home in New York and passed a

year on the home farm, being thus enabled to re-
gain his health. In January, 1886, he came to
Ivimball, South Dakota, and secured the position
of cashier in thr Henry & Case Bank, gradually
working himself up in the business and eventually
purchasing the interest of Mr. Henry in the insti-
tution, of which he became sole owner in 1895,
by acquiring the interest of Mr. Case, his uncle.
This bank was established in 1883 and is still
conducted by our subject, its atTairs being in a
most prosperous condition and being conducted
under state supervision. In June, 1897, Messrs.
Case and Whitbeck opened a private banking in-
stitution in Oacoma, and in August, 1901, became
associated in the establishing of the Case & Whit-
beck Bank in Qiamberlain, our subject being thus
identified with three substantial and popular bank-
ing institutions in the state and being known as
an able and discriminating financier, while his
course has been such as to ever commend him to
popular confidence and esteem. In politics Mr.
Whitbeck is a stanch Democrat, and while never
a seeker of public ofiice he served as mayor of
Kimball, while since taking up his residence in
Chamberlain he has served as a member of the
board of aldermen. He is a member of Castle
Lodge, No. 10, Knights of Pythias, of which
he is chancellor commander.

On the 23d of May. 1888, Mr. Whitbeck was
married to Miss Emily May Pomeroy, of Nashua,
Iowa, and they are the parents of two. children,
Clarence A. and Laura M. Mrs. Whitbeck was
born at Greenwood, Iowa, September i, 1865, the
daughter of George A. and Catharine Pomeroy.
She affiliates with the Episcopal church, which
her husband and children also attend.

RUSSELL G. PARMLEY, senior member
of the well-known firm of R. G. Parmley &
Brother, dealers in coal, coke, fire brick, clay, lime
and cement, sewer pipe, pressed brick, etc., in the
city of Sioux Falls, with headquarters at 201
Second avenue south, is one of the representative
business men of the city, where he has main-
tained his home for a quarter of a century, his
business career having closely followed the Indus-

1464

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

trial development of the town, of which he may
consistently be termed a pioneer, while he com-
mands the confidence and regard which are the
invariable concomitants of sterling integrity and
straightforward business methods.

Mr. Parmley was born on a farm in Rock
county, Wisconsin, on the 13th of March, 1851,
being a son of Ira and Aurora E. (Austin) Parm-
ley, both of whom are now deceased, while of
their seven children five are living. The subject
was reared to the wholesome discipline of the
farm and received his early educational training
in the common schools of his native county, in-
cluding a course in the high school in Janesville.
He continued to be associated with the manage-
ment of the old homestead farm until he had at-
tained the age of twenty-five years, when he es-
tablished himself in the grain business in Foot-
ville, Wisconsin, where he continued operations
until 1878, when he came to the territory of Da-
kota and located in what was then the village of
Sioux Falls, where he engaged in the coal and
wood business. His energy and good manage-
ment made the venture a successful one from the
time of its initiation, and three years later he ad-
mitted his brother Harry to partnership. Since
that time the enterprise has been consecutively
conducted under the firm name of R. G. Parmley
& Brother, while its scope has been expanded
materially and the business controlled has become
a large and important one in the various lines of
products handled, while special attention has been
given to the building of cement walks, in which
line they arc numbered among the leading con-
tractors in the city. Mr. Parmley was one of the
organizers of the Union National Bank, of which
he was vice-president until the time of its closing
business. He was elected president of the old
Commercial Oub, which accomplished excellent
work in exploiting the attractions and resources
of the city and state, and he is at the present time
president of the Dakota Club, a strong and val-
ued business and social organization. He is a
stanch advocate of the principles and policies of
the Republican party, and while not ambitious
for public office his loyalty to his home city has
been such that he has consented to serve as a

member of the city council and also of the board
of education. Fraternally he is identified with
the Masonic order, in which he has attained the
chivalric degrees, being affihated with Cyrene
Commandery, Knights Templar.

On the 25th of December, 1872, Mr. Parm-
ley was united in marriage to Miss Fannie A.
Dann. of Center. Rock county, Wisconsin, and
thev have two sons. Arthur L. and Frank G.

DANIEL BRUNER GETTY, of Sioux
Falls, was born in Providence Square. Montgom-
ery county, Pennsylvania, on the loth of Febru-
ary, 1865, and is a son of David Todd Getty, who
was likewise born in the old Keystone state, the
lineage being of German and Irish extraction.
When our subject was about two years of age his
parents removed to Iowa, and in the public schools
of Belle Plain, that state, he received his early
educational discipline. In the spring of 1885
he secured a clerkship in the office of the Iowa
Mutual Benefit Association, an assessment life-
insurance company, at Toledo, Iowa, where he
remained until the autumn of 1886, when he came
to Sioux Falls, to enter the employ of the Fargo
Insurance Company, fire underwriters. In the
spring of the following year he accepted a clerical
position in the office of Hon. Nyrum E. Phillips,
register of deeds of Minnehaha county, and he
continued to be thereafter identified with the
work of the register's office during the major
portion of the time until the spring of 1893, hav-
ing had practical control of the abstract depart-
ment of the office during this interval. In the
spring of the year mentioned Mr. Phillips was
appointed warden of the South Dakota state pen-
itentiary, in Sioux Falls, and the subject of this
sketch was appointed clerk in the same institu-
tion, and both retained these respective offices
until May 10, 1899, when they resigned, owing
principally to the fact that a Populist governor
had been elected the preceding autumn. Mr.
Getty has been successfully established in the
abstract business since August 27, 1899, and his
long experience in connection with the practical
work of the office of register of deeds has made

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1465

his judgment in regard to real-estate in this sec-
tion authoritative, and he has gained a high repu-
tation for accurate, neat and altogether admirable
abstract work, while this fact, as coupled with his
personal popularity, has gained to him a distinct-
ively representative support. In politics Mr.
Getty. is a stanch advocate of the principles and
policies of the Republican party, in whose cause
he takes a lively interest, and fraternally he is af-
filiated with the local organizations of the Be-
nevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the
Ancient Order of United Workmen. Both he
and his wife hold membership in the Congre-
gational church.

On the 27th of June, 1899, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Getty to Miss Blanche I.
Metcalf, who was born at Lake Benton, Minne-
sota, on the 27th of June, 1873, being a daughter
of Edward S. and Anna ]\Ietcalf.

RT. REV. WILLIAM H. HARE.— The
Protestant Episcopal church has ever retained in
her far-reaching service and manifold works for
the uplifting of humanity the consecrated effort
of the most zealous and self-abnegating devo-
tees. No privations, no obstacles, no dangers
have been sufficient to deter her emissaries from
carrvnng the gospel of the divine Master to the
furthermost corners of the earth, doing good to
all those "in any ways afflicted or distressed in
mind, body or estate." Naught but honor and
reverence can be accorded to those who thus give
their lives to the church and to humanity, and it
is insistent that due record be entered in this con-
nection concerning the labors of the present mis-
sionary bishop of the state of South Dakota, the
sketch in hand being more of a personal nature,
since in the generic history in this publication
appears an article outlining the progress of the
church work in this field.

William Hobart Hare was born in the city of
Princeton, New Jersey, on the 17th of May, 1838,
being a son of Rev. George Emlen Hare, D. D.,
and Elizabeth Katherine (Hobart) Hare, the
former of whom was born in the state of Penn-

sylvania and the latter in that of New York.
Dr. Hare was for many years a professor in the
divinity school of the Protestant Episcopal
church in Philadelphia, and was a prominent
member of the Old Testament committee for the
revision of the English version of the Bible, be-
ing a man of noble character and high intellectual
attainments. The American branch of the Hare
family settled in the city of Philadelphia in 1778,
and the subject of this sketch is a grandson of
the famous Bishop Hobart, of New York, and a
great-grandson of Rev. Thomas Bradbury
Chandler, whose name is one of prominence in
connection with the colonial history of our na-
tion. The founder of the Hobart family in the
new world was Edmund Hobart, who came
hither from Bingham. Norfolk county, England,
in 1633, ^"d who founded the town of Bingham,
Massachusetts.. He had eight sons and six of the
number were graduated in Harvard College, the
newly established university of the colony. Five
of them entered the ministry, a profession which
had attracted a number of representatives of the
family in England, the late Earl of Buckingham-
shire, a member of the family, having been a
member of the clergy of the established church
of England as well as a peer of the realm.

Bishop Hare was educated in the Episcopal
Academy in the city of Philadelphia and in the
University of Pennsylvania. He then began the
work of preparing himself for the ministry of the
church which his honored father had so signally
served, entering the Episcopal Divinity School,
in Philadelphia, of which his father was at the
time the executive head. Here he completed his
ecclesiastical studies and on the 19th of June,
1859, received deacon's orders at the episcopal
hands of Bishop Bowman, of the diocese of
Pennsylvania. While in the diaconate he served
as assistant to the rector of St. Luke's parish,
Philadelphia. After two years he became rector
of St. Paul's, Qiestnut Hill, Philadelphia.

He was married on the 30th of October, 1861,
to Mary Amory Howe, a daughter of Rev. Mark
Anthony DeWolfe Howe, who subsequently be-
came bishop of the diocese of Central Pennsyl-
vania. She died a few years after marriage.

1466

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

leaving one child, Hobart Amory Hare, who is
a member of the faculty of Jefferson Medical
College, in the city of Philadedphia, and the au-
thor of well-known medical works. In 1862
the subject of this sketch received the full holy
orders of the priesthood, having been ordained
by Bishop Alonzo Potter, in St. Paul's church,
Q:estnut Hill. Resigning that cure on account
of the illness of his wife, he took charge for a
year as locum tenens of St. Luke's, Philadelphia.
In 1864 he was chosen rector of the Church of the
Ascension and served in this capacity until 1870,
when he was appointed secretary and general
agent of the foreign committee of the board of
missions of the Episcopal church. In October,

1871. the house of bishops elected him mission-
ar\- bishop of Cape Paimas and parts adjacent,
in west Africa. The house of deputies, however,
represented that his services were invaluable in
the office of which he was at the time incumbent,
and the house of bishops withdrew the nomina-
tion mentioned. On All Saints' day, November,

1872, the house of bishops again elected him
bishop, with tlie title of missionary bishop of
Niobrara, a district in the territory of Dakota,
and one inhabited at that time chiefly by wild
Indians. After somewhat of hesitation Bishop
Hare accepted the appointment and was conse-
crated in St. Luke's church, Philadelphia, on the
9th of January, 1873. receiving simultaneously
the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Trinity
College, Hartford, and Kenyon College, Ohio,
while Columbia College conferred upon him the
degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology.

The wilderness assigned to the young bishop
seemed an almost unmanageable field, but he be-
took himself to tent life and traveled over the
wild coimtry and, having thus made himself fa-
miliar witli it, he gradually divided it into ten de-
partmentj and placed a clergyman of ability and
fidelity in charge of each of these departments
and the missionary work soon fell into shape and
was carried on with comparative ease.

The development of South Dakota and its
final admission to statehood led to a slight
change in the territory assigned to his jurisdic-
tion, and in 1883 his title was changed to mis-
sionary bishop nf South Dakota, and he chose

Sioux Falls as the see city of his missionary dio-
cese. He has labored with all of zeal and earn-
estness and has infused vitality into all depart-
ments of church work in his diocese, while he has
been aided and encouraged by the hearty and
faithful co-operation of his clergy and his people.
It has been liTs to watch the progress of the
church in South Dakota from its inception, ever
keeping pace with the onward march of
the years as they have fallen into the
abyss of time. He has guided the des-
tinies of his church with a hand made
strong by power from on high, and with the
power which came to steady the hand has also
come the divine light to illume the way. In pol-
itics the Bishop gives his allegiance to the Repub-
can party, jealously maintaining "the right of
scratch," and fraternally he is identified with
the Masonic order. He has witnessed the rise
of the state, where he has served as bishop for
thirty-two years, is loyal to it and its people and
has the sincere respect and affectionate regard
of all with whom he has come in contact as a
church man and as a citizen.

The Bishop was quite alive to the intelligent
character of the leading people coming into the
newly formed state, and to the educational priv-
ileges they had left behind them in their old
homes. It was for this reason that the well-
known institution. All Saints' School, was pro-
jected and laid before the people of Sioux Falls.
They cordially responded and subscribed toward
the proposed institution in cash and land ten
thousand dollars. The school occupies high
ground at the head of the main street on the
southern edge of the city of Sioux Falls on a
five-acre tract. A large part of the ground
slopes off from the building towards the town
in a beautiful lawn adorned by shrubs and fine
.shade trees. On all sides streets sixty-six feet
wide isolate and 'protect the school. In the midst
of the grounds stands the building itself, marked
by striking architectural features. The school
has the patronage of many influential people of
the state. The Bishop has apartments in the east-
ern end of the building and makes his home with
the family and the institution is a fit culmination
of liis work.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1467

SAMUEL H. JUMPER, of Aberdeen,
Brown county, was born in New Gloucester,
^faine. on the 24th of October, 1844, and his par-
tL-nts. John and Mary (Tufts) Jumper, were
Hkewise born in that state, where they passed
their entire Hves, the father havino; been a farmer
l)y vocation, while both he and his wife were of
EngHsh genealogy.

Samuel Henry Jumper received his early ed-
ucation in the common schools of his native state,
where he was reared to manhood. At the out-
break of the war of the Rebellion he, in Septem-
ber, 1861, enlisted in Company K, Tenth Maine
A'olunteer Infantry, with which he proceeded to
the front and served until the expiration of his
term, in the summer of 1863, when he re-enlisted
in Company K. Twenty-ninth Maine Veteran
A'olunteer Infantry, with which he served until
July, 1866, when he received his honorable dis-
charge, having been sergeant major of his regi-
ment during the last year. He took part in the
battles of South Mountain, Winchester, Cul-
peper, Antietam, South Mountain, Fisher's Hill,
Cedar Creek and many other engagements and
skirmishes of somewhat less importance. In the
battle of Cedar Creek he received a severe wound
and was there promoted for meritorious conduct
on the field of battle. In 1864 his regiment went
with Banks on the famous Red River expedition.
]\Ir. Jumper had the distinction of taking part
in the grand review of the victorious armies in
the city of Washington after the Union arms had
been crowned with victory, and thereafter his
regiment continued in service for one year in
South Carolina. He retains a deep interest in
his old comrades in arms and signifies the same
by his affiliation with the Grand Army of the
Republic.

In 1866 ]\lr. Jumper removed to the state of
Minnesota and in 1871 became manager of the
Xicollet hotel in the city of Minneapolis, where
he remained in this capacity until the spring of
1 88 1, when he came to South Dakota and became
the first settler on the town site of Aberdeen, with
whose development and material upbuilding he
has been prominently identified, ever showing
a loyal and public-spirited interest in the city

and state of his atloption. He opened the first
general store in the town, and in 1883 organized
the First National Bank of Aberdeen, of which
he continued to be the president from that time,
forward until 1898, when he resigned. In 1897
President McKinley appointed him postmaster
of the city, of which office he remained incumbent
four years, while at the present time he is serv-
ing as deputy postmaster. He is a stalwart Re-
publican in politics and has wielded no slight in-
fluence in its local councils and work. He was
mayor of the city in 1893-4 and also served sev-
eral terms as a member of the board of aldermen,
and also as a member of the board of education.
He is one of the prominent members of the Ma-
sonic fraternity in the state, having attained the
thirty-third and highest degree in the Scottish-
rite Masonry. He was the first commander of
Damascus Commandery, No. 10, Knights Tem-
plar, of Aberdeen, which was organized in 1888,
and in 1891 had the distinction of serving as
grand commander of the grand commandery of
Knights Templar of the state, while at the pres-
ent time he is grand high priest of the grand
chapter of Royal Arch Masons of South Dakota.
He attends the Protestant Episcopal church, of
which Mrs. Jumper is a communicant.

On the 9th of February, 1874, at Portland,
Maine, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Jumper to Miss Ella May Hilt, who was born
in Warren, that state, on the 31st of July. 1855,
being a daughter of John and Nancy (Toner)
Hilt'.

JAMES :\TARSHALL LAWSON. who is
engaged in the ]]ractice of the legal profession
in the citv of Aberdeen, is a native of the Old
Dominion state, having been born in Virginia,
on the 5th of January, 1863, his father. Rev. Orr
Lawson. D. D.. having been at that time a mis-
sionary in that .section, in the interests of the
Presbyterian church, and was compelled to leave
the south a few weeks after the birth of the sub-
ject by reason of the animosity of the southern
people, the war of the Rebellion being then in
progress. The father of the subject was born

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

in western Pennsylvania, as was also his wife,
whose maiden name was Man- E. Marshall, and
to the old Keystone state they returned upon
leaving Virginia. Rev. Orr Lawson has long
been a distinguished clergyman of the Presby-
terian church and is now residing in Iowa, hav-
ing attained the venerable age of seventy-five
years, while his noble and devoted wife was sum-
moned into eternal rest on the 17th of February,
1903. at the age of sixty-six years. Of their
four children, two are yet living. The original
progenitors of the Lawson and Marshall fami-
lies in America came from the north of Ireland
and the north of England in the colonial days,
and both settled in western Pennsylvania, while
representatives of the families did valiant serv-
ice in the cause of independence during the war
of the Revolution.

James M. Lawson passed his boyhood days
in Pennsylvania, where he secured his early ed-
ucational discipline in the public schools. At the
age. of twenty years he was matriculated in
Princeton University, where he was graduated
as a member of the class of 1884. receiving the
degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then entered the
law department of the University of Michigan,
at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated in 1886.
Shortly after his graduation in law he came to
Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he exposed his
professional "shingle" in July, 1886, and made
ready for the practice of law. He was soon es-
tablished in a satisfactory business, while he is
now one of the leading members of the bar of
this section, retaining a representative clientage,
and having had to do with much important liti-
gation in the state federal courts, his prestige
and precedence feeing the diametrical result of
the proper application of his energies and abili-
ties. He is financially interested in farming, and
in mining developments in the Black Hills, and
his success in temporal affairs has been of no
equivocal order. In 1884-5 Mr. Lawson was a
private in the Washington Artillery of Pottsville,
Pennsylvania, the same being at the time a por-
tion of the Fourth Regiment of the Pennsylvania
State Guard. This company has had a long and
distinguished history, having had an uninter-

I rupted military existence since the war of 181 2.

j It was in General Scott's army of occupation in
the city of Mexico in 1847, and was one of the
first five companies to volunteer for service in
the Civil war under President Lincoln's first call,
later receiving the thanks of congress for its
prompt response to this exigent call. These five
companies were in the city of Washington twen-
ty-four hours in advance of all other troops.
They passed through the city of Baltimore the
day* before the Sixth Massachusetts arrived
there, and one of their men was seriously injured
in a conflict with a mob of southern sympa-
thizers, this being the first blood shed incidental
to the great internecine conflict which followed.
All five companies were from Pennsylvania, and
served from Bull Run to Appomattox. The
Washington Artillery was also with General
Miles in Porto Rico during the late Spanish-
American war. I

Mr. Lawson has ever given an uncompro-
mising allegiance to the Republican party, and
he is one of its leaders in the state. In 1893 he
was speaker of the house of representatives,
during the third general assembly of the new
commonwealth, and since 1899 h^ ''•''s served
continuously as the representative of the thirty-
third senatorial district in the state senate, in
which he has been an influential and valued
worker, having been chairman of the judiciary
committee during the sessions of 1899 and 1903,
and chairman of the apportionment committee in
1901, while he has also held membership in other
important circumstances of the senate. In 1899 he
introduced and urged forward to enactment the
bill establishing the Northern Normal and Indus-
trial School at Aberdeen, and he has been con-
sistently called, the father of this excellent and
valuable institution. In 1893 while a member of
the house, he introduced the bill providing for
the state geological survey. Senator Lawson's
religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church,
in which he was reared, and fraternally he is
identified with the Masonic order, in which he
has attained the chivalric degrees, being a mem-
ber of Dainascus Commandery, No. 10, Knights
Templar, in Aberdeen. The Senator remains a

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[469

bachelor. He has a distinctive predilection for
out-door life and sports afield and afloat, while
he lia^ announced as his fad or special fancy
that of tree culture.

FRANK B. GANNON, president of the
First National Bank of Aberdeen, was born in
Genoa, Ottawa county, Ohio, on the 21st of Oc-
tober, 185 1, being a son of William and Sarah
A. (Compton) Gannon. The mother died in
1893. The father is a farmer by occupation, and
still resides at Genoa, Ottawa county, Ohio. The
subject secured his early educational training in
the common schools, and when but fifteen years
of age began to depend upon his own exertions
in defraying the expenses of his school work.
He continued to attend the public schools two
and one-half years and also was for a short time
a student in the Lebanon Normal School at Leb-
anon, Ohio. At the age of nineteen he began
teaching in the district schools of Ohio, and
through this means accumulated two hundred
dollars, which practically served as the nucleus
of his present fortune. In 1874 Mr. Gannon en-
gaged in the meat-market business in Eaton
Rapids, Michigan, continuing this enterprise five
years, and being thereafter engaged in the boot
and shoe business in the same town, for three
years, at the expiration of which, in Nov^nber,
1882, he came to Jamestown, Dakota territory,
and shortly afterward located in Ellendale, both
places being now in the state of North Dakota.
In the latter village he engaged in the banking
business under the title of Gannon, Smith &
Company. In 1801 the institution was reorgan-
ized as a state bank, and was thereafter con-
ducted under the fimi name of F. B. Gannon &
Company, until November, igo2, when it was
reorganized as the First National Bank of Ellen-
dale, our subject being elected president at the
time and still being incumbent of this position.
On the 7th of March, 1899, he became associated
with J. H. Stuttle in purchasing a controlling
stock in the First National Bank of Aberdeen,
and of its institution he has since been president,
having been a resident of Aberdeen since 1899.

In 1902 Mr. Gannon was one of the organizers
of the Aberdeen Wholesale Grocery Company,
of which he is treasurer, and this has become
one of the leading commercial enterprises of this
thriving city. Mr. Gannon has also been for a
number of years prominently interested in the
cattle business in North Dakota, and in company
with his brother, W. H., he is the owner of one
of the finest herds of full-blooded Herefords to
be found in this section of the northwest. In
politics he has ever maintained an independent
attitude, giving his support to the men and meas-
sures meeting the approval of his judgment, but
having no political ambition in a personal way.
Mr. Gannon is a Mason, belonging to the blue
lodge, the chapter, commandery, consistory and
the Shrine. He is also a member of the Odd
Fellows fraternity, holding membership at Ellen-
dale. South Dakota.

On July 2, 1873, Mr. Gannon married Sarah
Cook, of Sandusky county, Ohio. They became
the parents of two sons : Deak, who died aged
four years and eight months ; and Ralph, who
died aged eight months.

WILLIAM HENRY RODDLE, one of the
pioneer settlers of what is now the attractive
city of Brookings, is a native of the Badger state,
which has made many contributions to the per-
sonnel of the best citizenship of South Dakota.
He was born on a farm in Kenosha count\% Wis-
consin, on the 28th of December, 1850, being a
son of William and ]\Iary Roddle, the former of
whom was born in England and the latter in
New York city. For many generations the
Roddle family has been identified with agricul-
tural pursuits in the south of England, while the
ancestors of the subject's mother were among
the first to settle in what is now New York city,
the lineage being of Holland Dutch extraction.
The parents of the subject removed in i860 from
Wisconsin to Wilton, Waseca county, Minne-
sota, residing there until the time of their deaths,
and were numbered among the sterling pioneers
of that state.

William H. Roddle received his rudimentary

I470

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

education in the district schools and passed his
boyhood days on the homestead farm, later con-
tinuing his studies in the public schools. In
1869, at the age of nineteen years, he secured a
position as apprentice in a hardware establish-
ment in Waseca, Minnesota, where he remained
for the ensuing decade, during the last three
years a member of the firm of J. M. Robertson
& Company, at the expiration of which, in 1879,
he came as a pioneer to the territory of Dakota
and took up his residence in the little village of
Medary, the then county seat of Brookings
county. In October, 1879, he established himself
in the hardware business in Brookings, South
Dakota, meeting with success in the prosecution
of the enterprise, with which he continued to be
actively identified until 1896, when he disposed
of his interests in this line. He took up the study
of law a number of years ago and finally de-
termined to complete a thorough course of tech-
nical reading, the result being that he thoroughly
informed himself in the science of jurisprudence
and was admitted to the bar of the state in 1901,
since which time he has been successfully en-
gaged in the practice in the city in which he has
for so many years maintained his home, being a
member of the well-known and representative
law firm of Hall, Lawrence & Roddle.

In politics Mr. Roddle has ever been found
stanchly arrayed in support of the principles and
policies of the Republican party, in whose ranks
he has been an active and efficient worker in
South Dakota, both under the territorial and
state regimes. In 1892 he was elected treasurer
of Brookings county and was chosen as his own
successor in 1894, thus serving four consecutive
years. In i8g6 he was the candidate of his party
for the office of secretary of state, being victo-
rious at the polls, where he secured a gratifying
majority, and giving a most able and discrimi-
nating administration of the affairs of the im-
portant office. The popular appreciation of his
services in this capacity was significantly mani-
fested in 1898, when he was elected to succeed
himself. Mr. Roddle is one of the prominent
and appreciative members of the ancient and
honored Masonic fraternity, and has the distinc-

tion of being past grand master of Masons of
the state. His affiliations are with Brookings
Lodge, No. 24, Ancient Free and Accepted Ma-
sons ; Brookings Chapter, No. 18, Royal Arch
Masons ; Brookings Commandery, No. 14,
Knights Templar; El Riad Temple of the An-
cient Arabic Order of the ^Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine, in Sioux Falls, and Brookings Oiapter,
No. 15, Order of the Eastern Star, while he is
also identified with Brookings Lodge, No. 40,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in his home
city, being one of its charter members.

On the 1st of January, 1876, Mr. Roddle was
united in marriage to Miss Fannie R. Stevens,
who was born in Waushara county, Wisconsin,
on the 2 1st of June, 1856, being a daughter of
Royce F. and Lucinda M. Stevens. Of this
union have been born two daughters, Man,- E.,
wife of F. J. Alton, of Sioux Falls, South Da-
kota, and Anna F., who died in infancv.

CHARLES F. HOLMES, one of the well-
known business men of Aberdeen, is a native of
the Badger state and a representative of one of
its pioneer families, having been born in Green
Lake county, Wisconsin, on the 5th of June,
1852, and being a son of Anson L. Holmes, who
was born in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana,
coming of stanch old Scottish lineage. Anson
L. Holmes removed with his family to Wisconsin
in an early day and there passed the remainder of
his life, which was devoted principally to agri-
cultural pursuits and lumbering. The subject
of this sketch was reared and educated in Wis-
consin, and in 1876, as a young man of twenty-
four years, he removed to Nevada, becoming one
of the pioneer gold miners in that section of the
LTnion. He followed placer mining for a num-
ber of years and was fairly successful in his ef-
forts. In 1879 'ic returned to Wisconsin, where
he passed the winter of that year, and in the
spring of 1880 he came to the present state of
South Dakota and located in Watertown, where
he continued to reside until the spring of 1882,
when he came to Aberdeen, taking up land in
the vicinity and in due time perfecting his title

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

to the same. He then engaged in the cigar busi-
ness in the city, while he was also identified with
the police department for eight years, during a
portion of which he was chief of the same, prov-
ing a most able executive. In 1897 he engaged
in the drug business at the corner of Main and
Third streets, where he continued operations
until ]\rarch, 1904, when he sold out. In politics
he is a stalwart Republican and fraternally is af-
filiated with the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows and the Modern Woodmen of America.

T. S. TEED, a successful farmer and stock
raiser of Brown county, is a native of Erie
county, Pennsylvania, and dates his birth from
the 7th day of October, 1852. On coming to
Brown county, in the spring of 1888, Mr. Teed
settled on a tract of land west of the town of
Westpoint, and engaged in agricultural pursuits
and stock raising. He improved his farm, ren-
dered it highh- tillable and continued to live
thereon until 1893. when he purchased the place,
twelve miles north of Aberdeen, where he has
since lived and prospered. As an agriculturist
he has made a creditable record, being up-to-date
in his methods of tilling the soil, progressive in
all he undertakes and his well-directed labors and
judicious management have resulted so greatly
to his advantage that he is now recognized as
one of the leading farmers of the community in
which he resides, ^\'hilc devoting considerable
attention to farming, he relics chiefly upon stock
raising, being largely interested in cattle, espe-
cially cows, from which he derives every year
a handsome income. He keeps nothing but first-
class stock, selects or raises his animals with es-
pecial reference to their value as milkers and for
some time past has supplied several creameries
with the larger part of the cream used in their
business, besides selling considerable quantities to
individual customers. Mr. Teed was raised in a
country where great attention is given to the
manufacture of butter and cheese, and he came
west with the intention of engaging in the cheese
business, but failed to secure enough cows to
justify him in the attempt. Failing to carry into

effect his original object, he turned his attention
to dairying and being thoroughly conversant with
the business has made it quite profitable. The
farm on which Mr. Teed now lives consists of
one hundred and sixty acres, lying contiguous
to Elm river, all of it bottom land with a soil of
great depth and remarkable fertility. It is ad-
mirably adapted to general agriculture, produc-
ing abundantly all the crops of grains, fruits and
vegetables grown in this latitude, the part de-
voted to pasturage being thickly covered with
grasses and herbage, noted for nutritious quali-
ties.

Financially Mr. Teed has met with success
commensurate with the energy and ability dis-
played in the prosecution of his various inter-
ests and he is now classed with the enterprising,
well-to-do men of Brown county. Politically he
is independent in all the tenn implies, adhering
to men and measures best calculated to further
the interests of the people. Mr. Teed has made
a careful study of sociology and kindred sub-
jects and entertains views relative to present so-
cial and political conditions which some people
would pronounce radical and heterodox. Con-
vinced of the ju.stness of his position, however,
he expresses himself fearlessly and is able at all
times to maintain the soundness of his opinions.
He is identified with the Tacoma Park Associa-
tion, an organization for the purpose of awaken-
ing an interest in social questions and dissemi-
nating knowledge pertaining thereto, being one
of the leaders of this school of thought in his part
of the country.

NELS H. PETERSON is a native of Den-
mark, where he was born in 1854. He received
his early education in his native land, where he
was reared to the age of eighteen years, when
he started forth to try his fortune in America,
whither he came in the year 1872. He made his
way westward to the city of Chicago and was for
a time employed in railroad work and then turned
his attention to farm work, in which he was en-
gaged near Woodstock, Illinois, for two and one-
half years, having in the meanwhile secured a

1472

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

small farm of his own in that section. At the ex-
piration of the period noted he disposed of his in-
terests there and came as a pioneer to what is
now Moody county, South Dakota. Here he took
up a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty
acres, and as the years have passed prosperity has
attended his efforts and he has added to the area
of his landed estate until he is now the owner of
six hundred and forty acres of as fertile and
valuable land as can be found in the state.

CHARLES WESTBROOK WALDRON is
a native of Lowell, Massachusetts, where he was
born on the 22d of January, 1853, being- a son
of George P. and Lydia E. Waldron, both mem-
bers of old and honored New England families.
He received his early educational training in the
schools of Yankton, where he passed his boy-
hood days. In the fall of 1876, at the age of
twenty-three years, he started for the Black Hills,
proceeding by boat to Fort Pierre and thence
proceeding with mule teams to his destination.
In the following year he engaged in freighting,
with ox-teams, between Fort Pierre and the Black
Hills, and continued to be identified with this
enterprise until 1882, in the meanwhile enduring
many hardships and encountering great perils
from the attacks of the hostile Indians. In 1882,
when the Cheyenne Indians came back to their
former hunting grounds, Mr. Waldron was near
at the time of the massacre of the freighters at
Gieyenne river crossing. After arriving at Rapid
City one of the Reed Brothers' freighting trains
was corralled by the Indians, on Box Elder creek.
After night had fallen one of the brothers suc-
ceeding in mailing has way to town and there
asked assistance, having traversed a distance of
nine miles. Mr. Waldron and five other freight-
ers responded to his call and returned with him
and succeeded in bringing the train into town.
The subject also had several other encounters
with the aborigines, but escaped injury. He was
successful in his freighting' business, which he
finally sold to the Nnrthwestem Stage and Trans-
portation Company in 1882. He then engaged in

operating a ferry across the Missouri river be-
tween Pierre and Fort Pierre, conducting the
same for two years, and then turning his atten-
tion to the raising of cattle and horses, in which
he was engaged for the ensuing five years, since
which time he has given his attention exclusively
to the raising of high-grade horses, breeding fine
roadsters of the Hambletonian type and also
Percheron draft horses. He has at the present
time about two thousand head of horses on his
fine stock ranch, and this indicates how exten-
sive is the scale upon which he conducts his
operations, giving him the distinctive priority
over all other horse breeders in the state. His
ranch comprises several thousand acres and is
equipped with substantial buildings for the
proper housing and care of his stock, while the
facilities are of the best modern type in all par-
ticulars. His ranch is located on Mule creek, in
Stanley county, four miles from the Black Hills
road and sixty-five miles west of Fort Pierre.
Mr. Waldron has a fine modem residence in the
city of Pierre and gives a general supervision to
his ranch and his other capitalistic enterprises,
while he is known as one of the progressive and
reliable citizens of the state in which he has
passed practically all his life. In politics he has
been a stanch advocate of the principles of the
Republican party, except in 1896, when he
identified himself with Bryan as a Populist,
though when the Democracy and Populists
amalgamated he forsook them and returned to
the Republican ranks. Fraternally he is identified
with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the
Degree of Honor, the Modem Woodmen of
America and the jModern Brotherhood of
America.

On the 30th of June, 1885, :\Ir. Waldron was
united in marriage with Miss Jane E. Van Metre,
of Fort Pierre, who was born on the 21st of
September, 1861. She is a daughter of Arthur
C. and Mary (Aungie) Van Metre, and passed
her girlhood days in Vermillion, where she re-
ceived her early education, and at the age of
seventeen years she accompanied her parents upon
their removal to Bmle county. She attended the
public schools of W^rmillion until she had at-

Jb.lv^aCic^cLjT.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

t473

taiiied the age of fourteen years, and thereafter
served an apprenticeship at the printer's trade,
becoming an expert compositor. In 1879 she
rejoined her parents in Brule, where she re-
mained until the fall of the following year, when
she went to Ripon, Wisconsin, where she at-
tended college for two years, returning in time
to join her father and other members of the
family in the buffalo hunt in Montana. She
much prizes the heirloom which is in her pos-
session, the rifle carried for many years by her
honored father, who had killed more than three
hundred buffaloes with the same. In the spring
of 1883 Mrs. Waldron engaged in teaching in
the Indian School at DuPree's camp, on the Chey-
enne river, while she also was an instructor in
music for some time, being a skilled musician,
and she continued her earnest endeavors in this
line until the time of her marriage. She and her
husband, in 1886, located on Bad river, sixty-five
miles from Fort Pierre, where they established
a trading store and she also entered claim to three
hundred and twenty acres of land adjoining Fort
Pierre on the north, in 1889, taking it under the
provisions of the treaty made with the Indians in
1868. Title to this property cannot be trans-
ferred by sale or exchange, the holding depending
upon the retention by those of Indian blood, be
it much or little. As Mrs. Waldron's father was
not of Indian extraction she is not a citizen of
the United States, but through her Indian lineage
she feels that she will be able to hold her claim,
as all treaties have recognized Indian blood, even
if represented in remote scions of the stock. Gov-
ernor Lee appointed Mrs. Waldron an honorary
member of the woman's board of managers for
South Dakota at the Pan-American Exposition in
Buffalo, and while she took an active part in
promoting the work she did not attend the ex-
position in person. In the same year the Gov-
ernor also appointed her a member of the
woman's board of investigation of penal and
charitable institutions of the state, and she proved
an active and efficient worker in the position, her
term having expired in 190,3. Mr. and Mrs.
Waldron have had six children, all of whom
are living except Carl Prentiss, who died at the

age of sixteen months. The others are Arthur
Westbniok, Alice Island. Allan Bryan. George P.
and I(.hn Charles.

DAXIEL HOWARD SMITH, wh(^ is in-
cumbent of the office of railroad commissioner
for the northern district of South Dakota, is a
native of the state of Wisconsin, having been
born in Marciuette county, on the i8th of De-
cember, 1864, and being a son of Rev. William
and Elizabeth H. (Chambers) Smith, both na-
tives of the state of Pennsylvania. The father
of the subject was a clergyman of the United
Presbyterian church, in whose work he contin-
ued to be zealously engaged until his death, which
occurred in July, 1873. His devoted wife sur-
vived him many years, being summoned into eter-
nal rest in April, 1898. They became the par-
ents of eight children, of whom four are living.

The subject of this review received his early
education in the public schools of his native
county, and continued to reside in Wisconsin un-
til he had attained the age of eighteen years, hav-
ing been there engaged in farming until 1883,
when, in company with his mother, he came to
South Dakota and located in the village of Blunt.
In the following year he entered the employ of
the Van Dusen Grain Company, and in 1885 was
made agent of this concern at Harrold, Hughes
county, where he remained until December, 1886,
when he went to southern California, where he
passed one year. Upon his return to South Da-
kota, in 1888, Mr. Smith located in the village
of Miller, where he re-entered the employ of the
Van Dusen Grain Company, to whose interests
he continued to devote his attention until 1890,
when he established himself in the retail gro-
cery business in Miller, under the firm name of
D. H. Smith & Company. In December, 1894,
he disposed of his interests in this line and on the
1st of the following January he accepted a posi-
tion in the office of the state commissioner of
schools and public lands, taking up his residence
in the capital city of the state at that time and
continuing to serve in the capacity noted until
January i, 1903. when he returned to Aliller.

1474

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

On the 4th of November, 1902, he was elected
to his present office as railroad commissioner of
the northern district of the state, and in this posi-
tion he has given most able and efficient service,
justifying the confidence reposed in him and in-
dicated in his unanimous election. Mr. Smith
has served as township treasurer, as a member
of the board of education and as city assessor of
Miller. He is an active and earnest worker in
the upbuilding of his city. Fraternally he is iden-
tified with the Masonic order and the Knights of
Pythias. When a young man he became a mem-
ber of the Presbyterian church and is an active
and zealous church worker.

On Christmas day, 1888, Mr. Smith was
united in marriage to Miss Eva R. Dunn, of Mill-
ersburg, Illinois, and she entered into the life
eternal on the igth of March, 1890, being sur-
vived by her only child, C. Everett. On the 28th
of November, 1892, Mr. Smith wedded Miss
Georgiana Clayton, of Ludington, Michigan, and
thev have two chililren, Harrv A. and Fred C.

JOHN H. JACKSON, president of the
Jackson Hardware Company, of Aberdeen, is
known as one of the representative business men
of the city. In 1888 Mr. Jackson established
himself in the retail hardware business in Aber-
deen, and soon gained a wide reputation as a
progressive and able business man. The location
of Aberdeen is such that from the start there
came a demand for the accommodations afforded
by a wholesale establishment in the line, and
within three years after the inception of the en-
terprise fully seventy-five per cent, of his busi-
ness was of the wholesale nature. In 1900 he
found it expedient to turn his entire attention to
the jobbing trade, and the business has been tliat
of a distinctively jobbing house since the year
mentioned. The business has doubled in extent
within three years, the annual sales having
reached an average aggregate of a quarter of a
million dollars. In 1903 the fine modern build-
ing now used was completed, which has an ag-
gregate floor space of twenty-six thousand square
feet. The Jackson Hardware Company was in-

corporated in 1902, with a capital stock of one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Three trav-
eling salesmen are employed by the house, who
represent its interests throughout its extended
trade territory.

J. H. Jackson was born in the province of
Quebec, Canada, on the 22d of May, 1853, being
a son of Alonzo and Mary J. Jackson. He was
reared in his native province to the age of twen-
ty-four years, and there received excellent edu-
cational advantages. In 1877 'i^ removed to
Marshall, Lyon county, Minnesota, where he gave
his attention to farming until 1881, when he came
to what is now the state of South Dakota and
opened a hardware store in Ordway, Brown
county, this being prior to the time of the com-
pletion of the line of the Chicago, Minneapolis &
St. Paul Railroad to Aberdeen. In 1883 he also
opened a store in Columbia, where he continued
to be actively engaged in business until coming
to Aberdeen, in 1888, since which time his busi-
ness career has already been outlined in this ar-
ticle. In politics Mr. Jackson is a member of the
Republican party, and takes an active interest
in its cause. He was elected the first mayor of
Columbia, South Dakota. During territorial days
he served on the staff of Governor Church as com-
missary of supply, with the rank of major. He
is a member of the Masonic fraternity, having at-
tained the Kjiight Templar, Scottish Rite and
Mystic Shrine degrees.

On the 20th of February, 1889, Mr. Jackson
was united in marriage to Miss Nora Ringrose,
who was born and reared in Wisconsin, and who
was a resident of Aberdeen at the time of their
marriage. They are the parents of five children,
namt^ly : Helen ?il.. John H., Genevieve, Alice
and Edward.

SAMUEL C. HEDGER, one of the repre-
sentative business men of the city of Aberdeen,
is a native of Michigan, having been born on a
farm in Monroe county, on the 15th of March,
1853, a son of B. H. and Mary A. Hedger, both
of whom died in this state. He received his early
educational training in the common schools and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1475

supplemented this by a course of study in that
celebrated institution, the Michigan State Agri-
cultural College, near Lansing, this having been
the first college of the sort established in the
Union and one which has ever remained a model
for all others. After leaving college he was vari-
ously engaged for a time and finally engaged in
the general merchandise business in South Lyon,
Oakland county, Michigan, where he remained
until 1882, having been successful in his opera-
tions. Li March of that year he came to Brown
county. South Dakota, and located in Columbia,
this county, but shortly afterward took up a
homestead near the present village of Detroit.
He was the founder of this village, having plat-
ted the town on his land and having named the
same in honor of the metropolis of his native
state. In 1885 Mr. Hedger was elected auditor
of Brown county, and this caused him to take
up his residence in Aberdeen. He was twice
re-elected to this responsible office, thus serving
for six consecutive years and gaining unqualified
popular commendation. After retiring from of-
fice he was for eight years employed as travel-
ing salesman for George D. Barnard & Com-
pany in South Dakota, still retaining his resi-
dence in Aberdeen, and since that time he has
here been established in die real-estate and insur-
ance business, receiving a large and representa-
tive support in both departments of his enter-
prise, while he is also one of the stockholders
in the Aberdeen Gas and Electric Light Com-
pany and other local enterprises. In politics he
is stanchly arrayed in support of the principles
and policies advanced by the Republican party,
and fraternally he has attained the Knights Tem-
plar degrees in the Masonic order, thus complet-
ing the York rite.

On the 22d of February, 1878, in Oakland
county, Michigan, Mr. Hedger was united in
marriage to Miss Mary Bullock, who was born
and reared in the state of Michigan, and who was
summoned into eternal rest in Columbia, South
Dakota, August 16, 1888. Her only child. Ivy,
is now the 'wife of Frederick Bartholomew, of
San Francisco. California. On the 28th of April,
1896, Mr. Hedger wedded Miss Elizabeth Chal-

mers, who was born in Illinois, where she was
reared and educated, and they have one child,
Jeanette.

JOHN QUINN ANDERSON, government
trader at the Crow Creek Indian agency, in Buf-
falo county, is a native of the state of Missouri,
having been born in Lagrange, Lewis county, on
the 1st of January, 1866, and being a son of Cap-
tain Lee Anderson, who was born and reared in
Virginia, being of Scotch ancestry. He was an
early settler in Missouri, where he passed the clos-
ing years of his life, having died when the sub-
ject was but seven years of age, and the latter
having passed away five years later, at Dallas,
Texas, in 1878. He thereafter lived in the home
of an uncle until he had attained the age of four-
teen years, having in the meanwhile attended the
public schools as opportunity afforded. At the
early age noted he went to Iowa, where he was
for two years employed in a creamery, and then
coming to what is now the state of South Da-
kota, where he arrived in the year 1882, locating
in Mitchell, Davison county, and turning his hand
to such work as he could secure. He assisted
in building a portion of the line of the railroad
between Mitchell and Aberdeen when nineteen
years of age, and held the position of tie foreman.
He early identified himself with the cattle indus-
try, buying and selling stock, while during the
past few years he has also raised cattle, on a con-
stantly increasing scale. In 1894 he started a
stock ranch sixty miles west of Chamberlain, in
Brule county, and has there continued operations
most successfully, while he is at the present time
one of the executive officers of the Western Stock
Growers' Association. For a number of years
past he has been a government beef contractor,
and since March, 1901, he has been bonded In-
dian trader at Crow Creek Indian agency. In
politics he is a stanch Republican, and fraternally
is identified with the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias.

On the 1 6th of November, 1898, Mr. Ander-
son was united in marriage to Miss Clara L. Will-
rodt, who was born in the city of Davenport,

1476

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Iowa, on the 30th of July, 1874, being a daugh-
ter of Senator Lawrence H. and Mary (Wagner)
Willrodt, who are now residents of Brule county.
South Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have no
children.

When Mr. Anderson resided in Lyman
county, South Dakota, he was named as a presi-
dential elector for this year. He was a repre-
sentative in the legislature from Lyman and
Stanley counties in 1901.

ROSWELL BOTTUM, one of the leading
real-estate men of Aberdeen, was born in Fond
du Lac county, Wisconsin, on the 3d day of Au-
gust, 1857. He spent his boyhood and youth in
his native state and attended for a number of
years the public schools, supplementing the train-
ing thus received by a course in Ripon College.
Leaving that institution, he engaged in teaching,
which profession he followed in Wisconsin for a
period of three years, and at the expiration of
that time came to South Dakota, locating in Spink
county in 1879, and took up a homestead near
the town of Redfield. When that county was .set
apart as an independent jurisdiction, Mr. Bottum
took an active part in its organization, which be-
ing effected, he was appointed county treasurer,
holding the office one term. He discharged his
official functions in an eminently satisfactory
manner, in addition to which he also exercised a
potent influence in shaping county affairs gener-
ally, the meanwhile devoting all of his leisure to
the improvement of his homestead, which in-
creased greatly in value as the country became
more thickly populated. After living on his place
for about six years, he removed to Faulkton,
Faulk county, where, in partnership with his
brother. J- H. Bottum, he established the Citizens
Bank, of which he was cashier during the four
years of the institution's existence. Disposing
of his interests in Faulkton, Mr. Bottum, in 1892,
changed his residence to Watertown, where he
was engaged in the real-estate bitsiness until 1896,
when he found a larger ;md more favorable field
in the cit\- of .-Vherdecn.

Since the latter vear Air. Bottum has built

up a large and prosperous business, which in-
cludes the handling of all kinds of city and coun-
try real estate in many of the best counties of
South Dakota, besides acting as agent for F. R.
Clement, of Minneapolis, whose extensive landed
interests in this state are subject to his manage-
ment. He has consummated a number of large
deals, for which liberal commissions were re-
ceived, and his patronage has steadily grown, un-
til in magnitude and importance his business now
compares favorably with that of the most suc-
cessful agencies of the kind in the state.

Mr. Bottum is a thirty-second-degree Scottish-
rite Mason, and has been honored with a number
of high official positions in the brotherhood; he
is an active worker in the lodge at Aberdeen and
like all true members of the mystic tie, endeavors
to square his life and control his conduct accord-
ing to its precepts.

Mr. Bottum is a married man and the father
of two children, a son, Frank, and a daughter
by the name of Margaret. His wife was for-
merly Miss Alia A. Beardsley, of Redfield. South
Dakota, and the ceremony by which her name
was changed to the one she now so worthily
wears took place in that town on the 23d of Au-
PTist, 1887.

ANDREW THORSOX, one of Brown
county's well-known farmers, residing on hi.>
large farm four miles northeast from the city of
Aberdeen, is a native of Norway, where he was
born on August 24, 1848, being the son of Thore
Thorson. At the age of nineteen years the sub-
ject became a sailor before the mast, and sailed
all over western European waters. After follow-
ing the sea until 1871, he returned to his old home
in Norway, and in 1872 he came to America,
landing at New York. From New York he came
direct to St. Peter, Minnesota, from where he
went to New Ulm, Minnesota, and took employ-
ment on the construction of the Cliicago & North-
western Railroad. He worked on the grading
and in other capacities until the road was con-
structed to Watertown, South Dakota, putting in
the summer months on the work and returning to

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1477

St. Peter, Minnesota, for the winters. In the
spring of 1880 Mr. Thorson located land in
Brown county, South Dakota, taking up one hun-
dred and sixty acres, which is his present home,
Init continued to work on the railroad until 1893,
when he diverted all his attention to farming.
He now owns over fourteen thousand acres, in
two pieces, and carries on operations on a large
scale, growing grain and raising horses, cattle,
etc. Of late years, however, his health has been
poor, and he has traveled considerably, spending
much of his time in California.

At St. Peter, :\Iinnesota, in 1881, Mr. Thor-
son was married to Carrie Peterson, who was
born in Norway, and came to America in 1870.
To this union the following six children have
been born : Theodore, Mina. Annie, Qiristian,
Arthur and Josephina. Mr. Thorson is a Repub-

\VALL.-\CE L. DOW. one of the most tal-
ented and best known architects in the state of
South Dakota, comes of stanch New England
stock and is himself a native of the old Granite
state, having been born in Croydon, Sullivan
county. New Hampshire, on the 21st of Septem-
ber, 1844, and being a son of Hial and Lura
{ Powers ) Dow. The father of our subject was a
carpenter and building contractor at Newport,
New Hampshire, and under his direction Wallace
L. learned the trade in his youth, while his edu-
cational advantages were such as were afforded
in the local schools and Powers Institute, at Ber-
nardston, Massachusetts. Mr. Dow's early am-
bition was to follow the profession of architec-
ture, and he devoted all his energies for several
years to preparing himself for work along this
line. From 1861 to 1866 he was engaged in the
heating and plumbing business in Springfield,
Massachusetts, the knowledge thus gained prov-
ing of much value to him in connection with
the practical work of his profession in later
years. At the expiration of the period noted
he returned to Newport, New Hampshire, where
he organized the firm of W. L. Dow & Com-
pany, for the purpose of contracting and also

manufacturing builders' supplies. An extensive
enterprise was built up by the firm and he con-
tinued to be identified with the same for several
years. He then devoted a few years to the study
of architecture, under the eiifective direction of
his uncle, Edward Dow, a prominent architect
in Concord, New Hampshire, and then came west,
in the autumn of 1880, locating in Pierre, South
'Dakota. In February of the following year Hon.
N. G. Ordway, then governor of the territory, ap-
pointed him a member of the board of directors
to whom was assigned charge of building the
territorial penitentiary in Sioux Falls, to which
city he removed in 1882, while he has ever since
made this his home and business headquarters.
He was chairman of the board for four years,
within which time the penitentiary was com-
pleted and placed in operation, the same being
now the state prison of South Dakota. Since
the completion of this important work Mr. Dow
has devoted his entire attention to architectural
work, and has made plans for most of the public
buildings in the state, while his professional serv-
ices have been in requisition outside the limits of
the commonwealth. The development of the
building-stone industry in his section of the state
has been accomplished largely through his efforts.
In politics he is stanchly arrayed in support of
the principles and pohcies for which the Repub-
lican party stands sponsor.

In 1865 Mr. Dow was united in marriage to
Miss Lois M. Whipple, of Croydon, New Hamp-
.shire. and they have three sons, namely : Edward
W., who is associated with his father in busi-
ness; Baron C. who has been for many years an
attache of the well-known Sioux Falls newspaper,
the Argus-Leader; and Annie PL, who is at home.

CHARLES A. :\IcARTHUR, dealer in agri-
cultural implements in the city of Aberdeen, is
a native of the state of Minnesota, having been
born in Plainview, Wabasha county, on the nth
of September, 1871, and being a son of John
and Mary (Campbell) :\Ic Arthur, who now re-
side in the city of Seattle. Washington. The sub-
ject received his elementary educational discipline

1478

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

in the public schools of IMinnesota, and was ten
years of ag:e at the time of his parents' removal
to Ordway, South Dakota, in 1881. Here he con-
tinued his educational work, the family removing
to Aberdeen in 1886, and in the high school of
this city he was graduated as a member of the
class of 1891, having completed the scientific
course. After leaving school Mr. JNIcArthur be-
came identified with his father in the implement
business, being admitted to partnership in 1893,
under the firm name of John McArthur & Sons.
This association continued until 1894, when the
firm of C. A. McArthur & Company was organ-
ized. I'ndcr this title the enterprise was contin-
ued until November, 1901, when the subject be-
came the sole owner, having individually con-
ducted the business since that time. He handles
a full line of agricultural implements and machin-
erv, including the McComiick harvesters and
mowers, the John Deer plows, the Gaar-Scott
threshing machines and engines, windmills, gaso-
line engines, the United States cream separators,
Winona wagons and a select stock of carriages
and buggies. In politics Mr. ^vIcArthur gives
his support to the Republican party, and frater-
nally he is identified with the Masonic order, in
which he has attained the Knights Templar de-
grees, and with the Ancient Order of United
Workmen.

On the 4th of September, 1895, at Wellsburg,
West Mrginia, was solemnized the marriage of
Mr. McArthur to Miss Clara Bracken, daughter
of Margaret R. Bracken, of that place. She was
well and favorably known in Aberdeen, having
here held the position of delivery clerk in the
postoffice for some time prior to her marriage,
and both she and her husband are active in the
social life of the community. Thev have two
children, Everett and Stuart.

early education in the district school and the
graded school of Tomah. He taught school for
two years. He began the study of law at Madi-
son, AVisconsin, in 1877, and in 1877-78 he took
the law course at the University of Wisconsin.
He was admitted to the bar in 1878, and the fol-
lowing year opened an office at Viroqua. Wiscon-
sin, where he was engaged in practice until 1883,
at which time he came to South Dakota, locating
at Aberdeen, forming a partnership with C. N.
Harris. In 1885 Judge Campbell formed a
partnership with George W. Jenkins, which as-
sociation continued until 1889. In t8S6 he was
elected to the South Dakota legislature and re-
elected in 1888 and in 1889 he was elected to the
judgeship of the newly created fifth judicial cir-
cuit, he being the first judge of the same. His
term as judge expired on January i, 1902, when
he returned to the practice, and h?s so continued.
Beth as a lawyer and judge, his career has been
successful, and his standing in the legal profes-
sion of South Dakota is of the best. Judge
Campbell has been twice married, the first time
in 1880, to Lulu E. Casson, of Viroqua, Wiscon-
sin, who died in 1891, leaving two children;
Joseph C. and Donald H. In, 1893 Judge Camp-
bell married Alarie Haven, of Webster, South
Dakota. To this iniion three children havL' been
born : Roger. Dorothy and William.

ALT1I-:RT WILLIAM CAMPBELL, a lead-
ing member of the bur of Aberdeen, and ex-judge
of the fifth judicial circuit of South Dakota, was
born October 10, 1856! at Oconomowoc, Wau-
kesha county, Wisconsin. He spent his boyhood
in Monroe count\', Wisconsin, ami secured his

.VLBERT F. MILLIGAN. state agent of the
St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company
for South Dakota, with headquarters at Aber-
deen, was born at St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada,
on April 11, 1863. His parents were James and
Mary (Hunt) Milligan, both natives of the prov-
ince of Ontario, where the father resides at the
present, living retired at St. Thomas. The mother
died in 1897.

Albert F. Milligan attended the public schools,
then taught for three years, after which he en-
tered the St. Thomas Collegiate Institute, taking
high position in mathematics and languages. In
1884 he came to Aberdeen, South Dakota, and
two years later established himself in the local
fire insurance. Five years later he was ap-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

pointed state agent for the St. Paul Fire and Ma-
rine Insurance Company, and has since held that
important position. Under his management of
this field the company has kept pace with the
growth and development of the Northwest, and
now controls the leading insurance business in
South Dakota. Mr. Milligan gives close atten-
tion to the upbuilding of his business, and has
done much to gain for his company its success
and prestige in South Dakota. Mr. Milligan has
other important interests, including those of
farming and banking. He is a director of the
Aberdeen National Bank and of the First Na-
tional Bank of Webster, South Dakota, and is
also identified with the First State Bank of Ab-
erdeen. He has always been a member of the
Republican party, and is a member of the Ma-
sonic fraternity, being a member of Damascus
Commandery, No. lo. Knights Templar, and of
El Riad Temple, ^lystic Shrine, the latter of
Sioux Falls.

In Ellendale, South Dakota, on .August lo,
1888, :Mr. Milligan was married to Rose Abbott,
who was bom and reared in Kandiyohi, Minne-
sota, being a daughter of Burroughs Abbott, now
a resident of Aberdeen. Mrs. Milligan was a suc-
cessful teacher in the Aberdeen public schools
for several years prior to her marriage. Three
children have been born to this union : Marjorie,
Muriel and Tames Abbott.

JOHN C. BASSETT, president of the .Aber-
deen National Bank, and one of the well-known
and successful bankers of South Dakota, was
born in Killingly. Windham county, Connecticut,
August 26, 1864, the son of Augustus and Sarah
J. Bassett. The parents were born in Connecticut
and their family names have been identified with
New England for many generations.

John C. Bassett was educated in the public
schools of Danielson, and began his business ca-
reer in 1880 as secretary of a milling company
at Danielson. In 1888 he came to South Dakota
and located at Langford, ^Marshall county, where
he engaged in the banking business. In iQco he
was elected cashier of the Aberdeen National

Bank, and ren'oved his residence to that city. In
igo2 he was elected president of the above bank.
Mr. Bassett's banking and financial interests are
e.xtensive, as besides holding the presidency of
the Aberdeen National Bank, he is president of
the Commercial Bank of Langford, South Da-
kota, president of the State Bank of Pierpont,
South Dakota, vice-president of the First State
Bank, of .Aberdeen, and a stockholder in other
banking institutions. In politics Mr. Bassett is
a Republican, and he belongs to the different
Masonic bodies and to the Ancient Order of
United Workmen. He and his wife arc members
of the Presbyterian church.

On June 29, 1892, Mr. Bassett was married to
Harriet Galbraith, who was born in Minneapolis.
Minnesota, on November 12. 1864. Mr. and
Airs. Bassett are the parents of the foIUwing
children: Ruth. Hellene, ATargery and C'.arke.

.ANDREW C. FOSSUM, who is engaged in
general contracting in the city of Aberdeen,. was
engaged in contracting and as superintendent of
contracting work in the city of Chicago for seven
years, and from the western metropolis came to
Aberdeen in August, 1881. Here he was in the
employ of others in an executive capacity for
about two years, at the expiration of which, in
1883, he began contracting on his own account,
as a member of the firm of Saxon & Possum.
This association continued four years and since
that time he has conducted his operations individ-
ually. He erected the public-library building and
many of the best business blocks and private resi-
dences in the city, while his methods have always
stood voucher for the best of workmanship and
the most absolute fidelity to contract. In addition
to his own operations he has found his services
much in demand as a superintendent in connec-
tion with the contract work of others, and in this
capacity he has had charge of the erection of the
new buildings for the Jewett Brothers and the
fine dormitory of the normal school, besides many
other notable buildings. Personally he employs
at times as many as twenty-five men in connection
with his contract work, and in this line as coupled

1480

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

McLeod is a Republican, while as a progressive,
loyal and piiblic-spiritud citizen he is held in high
estimation.

with his general superintendency he has had the
direction of the labors of fully one hundred men
at various times. Mr. Fossum is a Republican
in his political proclivities, and he served one year
as a member of the board of aldermen, represent-
ing the third ward. Fraternally he holds mem-
bership in the Knights of Pythias and the An-
cient Order of United Workmen.

Mr. Fossum is a native of Qiristiania, Nor-
way, born on the 12th of October, 1844, and be-
ing a son of Christopher and .\iina Fossum. He
received a common-school education. He came to
America in 1868, stopping first in Lansing, Iowa.
In 1872 he went to Chicago, and in 1878 he went
to Red Wing, ^Minnesota, and in 1881 came to
Aberdeen, South Dakota.

In Chicago, Illinois, in 1874, Mr. Fossum
was united in marriage to Walburg Olesen, who
was born in Christiania, Norway, and they are
the parents of eight children.

CHARLES J. .McLEOD, publisher of the
Daily and Weekly News at Aberdeen and sole
proprietor of the business there conducted under
the title of the News Printing Company, comes
of Scotch-English lineage and is a native of
Nova Scotia, where he was born on the 22d of
March, 1863, being a son of John H. and Cath-
arine McLeod. He received his early educa-
tional training in the public schools and at the
age of fourteen years entered upon an apprentice-
ship at the printer's trade in the office of the
Herald, at North Sidney, in due time familiariz-
ing himself with all details of the "art preserva-
tive of all arts." He came to the territory of
Dakota in 1883, locating in Brown county,
where he has ever since maintained his home,
having become proprietor of his present flourish-
ing business in 1893. His paper is modern in
letter-press and makeup and maintains a high edi-
torial standard, well serving as an exponent of
local interests and as guide and director of public
opinion in its field, advocating the cause of the
Republican ])art\' and l)eing highly valued in the
connection by the party leaders in the state. Mr.

CHRISTEN J. BACH, a successful business
man and representative citizen of Turner county,
who is at present the state commissioner of school
and public lands, and is president of the Bank of
Hurley, at Hurley, is a native of Denmark, where
he was born on the 10th of November, 1858, be-
ing a son o,f Jacob S. Bach, a pioneer of Yankton,
South Dakota. The subject received his early
education in the excellent schools of his native
land, and there remained until 1873, when he
came to Dakota territory, where he has availed
himself of the opportunities presented and has
won definite success through his own earnest and
honorable endeavors. He located in Centerville,
Turner county, in 1884, where he engaged in the
hardware business, also establishing a store in
Hurley. He built up a very profitable business
in the line and continued operations in both towns
until the ist of October, 1892, when he estab-
lished himself in the banking business in Hurley,
and has since given the major portion of his at-
tention to the supervision of the same. The bank
is ably managed and established on a solid finan-
cial basis, while its popularity is indicated by the
representative support accorded by the people of
the section.

In politics ]\Ir. Each is a stalwart supporter
of the principles of the Republican party, in whose
cause he has been an active and valued worker,
while his is the distinction of having been a mem-
ber of the first and second general assemblies of
the legislature of the state. In the fall of 1902 he
was elected the state commissioner of school and
public lands, and has since remained incumbent
of this office. He and his wife are prominent
and zealous members of the Lutheran church,
and fraternally he has attained to the thirty-sec-
ond degree of Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite
Masonry, being identified with the consistory at
Yankton, while he is also one of the influential
members of the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, being past grand master of the grand lodge

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1 481

of the order in the state. On the 4th of October,
1878, the subject of this sketch was married to
Carrie Franson, who was born in Norway, on the
28th of December, 1858, and they have six chil-
dren, namely: Forest, Guerdon, Mae, Bernie,
Etta and Ruth.

ZECHARIAH SPITLER, one of the repre-
sentative citizens of Aberdeen, was born on a
farm in Newton county, Indiana, on the 24tli of
March, 1855, being a son of Zechariah and Sally
(Rider) Spitler, the former of whom was born
in Virginia and the latter in Pennsylvania. The
paternal ancestors settled in the Old Dominion
state in the colonial epoch of our national history,
the name being prominently identified with the
annals of that patrician section of the Union,
where a fine old homestead has been retained in
the family for many generations. The maternal
ancestors were numbered among the early set-
tlers in York county, Pennsylvania. The parents
of the subject became residents of western Indi-
ana in the latter 'thirties, and there their marriage
was solemnized in 1842, while for fifty-eight
years they resided continuously on one farm, re-
tiring to town for the remainder of their old age.
The subject received his early education in the
common schools of his native county and supple-
mented this discipline by a course in an academy
at Battle Ground, Indiana, in which institution
he was graduated in the early 'seventies, after
which he gave his attention principally to teaching
in the country schools of Indiana and farming
until September, 1880, when he entered the law
department of the famous University of Michi-
gan, at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated in
1882, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws,
Within the same year he came to the territory
of Dakota, locating in Frederick, Brown county,
where he remained until the fall of 1887, engaged
in the land business and in a desultory practice of
his profession. He then took up his residence
in the city of Aberdeen, where he was most of the
time in the employ of Lincoln & Boyd, in the real-
estate mortgage business until the 1st of Jan-
uary, 1901, since which time he has been person-

ally engaged in the real-estate business as an
individual enterprise, never having entered ac-
tively into the practice of his profession. He is
one of the incorporators of the Aberdeen Cloth-
ing Company, a manufacturing institution. Soon
after coming to the territory Mr. Spitler took up
tracts of government land, and he has given
much time, thought and energy to the handling of
realty for others as well as his own properties,
controlling a large and important business in the
line at the present time. In politics Mr. Spitler
is an advocate of the basic principles of the Dem-
ocratic party, is in favor of free trade or of tariff
for revenue only, while he is unequivocally op-
posed to the expansion policy which has been
manifest in governmental affairs since the late
Spanish-American war. He and his wife are
zealous members of the Presbyterian church and
are earnest workers in the cause of the divine
Master.

On the 20th of November, 1887, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Spitler to Miss Sarah
Drum, who was born in Qiittenden county,
Vermont, and their only child, Lela Mae, was
born on the 14th of November, i88g.

FRANKLIN T. JACKSON, the immediate
subject of this sketch, remained at the parental
home until the time of his marriage, in 1883,
having received his educational training in the
public schools and the Curtis Business College,
in Minneapolis. After his marriage he removed
to Redwood county, Minnesota, where he en-
gaged in farming and stock growing, in which
line of enterprise he there continued until 1886,
when he came to South Dakota, arriving in Mc-
Cook county, on the 22d of January, in company
with his wife and child, while his equipment for
the winning of success and independence in the
new home was summed up in his energy, integ-
rity and determination, his visible accessories be-
ing represented in a span of mules and a lumber
wagon. He took up a pre-emption claim of one
hundred and sixty acres and there engaged in
farming and stock raising. In the fall of 1886
Mr. Jackson took up his residence in the village

1482

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of Montrose, where he devoted his attention to
the buying and shipping of stock for the ensuing
eight years. In 1894 he took up his residence in
Salem, where he has since been successfully en-
gaged in the same line of enterprise, being one
of the leading stock buyers of this section of the
state. He also owns and superintends the oper-
ation of more than a thousand acres of farming
land in this county, and he is known as one of
McCook county's most progressive and alert busi-
ness men. In politics Mr. Jackson is a stanch
Republican, and for a number of years past has
been a prominent figure in local affairs of a pub-
lic nature. In the fall of 1902 he was elected to
represent his district in the state legislature, and
his course has been such as to amply justify the
choice of the voters of the district. He is affil-
iated with Fortitude Lodge, No. 73, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons ; Salem Chapter, No. 34, Royal
Arch Masons; Oriental Consistory, No. i,
Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, in Yankton;
Salem Lodge, Xo. 106, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows ; Sioux Falls Lodge, No. 262, Be-
nevolent and Protective Order of Elks ; Salem
Lodge, No. 60, Knights of Pythias; Salem
Lodge, Ancient Order of LTnited Workmen ; and
Ramsey Camp, No. 5634, Modern Woodmen of
America, of which he served two terms as
consul.

On the igth of July, 1883, Mr. Jackson was
united in marriage to Miss Nettie M. Gibbs, of
Lake City, Minnesota, and they are the parents
of four children, namely: John A.. Fay F., Carol
F. and Helen H. ' "

THOMAS M. SHANAFELT, D. D., state
superintendent of Baptist missions in South Da-
kota and North Dakota, was born April i, 1840,
at Brinkerton, Clarion county, Pennsylvania. He
came to his present position in .\pril, 18S8. Dr.
Shanafelt is a graduate of Blackwell University,
1861. He served in the Rebellion as a private in
the Pennsylvania volunteer infantry. He is at
present a member of the board of commissioners
for the South Dakota Soldiers' Home and vice-
president of the State Historical Society. He

is deeply interested in historical topics and is the
author of an authoritative history of the Baptist
church in South Dakota, published in 1899. Out-
side his sacred calling in which he has won high
distinction, he is a public-spirited citizen and a
leader in every good work. Few men possess
in a greater degree that habit of persistent in-
dustry which makes every minute count for
good.

DeLORME W. ROBINSON, ^I. D., Pierre.
South Dakota, president of the state board of
health, was born October 26, 1854, at Pulaski,
Pennsylvania. He was educated at .Allegheny
College, Meadville, Pennsylvania, and received
medical training in the medical department of
Wooster L^niversity, Cleveland, Ohio, and took
post-graduate work in the Chicago Medical
School and at the Kentucky School of Medicine.
Louisville. He located in Pierre in 1882. Dr.
Robinson has attained the highest eminence in
his profession in South Dakota and it is probable
that he would readily be accorded the first place
upon the vote of his co-professioners. both in
general practice and surgery. His success in cap-
ital operations has been somewhat phenomenal.
Dr. Robinson is a loyal citizen of his city and
the state, progressive in all of his views and
active in his support of public measures. He
was the author of the first territorial law creating
a board of health and also of the first state law
upon the subject. He has served three terms as
a member of the state board of health and has
written extensively upon medical topics. He
takes great interest in studious historical re-
searches and his contributions to the history of
the northwest are recognized authorities. His
contributions of one hundred and fifteen notes
upon South Dakota history, including careful
studies of most of the famous Indians, to the first
volume of the Collections of the State Histori-
cal Society, have won many encomiums from
scholars and critics. His wife, the daughter of
the renowned Dr. William Maxfield Blackburn,
died in 1891. He has two children, a daughter of
fifteen and a son aged twelve.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1483

CHARLES A. JEWETT is a native of the
old Buckeye state, having been born in Newark,
Licking county, Ohio, on the 7th of February,
1848, and being a son of David D. and ]\Iary
(Taylor) Jewett, natives of Ohio. The father of
the subject was engaged in the grocery trade in
Newark for many years and was one of the
honored citizens and successful business men of
that section. He died in 1801, and his wife
passed away in 1848. They became the parents
of ten children, of whom four are living at the
present time. The subject secured his early ed-
ucational training in the public schools and con-
tinued his studies until he had attained the age
of seventeen years, when he commenced work
in his father's grocery store, being thus engaged
until 1870, when he removed to Kansas City,
Missouri, and embarked in the wholesale grocery
business upon his own responsibility. At the
expiration of two years he disposed of his in-
terests in that city and removed to Independence,
Kansas, where he was established in the same
line of trade until 1875, when he sold out, passing
the ensuine seven years as traveling salesman
for ]irominent wholesale grocery houses, in New
York and Chicago. In July. 1882, he entered
into a partnership with his brothers. Harvey and
R. N., and opened a grocery house in Aberdeen,
South Dakota, in which city he took up his
residence in Ararch of the following vcar.
There he remained until June, 1888, when he re-
moved to Sioux Falls, where he has since main-
tained his home, the enterprise in Aberdeen be-
ing still continued, under the corporate titles of
Jewett Brothers. At the time of taking up his
abode in Sioux Falls the firm of Jewett Brothers
& Jewett, which is now incorporated under the
laws of the state, purchased the wholesale gro-
cery business of \\''ard & Frick, in this city, and
forthwith began to expand the scope of the enter-
prise, and this concern figures as the first dis-
tinctively wholesale house in South Dakota, and
its business has grown to jnagnificent proportions
under the able management of our subject and
his coadjutors. In March. 1803, a branch es-
tablishment was opened at Sheldon, Iowa, and the
trade of the concern now ramifies throughlv a

very wide area of country, the facilities being
unexcelled and the reputation of the concern un-
assailable. In 1884 the firm shipped the first car-
load of sugar ever brought into the state, the
same having been consigned to their establish-
ment in Aberdeen. In 1897 its shipment of sugar
into the state reached the enormous aggregate
of two hundred and forty carloads, which one
item gives evidence of the great and substantial
growth of the business, which in that year repre-
sented transactions amounting to more than one
million and two hundred thousand dollars. In
igo2 the concert shipped in three hundred and
thirty-three carloads of sugar, averaging forty
thou.sand pounds to a car, more than double the
weight per car of the shipment of 1897, while the
aggregate of the business for the year reached
more than two and a quarter millions of dollars.
The branch establishment at Sheldon is conducted
under the title of Jewett Brothers & Company,
and this is also incorporated. In igoi Mr. Jew-
ett effected the organization of the Jewett Fruit
& Fish Company, of Sioux Falls, of which he has
been president from the start, and the concern
has likewise built up a large and prosperous busi-
ness. In 1902 he organized the ]\Ianchester
Biscuit Company, of Sioux Falls, of which he
is president, while he is also vice-president of the
Andrew Kuhn Company, v/holesale grocers, in
Sioux Falls. Each of these large enterprises has
felt the influence of his progressive spirit and
high administrative talents, and he is held in
high regard in business circles and is esteemed
b\- all who know him. In 1903 l\Ir. Jewett or-
ganized the Jewett Drug Company, of Aberdeen,
the same conducting a wholesale and general
jobbing business, and he is president of this cor-
poration.

Mr. Jewett has taken an active interest in
public affairs, as touching civic advancement,
and prior to 1896 he was a stalwart supporter of
the Republican party. In the campaign of that
year he found his views not in harmony with
the platform of the party and has since main-
lined an independent attitude, taking the stand
that he is today a Lincoln Republican and being
well fortified in his convictions and opinions as

1484

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

to matters of public policy. He has been a
deleg^ate to both state and county conventions of
the Republican party and has never wavered in
his allegiance to its basic and primary principles.
He was for two years president of the Sioux
Falls Daily Press Company, but has now disposed
of his interests in the same.

On the 1 2th of May, 1869, Mr. Jewett was
united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Ryan, of
Troy, New York. No children have been born
of this union, but they have reared and educated
two nieces of Mrs. Jewett.

DANIEL J. CONWAY, junior member of
the well-known law firm of Muller & Company,
of Sioux Falls, is a native of the state of Illinois,
having been born in the cit}- of LaSalle, on the
8th of March, i860, and being a son of Daniel
and Mary (McTiernan) Conway, the former of
whom was born in Sligo, Ireland, both
in Drumkeerin, County Leitrim, Ireland, both
representative of stanch old Irish lineage. The
subject received his early educational training
in the public schools of his native city, and later
continued his studies in St. Viateur's College, in
Bourbonnais, Illinois. He later was for two
years a resident of Dixon, that state, where he
took a course of study in the Northern Illinois
Normal College, and in the meanwhile began
the study of law, under an able preceptor in that
place. He then removed to Sioux county, Iowa,
where he held the office of deputy auditor of
Sioux county from January, 1888, until March,
i88g. In the month last mentioned he came to
Sioux Falls, where he engaged in the real-estate
business, to which he devoted his attention until
i8gi, having in the meanwhile secured admission
to the bar of the state, while he is also a practi-
tioner in the federal courts. In the year noted he
entered into a professional partnership with
David E. Powers, under the firm name of P'owers
& Conway, and this alliance continued until 1893,
when he became associated with Henry A. Mul-
ler, under the title of Muller & Conway, which
has ever since obtained, the firm controlling a
large and representative legal business and hav-

ing distinctive precedence both as attorneys and
counselors.

Mr. Conway has been one of the wheel-
horses of the Democratic party in the county and
state and has wielded marked influence in the
party councils, while his leadership has been ac-
knowledged and appreciated. He was manager
of the Democratic campaign in the state in 1896.
and has been secretary of the state central com-
mittee of his party for the past six years. In 1897
he was appointed United States commissioner, an
office of which he is still incumbent, and he served
with great acceptability as city attorney of Sioux
Falls from May, 1898, until May, 1900. In re-
ligious belief Mr. Conway is a Roman Catholic.

On the 26th of November, 1891, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Conway to Miss Jane
Frances Conness, of Kansas City, Missouri, and
they have five children, namely: Henrietta ^I.,
M. Roberta. Marie Beulah, Frances F. and
Daniel Walter.

GRANVILLE G. BENNETT was born at
Middletown, Butler county, Ohio, October 9,
1833, the son of Peter and Mary (Pinkerton)
Bennett. He was educated at Washington Col-
lege, Washington, Iowa, and studied law. In
June, 1861, he enlisted in the Seventh Iowa
Regiment and served throughout the war as
lieutenant of the Seventh and adjutant of the
Nineteenth, but during the last two years of the
war as an officer upon the staff of General
Thomas J. McKean. After the war he practiced
law at Washington and served in both houses of
the Iowa legislature. He was appointed as-
sociate judge of the supreme court of Dakota in
1875 by President Grant, and served in that ca-
pacity until August, 1878, when he resigned to
accept a nomination to congress. While justice
of the supreme court of Dakota he organized the
courts in the Black Hills and held the first ses-
sions there. He made an excellent record in
congress and since that time has practiced law at
Deadwood. He is a public-spirited citizen, a
leader in all public enterprises, and is still a
power in politics, always representing his county

I

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1485

in state conventions and was a delegate to the
national convention which nominated McKinley
and Roosevelt in 1900. He is a powerful and
eloquent speaker, and a popular lecturer upon
scientific and literary subjects. He is a leading
member of the Congregational church.

Mr. Bennett was married at Washington,
Iowa. October 11, i860, to Miss Mary Dawson,
and their home life has been ideal throughout the
happy years of their union. Their surviving
children are Misses Esteline and Helen, and
("iranville G., Jr. The young ladies are leaders
in social and professional life, the former as a
musician and journalist in Chicago and the latter
in educational work, being at present the superin-
tendent of schools in Lawrence county. Gran-
ville G., Jr., is preparing for the Episcopal niin-

PHILO HALL.— The legal affairs of the
great state of South Dakota at the present time
are placed in able hands, and as attorney general
of the state the subject of this sketch is giving
an administration which is creditable to the com-
mon\\ealth and to himself professionally and of-
ficially. Mr. Hall is a native of the state of
Minnesota, having been born in Wilton, Waseca
countv on the 31st of December, 1865, a son of
Philo'and Mary E. fGreenel Hall. Philo Hall,
Sr., was born in Caledonia Springs, Canada, be-
ing the son of Philo and Susana Hall, both of
whom were born in the state of Vermont. When
about fifteen years of age the father of the subject
left his native town in Canada and went to Keno-
sha. Wisconsin, his father having died when Philo
was a mere child. He attended school in Keno-
sha and Racine, Wisconsin, continuing his studies
until he was about nineteen years of age, and he
then removed to Waseca county, Minnesota,
where he turned his attention to teaching school,
gaining distinctive prestige in this profession.
In April, 1861, in response to the President's first
call for volunteers, he enlisted as a member of the
First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, with which
he served three years, making the record of a
valiant and faithful soldier of the republic. He

then returned to his home in Minnesota and en-
gaged in the hotel business in Wilton, having
married Miss Mary E. Greefte, daughter of Wil-
liam and Mary Greene, of New York city. The
father of the subject died on the 30th of Ajjril.
1883, and he is survived by his wife and their
four children, the mother being now a resident of
P>rookings, South Dakota, which is likewise the
home of her son, the attorney general, who is the
eldest of the four children, the others being as
follows : Mary E., who is the wife of Arthur Al-
ton, of Brookings; George P., who is likewise a
resident of this place: and Nellie, who remains
with her mother. After the death of his father
in 1883, the family removed to Brookings, and
here the subject of this review took up the study
of law in the office of Judge J. O. Andrews, un-
der whose direction he prosecuted his technical
reading until 1886, and was admitted to the bar of
the territory of Dakota in 1887. Shortly after-
ward Mr. Hall entered into partnership with his
former preceptor. Judge Andrews, this associa-
tion continuing until 1889, when Judge Andrews
was elected to the circuit bench, and since that
time Mr. Hall has been actively engaged in the
practice of his profession in Brookings, and is
now the senior member of the present firm of
Hall, Lawrence & Roddle. Mr. Hall has ever
been a stanch advocate of the principles of the
Republican partv and has been a valued and
able worker in the cause of the same. In 1894
he was elected state's attorney of Brookings
county, and was chosen as his own successor in
1896. while in 1895 '""^ was elected mayor of the
citv of Brookings, serving one term and giving
a most able administration of municipal affairs.
He has also served as city attorney and in 1901
he represented his district in the state senate. In
the autumn election of 1902 he was elected to
his present distinguished office of attorney gen-
eral of the state, assuming the duties of the posi-
tion in January, 1903, and was unanimously re-
nom.inated to that office at the Republican state
convention at Sioux Falls, May 4, 1904. He is
a member of the INTasonic fraternity, the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient
Order of L'fnited Workmen.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

On the 27th of April, 1890, Mr. Hall married
Mrs. Mary A. Cooke, and of this union have been
born three children, namely: Vivian, who was
born on the 25th of September, 1891 ; Philo, Jr.,
who was born on the 8th of August, 1895, and
Morrell, who was born on the 26th of March,
1898.

RE\'. GARY T. NOTSOX, pastor of the
Methodist Episcopal church at Pierre, was born
in Decatur county, Iowa, September 19, 1865.
In his youth Mr. Notson learned the printer's
trade, but in 1892 entered the ministry in the
Des Moines conference and joined the Dakota
conference in 1894. He has rapidly risen to a
position of eminence in his calling. He is secre-
tary of the Dakota conference and is the his-
torian of the church in this state.

, H. B. XOBLE, M. D.— Few men have a
better claim to the title of early settler of Howard
than the popular physician whose name heads
this paragraph. There were a few before him,
but when it is stated that he built the second
residence put up at the county seat of Miner
county, it is easy to see that he was on the scene
at a very early period of the settlement of this
section of South Dakota. His coming moreover
was a distinct public benefit, as he "took hold,"
to use a western phrase, immediately after his ar-
rival and his shoulder has been up against the
car of progress ever since. In other words, he
has been in touch with every movement to help
Miner county, and has done his full share in edu-
cating public opinion along the lines of progress.
Dr. Noble's parents were Albert G. and Lucy L.
Noble, who came west in the first half of the last
century and found a location in the rich agri-
cultural region bordering the upper Mississippi
on the west. Their son, with whose biography
we are dealing, was born in Delaware county,
Iowa. September to, 1848. and his early educa-
tion was confined to the somewhat meagerly-
equipped pu]:)lic schools of that day. In late life,
however, he made up by study for all deficiencies

and eventually became a well-infoniTed man.
Having decided on medicine as his life's vocation,
he entered the Missouri Medical College at St.
Louis, and after a very studious session, marked
by close application on his part, he was gradu-
ated as a Doctor of Medicine with the class of
1882. He had long regarded the Dakotas as an
inviting field for ambitious young men, and im-
mediately after obtaining his professional di-
ploma he turned his face toward the prairies of
the upper ^lissouri. The prospect at Howard
was not especially inviting when the young
doctor arrived, as the present thriving seat of
justice was as yet a straggling hamlet and the
population of Miner county was not such as to
unduly swell the census. Dr. Noble, however,
had confidence in the growth of this section and
therefore cast his bread upon the waters with
full assurance that after many days it would re-
turn to him. His "shingle" was hung out with
the brave assurance that characterizes the true-
born pioneer and he set to work with a will to
make business come. Industry and determina-
tion seldom fail of their efifects, and it was not
long until Dr. Noble was able to put up a house
to live in, this building, by the way, being the
'second that graced the streets of Howard. He
grew in favor as the town grew in size and in
due time was elected to preside of er the destinies
of Howard as its mayor. He gave such satisfac-
tion by his first term that he was honored with
a re-election, and, in addition to the mayoralty,
he has held inany minor offices. For ten years
past he has been health officer of Miner county
and in this position has succeeded in bringing
about some needed reforms. The Doctor's stand-
ing, socially, professionally and fraternally,
can not be better emphasized than by the state-
ment that he is a member of the Episcopal
church, of the Masonic fraternity and of the State
Medical .\ssociation.

In 1880, Dr. Noble was married to Miss
Carrie Hill, who died in September, 1891. leav-
ing two children : Roy E. and .Mbert. In Sep-
tember, 1892. the Doctor was united in matri-
mony with Miss Jennie. O. Strong, by whom
there has liecn no issue. In politics. Dr. Xoble is

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1487

ail earnest advocate of the principles and policies
of the Republican party and may usually be
found well to the front among the party workers
when a campaio^n is on. He is public-spirited as
well as patriotic, and takes a just pride in the
rapid strides made by South Dakota during the
last decade in the race for supremacy amonsj the
ereat states of the northwest.

EUGEXE HUNTINGTON.— Tt is sisnally
consistent that in a contemporary wav shall be
perpetuated the records of those who have aided
in the development of a splendid civilization in
the great northwest, for in the future years this
data can -not but prove of inestimable historic
value. The subject of this sketch is to be noted
as one of the early pioneers of the present state
of South Dakota and as one who has done his
part in advancing its material and civic progress.
He has served in various positions of public trust,
under botli the territorial and state regimes, and
is at the time of this writing incumbent of the
office of deputy collector of internal revenue for
the north half of the state, retaining his residence
ill Webster, Day county.

The name borne by the subject is one which
has long been iilentified with the annals of
American history. The original progenitor in
the new world was Simon Huntington, who emi-
grated from Norwich. England, in 1633, but who
died oil the voyage, his family settling in Rox-
bury, Massachusetts. His son Christopher was
one of the founders of Norwich, Connecticut,
being one of the twelve patentees of that place
and one of its prominent and influential citizens.
The subject is of the eighth generation in de-
scent from Simon Huntin.gton. the head of the
original family in America.

Eugene Huntington was born in Norwich,
Connecticut, on the 1 8th of .\pril, 1844, being a
son of Horatio and Julia (Horton) Huntington.
His parents removed to New Jersey when he was
a child, later to the state of New York, and in
1856 became pioneer settlers in Mitchell county,
Towa, where they passed the remainder of their
lives. The father there gave his attention to agri-

cultural pursuits and became a prosperous and
highly honored citizen of the state. The subject of
this review received a common-school education,
having been a lad of about twelve years at the
time of the family removal to Iowa, so that he
has had his full quota of experience in connec-
tion with pioneer life. In i86i, shortly after the
outbreak of the war of the Rebellion, he enlisted
as a private in the Fourth Iowa Volunteer Cav-
alry, with which he served until the expiration of
his term, in 1863, when he re-enlisted as a mem-
ber of the same regiment and remained in active
service therewith until the close of the great in-
ternecine conflict through which was perpetuated
the integrity of the Union. He recived his honor-
able discharge, as sergeant of his company, in
.\ugust, 1865, and then returned to his home in
Iowa. In 1867-8 Mr. Huntington was em-
ployed in the engineering department of the
Union Pacific Railroad, and in 1869 held the
position of construction engineer on the Illinois
Central Railroad, while in 1872 he was similarly
engaged in connection with the construction of
the Iowa Pacific Railroad, which is now a por-
tion of the system of the Chicago & Great West-
ern Railroad.

In 1878 Mr. Huntington came to South Da-
kota, locating in Flandreau, Moody county,
where he established himself in the real-estate and
loan business, being one of the pioneers in the
line in the state, which was then a portion of the
great undivided territory of Dakota. In 1883 he
removed to Webster, Day county, where he has
since maintained his home, and where he con-
tinued in the same line of enterprise for a num-
ber of years, doing much to secure to this section
a desirable class of settlers and also to further
the upbuilding and advancement of the town.

In politics Mr. Huntington has ever given an
(mqualified allegiance to the Republican party, in
whose cause he has been an active and efficient
worker. He cast his first presidential vote for
General Ulysses S. Grant, and has ever since
been an uncompromising advocate of the princi-
ples of the "grand old party." In 1884-5 '^^ ^^''•^
a member of the legislature of Dakota territory,
and introduced the bill creating Marshall county,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

said bill being duly enacted. In 1888 he was ap-
pointed adjutant general by Governor Mellette,
and held that office during the term of that hon-
ored and able chief executive of the state of
South Dakota. He was the first president of the
board of trustees of Webster after its incorpora-
tion as a village, and as an official and a private
citizen he has ever shown a deep and loyal in-
terest in all that pertains to the welfare of his
home town, county and state. In 1899 he was ap-
pointed to his present office of deputy collector of
internal revenue, and its duties demand practi-
cally his undivided attention. In a fraternal way
I\Ir. Huntington is identified with the Grand
Army of the Republic, has attained the thirty-
third and highest degree in Ancient Accepted
Scottish Rite Masonry, and is also affiliated with
the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

On the 29th of December, 1867, Mr. Hunt-
ington was united in marriage to Miss Artemicia
Button, who was born in the state of New York,
and who was a resident of Iowa at the time of
their marriage. They have four children,
namelv: Marcia, Richard, Grace and Gertrude.

BERNARD C. McCROSSAN.— It is emi-
nently consonant that in this history should be
entered a memoir to Mr. McCrossan, who was
one of the sterling pioneers of the state, being
prominently concerned in its industrial, commer-
cial and civic development and progress and hav-
ing been one of the leading business men of the
city of Sioux Falls at the time of his death.

Bernard Garland McCrossan was born in
Straband, Ireland, on the 15th of June, 1846, and
was a scion of sturdy and loyal old Irish stock.
He was reared and educated in the Emerald Isle
and early gave evidence of that alert mentality,
good judgment and indefatigable energ\' which
later played so important a part in securing to
him independence and prosperity. He became
identified with the cattle business in his native
land and had his entire financial resources in-
vested in this line. He had loaded his cattle
on a vessel for the purpose of transporting the
stock to the markets in England, and on the

passage the vessel was wrecked and he barely
escaped with his life, losing all but the under-
clothing which he wore at the time of the ac-
cident. This misfortune placed him again at
the foot of the ladder, but with invincible cour-
age and determination he set forth to retrieve his
fortunes. When about twenty-four years of age
he bade adieu to the fair land of his nativity and
came to America. He located in the city of Chi-
cago, where he was employed about one year
by a street-car company, and he then came to the
territory- of Dakota and became one of the pio-
neers of the little frontier village of Pierre, the
present attractive capital city of the great state
with which his fortunes were linked until his
death. In Pierre he established himself in the
produce business, and thus laid the foundation
for the great business enterprise of which he was
at the head when called from the scene of life's
activities. He also took up a claim of govern-
ment land in that locality and in due time per-
fected his title thereto. He continued in busi-
ness in Pierre for a number of years, and simul-
taneously maintained a number of branch houses
throughout the state. For nearly two years he
resided in Deadwood, where he became interested
in mining ventures, and he then located in Sun-
dance, the capital of Cook county, Wyoming,
where he was successfully engaged in business
until 1887, when he returned to South Dakota
and located in Sioux Falls, where he engaged in
the wholesale fruit business, which he conducted
under his own name until October, 1898, when
the business was incorporated under the title of
the B, C. McCrossan Fruit Company, with a
capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars.
He became president and principal stockholder of
the company and under his able and energetic
executive control the business continued to in-
crease in scope and importance, becoming the
leading enterprise of the sort in the state and
controlling a trade which was of wide ramifica-
tions. The business is still conducted under the
same title, his widow retaining her interest in the
same, while it is being successfully carried on
under the general management of Henry M.
Jones, who had previously been a stockholder and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1489

able coadjutor of the founder of the business,
while he is a brother of Mrs. McCrossan. He
was summoned to the life eternal on the 28th of
October, 1903, and in his death the city lost one
of its honored business men and loyal citizens,
while to those nearest and dearest to him the loss
is one which can never be replaced. Mr. Mc-
Crossan was reared in the faith of the Catholic
church and received his education in a Christian
Brothers' school in Ireland, while he ever clung-
to the faith in sincerity and consistency of life,
having been a communicant of St. Michael's
church in Sioux Falls at the time when he was
called to his reward, his widow likewise being a
communicant of this church. He was afifiliated
with the Catholic Order of Foresters and his
political support was given to the Democracy,
though he never sought office or was active in
political affairs.

On the 26th of November, 1886, Mr. Mc-
Crossan was united in marriage to Miss Linnie
B. Jones, who was at the time a resident of
Spearfish, South Dakota. She was born in
Cheyenne, Wyoming, and is a daughter of Wil-
liam and Ellen (Keliher) Jones, who were num-
bered among the pioneers of South Dakota. The
father died in 1884. while the mother now re-
sides with her daughter in Sioux Falls. Mrs.
McCrossan had no children. She still resides in
the attractive home in Sioux Falls and is sur-
rounded by a circle of devoted friends, being
actively interested in church work and in social
affairs also until the period of bereavement
through which she is now passing.

ALEXANDER C. JOHNSON, a native of
Pennsylvania, was edurateil at Allegheny Col-
lege, Meadville, afterwards taking a commercial
course and serving acceptably as a teller in a
bank. Then, graduating with high honors in the
law. he came to South Dakota to engage in the
practice of his profession, but circumstances
threw him into the grain trade, and for fifteen
years he had the supervision of the line elevators
upon the Northwestern system in South Dakota
and western Minnesota, and became a recognized

authority upon all matters pertaining to grain
growing and marketing. In 1898 he was taken
into the employment of the Northwestern Rail-
way as general agent in Dakota, and a year or .so
later was made general agent for the Northwest-
ern lines in Minnesota and South Dakota. For
many years Mr. Johnson's residence was at Wa-
tcrtown, where he was a leader in all enterprises
demanding public-spirited action, and he was also
active in Republican politics and has for twenty
years been regarded as one of the party's safest
counsellors. He was a delegate to the national
convention of 1892 and a member of the com-
mittee to notify the President of his nomination.
Recently his business relations have compelled
him to maintain his residence in Winona, Minne-
sota, but his interest in South Dakota matters is
imabated and he still regards himself as a South
Dakotan. He has a splendid home and his home
life is ideal. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have three
children, just arriving at maturity, two daugh-
ters. Misses Evelvn and Alta, and Carl.

PETER J. HEGEMAN, of Brookings, is a
native of the Empire state of the ITnion, having
been torn in Gloversville, Fulton county. New
York, on the loth of May, 1849, and being a son
of Peter J. and Catherine (Allen) Hegeman. In
the public schools of Gloversville, New York, he
received his early educational discipline. When
eleven years of as^'e he began work, and the major
portion of his stipend he gave to his mother, re-
serving only sufficient for the absolute necessi-
ties of life. Later he accompanied his parents on
their removal to \A''isconsin, in which locality he
remained until 1877, when he came to South
Dakota as a pioneer, taking up a homestead claim
near Lake Hendricks, Brookings county, and
proving up on the same. He improved the farm
and brotight the same under eflfective cultivation,
being there engaged in general farming. Sub-
sequently Mr. Hegeman removed to the village
of Clark Lake, where he erected a commodious
warehouse and engaged in the buying of grain
and the handling of flour, feed, etc. He contin-
ued in business at Clark Lake for some time and

1 49°

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

then removed to White, where he was engaged
in the same line of enterprise for some time,
after which he again resided on his farm, but
later returned to White and resumed operations
in tlie manufacturing of gloves and mittens. In
1894 he removed his business to Brookings, and
here he has built up a large and prosperous en-
terprise, controlling an excellent business
throughout this section of the state.

JOHN HEREFORD KING, who is en-
gaged in the real-estate, loan and insurance busi-
ness in the city of Huron, Beadle county, and
who is a distinguished member of the legal pro-
fession, is distinctively a western man and im-
bued with its self-reliant and progressive spirit.
He was born at Salem, Henry county, Iowa, on
the 3d of October, 1845, and is a representative
of one of the sterling pioneer families of that
state. He is a son of Samuel and Content (Ver-
ion) King, both of whom were birthright mem-
bers of that noble organization, the Society of
Friends, to whose faith they adhered throughout
life, the father being a native of Pennsylvania
and the mother of Georgia. They removed, with
their parents, to Ohio about 1815, and after their
marriage removed to Iowa in 1844, settling in
Henry county, at Salem, and later moving to Ce-
dar county, Iowa, where the father entered the
land whereon West Branch now stands. The sub-
ject was reared on the old homestead farm, early
beginning to assist in its work, while he also
learned the trade of broom making under the di-
rection of his father. His early educational advan-
tages were siich as were afforded in the common
schools of the locality, and was supplemented by
a three-months course in an academy conducted
by Joel Beans, at West Branch, that state. He
left school at the age of eighteen years and con-
tinued to work on the home farm until his mar-
riage, at the age of twenty-one. He then, in
1866, located on a tract of land in Hardin county,
Iowa, and engaged in farming on his own re-
sponsibility, breaking the greater portion of the
ground himself and fencing the property, which
was '-'irgin jjrairie at the time when it came into

his possession. In the meanwhile he was em-
ployed as teacher in an adjoining district school
for three winter terms. In the spring of 1869
he began the careful study of law at his home,
and completed his technical reading under the
direction of an able preceptor, Hon. H. L. Huff,
of Eldora, Iowa, being admitted to the bar of
Iowa in the winter of 1870, and located in El-
dora, the county seat of Hardin county, where he
initiated the active practice of his profession,
and two years later he removed to Hampton,
Franklin county, where he rapidly gained pres-
tige in his profession, building up a large and lu-
crative legal business and being one of the lead-
ing lawyers of that section for many years. In
1877 he was elected to represent his district in
the state legislature, said district comprising the
counties of Franklin and Cerro Gordo, and
he was chosen as his own successor in 1879,
receiving large and gratifying majorities on
both occasions. He took a very prominent
part in the legislative proceedings and held
the important position of chairman of the
house committee on railroads during the eight-
eenth general assembly. At the time of the Civil
war he was most desirous of enlisting in defense
of the Union, but his parents, being of the Quaker
faith and thus opposed to warfare by principle
and training, refused to permit him to become
a volunteer. In July, 1880, he came to South
Dakota and in the fall of that year laid out Cham-
berlain and became president of the town-site
company, and soon removed there with his fain-
ily. He was appointed postmaster in 1882 and
became editor of the Chainberlain Register and
actively engaged in the many enterprises calcu-
lated to build up a town. Like many others in
South Dakota, he lost his all in the hard times
of the later 'eighties, but stuck to the state and
with keen foresight later saw the great develop-
ment that might come, and he believed would
come, to this great artesian section of Central
South Dakota. ■ After a painstaking search he
secured help from Dubuque capitalists and pur-
chased a very large quantity of land, commencing
in the latter part of 1899, in Beadle, Spink,.
Hand, Hyde, Hughes and Sully counties, fully

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1491

eighty thousand acres, and nearly five years ago
removed to Huron and commenced pushing and
advocating the digging of artesian wells, and
planting of trees, and bringing new settlers into
the country, loaning money to help farmers and
others who wished to build and buy more land.
He improved a large number of farms, building
good houses and barns, and infused new life and
confidence in central South Dakota and built up a
great business at Huron, in lands, loans and in-
surance.

In politics Mr. King has ever been an ardent
Republican and has been a vigorous and effective
worker in its cause. He made an uncompro-
mising stand against the free-silver heresy in
1896, and in the presidential campaign of that
year made a large number of strong speeches
in advocacy of the single gold standard, the now
established financial policy of his party. Frater-
nally he is affiliated with the Masons and the Be-
nevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He was
reared in the faith of the society of Friends, of
which he is a birthright member, but both he and
his wife now hold membership in the Congrega-
tional church.

On the 20th of September, 1866. was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. King to Miss Permelia
A. Andrews, who was born in Hamilton county,
Indiana, being a daughter of William E. and
Mary E. Andrews, who were early settlers in
Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. King have four children,
namely : Guneath D., now Mrs. Gilbert E. Roe,
of New York city ; Laona M., now Mrs. Walter
Montgomery, of Chamberlain, South Dakota;
Lorena C, a graduate of Chicago University,
now at home in Huron, and Grace E., now Mrs.
Fred J. Hutchins, of Chicago, all of whom share
their father's loyalty in the belief in South Da-
kota's future greatness.

GEORGE GROVER, one of the representa-
tive citizens and prominent merchants of Hart-
ford, Minnehaha county, is a native of the state
of Michigan, havingj been bom on a farm in Pu-
laski township, Jackson county, on the 3d of June,
1859, and being a son of Allen ^\'. and Jane E.

(Phipps) Grover, natives of New York state.
The father was one of the representative farmers
of that county and a man of prominence in his
section. He died in 1902, while the mother is
still living at the old homestead. The subject
was reared to the sturdy and invigorating disci-
pline of the homestead farm and was afforded ex-
cellent educational advantages. After completing
the curriculum of the public schools he was ma-
triculated in the Michigan State Agricultural
College, at Lansing, where he completed the pre-
scribed four-years course and was graduated
as a member of the class of 1881, receiving the
degree of Bachelor of Science. After leaving
college Mr. Grover was for two years a success-
ful teacher in the public schools of his native
county and he then, in 1882, purchased the Con-
cord Enterprise, at Concord, that county, con-
tinuing as editor and publisher of the same for
two years, after which he was there engaged in
the general merchandise business until 1889,
when he removed to Janesville, Wisconsin, where
he learned the art of telegraphy, at which he was
there employed for some time, as was he later
in Hamilton, Minnesota. He was thus employed
in the service of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneap-
olis & Omaha Railroad for nearly a decade, in
Minnesota and South Dakota, having been sta-
tion agent and operator at Hartford, this state,
from 1891 until 1898. He thereafter passed a
year in looking for an eligible location in the
southern states, but became convinced that South
Dakota offered superior attractions, and in 1899
he returned to Hartford, where he entered into
partnership with Herman C. Robsahm, under the
firm name of Robsahm &" Grover, and engaged
in the general merchandise business, with which
enterprise he has since been successfully identi-
fied, having purchased the interests of his part-
ner on the 1st of May, 1903, and being now the
sole proprietor of the business, which is one of
the most important of the sort in this section, his
store being well stocked in its various depart-
ments and controlling a trade which extends
throughout the wide radius of country normally
tributary to Hartford. ]\Ir. Grover has ever be-
lieved in the principles of the Democratic i^arty

[49^

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

as exemplified in the teachings of Jefferson and
Jackson, but the heretical tendencies in the party
ranks in later years have caused him to withdraw
his allegiance and he is now an out-and-out sup-
]5orter of the policies of President Roosevelt.
Fraternally he is identified with Hartford Lodge,
U. D., Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at
Hartford ; and Sioux Falls Lodge, No. 262, Be-
nevolent and Protective Order of Elks, at Sioux
Falls, South Dakota.

On the 4th of August, 1891, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Grover to Miss Hattie B.
Smith, daughter of Isaac F. and Mary A. (Ear!)
Smith, of Jackson county. Michigan, and of this
union have been born three children : Allen S.,
who was born on the i6th of September, 1894;
Raymond, who was born on the 21st of July,
1899; and Theodore, who was born on the 28th
day of October, 1903.

WILLIAM SCHOOF. one of the well-
known and popular citizens of Gettysburg. Pot-
ter county, has had an eventful career, and is a
man of broad experience. He has the distinction
of being able to speak in both the high and low
Dutch, Norwegian and the Danish languages,
besides the English.

Mr. Schoof is a native of Schleswig-Holstein,
Germany, where he was born on the 22d of Sep-
tember, 1857, being a son of Henry and Aanelia
( Dursen) Schoof. His father was a successful
farmer, owning about three hundred acres of
land in the province mentioned and being a man
of prominence and influence in his community.
He served in an office corresponding to the Amer-
ican justice of the peace for many years, and be-
ing an income tax payer was eligible for and
elected to a number of more important offices
than the one noted. In his familv were seven
children, of whom all are living at the present
time, while three of the number are residents of
the United States.

The subject of this sketch was reared to ma-
tm-ity in the fatherland, and received excellent
educational advantages in his youth, having at-
tended the schools maintained bv the national

government and also private institutions and a
technical school of agriculture. At the age of
nineteen years he entered the cavalry arm of the
national military service, in which he remained
three years. He was promoted to the office of
corporal, the highest rank attainable in the three-
years term of cavalry service, and during one
year he was stationed with his conmiand at Flens-
burg in his native province, and the remaining
two years near the city of Metz. in the present
German province of .Alsace-Lorraine, which had
but a short time previously been taken from the
French government, so that it was a position de-
manding strong governmental control and a
place of marked strategic importance. After the
expiration of his three-year term ]\Ir. Schoof. in
1879, came to America, being twenty-one years
of age at the time. He was on furlough at the
time, being still considered as a member of the
military reserve of his native land. He landed
at New York and came west to Bureau county,
Illinois, where he was an inmate of a family
home for some time, his principal object being
to acquire a knowledge of the English language,
and the customs of the people.

.\fter a trip through Kansas and the Imlian
territory, he returned to his native land for a
visit, in 1880, remaining there during the win-
ter of the year mentioned. In the spring of 1881
he returned to the United States and located in
Bureau county, Illinois, where he engaged in
farming on his own account, having received
financial aid from his home. Lack of experience
and unpropitious conditions caused a failure in
this venture, and, as he himself states the case, at
the end of two years his five hired men had the
money while he had incidentally acquired a mod-
icum of experience. He then became infused
with the enthusiastic spirit which was animating
those who were beginning to develop the re-
sources of what is now the state of South Da-
kota, and on the 21st of March, 1883. find him
located at Frankfort, Spink county. In this vi-
cinity he rented a large farm, his resources being
summed up in eight dollars in cash and three
crippled horses so far as tangible evidences were
concerned, but he had the better equipment of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1493

undefatigable energy and a determination to win.
He devoted his attention to farming- for the en-
suing three years and was very successful in his
efforts. In the meanwhile he had exercised the
prerogatives of citizenship by taking up home-
stead, pre-emption and tree claims in Potter
county, and here he has made his home consec-
utively since June 10, 1883, save for the time
which he devoted to his farming interests in
Spink county. In the spring of 18S6 he made
a permanent location in Potter county, and the
following year met with a success of decidedly
negative order, so that in the fall of that year he
was constrained to accept a clerkship in a mer-
cantile establishment in Gett>-sburg. He was
thus engaged until 1890, since which time he has
been engaged in the furnishing of seed grain on
shares throughout Potter and adjoining counties,
having had at times as many as two hundred and
sixty-eight customers and having supplied seed
for seven thousand acres of land. In this some-
what unique line of enterprise Mr. Schoof has
met with gratifying success, while he has gained
the unqualified confidence and esteem of the per-
sons with whom he has had dealings. He is also
engaged in the real-estate and insurance busi-
ness in Gettysburg, and is a popular auctioneer,
his services in the line being in requisition
throughout a wide radius of country. He never
made a failure in any business venture save
that of farming and his failure in that line was
not due to mismanagement or want of ability, but
to the elements. In politics Mr. Schoof is a stanch
Democrat, and fraternally he is identified with
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the An-
cient Order of United Workmen, the Modern
Woodmen of America and other social organi-
zations. In 1S96 he was elected register of deeds
of Potter county, retaining this office two years.
On the 30th of November, 1891, Mr. Schoof
was united in marriage to Miss Florence Knick-
erbocker, who was born in the state of Michigan,
being a daughter of Andrew and Carrie (Mills)
Knickerbocker, who are now prominent and hon-
ored residents of Gettysburg. Mr. and Mrs.
Schoof have four children, namely: Henrietta.
John. ]\Iaud and Bessie.

ROBERT E. McDowell, who is private
secretary of United States Senator Robert J.
Gamble, of South Dakota, is a native of the state
of Wisconsin, having boon born near Fox Lake,
Dodge countw on tlu- Jist day of December,
1866. He is the son of Samuel C. and Margaret
J. (Gamble) McDowell, the former of whom was
born near Downpatrick, County Down, Ireland,
on the I2th of July, 1832, while the latter was
born in the same county, near Belfast, on the i6th
day of May, 1838. The father of the subject came
to the L^nited States when seventeen years of
age, having received excellent educational advan-
tages in the Emerald Isle, and was successfully
engaged in teaching for a number of years in
New York and Wisconsin. He served in the war
of the Rebellion, enlisting as a private in Com-
pany D, Eighth (Eagle Regiment) Wisconsin
Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably dis-
charged from the service as first lieutenant, hav-
ing served some three years and nine
months. During two years of his service
he acted as adjutant of the regiment.
While serving with his regiment, it took
part in over thirty engagements and battles,
in which were included a number of the most
memorable battles of tlje war. On return from
the war Mr. McDowell located on a farm in the
town of Trenton, near Fox Lake, Wisconsin, be-
coming one of the honored and influential citizens
of that section, removing in 1901 to the village
of Fox Lake. He served as a member of the
Wisconsin legislature, and held a number of local
offices at different times. In politics he is a Re-
publican, and fraternally is commander of the
Grand Army of the Republic post. His wife
mother of the subject, is a sister of United States
Senator Gamble, and of the late John R. Gamble,
member of congress from South Dakota, and
Hugh S. Gamble, all of Yankton, South Dakota.
Jennie B., a sister of the subject, born February,
II, 1870, resides with her parents at Fox Lake,
Wisconsin.

Robert E. ]\IcDowell secured his preliminary
educational training in the public schools, and
supplemented the same by a course in Wayland
Academy at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, graduating

1494

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

in 1887; afterward continuing his studies at
Yankton College, and Bryant & Stratton Busi-
ness College in Chicago. He took a position in
1889 in the law offices of Gamble Brothers at
Yankton, South Dakota territory (the firm con-
sisting of the late John R. Gamble and the pres-
ent United States Senator Robert J- Gamble"),
studied law and was admitted to the bar of the
state of South Dakota. He acted as secretary
to Senator Gamble while the latter was a mem-
ber of the house of representatives in the fifty-
fourth congress, and thereafter he was for two
years engaged in the active practice of his pro-
fession in Yankton, being associated with Hon.
John Holman, under the firm name of Holman
& McDowell. He again acted as private secre-
tary to ^Ir. Gamble during the fi"fty-sixth con-
gress, and has continued to act as such since the
latter's election to the United States senate in
1901.

The subject is a stanch adherent of the Re-
publican party, is actively identified with the Ma-
sonic fraternity, in which he has advanced to the
thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, hold-
ing membership in Oriental Consistory, No. i, in
Yankton ; is a member of El Riad Temple, No-
bles of the Mystic Shrine, in Sioux Falls; is a
member of Phoenix Lodge, No. 37, Knights of
Pythias, and of Yankton Lodge, No. i, Ancient
Order of United Workmen, in the same city. He
and his wife are members of the Congregational
church in Yankton.

On June 6, 1900, Mr. AIcDowell was married
in the Zion Reformed church at Hagerstown,
Maryland, to Miss Edith Ellen Eyerly, of Hag-
erstown, she being a daughter of Hon. George
W. Eyerly, an old-time resident and prominent
merchant of that city, she is also a sister of Prof.
Elmer K. Eyerly, a member of the faculty of the
State Agricultural College of South Dakota.

College and was ordained in 1882 and next year
located in South Dakota. He has occupied his
present position since 1890. He served as chap-
lain of the South Dakota Infantry in the Philip-
pine war and won the gratitude and aflfection of
all of the men. Always public-spirited, he was
selected by Governor Sheldon to superintend the
distribution of supplies to the destitute home-
steaders in the great drought, a work he ac-
complished at great labor and sacrifice and to
the complete satisfaction of every one affected.
j He is the president of the State Sunday School
Association, and a member of the executive
committee of the State Historical Society.

REV. CH.^RLES MOTT DALEY, state
superintendent of the Congregational Sunday
School and Publishing Society, resides at Huron.
He was born at Damascus, Henry county, Illi-
nois, July 17, 1859, and was educated at Ol^erlin

GEORGE D. FOGLESONG, the efficient
bookkeeper in charge of the office of the Home-
stake Mining Company at Lead, Lawrence
county, is a native of the state of Missouri, hav-
ing been born in . Westport, Jackson county, on
the 5th of December, 1862, and being a son of
George D. and Martha W. (Wetzel) Foglesong,
both of whom were born and reared in Green-
briar county. West Virginia. They removed
finally to Missouri and later to Cheyenne, Wy-
oming, whence they came to Lawrence county.
South Dakota, in 1880, settling on a ranch and
there developing a valuable property. The father
died twelve years ago, and the mother six years
ago.

The subject of this review was about six years
of age at the time of his parents' removal to
Wyoming, and he secured his educational train-
ing in the public schools of the city of Cheyenne.
At the age of fourteen he began serving as a
messenger for the Western Union Telegraph
Company, and within this time learned the art
of telegraphy in the Cheyenne office, so that
when but sixteen years of age he held a respon-
sible position as operator. He continued in the
employ of the company until the autumn of 1880,
when he accompanied his parents on their over-
land trip to the Black Hills. He remained with
them on the home ranch until the autumn of 1890
when he entered the employ of the great Home-
stake Mining Company, holding a position in one

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of their mills. In June of the following year he
became bookkeeper and telegraph operator in the
office of the company at Lead, and is at the pres-
ent time in charge of the office, his able and faith-
ful service having gained to him the appreciative
regard and confidence of the company, while his
genial and open-hearted ways have made him
distinctively popular in all classes. In politics
Mr. Foglesong was reared in the faith of the
Democratic party, to which he clung until the
first nomination of the late lamented President
McKinley, whom he enthusiastically supported,
and since that time he has given an unqualified
allegiance to the Republican party. He and his
wife are communicants of the Protestant Episco-
pal church, and fraternally he is affiliated with
the Modern Woodmen of America.

On the 30th ot June. 1892, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Foglesong to Miss Olivia A.
Hokins, who was born in the fair old city of
Stockholm, Sweden, on the 3d of October, 1866,
being a daughter of John G. and Anna L Hokins.
The subject and his estimable wife have four
cliildren, namely: Marv M., Ruth H.. Walter D.
and Hilda L.

E. W. FEIGE., M. D., one of the successful
young physicians and surgeons of the state, es-
tablished in the practice of his profession at
Woonsocket, Sanborn county, was born on a
farm near the city of St. Joseph, Missouri, on
the 9th of August, 1 87 1, and is a son of William
and Frieda (Werner) Feige. He accompanied
his parents upon their removal to the territory
of Dakota, and he completed a course in the high
school at Huron, South Dakota, being graduated
as a member of the class of 1891. and he then
took up the study of medicine. In the fall of
1892 the subject was matriculated in the Chicago
Homeopathic Medical College, where he com-
pleted the prescribed course, being graduated
with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. After
his graduation he located in Hawarden. Iowa,
where he was engaged in practice until December,
1896, when he located in Alpena, South Dakota,
where he continued his professional work until

he established himself in practice at Woonsocket,
where he has since resided and where he has se-
cured a most gratifying support. The Doctor is
a stanch supporter of the principles of the Re-
publican party, is a member of the Presbyterian
church in his home town and has become affiliated
with the Alasonic fratcrnitv.

DUDLEY C. PHELPS is an enterprising
farmer and successful stock raiser of Custer
county, living on a beautiful and well-improved
ranch, about seventeen miles from Hermosa,
which has been his home since the year 1899.
Dudley C. Phelps was born in Ashmore, Coles
county, Illinois, July 22, 1865, and spent the first
eight years of his life in his native state. At that
age he was taken by his parents to Vernon
county, Missouri, where he grew to maturity
and received his education, remaining there as
his father's assistant on the farm until 1885,
when he returned to Illinois, thence, about one
year later, went to Fletcher county, Nebraska,
where, with an uncle, he engaged in cattle rais-
ing. After remaining in the latter state until
1890 Mr. Phelps came to South Dakota, and
during the ensuing nine years rode the range
in various parts of the country, principally among
the Black Hills, and in that time became thor-
oughly experienced in every detail of the great
cattle industry. Leaving the trail in the spring
of 1899, he purchased his present beautiful ranch,
on Battle creek, where he has since devoted his
time and attention to agriculture and stock rais-
ing, and, as already indicated, he has forged rap-
idly to the front in his two-fold vocation, being
at this time one of the most enterprising and
well-to-do men of the community in which he re-
sides. Mr. Phelps has made many improvements
on his place in the way of buildings, has a com-
fortable and attractive home and is well situated
to enjoy the large measure of material prosperity
with which his efforts have been crowned. Mr.
Phelps' character is above reproach, his integ-
rity unsullied and his relations with his fellow-
men have been eminentlv honorable, his name

1496

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

wherever known having all the sacredness of a
written obligation.

Mr. Phelps was married in the town of Her-
mosa, August 21, 1898, to Miss Jessie Steffing,
of Minnesota, and is now the father of two in-
teresting children, a daughter by the name of
Dorothy and a son, Walter.

FRED W. GUNKLE, who is numbered
among the successful and popular business men
of Sioux Falls, was born in the city of Reading,
Pennsylvania, on the 26th of October, 1857, and
is a son of Fred and Elizabeth (Kalkhofl) Gun-
kle, both of whom were born and reared in Ger-
many, and both of whom are now deceased, the
father having been a roadmaster for the Philadel-
phia & Reading Railroad. The subject received
his early educational discipline in the public
schools of his native city, and in his early youth
entered upon an apprenticeship at the machin-
ist's trade in one of the extensive concerns oi
Reading. He became a skilled artisan in the line
and continued his residence in the old Keystone
state until 1876, when he located in the city of
Chicago, where he was for the ensuing three
years employed in the works of the Crane Broth-
ers' Manufacturing Company. In 1879 he lo-
cated in Dubuque, Iowa, where he held a respon-
sible position with the Iowa Iron Works for the
following two years, at the expiration of which
he returned to Chicago and accepted a position as
traveling representative for Samuel Bhss & Com-
pany, with whom he remained until 1884, having
established headquarters in Sioux Falls in 1881,
at the time of entering the employ of the concern.
In 1884 he became a traveling salesman for the
Sioux City Steam Engine Works, of Sioux City,
Iowa, retaining this incumbency four years. In
1 89 1 he was appointed deputy United States mar-
shal for western division, northern district of
Iowa, with headquarters at Sioux Cit}', Iowa,
holding office until 1895, and being thereafter
traveling representative for the Andrew Kuehn
Company, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in the
meanwhile maintaining his home in Sioux Falls
during the greater portion of the interval. In

1896 he "quit the road" and engaged in the
wholesale cigar and tobacco business in this city,
and he has reason to be satisfied with the results
which have been attained, for his trade is of the
best order and covers a good territory, normally
tributary to the city as a jobbing center. In pol-
itics he is stalwart Republican and ever shown
a deep interest in the promotion of the party
cause, though he has never been a seeker of of-
ficial preferment. In a fraternal way Mr. Gun-
kle is identified with Unity Lodge, No. 130, An-
cient Free and Accepted Masons ; Sioux Falls
Chapter, No. 2, Royal Arch Masons ; Sioux Falls
Commandery, No. 2. Knights Templar; and El
Riad Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, while he is also a
prominent and popular affiliate of the Sioux
Falls Lodge, No. 262, Benevolent and Protect-
ive Order of Elks, of which he is past exalted
ruler, while he has also represented the same in
the grand lodge of the state.

On the 13th of June, 1888, Mr. Gunkle was
united in marriage to Miss Emma J. Carter, who
was born in the state of Illinois, and who was a
resident of Sioux Falls at the time of her mar-
riage. They have no children.

ALBERT WALWORTH RANSOM is at
present business manager and a half owner of
Public Opinion, daily and weekly, Watertown,
South Dakota, the leading newspaper in the
northwestern part of the state. Mr. Ransom is a
native of the Empire state, having been born in
Clinton coimty. New York. In early life he re-
moved to Freeborn county, Minnesota, where he
alternately attended school and worked on his
father's farm. In 1882 he came to South Da-
kota, locating at Redfield, Spink county. He
became associated with the Redfield Journal as
an employe and later purchased a half interest
in the plant. In 1892 he removed to Watertown,
Codington county, and, in company with Her-
bert Geddes, purchased the Watertown News, a
daily newspaper. Later, in company with Frank
J. Cory, he purchased Public Opinion, a
i weekly paper, consolidating the two and taking

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the latter name. In 1894 Mr. Geddes retired
from the firm, leaving Messrs. Ransom and Cory
sole owners and equal partners.

THOMAS H. TAYLOR, one of the success-
ful and representative stockmen and ranchers
of Rapid Valley, is a native of Westmoreland
county, England, born on October 5, 1850. He
was educated in his native county and remained
there until he reached the age of twenty, then in
1870 came to the United States, settling near
Decatur, Illinois, where he engaged in farming
three years. In 1873 he removed to Columbus,
Nebraska, and there gave his attention to dealing
in cattle and horses for four years. At the end
of that time he loaded a bull outfit with provi-
sions and machinery and came to the Black Hills,
arriving at Haywood on April 28, 1877. From
there he moved to Rockerville, then one of the
busy mining camps of the territory, and from
that point made trips over the Hills to Deadwood,
Rapid City and elsewhere and back to Rocker-
ville. He was occupied in prospecting and was
also interested in the Nebraska Mining Company,
organized by him and a companion from Nebras-
ka. Having brought a haying outfit with him
from his former home, he operated it in the neigh-
borhood of Rapid City during the summer of
1877. He also operated the first mail and express
route between Rapid City and Rockerville, with
headquarters at the former place. In the fall of
1878 he took a contract to carry the mails between
Rapid City and Rockford during the winter, and
in April, 1879, located a ranch on Rapid creek
six miles from the town, where he settled and be-
gan farming and raising stock. At the same
time he started a livery business at Rapid City
which he carried on until i88r, when he sold
this and devoted his entire attention to his stock
and farming industry. In 1886 he sold the ranch
and stock and opened a harness and saddlery
business at Rapid City, which he continued until
1891, during this time being also interested in
mining, in 1887. in company with others putting
in a smelter at Galena. In the spring of 1891
he took up the ranch on which he now lives in

Rapid valley, nineteen miles from Rapid City,
and disposing of his other interests, he moved
his family to the place and they have since re-
sided there. He has been extensively and suc-
cessfully engaged in raising stock of high grades,
and has also devoted much time and energy to
the promotion of the interests of the community
along all lines of wholesome development, bring-
ing to the aid of public local aflfairs the wisdom
gained in his long and varied experience and the
breadth of view characteristic of an enlightened
and patriotic citizen. In politics he is an active
worker for the Republican party, but he has never
desired the honors of public station for himself.
On December 22, 1888, Mr. Taylor was mar-
ried at Rapid City to Miss Emma L. Hays, a na-
tive of Missouri, they being the first couple thus
united in the Episcopal church of that town. They
have five children, Claude W., Earl H., Guy R..
Florence M. and ^^'eslc^■ P.

ROBERT F. CAMPBELL, M. D., engaged
in the practince of medicine and surgery in the
city of Watertown. Codington county, is a man
of high professional attainments, and has been
eminently successful in the exacting work of his
vocation. Dr. Campbell was born in Aylmer,
province of Ontario, Canada, March 23. 1857,
and is the son of William and Jane \'an \Yag-
oner Campbell. His father was born near To-
ronto, Canada, and his mother in New York,
going to Canada with her parents when young.
His father enjoys the best of health at seventy-
eight years of age and resides in Watertown.
His mother died about a year ago. Dr. Camj)-
bell lived in Aylmer until he attained manhood.
He attended McGill Medical College at Montreal
for two }'ears, then graduated as a member of the
class of 1882 from Bellevue Hospital Medic-d
College, New York. He went to London, Eng-
land, and Berlin, Germany, spending some
months in the hospitals, attending clinics. He
came to Watertown twenty-two years ago and
was married in 1884 to Miss Kate A. Williams,
daughter of the late Charles G. \\'illiams, for
many years a member of congress from the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Janesville, Wisconsin, district, and at the time
of his death register of the United States land
office at Watertown. Dr. Campbell has gained
prestige as one of the representative members of
his profession in the state, controlling a large
practice. He is devoted to the work of his calling
and keeps in touch with the advances made in
the science of medicine and surgery, his genial
temperament and humanitarian sympathy con-
tributing as much to his success as his technical
knowledge. In 1900 Dr. Campbell, in company
with Dr. Tarbell and Dr. Finnerud, established
the Watertown city hospital and is president
of the institution, which exercises most benef-
icent functions and is a credit to the city
and an honor to its projectors. He is also
division surgeon for the Chicago & Northwest-
ern Railway, the Great Northern, the Minneap-
olis & St. Uouis and the Rock Island ; while he is
also identified with the State Medical Society,
and fraternally affiliated with the Knights of
Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Or-
der of Elks. He gives his allegiance to the Re-
publican party, but has never sought official
preferment, holding his profession as entitled to
his undivided attention. He is popular in busi-
ness and social circles and his home is a center
of gracious hospitality.

ADOLPH W. EWERT, cashier of the Na-
tional Bank of Commerce, No. 4279, at Pierre, is
a native of the Badger state, having been born
in Burr Oak, La Crosse county, Wisconsin, on the
i8th of June, 1865, and is a son of Edward and
A'lina (Habermann) Ewert, the former of whom
was born in Prussia, Germany, of stanch German
lineage, while the latter came of French and
German stock. They accompanied their respect-
ive families to America when children, and their
marriage was solemnized at La Crosse, Wiscon-
sin, where they remained until about 1857, being
thus numbered among the pioneers of that state.
The father of the subject acquired the trade of
blacksmith in his youth, and he followed the same
for several years in Burr Oak, Wisconsin, and
then removed to West Salem, that state, where

he became a successful manufacturer of wagons,
sleighs and various types of farming implements,
there conducting a prosperous wholesale and re-
tail business along these lines for about a dec-
ade, at the expiration of which he removed to
Pipestone, Minnesota, where he continued to ht
engaged in the agricultural implement business
until 1891, when he retired to his farm near that
place, where he and his estimable wife still re-
side, being well advanced in years and being
honored and influential citizens of their com-
munity.

The subject of this review secured his early
educational discipline in the public schools of
West Salem, Wisconsin, completing a course in
the high school. At the age of fifteen years he
began to render active assistance to his father
in his business operations, and later devoted two
years to the study of law, under the direction of
able attorneys of Pipestone, Minnesota. Before
completing his technical studies he accepted a
position in the counting room of the Pipestone
County Bank, retaining this incumbency two
years and gaining an intimate knowledge of the
practical details of the business. In 1890 he
came to Pierre and accepted his present position
as cashier of the National Bank of Commerce,
and he has proved a most able and discriminating
executive officer and has done much to further
the interests of the institution, in which he is a
stockholder. The bank is capitalized for one hun-
dred thousand dollars and its stockholders are
numbered among the leading capitalists and sub-
stantial business men of the state.

Mr. Ewert enjoys marked popularity in both
business and social circles, and no better mark
of the confidence reposed in him by the people of
the capital city could be asked than that shown
in his election to the mayoralt}- of Pierre in
1902, and his re-election, without opposition, in
1904. He is one of the most progressive execu-
tives the municipal government has ever had,
and directs the affairs of the city with much
discernment, scrupulous care and fidelity and
upon the strictest of business principles. In poli-
tics the mavor gives an unqualified allegiance to
the Republican party, and fraternally he is identi-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

fied with the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, the Knights of Pythias, the Ancient Order
of United Workmen, the Knights of the Macca-
bees, and the Modern Brotherhood of America.
Both he and his wife are valued members of the
Baptist church.

On the 3otb of September, 1890, Mr. Ewert
was united in marriage to Miss Caroline E.
Dutcher, who was born in Sanilac county, Mich-
igan, being a daughter of Byron M. and Rebecca
Dutcher. Mr. and Mrs. Ewert have two sons,
W'infrcd Edward and Mark H.

JOSEPH BOOXE :\IOORE.— Standing out
as one of the central figures in the legal history of
South Dakota is Hon. Joseph Boone Moore,
of Lead (■it\-, who was born October 13, 1862, in
Xashvillc, Tennessee, and is the son of James G.
and Mary (Hiter) Moore, the father for many
years a prominent merchant and representative
man of that city. The early educational training
of the subject was acquired in the schools of
Xashville and sometime after finishing the high-
school course he came to Dakota territory, locat-
ing, in September, 1880, at Lead City, where in
due tim.e he secured employment with the Home-
stake I^.Iining Company, entering the service of
that large concern as a common laborer. Later
he resigned his place to become a brakeman on
the Black Hills & Fort Pierre Railroad, subse-
quently rising by successive promotions to the
positions of fireman and conductor, and it was
while discharging his duty in the latter capac-
ity that an accident occurred, which very mate-
rially changed his future course of life. On April
5, 1884, while attempting to board a moving
train, he lost his footing and fell under the cars,
1be injury resulting in the loss of his left leg,
just below the knee, also the four small toes of
the right foot, from the efifect of which painful,
and what at the time was thought fatal, injuries
he was a long time recuperating. When suf-
ficiently recovered, he returned to his old home
in Nashville, Tennessee, where he entered the law
department of \^anderbilt LTniversity, becoming
what is known as a "one-vear man." — that is,

by hard study and attendance at both junior and
senior lectures, finishing the full course in one-
half the allotted time. He made a brilliant
record as a student, and in 1885 was graduated
with the honors of his class, being selected on
the occasion as one of the moot court commence-
ment orators on account of his rare power and
elofiuence as a public speaker. Shortly after his
graduation Mr. Moore returned to South Da-
kota and, opening a law ofifice in Lead City, soon
built up a lucrative practice and gained recogni-
tion as one of the rising members of the Lawrence
coimty bar. His success was immediate, his
ability as a jury lawyer winning him worthy
prestige, and for a number of years he was con-
nected either for the prosecution or defense in
nearly every important case tried in the courts
where he practiced. In 1889 he was elected city
attorney of Lead and held the office with
credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the
public until May, 1892, on the first day of which
month he was appointed state's attorney for
Lawrence county. He held the latter position
one year, his term closing in 1894, from which
time until 1897 'le devoted his attei7tion solely to ■
his private practice, which had greatly grown in
magnitude and importance during the intervening
years.

In 1897 i\Ir. Moore was elected judge of the
eighth judicial circuit of South Dakota, for which
high and responsible position he was well fitted
and he occupied the bench until 1901, winning the
meanwhile an enviable reputation as an able
and popular jurist. His rulings were not only
fair and impartial, but embodied a thorough
knowledge of the. points at issue, and his deci-
sions were comprehensive and. exhaustive, few
of them sufTering reversal at the hands of the
supreme court.

In 1900 Judge Moore was nominated for
congress on the fusion ticket, a union of Demo-
crats and Populists, but by reason of the over-
whelming strength of the opposition that year
failed of election, although running several hun-
dred votes ahead of his ticket. He was a
South Dakota member of the national Populist
convention, held in Sioux Falls in 1900, and took

I500

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

a leading part in its deliberations, securing the
insertion of a resolution in the platform denounc-
ing the incarceration of miners in the Coeur d'
Alene Bull Pen, as an infamous outrage. The
Judge was also a delegate to the Populist na-
tional convention which met in St. Louis in 1896,
and had much to do in formulating the policy of
the party and directing its operators in the cam-
paigns of that and succeeding years. He has
always had the interests of the laboring classes
at heart, and, having been a toiler himself for
many years, thoroughly appreciates their condi- j
tion, sympathizes with their aspirations and to
the extent of his ability assists them in carrying
out every laudable measure for their advance-
ment. In the line of his profession he has dem-
onstrated his interests in the poor and needy in
many ways, frequently giving legal advice gra-
tuitously, and never refusing to take a case for a
man or woman on account of lack of fees.

When Troop A of Grigsby's Cow-Boy Regi-
ment, Third United States A''olunteer Cavalry, of
South Dakota, perfected a permanent organiza-
tion. Judge Moore was made an honorary mem-
ber, being the only man accorded the honor, the
list closing with his name. As an evidence of the
high esteem in which he was held by the troop,
they presented him with a button badge, which
he has since worn on the lapel of his coat and
which he proposes thus to wear as long as he
lives.

The Judge's last official position was that of
city attorney, to which he was appointed the sec-
ond time in 1902, and the duties of which he has
since discharged with his characteristic ability.
He has always been a zealous Democrat and an
active party worker, and his influence as a politi-
cian is confined to no particular locality, being
state-wide on account of his effectiveness as a
campaigner and his ability in the hustings. In
tlic camoaign of 1900 he gained a national repu-
tation by reason of his pronounced views and
utterances in opposition to the Philippine war,
his able discussion of this question and other is-
sues of that year carrying conviction to the minds
of the lar.ue and appreciative audiences that
greeted him, wliereviT he api^eared. ^^'ithont

invidious distinction, it is but fair to state that
Judge Moore is today one of South Dakota's
best known and most popular citizens, his career
as a lawyer, judge and public-spirited man of
affairs fully meeting the high expectations of his
many friends and admirers, and reflecting credit
upon the state.

On June 2, 1886. Judge Moore was united in
marriage with Miss Susie B. Jordan, of Tennes-
see, who was born and reared near Franklin, in
the county of Williamson. Her father at one
time was one of the largest land proprietors in the
middle part of that state, a man of great wealth
and wide influence and before the war the owner
of a large number of slaves. Three children
have blessed the union of Judge and Mrs. Moore,
their names being Rupert E., INIary Alice and
Norma Elizabeth.

Judge Moore is an enthusiastic member of
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and
now holds the title of past exalted ruler of Dead-
wood Lodge. No. 508. In 1902 he was a dele-
gate from this lodge to the grand lodge, which
met at Salt Lake City, and while attending that
body took a prominent part in its deliberations
and was influential in shaping the policy of the
order, not only in his own state, but throughoi^t
the entire country. In religion the Judge is lib-
eral, not belonging to any church or inclining
more favorably to one denomination than to an-
other ; nevertheless he is a firm believer in a su-
preme' being, recognizes in Christianity a great
moral and spiritual force, but accepts as his only
creed the Golden Rule.

PATTISOX FRANCIS McCLURE, pres-
ident of the Pierre National Bank, was born in
Laurel, Franklin county, Indiana, on the 8th of
August, 1853, and is a son of James R. and
Hester A. McClure, who removed from the Hoos-
ier state to the territory of Kansas the year after
the birth of the subject, and they located one
hundred and thirty-five miles west of Kansas
City, and as a pioneer the father of the subject
becanr." prominent and influential in the public
aft'airs of the territory and state, hiving been-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1 501

one of the early members of the bar of the Sun-
flower state and havMng been successfully estab-
lished in the practice of his profession in
Junction City for nearly half a century and up to
the time of his death, which occurred in 1903.
As a youhg man Jannes R. McClure ran away
from college to tender his services to his country
in its war with Mexico, while he also served with
signal valor and gallantry during the war of the
Rebellion, as a member of a Kansas regiment, in
which he was made captain of his company and
later promoted to the office of quartermaster. He
did not come forth unscathed, since he lost his
right leg in the battle of Shelbina, ^Missouri.
During his many years' residence in Kansas,
Captain jMcClure has much to do with the shap-
ing of its political and civic history and material
upbuilding, having been conspicuously con-
cerned in many of its most imi)ortant historical
events and having filled numerous offices of pub-
lic trust and responsibility.

The subject of this sketch received his pre-
liminary educational discipline in the public
schools of Junction City, Kansas, later being a
student in the State Agricultural College, at Man-
hattan. Kansas, while he thereafter was matricu-
lated in Cornell Ifniversit}-, in Tthaca, New York,
where he continued his course into the junior
vear. After leaving college he began reading
law under the effective preceptorship of his hon-
ored f.ather, but before completing his technical
course he went to Illinois, where he put his dis-
tinctive mechanical talent into play in connection
with the perfecting of a self-binder reaper for a
well-known manufacturer of harvesting ma-
chinery, being one of the first workers, in 1874-5,
who successfully brought about the solution of
the mechanical problem involved. In 1878 Mr.
McClure went abroad to assist in introducing
American harvesting machinery in Great Brit-
ain. Helgium. France and Spain, while during
1870-80 he had charge of important affairs,
throughout the state of Minnesota, for a large
manufacturing concern in Ohio.

Mr. McClure identified himself with the city
of Pierre at the time of its inception, having come
here on the first passenger train to enter the

town, in the autumn of 1880. Here he forth-
with established^ himself in the hardware busi-
ness, entering into partnership with William H.
Gleckler, under the firm name of Gleckler &
JMcClure, and they built up a most prosperous
business, being thus associated initil 1889. when
our subject disposed of his interests in the en-
terprise. In that year he was one of the ])rin-
cipals concerned in the organization of the Pierre
Xational Bank, of which he was elected presi-
dent, an office of which he has ever since re-
mained incumbent, while to his wise executive
policy and progressive methods is largely due
the magnificent growth which has marked the
course of this solid and popular financial in-
stitution. I'pon the organization of Hughes
county, in 1880. he was made the first county
survevor, and in 1882 he was elected a mem-
ber of the board of county commissioners. In
1885 he was elected mayor of the city, and was
chosen as his own successor in the following
year, giving a most able and acceptable ad-
ministration and doing much to further the
municipal growth and material prosperity. He
was one of the committee, in 1885-6-7, repre-
senting this section of the state at the federal
capital in the matter of urging upon congress
the opening to settlement of a large tract of
valuable land then included in the Sioux In-
dian reservation, a measure which was finally
brought to a successful issue and which had
great effect in hastening the development of
the state and in affording opportunities for a
large number of good citizens to secure homes.
He has been one of the prominent and valued
members of the board of trade of Pierre and
in the connection rendered most effective service
in the contest which secured the location of the
state capital here, in 1889-90, while his influ-
ence and energies are being again brought into
action at the present time (1904) in defending
the claims of his home city and in aiding to
defeat the proposition to remove the capital else-
where. In 1887-8 Mr. McOure served as com-
missioner of immigration of the territory of Da-
kota, having been appointed by Governor L. K.
Church. In t88o he was the first nominee for

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

governor of the state on the Democratic ticket,
and made a brilliant canvass, but was defeated
by the Republican nominee, Hon. A. C. Mellette.
In 1893 he was appointed commissioner of the
state to the World's Columbian Exposition, in
Chicago. He was most actively identified with
the movement which resulted in the division of
the great domain of Dakota territory and in the
admission of North and South Dakota to the
Union. Air. AlcClure has ever given a stanch
allegiance to the Democratic party and is one
of its leaders in the state, while as a citizen
and as a business man he is held in unequivocal
confidence and esteem.

On the 24th of July. 1893, at Sioux City,
Iowa. Mr. McClure was united in marriage to
Mrs. Elizabeth S. Bowen, nee Bentley, and
their beautiful home is a center of gracious
hospitality.

DOUGLAS W. MARCH, one of the repre-
sentative members of the bar of Pierre, is a na-
tive of the old Buckeye state, having been born
in New Franklin. Stark county, Ohio, on the 25th
of September, 1859, a son of Henry C. and Sarah
J. (McLoughlin) March, both of whom are now
deceased, the father having devoted the last
twenty years of his life as a treasury department
clerk at Washington, D. C. After completing
the curriculum of the public schools in his native
town Mr. JMarch entered Mount Union College,
at Alliance, in the same county, and in this well-
known institution he completed his literary
course. In 1882 Mr. March matriculated in the
law department of the National University at
Washington, D. C, and was there graduated in
1884, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and in

1886 he took the degree of Master of Laws. In

1887 he located in Oberlin, Kansas, where he was
engaged in the practice of his profession vmtil
1889, when he came to Pierre, South Dakota,
where he has ever since been established and
where he has built up a large and representative
practice. He has ever given an uncompromising
allegiance to the Republican party, but has held
his profession worthy of his undivided time and

attention. Mr. March is affiliated with Capital
City Lodge, No. 36, Knights of Pythias, which
he has represented in the grand lodge of the
state, of which latter important body he is a past
chancellor.

On the 17th of September, 1894, ]Mr. March
was united in marriage with Miss May Cowan,
daughter of Archibald and Mary Cowan, of
Pierre, and they are the parents of four children,
namely : Harry C, Doris, Julia E. and Alta Alay.

GEORGE W. PALMER is a prosperous cit-
izen of Lennox, Lincoln county, where he has
been practicing veterinary surgery for a number
of years. He was born April i, 1836, in Madi-
son county. New York, and lived at home until
of mature years, assisting his father on the farm
and receiving an education in the schools of his
native state and Wisconsin. He then left the pa-
rental roof and went to Iowa, where he engaged
in farming. Subsequently he disposed of his
Iowa farm and moving to Wisconsin, engaged
in the drug business. A number of years ago he
came to Lincoln county and took up land,
to which he later moved his family, and under
his labors the claim in due time was improved
and converted into one of the good farms in the
neighborhood. Subsequently he removed to the
village of Lennox, where he has since resided,
devoting his attention the meanwhile to veteri-
nary surgery, a profession in which he has ac-
quired unusual proficiency and skill and much
I more than local reputation.

MRS. PHOEBE L. McCOLLUM, of Sioux
Falls, who is conducting a notable enterprise un-
der the title of the North and South Dakota \^ie\v
Company, is a native of the state of Illinois, and
a representative of one of its early and honored
pioneer families. She was born in Granville,
j Putnam county, on the 8th of October. 1865, and
is a daughter of .\nton and Anna (MerryfiekU
Lowenberg, die former of whom was born in Il-
linois and the latter in Ohio. He was a farmer by
vocation and both he and his wife are now at

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[503

Hastings, Nebraska. They became the parents
of seven children, of whom seven are hving. The
paternal grandfather of Mrs. McCollum was
George Lowenberg, who was one of the first set-
tlers in the vicinity of the present town of Gran-
ville, Illinois, where he took up his residence as
early as 1835, and his large farm is now being
platted into city lots. When he located there his
nearest market place was Chicago, about one
hundred and twenty-five miles to the east, and
the great western metropolis was then repre-
sented by a straggling .town of the most unpre-
tentious kind.

Mrs. McCollum received her educational
training in the public schools of her native state,
having been graduated in the high school in the
city of Ottawa as a member of the class of 1888.
She was for two years successfully engaged in
teaching in the schools of her native town. On
the 20th of September, 1890, in the city of Chi-
cago, was solemnized the marriage of the sub-
ject to Arthur C. McCollum, who was born in
Ottawa, Illinois, on Christmas day of the year
1865, being a son of William and Doris McCol-
lum, of Ottawa, where he was reared and edu-
cated. Mr., and Mrs. McCollum have one child,
Ruth Esther. Immediately after their marriage
Mr. and Mrs. McCollum removed to San Jose,
California, where the former was for nine years
a clerk in the local postofifice, having been in the
postoffice previous to the marriage. In the spring
of 1894 Mr. and Mrs. McCollum came to Sioux
Falls, and here the subject has since been en-
gaged in business, as previously noted. Mr. Mc-
Collum is now employed in the postofifice at
Sioux Falls. Both she and her husband are
members of the Congregational church.

WASHINGTON C. GRAYBILL, one of the
highly honored citizens of Chamberlain, was
born in Fairfield county, Ohio, on the 24th of
January, 1851, being a son of Samuel R. and
Sarah A. (Carlisle) Graybill, of whose children
live are living, namely : Henry Clay, who is
traffic manager of the Belt Railroad & Stock
Yards Company in the city of Indianapolis, In-

diana; George R., who is traveling emigrant
agent for the Frisco Railroad Company, at Shel-
byville, Illinois ; Frank C, who is engaged in the
commission trade in Kansas City, Missouri ;
Washington C, who is the immediate subject of
this sketch ; and Sarah O., who is the wife of
Qiarles McLeod, of Portland, Oregon. The fa-
ther was likewise born in Fairfield county, Ohio,
whither his parents removed from Pennsylvania
in the pioneer days, both having been native of
Germany. Samuel R. Graybill was reared on the
pioneer farmstead and as a young man prepared
himself for the legal profession, being duly ad-
mitted to the bar of his native state. About 1859
he removed to Shelby county, Illinois, where he
engaged in farming and stock growing, having
been led to devote his attention to the great basic
art of agriculture from the fact tliat he had mar-
ried the daughter of a prosperous farmer. His
own parents were well-to-do and had given him
a liberal education, but he never had cause to re-
gret his final choice of vocation. He was origi-
nally an old-line Whig, but eventually arrayed
himself with the Democracy, having held various
local offices. His death occurred in 1895, while
his wife passed away in 1871.

The honored subject of this sketch was reared
on the homestead farm and after duly attending
the public schools continued his studies in the
Shelbyville College, in Shelbyville, Illinois. At
the age of nineteen he began teaching in the dis-
trict schools, and for thirteen years thereafter
was successfully engaged in pedagogic work. In
1883 he came to Dakota and located in Chamber-
lain, where he was soon afterward admitted to
the bar of the territory, having previously given
careful attention to the study of law while en-
gaged in teaching. He opened a law office here
and also established himself in the real-estate
business, while he soon gained a strong hold on
the confidence and regard of the community. In
1886 he was elected county judge of Brule county,
and was chosen as his own successor two years
later, giving a most able and discriminating serv-
ice on the bench and showing himself well in-
formed in the minutiae of the law. In 1890 Judge
Gravbill was elected register of deeds of the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

county, serving- one term, and in 1894 he was
appointed receiver of the United States land office
at this place, retaining this position until 1898.
In the fall of 1902 he was elected to represent his
district in the lower house of the state legislature,
being also the minority candidate for speaker, and
here he has shown himself once more the loyal cit-
izen and one deeply interested in the welfare and
progress of his state, serving on several impor-
tant committees. He has ever been a stalwart
Democrat and has been an active worker in the
party cause. He is a prominent member of the
Masonic fraternity, being affiliated with Cham-
berlain, Lodge, No. 56, Free and Accepted Ma-
sons; Pilgrim Chapter, No. 10, Royal Arch Ma-
sons; St. Bernard Commandery, No. 11, Knights
Templar, at Mitchell ; and El Riad Temple, An-
cient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine, at Sioux Falls ; while he has been also a
prominent figure in the Knights of Pythias, hav-
ing served as grand chancellor of the grand lodge
of the state in 1890, and being a member of Cas-
tle Lodge, No. 10, in his home city.

On the 30th of January, 1895, Judge Gray-
bill was united in marriage to Miss Marion W.
Perry, of Saratoga Springs, New York, no chil-
dren having been born of this union. Mrs. Gray-
bill's only brother, Dr. John L. Perry, is one of
the proprietors of the United States Hotel at Sar-
atoga, New York, and it is worthy of mention
that the family is related to Commodore Perry,
of Lake Erie fame.

H. W. HAHN, president of the Farmers'
Bank. Humboldt, and one of the leading mer-
chants of the same place, was born in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, on the 24th day of May, 1870. His
parents. Ferdinand and Emelia (Hennig) Hahn,
moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, when he
was eight years old and it was in the public
schools of that city that he received his early
educational training. The discipline thus ac-
quired was afterward supplemented by a course
in the Western Normal School, at Lincoln,
Nebraska, where he was graduated in 1894, but
prior to that date Ik- taught in South Dakota,

also followed the same profession for some time
thereafter, devoting altogether about eight years
to educational work. In 1897 Mr. Hahn located
at Humboldt, where he became associated with
Harry Duncan in the mercantile business, form-
ing the firm of Hahn & Duncan, which still ex-
ists as originally organized. During the ensuing
five years the subject devoted his attention ex-
clusively to the general goods business, but in
1903 became one of the founders of the Farmers'
Bank of Humboldt, of which institution he has
been president ever since its organization and the
success of which is largely due to his able and
effective management. Associated with Air.
Hahn in the banking business are Harrv Dun-
can, M. Owens. I. D. Maloney and F. B. Lock-
wood, four thoroughly reliable and far-seeing
business men whose high standing in the com-
munity is recognized by all and whose ability to
carry on successfully this important financial
enterprise does not admit of a doubt. Although
but recently established the bank has made com-
mendable progress and the volume of business
which it now commands indicates its permanence
and popularity among the leading institutions of
the kind in the state.

The mercantile establishment with which j\Ir.
Hahn is identified is not only the largest and
most successful general store in Humboldt, but
one of the most extensively patronized in Minne-
haha count}'. Every article of merchandise for
which there is any demand can he found in the
large and carefully selected stock ; the business
from a small stock has grown to enonnous pro-
portions, and few establishments in the same
length of time have come so rapidly and promi-
nently to the front as the annual sales, amount-
ing to over fifty thousand dollars, abundantly
testify. Mr. Hahn is essentially a self-made
man and every dollar in his business enterprises
and in the large private fortune in his possession
has been honestly earned through his own ef-
forts. Working his way upward by industry
and honorable methods, he has become thor-
oughly familiar with every detail of the mer-
cantile business, and his sound judgment and
discriminating knowledge render him especially

H. \V. HAHN.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

eligible for the manag-ement of large enterprises,
such as he today so successfully directs and con-
trols. He is recognized as one of the able
financiers and wide-awake men of affairs in the
southeastern part of the state, and his influence
in promoting the material welfare of the city
of his residence and advancing the varied inter-
ests of the people has been as great if not greater
than that of any other individual in the com-
munity. Upright and honorable in all of his
dealings, he is as punctilious in the discharge of
his duties now as he was when struggling against
opposition in an almost menial capacity, and he
attains to a marked degree not only the high re-
gard of all with whom he has business relations,
but with the general public as well.

Mr. Hahn is a Republican in politics, but the
pressing claims of his business affairs prevent
him from taking a very active part in political
work. He has never held office nor aspired to
leadership, his only public position being that of
chairman of the Republican township committee,
which he held for a brief period and in which
his services were effective and greatly appreciated
by the party. He was married, on October 21,
igo2, to Miss Carrie M. Rehfeldt, of Williams-
burg. Iowa, a most estimable and accomplished
lady, who moves in the best social circles of
Humboldt and is popular with all of her friends
and associates.

DAVID F. SULLR'AN, M. D., who is
actively engaged in the practice of his profession
at Frankfort, Spink county, is a native of the
Badger state, having been born in Hazelgreen,
Grant county, Wisconsin, on the loth of May,
1840, and being a son of Denis and Catherine
(Flinn) Sullivan, both of whom were born in
Ireland, whence they came to America when
voung, passing the closing years of their lives in
\\'isc(jnsin, of which great commonwealth they
were earl}- settlers. The subject was reared un-
der the conditions of the pioneer era in Wiscon-
sin, but was afforded excellent educational ad-
vantages in his youth. He attended school at
Cincinewav Mound, in that state, where he com-

pleted his preliminary work of preparation for
the priesthood, while later he was graduated in
the medical department of the famous University
of Dublin, Ireland, while later he took a post-
graduate course in the city of Chicago, in which
city he also took a special course of study in law,
in the International University. The Doctor be-
gan the practice of medicine in 1876, and in 1879
was made surgeon of the Thirteenth United
States Infantry, with which he rendered service
in the line until 1883, when he was appointed to
a similar incumbency with the Twenty-fifth In-
fantry, with which he continued as surgeon until

1884, having taken up his residence in South
Dakota in 1885. He has been established in the
practice of his profession in South Dakota since

1885, and has built up a large and representative
business, while he maintains a strong hold upon
popular confidence, esteem and affection and is a
man of high professional attainments and gen-
eral scholarship. He is one of the prominent
and valued members of the South Dakota Homeo-
pathic Medical Society, in politics is a stanch
Republican, and fraternally is identified with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen.

On the 8th of February, 1898. Dr. Sullivan
was united in marriage to Miss Malvina Lem-
euix, who was born in the dominion of Canada,
in 1864, being a daughter of Charles LaChance.
Dr. and Mrs. Sullivan have no children. Both
are devoted members of the Catholic church, in
whose faith they were reared, while, as previously
noted, the Doctor in his youth began preparing
himself for the priesthood of the church, finally
maturing other plans and entering the profession
which he has honored and dignified by his able
services.

LUDWTG I.E\'IXCER, president and
owner of the .\urora Count)' Bank, at White
Lake, is a native of the kingdom of Wurtem-
berg. Germany, where he was born on the loth
of April, 1867. being the second in order of
birth of the four children born to Herman and
Mary (Linder) Levinger. All the children are
still living, but the subject is the only re])re-

iSo6

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

sentative of the immediate family in the United
States. He was afforded liberal educational ad-
vantages in the fatherland, where he remained
until he had attained the age of seventeen years,
when he decided to come to America, where he
was convinced better opportunities were af-
forded for attaining independence and success.
Accordingly, in the spring of 1883, he embarked
for the United States, landing in New York city,
whence he made his way to the city of Chicago,
where he secured employment in a wholesale
men's furnishing-goods house. He retained
this position a few months, in the meanwhile
sparing no pains to inform himself in regard to
American business methods and customs, and in
the summer of the same year he decided to
seek his fortunes in the west. He located in
Mitchell, South Dakota, where he held a clerk-
ship in a furniture establishment until the
spring of 1885, when he took up his residence
in White Lake, where he secured a position in
the White Lake Bank. From a clerical position
he was soon advanced to that of cashier of the
institution, and in tliis executive ofifice he con-
tinued to render efficient service until iSgo.
when he purchased the business of the Aurora
County Bank, the oldest monetary institution in
this section, the same dating its inception back
to the year 1882, and as president and manager
of thig bank he has attained a high degree of
success and an enviable reputation in business
circles. All this is the more gratifying to con-
template in view f)f the fact that he came to
this country without capitalistic resources or in-
fluential friends, and in the short period of
twenty years has placed himself well in the fore-
front in the ranks of financiers in the great and
prosperous state of South Dakota, being known
and honored as one of the influential citizens of
his count)-. He is a stalwart Republican in his
political proclivities, and for sixteen years has
served as mayor of White Lake, of which office
he is incumbent at the present time, while he
has been also a member of the board of educa-
tion for the past fifteen years. He stands high
in rank in the Masonic fraternity, holding
membership in the following bodies : White Lake

Lodge, No. 84, Free and Accepted Masons ;
Mitchell Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Mitch-
ell Commandery, Knights Templar; Oriental
Consistory, No. i. Ancient Accepted Scot-
tish Rite, at Yankton; and El Riad Temple, An-
cient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine, at Sioux Falls.

In i8g6, Mr. Levinger was married to Miss
Sadie Wagner and they have two children,
Frank R. and Margaret.

R. H. SOMERS, who holds the responsible
office of government agent for the Lower Brule
Indian agency, is a native of New Brunswick,
Canada, where he was born October 23, 1857,
being a son of Lafayette and Elizabeth A. (Chap-
man) Somers, and the eldest of their nine surviv-
ing children, the others being as follows : Ame-
lia, the wife of L. W. Lewis, who lives at Mad-
ison, Wisconsin; Lowell, a resident of Lafayette,
Indiana; Clifford M., a farmer on the Lower
Brule reservation ; Lafayette, a resident of Cham-
berlain, this state; and Le Baron B., Peolia L.,
Fred D. and Eliza M., who remain at the parental
home. The father of our subject was born in
New Brunswick, Canada, in 1826, and when a
young man he removed to Robertstown, Maine,
where he served an apprenticeship at the trade of
blacksmith, after which he returned to his home
in Canada, where he continued to follow his trade
until 1878, when he emigrated with his family to
the territory of Dakota, locating in Brule City,
the prospective terminal of the Chicago, Milwau-
kee & St. Paul Railroad, though by a later dis-
pensation Chamberlain was made the terminus.
He engaged in farming and stock growing and
continued to reside in Brule City until 1898, when
he removed to Chamberlain, where he is now liv-
ing retired. His wife was likewise a native of
Canada, and is one of the honored pioneer women
of the state.

Major R. H. Somers, the immediate subject
of this sketch, acquired his early education in the
schools of his native province, and before attain-
ing the age of sixteen he entered upon an appren-
ticeship at the blacksmith trade, under the cf-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

fective direction of his father. After the removal
of the family to Dakota he bought an ax and be-
gan chopping wood for the steamboats plying
the Missouri river, and after being thus occupied
for one year he was tendered and accepted the po-
sition of blacksmith at Fort Hale, where he served
four years. In 1883 he left this position and re-
moved to Chamberlain, and devoted the follow-
ing three years to farming and stock raising. In
July, 1886, he married Miss Helena F. Archer, of
Brule county, and as a severe drought the follow-
ing year caused an entire loss of his crops he re-
moved from his ranch to the village of Cham-
berlain and here opened a blacksmith shop, which
he conducted until the spring of 1888, when he
sold the same and returned to his farm. The
droughts continued, however, and in 1891 he was
forced to again abandon his agricultural opera-
tions and to re-engage in the blacksmith business
in Chamberlain, where he continued at his trade
until 1898, having also engaged in the livery busi-
ness in 1894, making a success of both enter-
prises. In October, 1897, Major Somers was ap-
pointed deputy United States marshal, in which
capacity he served until May, 1901, when he re-
signed to assume the duties of his present office
as agent at the Lower Brule Indian agency, his
appointment having been conferred on the 15th
of May. He is a stanch Republican in his polit-
ical proclivities, and fraternally is identified with
Qiamberlain Lodge, No. 56, Free and Accepted
Masons ; Pilgrim Chapter, Royal Arch ]\Iasons ;
Castle Lodge, No. 10, Knights of Pythias, of
which he is a charter member ; and Chamberlain
Lodge, No. 88, Ancient Order of United Work-
men. Our subject and his wife are the parents
of five children, all of whom are still beneath the
home roof, namely : Robert E., Frances E., Eve-
Ivn, Luckv H. and Thomas M.

CHARLES D. TIDRICK, one of the rep-
resentative and highly esteemed citizens of
Chamberlain, is a native of Winterset, Iowa,
where he was born on the 24th of May, 1863,
being a son of Levi M. and Martha (Bell) Tid-
rick, of whose eleven children seven are liv-

ing, namely : Lee, a resident of Winterset, Iowa ;
Addie, wife of O. M. White, of that place;
Grace, wife of E. W. Geiger, of Ottawa, Kansas ;
Hoyt, Joseph and George, all residents of Win-
terset, and Charles D., the immediate subject of
this sketch. Levi Tidrick was born in Guern-
sey county, Ohio, in 1827, and when twenty
}-ears of age he removed thence to St. Louis,
Missouri, where his brother, Robert L., a
prominent attorney and receiver of the land of-
fice, v.-as then residing, and in 1848 they both
went to Winterset. Inwa. whtrc the father of
our subject took up his peniiam-nt abode, his
brother eventually removing to the city of Des
Moines. Levi Tidrick was married at Winter-
set, and took up the study of medicine, being
enabled to defray nearly the entire expense of
his course in the St. Louis Medical College, and
receiving some financial assistance from his
brother Robert. After his graduation in this in-
stitution Dr. Tidrick continued in the active
practice of his profession in Winterset until his
death, in 1896, at the age of sixty-nine years.
His death was the result of exposure in Florida,
where he passed the winter of that year on his
orange farm, the season being one in which the
severe frosts did so great damage to the Florida
fruit crops. The Doctor was widely known and
much loved in his section of Iowa, and his death
was deeply lamented in his home town. His
widow still resides in" Winterset.

Charles D. Tidrick acquired his early edu-
cational discipline in the public schools of his
home village, being graduated in the Winterset
high school and then entering the Normal
School at Ladoga, Indiana, later continuing his
j studies at the State University of Iowa, at Iowa
I Citv, where he was a student for four years.
After leaving school he passed a short interval
in Indian Territory, and in the spring of 1884
came to Beresford, South Dakota, where he se-
cured a position as auditor for F. AI. Slagle &
Company, lumber dealers. He retained this re-
sponsible office about five years, being located at
the firm's yards in .-\lton, Iowa. In 1888 he
was elected recorder of Sioux county, that state,
on the Democratic ticket, his victory at the polls

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

being the more noteworthy by reason of the fact
that the county had a normal RepubHcan phi-
rahty of about one thousand at the time. He
was re-elected in 1890, thus serving two terms.

In i8q3 Mr. Tidrick effected the organization
of the German Savings Bank in Alton, dispos-
ing of his interests in the same in the fall of that
year, when he came to Chamberlain. Here, in
the spring of 1894, in company with G. W. Pitts,
he organized the Bank of Iowa & Dakota, of
which he became president. In 1896 they sold
the bank and purchased the electric-lighting and
gas plants of Chamberlain, which they have
since owned and operated. i\Ir. Tidrick is the
owner of twenty-five hundred acres of valuable
land in Brule cotmty, and fifteen hundred acres
in contiguous counties, while he conducts a
large business in the real-estate line, and in the
extending of financial loans, as well as in the in-
surance and abstracting department? of his
business. Air. Tidrick built and now owns the
gas plant at Chamberlain. He is a stalwart
Democrat in politics, and is now a member of
the board of aldermen of his town. In 1897 he
was appointed United States commissioner for
this district, and is strictly serving in this
capacity. Fraternally he is identified with Cham-
berlain Lodge, No. 56, Free and Accepted Ma-
sons ; Chamberlain Lodge, No. 88, Ancient Or-
der of United Workmen ; Siorx Falls Lodge, No.
262. Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks ;
Castle Lodge, No. 10, Knights of Pythias, and
Sioux Tent, Knights of the Maccabees.

In 1893, Mr. Tidrick was married to Aliss
Lillian Love, of Albion, Indiana, and they have
three daughters, Eugenia, Mary and Frances.

THOMAS A. STEVENS, the popular post-
master at Chamberlain, was born in the citv of
Elgin, Illinois, on the 26th of January, 1840, be-
ing a son of Josiah and Sarah (Rowley) Stevens,
of whose eight children he is the younger of the
two surviving, his sister, Caroline, being now the
wife of Jacob Ebersole, of Eredericktown, Ohio.
The parents of the subject were both born in the
village of Painted Post, New York, and the gen-

ealogy in the paternal line is traced back to an-
cestors who came from Liverpool, England, to
America, in 1654, and the subject has in his pos-
session a valued heirloom in the form of a cane
which was brought over to the new world by the
founder of his family, the name and date being
carved on the cane, while he himself bears the
full patronymic of his colonial ancestor, while
the cane has been handed down from generation
to generation to persons thus bearing the name
of their first American progenitor. The mater-
nal ancestry is of Irish extraction, and the name
has likewise been identified with the annals of our
national history from the colonial epoch.

In 1834 Josiah Stevens emigrated from New
York to Illinois, making the long overland trip
with wagons, and he took up a claim of govern-
ment land lying within the present corporate lim-
its of the great city of Chicago. A year later he
traded this land for a team of horses and removed
to Elgin, that state, being one of its early set-
tlers, and thereafter he was engaged in railroad
work for several years. About 1853 he removed
to Rockford, and later to Pecatonica, Illinois,
where he was railroad station agent up to the
time of his retirement from active work, about
the year i860, while his death there occurred in
1872, at the age of seventy years. He was a
Democrat up to the time of the formation of the
Republican party, when his anti-slavery views led
him to espouse the cause of the new party, of
whose principles he ever afterward continued a
stanch advocate, while he was one of the early
members of the Masonic fraternity in Illinois and
active in its work.

, Thomas A. Stevens received a common-school
education in his native slate. On the outbreak
of the Civil war he was among the first to tender
his services in defense of the Union. On April
17, 1861, the day after President Lincoln issued
his first call for volunteers, he enlisted as a pri-
vate in the Rockford Zouaves, being the first
person in the town of Pecatonica to enter the serv-
ice. The zouaves were mustered in as Company
D, Eleventh Illinois \'olunteer Infantry, on the
1st of Mav, and the command was one of the
first to pass through Chicago enroute to the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

i50'>

front. He served with this regiment during his
three-months term of enhstment and after being
mustered out assisted in raising a company which
became Company K, First IlHnois Cavalry, and
of which he was made first heutenant. in which
• capacity he served until January i. 1864. In
July of that year he enlisted in Company C, One
Hundred and Forty-sixth Illinois \'olunteer In-
fantry, with whixrh he served as first lieutenant
until August I, 1865, when he was mustered out,
receiving his honorable discharge.

After the close of the war Air. Stevens, in
May, 1866, started from Illinois for the west,
making the trip overland with team and wagon.
Upon reaching Fort Riley, Kansas, he found that
there was an uprising of Indians, and he re-
turned to Omaha, whence he proceeded by steam-
boat up the Missouri river to Fort Benton, Mon-
tana, whence he proceeded by stage to Helena,
now the capital of that great state. In that local-
ity he engaged in prospecting for gold and in
general contracting, in which he continued until
the fall of 1868. when he returned to his home
town in Illinois, where he established himself in
the grocery business. In the spring of 1872, just
after the great fire in that city, he went to Chi-
cago, where he entered the em])loy of the .Vdams
E.xpress Company, in whose service he there
continued until March i, 1882, when he started
for Chamberlain, South Dakota, his brother Eras-
tus C. having come to this territory in 1878, as a
pioneer settler, and having come to Chamberlain
in 1881, as a contractor and builder, his arrival
here being simultaneous with that of the railroad.
He erected a number of the first buildings in the
town. After the subject's advent in the town he
became associated with his brother in the con-
tracting business, to which he devoted his atten-
tion about three years. In 1885 he was appointed
deputy register of deeds, serving about four years.
In 1889 h^ ^^'^s elected register of deeds, serving
one term and being defeated in the ensuing elec-
tion by reason of the Populistic wave which swept
over the west in that campaign. In 1892, under
the administration of President Harrison, he was
appointed clerk at the Crow Creek Indian agency,
in which capacity he served until June i. 1804,

when he was removed by President Cleveland,
by reason of his political views. 1 le then came
to Qiamberlain and established himself in the
abstract business and also became a prominent
figure in political affairs, being made chairman
of the Republican county central committee. On
the Sth of Alarch, 1898, Mr. Stevens was ap-
pointed postmaster at Chanil)crl;iin. under Presi-
dent McKinley, and on the bth of March, 1902,
he was reappointed, under President Roosevelt.
Both appointments came as the result of popular
endorsement in the community.

I\Ir. Stevens has been an uncompromising Re-
publican from the time of attaining his majority,
having cast his first presidential vote for Lin-
coln, as did he also his second, having been at
that time a soldier in the field and making the
trip from Mew ( )rleans to his home in Illinois
for the purpose of thus exercising his franchise.
He is one of the charter members of AIcKinzie
Post, No. 340, Grand Army of the Republic, and
is also affiliated with Chamberlain Lodge, No. 56,
Free and Accepted Masons.

On the 23d of August, 1865, Mr. Stevens was
united in marriage to Miss Emily Elliott, of Peca-
tonica, Illinois, and her death occurred, at Crow
Creek agency, in April, 1893. Of the five chil-
dren of this union four are living; Lucy, who
remains at the paternal home ; Elizabeth, who is
the wife of Ray Gooder, of lona, this state ;
Harry, who is at the paternal home : and Erastus
C, who is deputy postmaster under his father.

ED:\1L'ND A. BARLOW, who is register of
deeds of Lyman county, is one of the honored
pioneers of the state and is at the present time
president of the Old Settlers' Association of the
county. He was born in Eaton, province of
Quebec. Canada, on the 14th of February, 1855,
and is a son of George F. and Ann (Day)
Barlow, both of whom were born in the state
of New Hampshire, whence they removed to
the province of Quebec in the same year in
which their marriage was solemnized, passing
the remainder of their lives in the dominion of
Canada, the father being a carpenter and in-

[5IO

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ventor. The subject received his early educa-
tional training in his native province, and at
the age of seventeen years removed thence to
Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where he continued to
attend school as opportunity afforded, defraying
his expenses for a time by clerking in mercantile
establishments and later by teaching in the public
schools. In 1879 he attended the Wisconsin
State Normal School, at River Falls, and in the
following, year came to what is now the state of
South Dakota, locating in Flandreau, Moody
covmty, where he secured a clerical position in
ihe important mercantile house of the W. Jones
Company. About three years later he purchased
the business, which he successfully continued
until 1887. when he disposed of the same and
purchased the general merchandise business of
Ross Whalen, in Artesian, Sanborn county.
South Dakota. In the fall of 1880 he removed
thence to Chamberlain. South Dakota, purchas-
ing a stock of general merchandise and prepar-
ing to engage in business immediately upon
the opening of the Sioux Indiin reservation to
settlement, this occurring the following spring.
He then brought his stock of goods to Lyman,
where he continued his mercantile business about
eighteen months, at the expiration of which he
sold out and engaged in ranching, to which line
of enterprise he successfully gave his attention
until June, IQ03, when he disposed of his in-
terests in that line, in order to assume the duties
of his present office. He is a stanch adherent
of the Democratic party, and in 1890 he was
appointed postmaster at Lyman, serving about
three years. He also served one term as county
superintendent of schools and four years as
justice of the peace, ever proving worthy of the
confidence reposed in him by 'the people of the
county. In November, 1902, ^Ir. Barlow was
elected to his present office, that of register of
deeds, for which he is specially well qualified.
He has ever taken a lively interest in educational
affairs in the county and has done much to ad-
vance the cause. He is a member of Flandreau
Lodge, No. IT. Free and .Accepted Masons; Pil-
grim Chapter. No. 32, Royal .\rch Masons :
Cyrene Commandery. No. 2, Knights Templar,

at Sioux Falls, and Lodge No. 9449, Modern
Woodmen of America. He has served as
president of the Old Settlers' .-Kssociation of Ly-
man county since 1900, is well known through-
out this section and is held in the highest esteem
in business and social circles.

On the 23d of November, 1883, ^h. Barlow
was united in marriage to l\Iiss Carrie Jones,
of Flandreau, this state, no children having been
Ijorn of this union.

WILLIAM FRANCIS CORRIGAN was
born at Prior Lake, Scott county, Minnesota,
on the 22d of Janrary, 1865. and is a son of
Peter Corrigan, a native of Ireland, who came
to the United States in his youth and who won
success through his own indefatig.ible efforts,
having the respect and esteem of his fellow men.
The subject secured his early educational train-
ing in the public schools of Scott county, Min-
nesota, and at the age of seventeen years began
reading law, having decided to adopt its practice
as his vocation in life. He took up his residence
in Mellette. South Dakota, on the 2d of August,
1895, and at the October tenn of the supreme
court of the state he was admitted to the bar
in that year. He at once established himself in
practice in Mellette, and by his devotion to his
work and his excellent technical knowledge and
his power of applying the same he has built up
a representative general practice in the state
and federal courts and is one of the highly
honored members of the bar of his county. He
is general attorney for South Dakota of the St.
Croix Lumber Company, of Minnesota, and is
also similarly retained by other important cor-
porations. In politics l\Tr. Corrigan is stanchly
arraved as a supporter of the principles and poli-
cies of the Republican party, and fraternally he
is identified with the local lodge of the Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons, and with the chapter
of the Order of the Eastern Star.

On the Toth of October, 1891, Mr. Corrigan
was united in marriage to Miss Hattie B. Skin-
ner, who was born in Delphis. Ohio. They have
no children.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

WILLIAM D. CRAIG, cashier of the James
River Bank, at Frankfort, Spink county, is a na-
tive of the province of Ontario, Canada, where
he was born on the 26th of August, 1849, being
a son of David C. and Mar)' J. Craig, both of
^\-ho^^ were born in the state of New York. In
1855 they removed from Canada to Winneshiek
county. Iowa, remaining but a short time, since
within the same year they removed to FiUmore
county. Minnesota, where Mr. Craig became one
of the early settlers and pioneer farmers, being
duly successful in his eflforts and being one of
the influential citizens of his section. Tlie par-
ents came to Spink county, near Frankfort, in
1882, and here died, the mother dying in the
summer of 1899, and the father dying in the
summer of 1901. During the war of the Re-
bellion the father served three yeirs and ten
months as a member of the Third Minnesota
\'olunteer Infantry. The subject of this sketch
was reared on the home farm, in Fillmore county,
Minnesota, and received his earlv educational
training in its common schools. He continued
to assist his father in the work and management
of the home place, until he married, when he
engaged in farming on his own responsibility,
continuing his residence in Minnesota until 1884,
when he came to South Dakota and located in
Spink county, where he secured a farm of three
hundred and twenty acres and engaged in farm-
ing and stock growing. In the autumn of 1888
he was elected sherifif of the county and was re-
elected in 1890. while in 1892 he was elected to
represent his district in the state senate, succeed-
ing himself in the election of 1894, and proving
himself a valuable working member of the gen-
eral assembly of the newly admitted common-
wealth, while in 1902 he was elected a member
of the lower house of the legislature, as a repre-
sentative of Spink county. He is still the owner
of valuable farming land in the county and is
also engaged in the buying and shipping of
grain, in addition to his banking interests, while
he has shown a helpful interest in all that has
tended to conserve the advancement and material
prosperity of his home town and county. In
politics he has ever been stanchly arrayed in

support of the principles and policies of the
Republican party, and fraternally he is identified
with Frankfort Lodge, No. Jj, Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons, and Frankfort Lodge,
No. 303, Ancient Order of United Workmen,
being recorder of each of these organizations at
the time of this writing. For the past quarter of
a century he has been a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and of the same IMrs. Craig
also is a member.

On the 25th of May, 1873, at Harmony. ]• ill-
more county, Minnesota, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Craig to Miss Addie R. Elliott,
who was born in St. Lawrence county. New
York, in March, 1852, her parents having like-
wise been born in the old Empire state, whence
they removed to Minnesota in the pioneer days.
Air. and Mrs. Craig have two children. John
D., who was born on the 26th of April. 1874,
and Edith J., who was born on the 23d of Febru-
ary, 1879, and who married Oscar Blain, of
Frankfort. South Dakota.

JQHN KNOX KUTNEWSKY. M. D., the
efficient and honored superintendent of the north-
ern hospital for the insane, at Redfield, Spink
county, was born in Groveland, Tazewell county,
Illinois, on the 20th of April, 1858, and is a son
of John and Margaret (Knox) Kutnewsky, the
former of whom was born in Germany and the
latter in Ireland, of Scottish lineage. The par-
ents of the Doctor were numbered among the pio-
neers of Illinois, where the father followed the vo-
cation of milling, and where he and his devoted
wife continued to reside until 1883, when thev
moved to Redfield, South Dakota, where the fa-
ther built the Redfield City Mills, and where he
died in 1884. The mother, two sisters and three
brothers moved to Salt Lake, Utah, in 1900,
where they are still living. The Doctor availed
himself of the advantages of the public schools
of his native state and was thereafter a student
in the University of Illinois, at Qiampaign, for
two years, while in 1880 he was matriculated in
that celebrated institution, Rush Medical College,
in the city of Chicago, where he was graduated

I5I2

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

in February, 1882, receiving his coveted degree
of Doctor of Medicine and coming forth admir-
ably equipped for the active work of his chosen
profession. He was engaged in practice at Grove-
land, Illinois, until 1884, when he came to Red-
field, South Dakota, where he built up a large
and representative general practice, to which he
continued to give his undivided attention until
October i, 1901, when he was appointed to his
present responsible and exacting office as super-
intendent of the northern hospital for the insane,
one of the noble and well-equipped institutions of
the state. He is a member of the American Med-
ical Association, the South Dakota State Medical
Society and the Aberdeen District Medical Soci-
ety, while in a social way he is affiliated with the
Masonic fraternity, the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, the Modern Woodmen of America
and the Knights of the Maccabees. His political
allegiance is given unreservedly to the Republi-
can party, of whose principles he is a stanch advo-
cate.

On the 4tli of Alay. 1882, Dr. Kutnewsky was
united in marriage to Miss Jidia Etta Kincaid,
who was born in .\thens, Illinois, on the 9th of
January, i860, being a daughter of John K. and
Vienna Williams Kincaid. ' They have two chil-
dren, Walter Knox, who was born on the 7th
of May, 1883. and Edna \'.. who was born on the
29th of January, 1 886.

MAURICE M( )RIART^^ the efficient and
popular clerk of courts for Spink county, and
a pioneer attorney of that cornty, was Iiorn at
Clinton, Iowa, on May 13. 1859. He attended
the public schools of Muscatine county, Iowa,
and later was matriculated in the Iowa State
I'nivcrsity at Iowa City, where he was gradu-
ate<l in the class of 1881. receiving the degree
of Pjachelor of Philosophy. In the meanwhile,
however, he had been reading law. In 1882 he
came to South Dakota and located at North-
ville, Spink county, and formed a partnership
with George C. P.ritton for the handling of real
estate in connection with the practice of law.
In 1X84 In- was admitted to the bar of Dakota

territory. The firm of Britton & Moriarty was
dissolved in 1885. at which time the subject re-
moved to his farm near Northville. He carried
on farming successfully until 1901, when, hav-
ing been elected clerk of the courts in 1900, he
removed to Redfield to assume the duties of his
office. His administration of the clerk's office
proved so satisfactory to the people that at the
expiration of his term of two years he was re-
elected for a second term, and is still incumbent
of the office. In politics Mr. Moriarty is a mem-
ber of the Republican party, and has ever been
an earnest exponent of that party's cause. He
was a member of the first convention called in
reference to securing the admission of South Da-
kota to the Union. He has taken an active part
in the different campaigns, and has stumped the
state several times. Mr. Moriarty is identified
with both the Knights of Pythias and the An-
cient Order of United Workmen.

On December 13, 1863, Mr. !\Ioriarty was
united in marriage to Miss Estella Reiter. who
was born in Martin county, Minnesota.

LEMUEL P.. LAUGHLIN is a native of
Grundy county, Illinois, where he was born on
the 13th day of November, 185 1, being a son of
Robert S. and Melinda (Livingston) Laughlin,
to whom were born four children, two daughters
and two sons. The subject of this sketch was
educated in the common schools, and at Wheaton
College, Wheaton, DuPage county, Illinois. In
r)ctnbcr. 1882, he first came to Dakota, and in
May, 1883, settled with his family in Bridge-
water, where he resided until April, igoi, when
he removed to Chamberlain, after being ap-
pointed bv President McKinley receiver of public
moneys for the United States land office situated
at that point. In March, 1893, he was appointed
by Governor Sheldon a member of the state
board of charities and corrections, which posi-
tion he filled until the expiration of his term, in
]\ larch. 1899. four years of which he was sec-
retary of the board.

On the 5th dav of November, 1874, Mr.
Laughlin was united in marriage to Susan T.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[513

Armstrong, of LaSalle county, Illinois, and they
have five children, Bertha R., wife of William
S. Burroughs, of Sioux City, Iowa ; Robert A.,
of Kansas City, IMo. ; Grace \L. Constance S.
and Clinton J., who remain at the parental home.

FREDERICK TREON, M. D., one of the
representative physicians and surgeons of the
state, established in the practice of his profession
in Chamberlain, was born in Shelby county, In-
diana, on the I2th of August, 1857, and is a son
of Dr. Andrew and Lydia (Steinberger) Treon,
of whose five children three are living, namely:
Rebecca, the wife of Edward Gabbert, of Bloom-
ington, Illinois ; Frederick, the subject of this
sketch, and Elizabeth, the wife of Robert Lytle,
of Michigan City, Indiana. The father of our
subject was born in Lebanon county, Pennsyl-
vania, where he was reared and educated. As a
young man he removed thence to Miamislnirg,
Ohio, where he read medicine under the pre-
ceptorage of his uncle. Dr. John Treon, being
graduated in his chosen profession and then
locating in Shelby county, Indiana, in the
'thirties, when that locality was practically un-
reclaimed fnini the wilderness. He was one of
the pioneer physicians of the county, and there
he continued in practice until his death, in 1865,
at the age of sixt\'-two years. He was twice
married, the maiden name of his first wife hav-
ing been CofTman, and of their children five are
living, namely : Samuel, who is a resident of
Mattoon, Illinois, was a valiant soldier in the
war of the Rebellion, being severely wounded in
the siege of Vicksburg and re-enlisting after re-
covering from the effects of this injury ; Jackson,
who was likewise a soldier in the Civil war, is
now a resident of Washington. Indiana : Sarah is
the wife of John Heck, of Bartholomew
county, that state : Sabill is the wife of H. C.
Williamson, of Michigan City, Indiana, and
Charlotte is the wife of William Collins, of Bar-
tholomew county. Michael Treon, grandfather
of the Doctor, was born in France, and he also
was a physician, the fan.iily name having thus

been long and prominently identified with the
medical profession, the subject and two of his
cousins, his father and grandfather, his uncle
Michael and his great-uncle, John Treon, all hav-
ing adopted the profession as a vocation.

After availing himself of the advantages af-
forded in the public schools of his native county
Dr. Treon continued his studies in the academy
at Franklin, Indiana, and when about eight
years of age he secured a position in the machine
shops of Haskill & Barker, in Michigan City,
where he completed a special course in geometry
and trigonometry and civil and mechanical en-
gineering. He was not yet satisfied with his
mental attainments, however, and thus entered
upon a careful study of anatomy under the
personal direction of Dr. J. Sadler, of Edin-
burg, Indiana, with a view of preparing himself
for the practice of medicine. He thus continued
his technical studies for two years, in the mean-
while clerking in a drug store and by this means
supplemented his knowledge of materia medica
and therapeutics. In the fall of 1876 he went
to Aurora, Indiana, and began the systematic
study of medicine under the preceptorship of
Drs. James and L. K. Lamb, remaining in their
office until the latter part of the following year,
when he was matriculated in the Ohio Medical
College, in Cincinnati, where he continued his
studies two years, being then graduated and re-
ceiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. He
at once entered upon the active practice of his
profession, forming a partnership with his
father-in-law. Dr. James Lamb, with whom he
continued to be associated for six years. In
1886 Dr. Treon was appointed physician in the
government Indian service, being assigned to
service at the Crow Creek Indian reservation,
in South Dakota. His commission expired four
years later and he then went to the city of
Chicago, where he took a post-graduate course
in Rush Medical College and then opened an
office in Hyde Park, that city, where he was in
practice about three months, being then re-
appointed to the Indian service and assigned to
the San Carlos agency, in Arizona, where he re-
mained six months, being then transferred to

I5I4

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the Crow Creek ageiic)-, where he had previously
served with so much acceptabihty. In 1893 the
Doctor was appointed Indian agent for this
reservation and also for the Lower Brule agency,
retaining this incumbency four years and seven
months and making an excellent record as an
executive. In the spring of 1898 he came to
Chamberlain, and soon afterward was appointed
medical examiner, under General Andrew E.
Lee, in the Spanish- American war service, being
located at Sioux Falls. Later he was offered a
commission as assistant surgeon under Colonel
Grigsby, but did not accept the office. In the
fall of 1898 the Doctor located in Chamberlain,
where he has since been actively engaged in
practice. In the fall of 1900 he became as-
sociated with R. F. Terpenning in the drug
busines and under the firm name of Terpenning
& Treon they now conduct one of the leading
pharmacies of the city, ^Ir. Terpenning being a
graduate in pharmacy and a skilled chemist.
The Doctor is a member of the South Dakota
State Medical Society, of the Mitchell District
Medical Society, and of the American Medical
Association. In politics he is a stanch advocate
of the principles of the Democratic party, and
both he and his wife are members of the Presby-
terian church. Fraternally he is identified with
Chamberlain Lodge, No. 56, Free and Accepted
Masons ; Pilgrim Chapter. No. 32, Royal Arch
Masons: St. Bernard Commandcry, No. 11,
Knights Templar, at Mitchell ; Sioux Falls
Lodge, No. 262, Benevolent and Protective Or-
der of Elks : Castle Lodge. No. 10, Knights of
Pythias, and also with the local organizations
of the Ancient Order of LTnited Workmen, the
Mutual Benefit Association and the Knights of
the Maccabees, being medical examiner for these
three lodges, as well as for numetous old-time
insurance companies.

On the 29th of March, 1879, Dr. Treon was
united in marriage to Miss Rella L. Lamb,
daughter of Dr. James Lamb, of Aurora, Indi-
ana, and their only child. Dr. James F. Lamb,
is a graduate of the Ohio Medical College, in
Cincinnati, and is engaged in the practice of
his profession in Aurora, Indiana.

BEN P. HOOVER, of Gettysburg, is one of
the best known and most popular men in South
Dakota. He has been a resident of the section
since 1877, when he arrived at Fort Bennett, the
two-company post near Fort Sully, established a
few years earlier to aft'ord protection to the Chey-
enne river Indian agency. He soon entered the
Indian service as agency farmer and his experi-
ence during the next few years with the still wild
Indians ranges all the way from the humorous to
the tragic. He was assigned to cut the hair of
the wild fellows who surrendered after the Custer
war, and saw big braves who had been leaders in
massacres tremble and whine with fear as the
scissors clipped off the sacred scalp lock which is
so important an article in their superstitious faith.
He was present and assisted in the fight with the
Cold Spring robbers in the celebrated bout at the
Water Holes, and was a participant in many other
thrilling experiences. Leaving the Indian service,
he established himself as a ranchman in Sully
county and at once became a leading factor in the
business and politics of that locality. He is an
ardent Republican and first impressed himself
upon the party leaders as possessing extraordi-
nary powers in handling men. in the national Re-
publican convention of 1892 when he rounded up
and kept in line for Harrison, against the power-
ful influences of the opposition, several of the
colored delegations from southern states. From
that time he has held a high position in the coun-
cils of his party in the state and beyond. About
1894 he took up his residence in Gettysburg, and
has since that time engaged in the real-estate and
live-stock business, but has been much of the time
employed in special service for the Chicago &
Northwestern Railway, and for four years past
has been the special representative of that line
before the state legislature.

In 1898 Mr. Hoover met with a serious acci-
dent, falling from a high trestlework upon the
railway and. alighting upon a bed of boulders, his
spine was dislocated. Almost any other man
would have effectually been put out of commis-
sion by an accident of this nature ; indeed his phy-
sicians felt that it was necessarily fatal, but his
splendid constitution and indomitable courage

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Ijrought him through, and though he is not the
robust man he was in his earher days, he enjoys
very good health and is in business affairs as ac-
tive and forceful as ever.

Mr. Hoover was born August 27, 1854, at
Wayne, Wisconsin, and was educated in the com-
mon schools. He was married February 14, 1879,
to Miss Alberta Rounds, of Malone, New York.
Mrs. Hoover died in 1895, leaving to Mr. Hoover
two sons and a daughter, Mabel A., Wayne and
Ben C. A gentleman of Mr. Hoover's popularity
could be scarcely less than an active lodge man,
and he is honored in the Masons. Odd Fellows,
Elks, Workmen and Woodmen of America.

BERT G. WATTSON, senior member of the
firm of Wattson & Hulseman, hardware mer-
chants of Chamberlain, was born in Northwood,
Worth county, Iowa, September 23, 1867, and is
a son of George F. and Felixine M. (VVardall)
Wattson, of whose six children he is the eldest
of the five now living, the others being as fol-
lows : Carrie, the wife of L. G. Gunn, of Lawton,
Oklahoma; Charles, a resident of El Reno, that
territory; as are also 'Robert and Kenneth. The
father of the subject was bom in Michigan, and
there his mother died when he was a child, his
father soon afterward removing to Iowa. There
he was reared and educated, and at the age of sev-
enteen years he enlisted as a private in Company
K, Fifth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with which
he served during the major portion of the Civil
war, the history of that regiment being that of his
career as a valiant son of the republic. After the
close of the war he engaged in the drug business
in Northwood, Iowa, where he continued to re-
side until 1888, when he disposed of his interests
there and removed to Texas, where he engaged
in railroad contracting and in the real-estate busi-
ness. In 1 891 he removed to El Reno, Okla-
homa, where he established himself in the real-
estate business, and soon after the inauguration
of the late lamented President McKinley he was
appointed postmaster in that place, a position
which he has ever since filled, having been reap-
pointed under President Roosevelt. He was

elected a member of the Iowa state legislature in
the early 'eighties, serving one term. He is a
Royal Arch Mason. His devoted wife entered into
eternal rest in 18(^4, and he Inlcr married Mrs.
Adah Birney. no children ha\ing been born of
this union.

Bert G. Wattson secured his early education
in the public schools of his native state and then
entered the Iowa State Agricultural College, at
Ames, where he continued his studies, after which
he was engaged in teaching for one term. He
then secured a clerkship in the ofiice of the United
States Express Company at Northwood, and in
September, 1886, he came to Qiamberlain, South
Dakota, where for the ensuing three years he was
employed as clerk in the dry-goods establishment
of M. W. Egleston. In the autumn of i88g he
went to Vernon, Texas, where he was assistant
postmaster for one year. In 1890 he returned
to Chamberlain and in the spring of the following
year he was here united in marriage to Miss Mil-
dred M. Hart, daughter of Charles B. Hart, local
station agent of the Chicago, Minneapolis & St.
Paul Railroad. Soon after his marriage he re-
moved with his bride to the state of Washington,
where they remained about four months, and he
then returned to Chamberlain, with the intention
of entering into partnership with a friend and en-
gaging in the dry-goods business here. But
shortly after his arrival the store of his former
employer, Mr. Egleston, was sold to J. W. Orcott,
and our subject was engaged as manager of the
enterprise, and somewhat less than a year later
Mr. Egleston again engaged in business, in a new
location, and Mr. Wattson again entered his em-
ploy, remaining with him about four years, or
until 1892, when he was elected city auditor, of
which office he continued incumbent about four
years. In the fall of 1896 Mr. Wattson purchased
an interest in the grocery business of Charles H.
Young, and the enterprise was continued under
the firm name of Wattson & Young until the fall
of 1897. when the business was sold, and there-
upon our subject purchased the interest of J. M.
Green in the hardware business of J. M. Green
& Company, the firm name being simultaneouslv
changed to Cook & Wattson. On the ist of Tan-

I5i6

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

uary, 1903, J. F. Hulseman purchased Mr. Cook's
interest, and the present firm name was adopted.
Mr. Wattson is a stanch Republican, and is
identified with Chamberlain Lodge, No. 56, Free
and Accepted Masons ; Pilgrim Chapter, Royal
Arch Masons; Chamberlain Lodge, No. 88, An-
cient Order of United Workmen ; Sioux Tent,
No. 34, Knights of the Maccabees ; and Sioux
Falls Lodge, No. 262, Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks. Mr. and Mrs. Wattson have had
three children, of whom two are living, George
H. and Donald H. Mrs. Mildred Wattson died
in April, 1900, and on March 10, 1904. Mr.
Wattson married Miss Cora M. Miner, of Mitch-
ell, South Dakota, daughter of George H. Miner.

TOSI AH LOCKE PHILLIPS. M. D.. was
born in the picturesque old town of Farmington.
Maine, on the 8th of June, 1835, and his death
occurred in Sioux Falls, ^outh Dakota, on the
I2th of June, 1882. His father. Dr. Alan Phil-
lips', was born at Greene, Maine, on the 29th of
June, 1798, and died at Dubuque, Iowa, on the
9th of October, 1878, having been one of the
early settlers in the Hawkeye state. He pre-
pared for college under the preceptorship of Dr.
Holland, of Canton, Maine, and was graduated
in the medical department of Bowdoin College
as a member of the class of 1822, after which
he was engaged in the practice of his" profession
in Strong; that state,, where he remained until
1829. when he' removed to Farmington, where
he continued his professional labors until the
time of his removal to Iowa, where he passed
the remainder of his life. The family name
has been identified prominently with the medical
profession for a number of generations, and
records extant show that the family was founded
in .\merica in the early colonial epoch of our
national history. The genealogy is traced in a
direct way to Richard Phillips, who was mar-
ried, at Pembroke, Massachusetts, on the 9th
of October. 1746, to Miss Ruth Bonney. In
1777 they removed to Turner, Androscoggin
county. Maine. Riclnrd Pliillips served in de-
fense of Boston in 7775, and his son Ichabod,

grandfather of the subject of this memoir, was

also a soldier in the Continental line in the war

of the Revolution. Ichabod Phillips was born

in Pembroke, Massachusetts, on the nth of

April, 1765, and his death occurred October 13,

1830. In Hanover, Massachusetts, in July, 1798,

he was united in marriage to Mary Bailey, who

was born in that place, on the 15th of March,

1763, and whose death there occurred on the

1st of August, 1815: Annie (Croswell) Phillips,

i the mother of the subject of this sketch, was

I born at Falmouth, Massachusetts, on the 23d of

I August, 1795, and she died at Farmington,

Maine, June 27, 1875.

Dr. Josiah L. Phillips was reared in -his
native state, and after duly availing himself of
' the advantages afforded in the common schools,
he entered Bowdoin College, in 1852, and there
continued his studies for two years, at the ex-
piration of which he was matriculated in Rush
Medical College in the city of Chicago, Illinois,
where he was graduated as a member of the
class of 1856, being one of the early graduates
of this celebrated institution. He engaged in
the active practice of his profession at Prairie
du Chien, Wisconsin, where he remained one
year, and he then removed to Iowa, being es-
tablished in practice in the city of Dubuque at
the time when the Western Town Company sent
out a party to locate a town at the falls of the
Big Sioux river, in the territory of Dakota. He
became a member of this party and arrived in
what is now the city of Sioux Falls on the 27th
of August, 1857. He thus became one of the
first settlers of the new town, and here continued
his residence until 1861, within which time he
served as justice of the peace, under appoint-
ment by the governor of Minnesota, who had
jurisdiction in Dakota. In the year last men-
tioned Dr. Phillips returned to Dubuque. Iowa,
and enlisted in the Sixteenth Iowa Volunteer
Infantry, which was organized in Davenport,
being commanded by Colonel Alexander Cham-
bers. The original surgeon of the regiment
was Dr. J. H. Camburn, and Dr. Phillips be-
came assistant surgeon at the time of the or-
ganization of the regiment, while later he was

HISTORY, OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1517

promoted to the office of surgeon. Proceeding
with his regiment to the front, he continued in
active service until the close of the great Civil
war, making an enviable record and attaining to
the rank of major. After victory had crowned
the Union arms he received his honorable dis-
charge and then returned to Dubuque. Iowa,
being thereafter engaged in the practice of his
profession in East Dubuque until 1869, when
he came again to Sioux Falls, where his family
joined him in June of the following year. He
gained a strong hold upon popular confidence
and esteem and built up a large and represent-
ative practice, being one of the pioneer physi-
cians of the state and ever maintaining high pro-
fessional rank and prestige. He continued in
active practice here until the close of his life,
while as a citizen he was ever loyal, progressive
and public-spirited. He was a man of noble at-
tributes of character and won to himself the
friendship of all with whom he came in contact,
while his name merits an enduring place upon
the list of those strong and earnest characters
who were the founders of the great and pros-
perous commonwealth of South Dakota. In
politics he was ever a stanch Republican.

On the 1st of July, 1867, at Houston. Texas,
Dr. Phillips was united in marriage to Miss Har-
riet C. Daggett, who was there engaged in
philanthropic work, as a teacher in a school for
negroes. Mrs. Phillips survives her honored
husband and still retains her home in Sioux
Falls, where she is held in affectionate regard
by all who know her and have come within the
sphere of her gracious influence. Of the chil-
dren of this union we here enter the names,
with respective dates of birth : Annie C, June
25. 1868: Abbie I., February 23, 1871 : Alice C,
.\ugust 10, 1873 ; Flora C, September 30, 1875 '•
Charles A.. September 21. 1877: Rossie C, Feb-
ruary 24, 1880," and Josie L.. January 26, 1883.

FREDFLL EUGENE FIELD, D. D. S., a
member of the state board of examiners in dental
surgery and ex-president of the South Dakota
State Dental Societv, was born in South Acworth,

Sullivan county. New Hampshire, on the 21st of
June, 1866, and is a son of George B. Field, who
likewise was born in the old Granite state, the
family having been founded in New England in
the colonial era of our national history. The
Doctor passed his boyhood in his native state and
duly availed himself of the advantages of the pub-
lic schools, while in 1885 he took up the study
and work of dentistry under the direction of an
able instructor, in Brattleboro, Vermont. In the
following year he came to South Dakota, locat-
ing at Sioux Falls, where he remained three years,
at the expiration of which he returned to Ver-
mont and opened an office in Putney, where he
followed professional work for the ensuing two
years. He thereafter was connected with dental
offices in various cities and towns, finally entering
a dental college in the city of Chicago, where he
completed a technical course and was graduated
in 1892, receiving the degree of Doctor of Den-
tal Surgery. He then engaged in the active prac-
tice of his profession in Phillips, Wisconsin,
where he remained until 1895, when the town
was practically destroyed by fire, and he there-
upon returned to Sioux Falls, where he has ever
since been engaged in the practice of denti.stry,
having finely equipped offices and receiving a rep-
resentative support. In 1901 the Doctor was
elected president of the South Dakota State Den-
tal Society and served in this capacity for one
year, while in 1903 Governor Herreid appointed
him 'a member of the state board of dental exam-
iners, for a term of five years. In his political
allegiance the Doctor is known as a stalwart Re-
publican, while both he and his wife are valued
members of the Congregational church. He is
identified with the Benevolent and Protective Or-
der of Elks, the Knights of Pvthias and the An-
cient Order of United Workmen.

On the 2 1st of November, i8c)4. Dr. Field
was united in marriage to Miss Etta Belknap,
who was born in Hancock, New York, being a
daughter of George W. and Olive Belknap. Dr.
and Mrs. Field became the parents of two chil-
dren, Eugene Belknap, who is now attending the
public schools : and Gladvs Olive, who is de-
ceased.

HISTORY OF' SOUTH DAKOTA.

WALTER R. KINGSBURY, who is one of
the successful real-estate dealers of the city of
Sioux Falls, is a native of the state of Connecti-
cut, having been born in the town of Andover, on
Christmas day of the year 1832, and being a son
of Joseph and Amelia (Reynolds) Kingsbury,
both of whom were likewise native of Connecticut,
where they passed their entire lives, the father
having been a farmer by vocation. It is practi-
cally well authenticated that the original progeni-
tors of the 'Kingsbury family in America were of
stanch old English stock and that they immigrated
to the new world and settled in the Massachu-
setts colony about the year 1635, while the mater-
nal ancestors of the subject came from Scotland
at an early period. Mr. Kingsbury completed the
curriculum of the common schools in his native
state, and then continued his studies for a time
in an academy at Monson, Massachusetts, while
in 1854 he was matriculated in the Connecticut
State Normal School, at New Britain, where he
completed a course of study and fitted himself for
the pedagogic profession. He began teaching in
the common schools of his native state in the year
1849, meeting with signal success, and he con-
tinued to follow this vocation, in various localities,
for the ensuing ten years. After teaching he en-
gaged in the merchandise business at Camp
Point, Illinois, where he had been engaged in
teaching for some years previous. He served as
postmaster in 1863 and in 1865 he closed out his
business and removed to Chicago, where he en-
gaged in the dry-goods business, continuing until
1875, having been successful until the panic of
1873. He then removed to Oak Park, a suburb,
where he continued in the dry-goods business un-
til 1878. Coming then to Sioux Falls, he engaged
in the same business, continuing five years, being
successful. He then engaged in the real-estate
business, in which he has since continued. He
has been successful in his operations and is one
of the honored citizens of the place, being held
in high esteem by all who know him. He is inde-
pendent in his political attitude, giving his sup-
port to men and measures meeting the approval of
his judgment, and both he and his wife are prom-
inent and valued members of the Congregational
church.

On the 20th of April, 1865, at Mendon, Illi-
nois, was solemnized the marriage of l\Ir. Kings-
bury to Miss Cornelia Starr, who was born in
Mendon, Adams county, Illinois, on the 2(1 of
November, 1837, being a daughter of Richard
and Sarah (Benton) Starr, who were numbered
among the sterling pioneers of that state. Mr.
and Mrs. Kingsbury have two children, Helen
L., who is still at the parental home, and a teacher
in the public schools, and Howard L., who is en-
gaged in the lumber business at Sioux Falls.

JOHN FRANCIS HULSE]\IAN, Jr., who
is engaged in the hardware business at Cham-
berlain, Brule county, is a native of the beautiful
old city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he
was born on the 26th of June, 1868, being a son
of John F. and Louisa Hulseman, who were
likewise born and reared in Philadelphia, being
representatives of stanch old families of the
Keystone state, whither the original progenitors
in the new world came from Germany. The
father of our subject is a leather merchant by
vocation and at present resides in Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania.

John F. Hulseman, Jr., secured his early edu-
cational training in the public schools of his na-
tive city, after which he engaged in the saddlery
and heavy hardware business in Philadelphia
with Kennedy, Nilling & Company. In 1889
he went to Chicago and was house salesman for
A. F. Resser & Company, wholesale saddlery
and hardware. In i8<)2 he moved to Milwaukee,
as city salesman for B. Young estate, wholesale
saddlery and hardware, remaining with them
until 1894. At that time he changed firms to
travel through the state of South Dakota and
northwestern Iowa, with headquarters at Sioux
Falls. South Dakota, for Schefifer & Rossum,
of St. Paul, IVlinnesota, wholesale saddlery and
hardware. The following year he accepted a po-
sition with Wallace Smith & Company, wholesale
saddlery and hardware. Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
remaining with thoni rntil January i. 1903.
when he engaged in the hardware business at
Chamberlain. South Dakota, with B. G. Wattson,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1519

under the firm name of Wattson & Hulseman,
hardware, harness, farm implements, etc.

In politics Mr. Hulseman is a stanch Demo-
crat, his religious faith is that of the Catholic
church and fraternally he is identified with the
Catholic Order of Foresters, the United Com-
mercial Travelers and the Ancient Order of
United Workmen.

On the 1st of September, 1895, at Sioux
Falls, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Hulseman to Miss Anna A. Donahoe, who was
born in Decorah, Iowa, and reared in Sioux
Falls, South Dakota, being a daughter of Daniel
Donahoe, and of this union have been born three
children, namely : Giles Daniel. Leo John and
Raymond Francis.

JULIUS D. BARTOW, one of the promi-
nent and highly esteemed merchants of Plankin-
ton, Aurora county, was born in Republic,
Seneca county, Ohio, on Christmas day of the
year 1851, being a son of Joel C. and Mary
A. (Hosford) Bartow, the maternal ancestry
tracing back to English origin. The name is of
French derivation and was originally spelled
Barteaux. Joel C. Bartow was born at Bartow's
Ridge, in Erie county, Ohio, the name having
been given to the locality by four brothers of his
mother, they having been pioneers of that sec-
tion, whither they emigrated from the state of
New York in an early day. After his marriage
the father of our subject removed to Seneca
county, Ohio, where he was identified with farm-
ing, and also with merchandising and the hotel
business in the town of Republic, where he died
October 19, 1901, at the age of seventy-four
years, having been one of the honored and in-
fluential citizens of that locality. He was a
Democrat and a member of the Odd Fellows'
fraternity. His devoted wife, who died on the
9th of March, 1891, at the age of sixty-seven
years, was born in Dartmouth, England, whence
she came to America with her parents when a
child of six years. The subject of this sketch
attended the common schools of his native place
and then completed a four-years course in the

academy at Republic. He then entered the em-
ploy of the firm of Hemmingway & Hensinger,
dealers in groceries and drugs at Republic,
where he remained one year. He was married
in 1873 3nd for the following eight years had
charge of his father-in-law's farm, in Seneca
county, Ohio. On the 19th of February, 1883,
he and his family arrived in Plankinton, South
Dakota, having been out on a tour of inspection
through the west during the preceding year.
Shortly after locating in Plankinton Mr. Bartow
purchased the general store of Conway Tliomp-
son, and from this modest nucleus has been
built up the magnificent business now controlled
b}- him, twenty-one thousand two hundred feet
of floor space being demanded for the accom-
modation of the various departments of the en-
terprise, which is one of the most extensive of
the sort in the county. In September, 1900, the
business was incorporated and is now conducted
under the title of the Aurora Lumber Company,
while the mercantile house has well-equipped de-
partments, including those devoted to dry goods,
.groceries, boots and shoes, harness and saddlery
goods, agricultural implements, etc. Mr. Bar-
tow is also the owner of valuable farming land
in the county. He is now a stanch Republican in
politics, but was formerly arrayed with the
Democracy, as the candidate of which he was
elected to the state legislature in 1890, serving
one term. He was for several years a member
of the board of education of Plankinton, which
is celebrated for having one of the best schools
in the state. He is identified in a prominent
way with the Masonic fraternity, being affiliated
with the lodge in Plankinton, the chapter and
commandery in Mitchell, the consistory of the
Scottish Rite in Yankton and the temple of the
Mystic Shrine in Sioux Falls, while he is also
a member of the lodge of Elks in Sioux Falls
and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
in his native town in Ohio." He and his family
are members of the Congregational church.

On tlie 7th of May, 1873, Mr. Bartow was
united in marriage to Miss Clara A. Stearns, of
Republic. Ohio, where she was reared and edu-
cated, being a daughter of John B. and Adaline

1520

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

H. Stearns. Of this union were born six chil-
dren, of whom three survive, namely: Addie,
who remains at the parental home ; Nona, who
is the wife of F. L. Snyder, of Plankinton, and
John S., who is also at home.

GEORGE B. BALE is a native of England
and dates his birth from November 25, 1867.
He first saw the light of day in Norfolk and
spent his early life in that place, receiving a
good education in the schools of the same, and
remaining with his parents until eighteen years
of age. Severing home ties in the spring of
1885, he came to the United States, making his
way direct to Watertown, South Dakota, where
he remained for a brief period, after which he
traveled extensively over various western states
and territories, going as far as the Pacific coast.
Being i:)leased with Dakota, he finally returned to
this state, and took up a pre-emption on the
"Divide" near Battle creek, Custer county,
where he engaged in farming, but the venture
not proving successful, he left his place and for
some time thereafter was employed by a horse
dealer, to whom his services proved of great
value. Later Mr. Bale began buying and selling
horses upon his own responsibility, and in due
time worked up an extensive and lucrative busi-
ness in the vicinity of Battle creek. In 1890 he
changed his location to the Clieyenne river,
where he continued running horses until iSgy,
when he effected a co-partnership in the business
with C. W. Arnold, the two greatly extending
the scope of their operations, buying up all the
outfits in a large area of territory and within a
short time achieved the reputation of being the
largest and most successful horse dealers in the
western part of the state. The firm thus con-
stituted lasted until 1902. in which year the sub-
ject withdrew froni the partnership and pur-
chased the ranch on Battle creek, twenty-three
mines east of Hermosa, where he has since lived
and prospered, as a cattle raiser, devoting con-
siderable attention the meantime to the improve-
ment of his place. In addition to the live-stock

business, Mr. Bale also carries on farming, the
greater part of his land being irrigated and easily
susceptible to tillage. He raises abundant crops
of grain, vegetables and fruits, which with the
returns from his cattle sales yield him a hand-
some income every year. He belongs to the
Masonic lodge at Hermosa, and, like the ma-
jority of intelligent and progressive citizens,
manifests an abiding interest in public and po-
litical affairs, giving his support to the Repub-
lican party.

On November 11, 1901, Mr. Bale and Miss
Nettie Bower, of South Dakota, were united in
the holy bonds of wedlock, the marriage result-
ing in the birth of one child, a son who answers
to the name of George J.

JAMES L. PRATT, editor and publisher of
the Elkton Record, at Elkton, Brookings county,
is one of the able and popular newspaper men
of the state and has made his paper a potent
factor in local politics and an effective exponent
of the interests of the section in which it is
published. Mr. Pratt was born in Allamakee
county, Iowa, on the 13th of September, 1856,
and is a son of Azel and Mary (Hersey) Pratt,
both of whom were born and reared in the state
of Maine, whence they came west to Iowa in
1848, becoming pioneers of Allamakee county,
where the father of our subject purchased one
hundred and sixty acres of land, which he im-
proved and sold, moving to Waukon, the count)'
seat, where he lived until his death, which oc-
curred in 1881. He was a carpenter by trade and
continued to work at the same to a greater or
less extent after his removal to Iowa, where his
services in the line were in much demand in the
early days. He built the first house in the village
of Waukon. Allamakee county, said village hav-
ing been named in honor of a prominent Indian
chief. He was a man of prominence and in-
fluence in his township and county, and held
various township offices. He was an expert
player of the snare drum, and in the time of the
Civil war he used his abilities in this line most

JAMES L. PRATT.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1521

effectively in connection with the organizing of
various companies, being past the age of service
at the time. He was a most devoted member
of the Baptist church, in which he served as
deacon for many years, and his wife also ex-
emplified the same faith in her beautiful and
gracious character, her death occurring in 1881.
They became the parents of seven children, con-
cerning whom we offer the following brief rec-
ord: William C. died in infancy; Noah H. is a
resident of Waukon. Iowa, and is a carpenter and
builder by vocation : Marellus H., who was a
wheelwright by trade, died in Spokane, Washing-
ton, in 1892; Richmond G. died in Sheldon, Iowa,
in 1890; Emery W. is a carpenter and builder of
Waukon, Iowa; Ella is the wife of Altheras J.
Rogers, of Chicago; and James L. is the im-
mediate subject of this sketch.

James L. Pratt was reared to maturity in
his native county and received his earlv edu-
cation in the public schools of Waukon, where
he continued his studies until he had attained the
age of sixteen years. During his boyhood days
he worked with his father at the carpenter trade
during his vacations, receiving one cent a day
in recompense for his services, while with in-
creasing years and ability he continued to se-
cure larger wages, until he finally commanded
three and one-half dollars a day. Upon leaving
school, at the age of sixteen, he entered upon an
apprenticeship at the printers' trade, at Post-
ville, Iowa, serving six months in the dignified
and autocratic office of "printer's devil," and
there gaining in due time a comprehensive knowl-
edge of the "art preservative of all arts." At
the age of seventeen he became foreman in the
office of the Waukon Standard, retaining this
position four years, after which he had charge
of the Waukon Democrat for an equal length
of time. Thereafter he was for a time employed
at the carpenter trade, and in 1882 he was called
to accept a position on the Pipestone Republican,
in Pipestone, Minnesota, where he remained
about two years. In 1885 he came to South
Dakota and took charge of the Elkton Record,
of which he is now editor and publisher and
which he has made a most successful publication.

At the time he assumed control the business was
at the lowest possible ebb, the to\Vn being small
and the paper eking out a precarious , existence,
but by good management and thorough technical
ability he has gained to the paper the reputation
of being one of the best local papers in the state,
while he has a well-equipped job department,
controls a satisfactory advertising patronage and
has built up a gratifying circulation. The paper
is Republican in politics and thus voices the sen-
timents of Air. Pratt, who is a vigorous and
forceful writer. He has been village clerk of
Elkton for the past twenty years, and is at the
present time justice of the peace for the town
and county. He is one of the leaders in the
political affairs of the county and is prominent
in the councils of his party in the state. Fra-
ternally he is identified with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, the Modern Woodmen of
America, the Modern Brotherhood of America,
the Knights of the Maccabees and other social
and beneficiary organizations. He and his family
are members of the Baptist church, and he is one
of the most, influential workers in the church in
his home town, taking an active part in forward-
ing its spiritual and temporal interests. He is
one of the popular citizens of the village and
county and commands unqualified esteem, while
his aid and influence are ever cast in favor of all
objects and enterprises tending to conserve the
general welfare. He is also manager and drum
major of the Woodmen band of Elkton, one of
the best bands in the state.

On the 31st of March, 1880, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Pratt to Miss Edith F.
Wedgwood, of Rossville. Iowa. She was bom
in the state of Iowa and is a daughter of the
late Rev. John M. Wedgwood, a prominent mem-
ber of the clergy of the Baptist church. Mr. and
Mrs. Pratt have six children, concerning whom
we enter the following brief record : Ada M.,
who was graduated in the Elkton high school and
in the Cedar Falls Seminary, at Osage, Iowa,
and the State Normal at Winona, Minnesota.
She is a successful and popular teacher, and was
assistant principal in the Elkton high school at

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the time of this writing ; Jesse L., who was gradu-
ated in the Elkton high school and the seminary
at Osage, Iowa, and also in the Commercial
Business College at Mankato, Minnesota, is now
employed as bookkeeper in the office of the Haysr
Lucas Lumber Company at Watertown, South
Dakota; Vern and Vera, twins, and Gladys are
students in the home high school; Ruth is the
youngest, not yet of school age.

JOHN E. C. WILSON, one of the extensive
farmers and stock growers of Charles Mix
county, is a native of the fine old Hoosier state,
having been born in Adams county, Indiana, on
the 30th of April. 1845, and being a son of
Edward D. and Elizabeth (Coynor) Wilson.
The father was a farmer in Indiana, where he
died when the subject of this sketch was a mere
child. The latter received his rudimentary edu-
cation in the district schools of his native state,
where he remained until he had attained the age
of ten years, when he began to depend upon his
own resources, going to Peoria county, Illinois,
securing work on a farm and continuing to at-
tend the public schools as opportunity afiforded.
At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion Mr.
Wilson gave prompt evidence of his youthful
ardor and patriotism by tendering his services
in defense of the Union. At the age of sixteen
years he enlisted as a private in Company G,
Eighth Missouri Volunteer Infantry, and it was
his fortune to take part in many of the most im-
portant campaigns and battles of the war. among
which may be mentioned the following : Fort
Henry, Donelson. Shiloh, Holly Springs, Mem-
phis, V^icksburg, from which last mentioned city
the command proceeded into Arkansas, later re-
turning to Vicksburg and thence going to Jack-
son, ^lississippi ; thereafter he was a participant
in the engagements at Memphis, Giattinooga,
Lookout Mountain. Missionary Ridge and
Knoxville, and later the regiment was in the
battle of .Atlanta. The subject was then on a
veteran furlough, and then joined Sherman, at
Newl)ern, .\ortli (\-irolina. '\\r. ^^'ilson con-
tinued in active service for a period of four years,

ever being found at the post of duty and making
the record of a gallant young soldier, while he
received his honorable discharge in the city of
St. Louis, Missouri. He was wounded in the
engagement at Arkansas Post and also slightly
in two other contests. After his discharge he
returned to Illinois, being employed on a farm
in Stark county for the ensuing two years, at the
expiration of which he went to Des Moines.
Iowa, where he continued to be identified with
agricultural pursuits for twelve years, having
purchased a farm in Polk county, that state.

On October 19, 1868. Mr. Wilson was mar-
ried to Sarah Ann Pyle, but she died abort one
year later. In 1871 he married Mary Brazelton,
but after a union of about twelve years they
separated and on November 25, 1886, he con-
summated a third marriage, being then united to
Miss Mary McCartney, who was born January
I, 1865, in New York city, moving to Iowa at
the age of five years. They are the parents of
five children, namely : The eldest, a boy, died
in infancy ; Elizabeth, May, Edna and Alta, all
of whom are attending school, the eldest daugh-
ter being a student in Ward Academy, in Charles
Mix county, South Dakota.

In 1883 Mr. Wilson came with his family to
South Dakota and located in Charles Mix
county, where he took up a homestead claim of
one hundred and sixty acres, while in subsequent
years he added to the area of his landed estate
until it now comprises nearly twenty-five hun-
dred acres, having made purchases of land as
his judgment and means justified, while most
of this fine estate is located about five miles
south of the village of Platte, where he has a
large hotel. He has about nine hundred acres
under cultivation and the balance is utilized for
grazing purposes. Air. U^ilsnn is one of the
mo.st extensive and successful raisers of cattle
and swine in this section, keeping an average of
three hundred head of cattle and about one
hundred hogs, while he gives special care to
maintaining a high grade of live stock and is
known as a capable and progressive Inisiness
man and valuable citizen. He paid at the rate
of about five dollars an acre for his land, and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1523

it will now command from twenty-five to fortv
dollars an acre. He has made excellent improve-
ments on his estate, including good buildings,
his residence having been erected at a cost of
about three thousand dollars, while he also
erected one of the finest barns in the county at a
cost of aliiiut four thousand dollars, the same
having been destroyed by a cyclone, in 1902,
but which is now rebuilt. On his farm is a fine
apple orchard of twelve acres, and everything
about the place bespeaks thrift and prosperity.
In the spring of 1904 the family took a pleasant
trip to the National Park, making the journey
in wagons.

In politics ]\Ir. Wilson is a Republican, but
is not insistently partisan, particularly in local
affairs, but gives his support to men and
measures meeting the approval of his judgment.
He has been a member of the school board of
liis district for many years, and in religious mat-
ters he is not definitely identified with any
church, though he realizes the value of all and
has a deep respect for the true sjiiritual verities.

DAVID PHILLIPS was born in Providence
county, Rhode Island, on the 4th of February.
1834, being a son of Rufus and Lillias (Young)
Phillips. He was about six years of age at the
time of his parents' removal to Pennsylvania, and
there he secured his early educational discipline,
while he aided in reclaiming the homestead farm.
He continued to reside in the old Keystone state
until the spring of 1858, when he came with oth-
ers from that locality to Nebraska, but he only
remained there three weeks, returning eastward
as far as Illinois, where he was employed at farm
work during three summers, while during the
winter seasons he devoted his attention to chop-
ping wood, along the Mississippi river, receiving
two dollars a day in compensation for his ardu-
ous toil in this connection. He then went to
Bloomington, Illinois, where he was employed
until the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion,
when he responded to the call of higher duty by
enlisting as a private in Company G. Thirty-third
Illinois \'olunteer Infantrv, his enlistment taking

place in August, 1861. He continued in active
service until January 24, 1863, when he received
an honorable discharge, on account of physical
disability. He then returned to Illinois, and in
1883 he came to South Dakota, taking up a home-
stead claim of one hundred and sixty acres in
Qiarles Mix county. He is at the present time
chairman of the school board of his district. Fra-
ternally he is a valued comrade of P. H. Sheridan
Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Geddes.

In 1863 was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Phillips to Miss Mary Elizabeth Kelly, who was
born in Twin Grove. McLean county, Illinois,
and of this union have been born eight children.

DAVID OLNEY BENNETT, deceased, was
born in McDonough, Chenango county, New
York, on the loth of January, 1843, ^"^ '^ a son
of Olney and Elizabeth (Place) Bennett, both
of whom were born and reared in Rhode Island,
where the former's birth occurred in 1800 and
the latter about the year 1810, while their mar-
riage was there solemnized. The father of the
subject was a clergyman of the Baptist church,
and about 1830 removed with his family to
Madison county, New York, where he remained
until i860, when he removed to Wisconsin,
where he passed the remainder of his life, en-
gaged in the noble work of his high calling and
also being identified with agricultural pursuits.
His wife likewise died in that state, and of their
seven children two are yet living, our subject
having been the sixth in order of birth. David
O. Bennett received his early education in the
common schools of his native town and those
of McGrawville. Cortland county. New York,
while at the age of fifteen he entered Cincinnatus
Academy, in Cortland county, where he con-
tinued his studies until 1861, being prepared for
matriculation in college and expecting to thus
continue his educational work. About this time,
however, there came the call to higher duty, as
the integrity of the L'nion was menaced by armed
rebellion, and in August, 1862, having joined
his parents in Wisconsin, he enlisted as a mem-
ber of Companv K, Twenty-ninth \\'isconsin

524

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

A'olunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the
western department and served under General
(jrant until after the surrender of Vicksburg,
when his corps, the Thirteenth, was transferred to
the Department of the Gulf. Mr. Bennett was
discharged, on account of disability, in February,
1864. at New Orleans, and then returned to his
home in Wisconsin. After recuperating his
energies he. by chance, identified himself with
the mercantile business, having been for six
months employed in a clerical capacity in gen-
eral stores in Beaver Dam and Juneau. Wiscon-
sin, his intention being to soon enter college and
complete his education. He was deflected from
this course, however, and began the study of
medicine under the direction of his brother,
Henry Judson Bennett, a prominent practicing
|)hysician at Juneau, and finally, as offering
further discipline along this line, he took a posi-
tion in a drug store at Fond du Lac, that state,
where he remained until 1869. His brother,
previously mentioned, died in December of that
year, and the subject thereafter continued his
study of medicine under the preceptorship of Dr.
H. M. Lilly, at Fond du Lac, and completed his
technical course in that famous institution. Rush
Medical College, in the city of Chicago, where
he was graduated in February, 1870. with the de-
gree of Doctor of Medicine. He thereafter re-
mained with his preceptor. Dr. Lilly, until the
following June, when he removed to Waterloo,
Jefferson county, Wisconsin, where he was
actively engaged in practice until 1887, when his
health became so seriously impaired by rheu-
matism that he was compelled to withdraw
largely from the active work of his profession.
He purchased a half interest in a local drug
business, but his health became even more pre-
carious while in the store, so that in the latter
part of 1887 he disposed of his interest in the
same and in the following spring came with his
family to Clark county, South Dakota, locating
on a farm and devoting his attention to its im-
provement and cultivation for the ensuing eight
years, within which time his health steadily im-
proved. During the hard times of i8c)6 people
left the state in great nmnbers and among them

many of the physicians, so that there were left
in Clark county or near its borders only three
practicing physicians. L'nder these conditions
calls upon the professional services of Dr. Ben-
nett became so frequent and insistent that he was
constrained to remove to the city of Clark and
establish himself in practice, and here he con-
tinued, having built up a large and represent-
ative business as a physician and surgeon, until
his death, April 16. IQ04. He had been confined
to his home about a week with a complication
of diseases brought on by overwork, though the
direct cause of death was heart failure. In
politics the Doctor ever gave an uncompromising
allegiance to the Republican ])arty. and he re-
called to the writer the fact that when a boy of
thirteen years, at the time of the candidacy of
General John C. Fremont, the first presidential
nominee of the party, he was most enthusiastic
in his youthful enthusiasm for the newly or-
ganized party. He held various village and
school offices after coming to South Dakota, and
in 1892 was elected to represent the twenty-
ninth district in the state senate, and was chosen
as his own successor in 1894. In 1901. upon
the reorganization of the state militia, the Doc-
tor was commissioned assistant surgeon of the
Third Battalion of the First Regiment. South
Dakota National Guard, with rank of first lieu-
tenant, and about a year later he was appointed
surgeon general of the National Guard of the
state, with rank of colonel, and remained incum-
bent of this office. He was a member of the
!\Iasonic fraternity, with which he was identified
from 1885, and also of the Grand Army of the
Republic, and while a resident of Wisconsin he
was affiliated with the Temple of Honor, in
which he passed the various ofificial chairs. He
w-as a prominent and zealous member of the
Baptist church, as is his widow.

On the 17th of February. 1873. at Concord.
Jackson county, Michigan, was solemnized the
marriage of Dr. Bennett to Miss Floretta
Elizabeth Young, the eldest child of Andrew
Sproul Yoimg, who was a son of Andrew
Young. The Young family formerly lived
near \\'illiamstown. Alassachusetts, whence rep-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

resentatives removed to Bergen, Genesee county,
Xew York, in 1833, and from that locality
Andrew Young and his family removed to Con-
cord, Jackson county, Michigan, in 1855. The
maiden name of Mrs. Bennett's mother was
Elizabeth Lewellin, who was a daughter of Lewis
Lewellin. The Lewellin for Llewellyn, as the
name was originally spelled, according to the
\^'elsh form) family removed from Pennsyl-
vania to Genesee county. New York, in 1826.
Dr. and Mrs. Bennett have three children,
Henry Judson Bennett, D. D. S., who is engaged
in the practice of dentistry at Fond du Lac, Wis-
consin : Luella Elizabeth, who is m Clark, and
Mary, who died March 13, 1886. at the age of
thirteen months.

JOHX A. THRONSON is a native of Nor-
way, where he was born on Christmas day. 1857,
being a son of .\ndrew and .\guette Thompson,
both of whom live with their daughter. Mrs. E.
O. Eggen, near Toronto, Deuel county. South
Dakota. They emigrated from Norway to Amer-
ica in the spring of 1859 and located in LaCrosse
county, Wisconsin, in which state Mr. Thronson
was engaged in agricultural pursuits for many
years, meeting with success in reward of his un-
tiring industry. He is a Republican in politics
and both he and his wife are devoted members
of the Lutheran church.

The subject of this sketch was a child of about
two years at the time of his parents" immigration
to America, and he was reared to manhood in
La Crosse and Trempealeau counties, Wisconsin,
where he duly availed himself of the advantages
afforded by the public schools. He there con-
tinued to assist his father in the work of the
homestead farm until he had attained his legal
majority, when he set forth to seek his fortunes
in the west, arriving in Deuel county. South Da-
kota, on the 7th of December, 1878. For the first
year he was employed in a general store at Gary,
and he then took up one hundred and sixty acres
of government land near the present village of
Toronto, this coimtv, and was there engaged in
farming until the summer of 1885. He still owns

this property, having developed the same into one
of the valuable farms of tlie county. At the time
noted he became county auditor of Deuel county,
the territorial legislature having created the of-
fice during its session in the preceding winter,
and he continued in tenure of this position until
March, 1893, by successive elections, having thus
served under both the territorial and state
regimes. In March, 1892, upon the organization
of the Farmers' State Bank of Clear Lake, Mr.
Thronson was chosen cashier of the same. In
1902 the institution was reorganized as the First
National Bank and he was retained in the office of
cashier, of which he is incumbent at the present
time.

]\Ir. Thronson is known as a progressive and
public-spirited citizen, and has ever stood ready
to lend his aid and influence in support of all
worthy measures advanced for the general good,
while in politics he is an uncompromising Repub-
lican. Both he and his wife are active and valued
members of the Lutheran church.

On the 26th of June, 1891, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Thronson to Miss Clara J. Pet-
erson, who was born in Clayton county, Iowa,
being a daughter of Thomas C. and Rachel Peter-
son, who are now living at Brandt, Deuel county,
South Dakota. ;\Ir. and Mrs. Thronson have
one daughter. Norma E.

EAIIL A. SY\'ERSO.\', who is president of
the Farmers and Citizens' Bank, at Bryant,
Hamlin county, was born in Fredrikstad, Nor-
way, on the 20th of September, 1869, being a
son of Peter and Anna M. Syverson, who emi-
grated to America in 1872, locating in the state
of Wisconsin, where the father engaged in the
work of his trade, that of blacksmith. They
are now living in Bryant, South Dakota. When
the subject was but nine years of age he left
home, his parents at the time being residents of
Crawford county, Wisconsin, and started with
a party of strangers for the Black Hills, arriv-
ing in Deadwood, South Dakota, in May, 1879.
He remained in that section until the spring of
1882, at which time he returned to the home

1526

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of his parents, in Wisconsin, where he remained
until 1887, when he returned to South Dakota
and located in Kingsbury county. He had in
the meanwhile attended the public schools as op-
portunity offered, having been a student in the
high school at DeSmet, this state, in 1888. He
had previously to this been successfully engaged
in school teaching for two years, and in 1889 he
entered the Northern Indiana Xormal School
and Business College, at Valparaiso, Indiana,
where he took a commercial course and was
graduated as a member of the class of 1890. He
then returned to South Dakota and located in
Bryant, whore he secured a position as book-
keeper in the Merchants' Bank, being but twenty
years of age at the time. Two years later he
was elected cashier and in 1900, at the age of
thirty, he became president of the Farmers and
Citizens' Bank of Bryant, South Dakota, of
which position he is still incimibent. Mr. Sy-
verson is a Republican in his political proclivi-
ties, and he served as first lieutenant of Company
<"t, First Regiment, South Dakota National
(~iuard, from 1894 until 1898, at Bryant. He
has been a member of the Lutheran church for
the past nineteen years.

In the city of Brookings, this .state, on the
6th of August, 1892, Mr. Syverson was united
in marriage to Miss Inga O. Kragh, and they
have two children, Ernest P., who was born June
3, 1893. ^"fl -Mice M., who was born October 20,
1895-^

THOMAS JAMES LAW, the able and pop-
ular young state's attorney of Deuel county, was
born in the city of Chicago, Illinois, on the 17th
of January, 1870, and is a son of Thomas J. and
Josephine (Stanley) Law, the former of whom
was born in the dominion of Canada and the
latter in Wisconsin. The paternal grandfather
of the subject came from the north of Ireland
to America and settled in the province of On-
tario, Canada, where he married, his wife being
a native of that section. The maternal grand-
father was ;i native of New York and a descend- i
ant of stanch old New England stock, while his |

wife was of German extraction and was likewise
born in the old Empire state. When the subject
was a child of two years his parents removed to
Lafaj'ette county. Wisconsin, where his father en-
gaged in the practice of law, and the latter and
his wife now reside in Shullsburg, Wisconsin.
After completing the curriculum of the high
school in Shullsburg, Lafayette county, Wiscon-
sin, in which he was graduated as a member of
the class of 1887. Mr. Shaw entered the law de-
partment of the L'niversity of Wisconsin, at
Madison, where he completed the prescribed
course and was graduated on the ist of July,
1 89 1, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws,
while he was also admitted to the bar of the state.
On the 28th of the following October he located
at Clear Lake, the judicial center of Deuel
county. South Dakota, where he has since been
engaged in the practice of his profession and
where he has gained prestige as an able trial law-
yer and counselor, while he has proved a n»st ef-
ficient and discriminating public prosecutor. He
is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies
of the Republican party and has been a zealous
worker in its local ranks. In 1894 he was
elected state's attorney of Deuel county and was
chosen as his own successor in 1896. while in
1900 he was again elected to this office, as was
he also in 1902, his second term expiring Jan-
uary I. 1905. In 1891 Mr. Law was raised to
the sublime degree of Master Mason in Amicitia
Lodge, No. 25, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons, at Shullsburg, Wisconsin, and he was
one of the charter members of Phoenix Lodge,
No. 129, of Clear Lake, with which he is still af-
filiated. He is also a charter member of Clear
Lake Camp, No. 1981, IModern Woodmen of
America, and of Watertown Lodge, No. 838,
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, at
Watertown, this state.

On the loth of October, 1894, Mr. Law was
united in marriage to Miss Ethel M. Roberts,
who was born at Emsdale, province of Ontario,
Canada, .on the 8th of September, 1877, being a
daughter of William and Elizabeth Roberts, both
of whom are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Law
have two children, Elsie M. and Stanlev R.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

JOHN O. JOHNSON, a member of the well-
known and popular mercantile firm of Johnson
Brothers, who have a well-equipped establish-
ment in the village of Westerville, is a native of
Illinois, having been born in Leland. LaSalle
county, on the 25th of April, 1866, and being a
son of Jacob and Mary Johnson, both of whom
were born and reared in Norway, where their
marriage was solemnized, and where the father
followed the trade of carpenter until 1865. when
he left the fair Norseland and immigrated with
his family to America, and located in Leland.
Illinois, where he was engaged in wagonmaking
until 1869, when he came to the territory of Da-
kota, making the trip through from Iowa with a
horse-team and wagon, with which he transported
his family and their few necessarv household ef-
fects. He became one of the first settlers in Clay
count}-, where he took up four hundred and
eighty acres of government land, upon which he
erected a log house, and at once began the work
of breaking ground and otherwise improving- his
pioneer farm. He later sold one hundred and
sixty acres, retaining the balance for a number of
years, after which he sold out and purchased
other land in the county, thereafter making sev-
eral other transactions of like order. The parents
are both devoted members of the Lutheran
church, and the father is a stanch advocate of the
principles of the Republican party. They became
the parents of ten children, concerning whom we
incorporate the following data: John Oi., subject
of this sketch, is the eldest : Lavina, who became
the wife of Thomas Sands, is dead ; Martha is the
wife of George Cleveland ; Jacob is engaged in
the shoe business at Canton, this state; Richard
is associated in business with the subject, in
Westerville ; Isaac is a resident of Idaho ; Domin-
icus resides in Vermillion, this state; Joseph has
the management of the parental farm ; Mary is
married : and Ella died at the age of four years.
The children were afiforded the best possible ed-
ucational advantages, all having attended the
public schools, while Richard was for some time
a student in the State University, at Vermillion.

The subject of this review was a child of
^h'■ce rears at the time of his parents' removal

from Illinois to what is now South Dal<ota, and
he has thus, in a literal sense "grown up with
the country." He attended the common schools,
in the meantime lending his aid in the reclama-
tion and improvement of the home farm, and he
continued to be thus associated with his father
until he reached his legaF majority, when he initi-
ated his independent career, purchasing a farm of
one hundred and twenty acres, which formed the
nucleus of his present valuable landed estate,
which comprises three hundred and sixty acres,
all of which is under effective cultivation, while
lie is extensively engaged in diversified agri-
culture and in the raising of high-grade stock.
In due time he erected on his ranch a fine modem
residence, and all other permanent improvements
are in harmony therewith. His place is located
contiguous to the village of Westerville, and he
continues to reside on the farm, giving a general
supervision to its operation, in connection with
his mercantile interests. In the autumn of 1893
Mr. Johnson purchased of T. J. Wester his
mercantile business in Westerville, and he indi-
vidually carried on the enterprise until 1897.
when he admitted his brother Richard to partner-
ship, the latter purchasing a half interest, and
the business has since been conducted under the
firm title of Johnson Brothers. Soon after the
formation of this partnership the brothers erected
their present commodious store, sixty by twenty-
four feet in dimensions, while in connection they
also have a large warehouse. Thev handle a
general stock of merchandise, including dry
goods, clothing, boots and shoes, groceries, etc.,
and also hardware, and farming implements and
machinery, while they are also extensive buyers
and shippers of grain and live stock. Their
transactions in the year 1902 reached the notable
aggregate of twenty-five thousand dollars, and
they carry a stock valued at an average of ten
thousand dollars, while it is needless to say,
their trade is well established and prosperous,
being derived from the wide radius of country
tributary to the town. In politics Mr. Johnson is
a stalwart Republican and takes a loyal interest
in public affairs of local order, though he has
never desired official preferment. He and his

1528

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

wife are members of the Lutheran church. On
the 22d of October, 1891, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Johnson to Miss Laura
Lund, a daughter of Hans Lund, of Dixon
county, Nebraska, where he is a prominent
farmer. Of this union have been born four
children, namely : Mabel, Harry, Sherman and
Jessie.

WILSON WISE, one of the honored pio-
neers of Sanborn county, was bom in Clearfield
county, Pennsylvania, on the 19th of November,
1833, being a son of Samuel and Phoebe (Mer-
riman) Wise, both of whom were also natives
of the Keystone state, where the former was
born in 1808. and the latter in 1810. Of their
eleven children seven are still living. The father
of the subject was engaged in farming in Penn-
sylvania until the fall of 1855, when he removed
with his family to Illinois, where he remained
two years, and then continued his way westward
into Winneshiek county, Iowa, where he took up
government land and developed a good farm
continuing to reside there until his death, which
occurred in December, 1879, his devoted wife en-
tering into eternal rest in 1882. He was first a
Whig and later a Republican in politics, and
both he and his wife were consistent members of
the Methodist Episcopal church.

The subject of this sketch received his early
education in the common schools of Pennsylva-
nia, and was about twenty-two years of age at
the time when he accompanied his parents on
their emigration to Illinois, while later he was
associated with his father in the development of
the pioneer farm in Iowa. In that state he con-
tinued to follow agricultural pursuits until 1879.
when he came to what is now the state of South
Dakota, arriving in Sanborn county on the loth
of May, and here taking up a homestead claim
of one hundred and sixty acres, which he still
owns, having made substantial improvements on
the same and brought it under effective cultiva-
tion, though he had to encounter his full quota
of hardships and discouragements in the earlv
days. His confidence in the future prestige of

the state never wavered, however, and he does
not regret having cast in his lot with South Da-
kota. Mr. Wise has ever been a stanch advo-
cate of the principles of the Republican party,
and has done effective work in its cause. In
1900 he was elected county treasurer, being cho-
sen as his own successor in 1902, so that he is now
serving his second term. He became treasurer
of his school district at the time of its organiza-
tion and retained this office for ten years, ever
showing a deep interest in educational affairs
and all else that makes for die well-being of the
community. In 1886 he was a member of the ter-
ritorial legislature, as a representative of the
eighth district. He and his wife are. devoted
members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

In 1859 M*"- Wise was united in marriage to
Miss Nancy H. Drake, and they have six children,
all of whom have been afforded good educational
advantages, and of them we enter a brief record,
as follows : Samuel W. is a resident of Graceville,
Minnesota; Laura M. is the wife of George C.
Terwilliger, a hardware merchant of Wayne, Ne-
braska; Flora A. is the wife of William Robin-
son, a carpenter and contractor of Artesian,
South Dakota ; Flora A. is the widow of Angus
McGilvery, who was a surveyor by profession,
and who did much government work through the
northwest, his death occurring in Helena, Mon-
tana, while his widow now resides in Artesian,
South Dakota ; Charles E., who married Miss
Lena Denton, is a successful farmer of Sanborn
county. South Dakota; Clarence remains at the
parental home, as does also Sidney A.

JOHN S. FRAZEE, A. M., B. D., president
of the State Normal Scliool at Springfield. Bon
Homme county, is a native of the old Buckeye
state, having been born in Neville, Clermont
county, Ohio, and being a son of Richard and
Docia (Boggess) Frazee, the former having been
a jeweler and civil engineer by avocation. The
subject of this review passed his boyhood days
in Ohio, and secured his preliminary educational
discipline in the public schools, while in 1871 he
was matriculated in the State Universitv of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1529

Iowa, where he completed the classical course and
was graduated as a member of the class of 1878,
receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts, while
later his alma mater conferred upon him the de-
gree of Master of Arts. He also received from
the same institution the degree of Bachelor of
Didactics. Mr. Frazee began teaching in his youth
and has been identified with educational work to
a greater or less extent ever since. He was for
several years professor of mathematics at the
State University at Vermillion. He was called
to his present position in 1897 and has accom-
plished much for the advancement of the inter-
ests of the school of which he is the executive
head, amplifying and systematizing its work and
showing himself to be imbued with a spirit of ut-
most loyalty and enthusiasm, so that he natur-
ally gains the earnest co-operation of those who
labor under his direction, infuses vigor and efifec-
tiveness into all departments of the school work.
He is honored by both teachers and students, has
the faculty of gaining confidence and is a man
of scholarly attainments and much initiative
force, so that he is especially well qualified for the
important office which he holds. Fraternally he
is identified with the Masonic order, the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern
Woodmen of America.

In 1882 Professor Frazee was united in mar-
riage to Miss Margaret Emma Rankin, who is
likewise a graduate of the Iowa State Univer-
sity.

HON. LORING E. GAFFY, who is presid-
ing with marked ability on the bench of the sixth
judicial circuit, is a native of the old Empire
state of the Union, having been born in Clinton
county, New York, on the 12th of January, 1850,
and being a son of James and Nancy (Dale)
Gaffy, who removed to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin,
when he was five years of age. He there attend-
ed the public schools, completing the curriculum
of the high school and also taking a course in a
local commercial college. In 1869, when nineteen
years of age, he took up the- study of the law un-
der the direction of Judge Derry, a distinguished

legist and jurist of Fond du Lac, prosecuting his
technical reading for two years under this able
preceptor, and being admitted to the bar in 1871,
in which year he located in Grand Island, Ne-
braska, where he has successfully engaged in
practice until 1877. He then came to the terri-
tory of Dakota and became one of the early law
practitioners of the Black Hills district, having
taken up his residence in Deadwood, where he
continued to follow the work of his profession un-
til 1884, when he came to Pierre, which has ever
since been the scene of his professional endeav-
ors, while he has gained prestige as one of the
most able lawyers of this section of the state and
as a jurist of great discrimination and unrivaled
technical acumen. In 1888 he was elected state's
attorney of Hughes county, and was re-elected
in 1890, having thus been incumbent of this office
at the time when South Dakota was admitted to
the Union, and having made a most creditable
record as a public prosecutor. In January, 1894,
he was appointed to the bench of the sixth judi-
cial circuit of the state, and at the expiration of
his term, in 1898, was elected to succeed himself,
while in 1902 he was again elected to the dignified
office, so that he is now serving his third term
on the bench. The Judge is one of the leaders
of the Republican party in the state, being promi-
nent in its councils. Fraternally he is identified
with the Masonic order and Knights of Pythias.
On March 8, 1879, Judge Gaffy married Miss
Fannie B. Price, who died October 8. 1897. On
the 14th of February, 1900, he was united in mar-
riage to Miss Adelaide Warwick, of Grand
Island, Nebraska. They have an adopted son,
Floyd W., who is nineteen years of age at the
time of this writing and who is attending a com-
mercial college in the city of Aberdeen, this
state.

THOMAS P. LEMMON, one of the promi-
nent and influential farmers and stock growers
of Day county, was born in Millersburg, Holmes
county, Ohio, on the ist of March, 1853, and is
a son of Robert and Elizabeth (Hull) Lemmon,
the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania.

153°

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

and the latter in Connecticut. In 1857 the pa-
rents of the subject removed from the old Buck-
eye state to Iowa and located in Tama county,
where the father devoted the remainder of his
life to farming. The subject availed himself of
the advantages afforded in the public schools of
Iowa, and suplemented this discipline by a course
of study in a commercial college at Davenport,
that state. In February, 1883. he was married,
and on the first of the following April he came to
what is now the state of South Dakota, taking up
a homestead claim in Day county and thus be-
coming one of the pioneers of this part of the
state. He reclaimed his land and added to the
area of his estate from time to time, while it is
pleasing to record that he still resides on the
claim which he originally secured, the farm be-
ing one of the best improved and most attractive
in the county, while a full measure of success has
attended Mr. Lemmon's efforts in connection
with farming and stock growing. In politics he
acords a stanch allegiance to the Democratic
party, and both he and his wife are members of
the Baptist church, while he is identified with the
]\Iasonic fraternity and the Ancient Order of
United Workmen.

On the 20th of February, 1883, IMr. Lemmon
was united in marriage to ]\Iiss Mary Gushing,
who was born in the state of New Hampshire, be-
ing a daughter of Enoch and Sharlottie Gushing.
Mr. and Mrs. Lemmon have seven living children,
namely : Fredrick E., Nettie, Mabel, Elizabeth,
Annie, May and Robert. Their son Fred E. is
emplo)'ed as caghier in the Bank of Pierpont, and
their daughter Nettie for the past year has had
charge of the primary department in the Pierpont
public schools.

HOMER S. SMYTHE. one of the highly
honored citizens of Sanborn county, where he i^
at present serving as deputy county treasurer,
js a native of the old Keystone state of the Union,
having been born in Genter county, Pennsylvania,
on the iith of I'Vbruary, 1843, and being a son
nf William and .Margaret (Watson) Smythe, the
former of whom was born in Dauphin county,

Pennsylvania, in 1799, while the latter was born
in Glinton county, that state, in 1804. The father
of the subject received a collegiate education
and was a man of marked ability, having been
a surveyor by profession and having also been
identified with agricultural pursuits. He re-
moved with his family to Illinois in 1863, and
there passed the remainder of his long and use-
ful life, his death occurring in the city of Free-
port, in 1880, while he had there lived retired for
a number of years. His devoted wife passed
away in 1856, and he remarried in 1858, his sec-
ond wife dying in Freeport in 1887. Of their
seven children four are living, the subject of this
sketch being the only representative of the fam-
ily in South Dakota. William Smythe was in
early life a supporter of the Whig party, but
transferred his allegiance to the Republican
party at the time of its organization and ever af-
terward was a stalwart advocate of its principles.
He and his wife were devoted members of the
Presbyterian church, in which he served as elder
for a half century. Fraternally he was identified
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Homer S. Smythe, the immediate subject of
this sketch, received his preliminary educational
discipline in the common schools of Pennsylva-
nia. He enlisted as a private in Gompany E,
Forty-ninth Pennsylvania Infantry Volunteers, on
August 14, 1861, and was discharged December
21. 1864, by reason of expiration of time of serv-
ice. Was wounded at Spottsylvania Gourt House,
\lrginia. May 10, 1864. He was twenty years
of age at the time of the family removal to Illi-
nois, and there continued to maintain his home,
devoting his attention to the machinist's trade,
until 1883, when he came to Sanborn county,
South Dakota, where he took up a half section of
government land, which he still owns, having
made good improvements on the place, of which
fifty-seven acres are under cultivation, while the
remainder is used in connection with the raising
of live stock. Mr. Smythe has been a prominent
figure in local affairs of a public nature since
coming to this county, and has held official pre-
ferment much of the time, having served four
years as register of deeds, while for the past five

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1531

years he has been deputy county treasurer. He
is a member of the Presbyterian church, as is also
Mrs. Smythe. and fraternally is identified with
the Masonic order. In politics he gives an un-
swerving support to the Republican party and its
principles.

On the 2ist of December. 1880. .Mr. Snnthe
was married to Mrs. Julia (Rodman) Smythe.
widow of W. R. Smythe, of Tiffin, Ohio, and a
daughter of Samuel and Mary (Madden) Rod-
man, of Center county, Pennsylvania, in which
state she was born January i, 1843. No children
have been born of this union, but Mrs. Smythe
has two children by her first marriage : William
R. who is a civil engineer at Canon City, Colo-
rado, and Leon L., who is a clergyman of the
Presbyterian church and now pastor of the
church at Volga, Brookings county, this state.

JAMES ERNEST PLATT, cashier of the
Security Bank of Clark, was born in Decatur,
New York, on the nth of March, 1866. and is
a son of Rev. James Nelson Piatt and Laura
(Sibley) Piatt, both of whom were likewise born
in the old Empire state. The father of the sub-
ject, who is now president of the Security Bank
of Clark, which was organized in 1888. came to
South Dakota in 1884, having been for twenty
years previously a member of the L'pper Iowa
Methodist Episcopal conference. The subject
of this sketch was graduated in the high school
at Manchester, Iowa, as a member of the class of
1 88 1, under Superintendent C. D. Clark, now
United States senator from Wyoming. There-
after he continued his studies in Cornell College,
at ]\Iount A'ernon, Iowa: the LTpper Iowa Uni-
versity, at Fayette ; and in 1884 he was graduated
in Epworth Seminary, at Epworth, Iowa, having
taken a three-years classical course. During his
vacations in his early youth he worked on various
farms, but early manifested a desire to secure a
position in a bank. After his graduation, when
seventeen years of age, he came to Clark, South
Dakota, in 1884, and secured a clerical position in
the banking establishment of D. Wayne & Com-
pany, who later disposed of their interests in the

line to G. C. Griffin, who organized the bank of
Clark, Mr. Piatt remaining with the new institu-
tion about a year, at the expiration of which he
engaged in the real-estate and loan business in
partnership with his father, and in September,
1888, they organized the Security Bank of Clark,
of which he has since been cashier, showing dis-
tinctive ability in the handling of the afifairs of
the institution, which is one of the solid and pop-
ular banking concerns of the state. He has large
real-estate holdings in the town and county ; is
treasurer of the Fraternity Gold Mining and
Ivlilling Company, operating- in the Black Hills,
with headquarters at Hill City, and he has been
treasurer of the Clark Co-Operative Creamery
Company since its organization, in 1898. He was
elected cashier of the Security Bank when but
twenty years of age, and has been prominently
concerned in banking in Clark for a full score
of years. In politics Mr. Piatt is a stalwart Re-
publican, taking an active interest in forwarding
the party cause and having been a delegate to
nearly all the state conventions of his party since
the admission of South Dakota to the Union. He
was for five years incumbent of the dual office of
clerk and treasurer of the city of Qark, and for
two years gave effective service as its mayor, his
administration being marked by a progressive
and business-like policy. In 1902 he was ap-
pointed major and paymaster of the South Da-
kota National Guard, his commission to extend
over a period of five years. In 1895 he was
elected treasurer of the state board of agriculture,
of which office he has since remained in tenure.
Fraternally he is identified with Clark Lodge,
No. 42, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of
which he is past worshipful master and present
secretary; Olivet Chapter, No. 14, Royal Arch
Masons; Watertown Commandery, No. 7,
Knights Templar ; .Aberdeen Consistory, .Ancient
Accepted Scottish Rite, in which he attained to
the thirty-second degree in January, 1902; El
Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the No-
bles of the Mystic Shrine, at Sioux Falls ; Huron
Lodge, No. 144, Benevolent and Protective Or-
der of Elks ; El Kim Ran Temple, Dramatic Or-
der of the Knights of Khorassan, at Watertown ;

1 532

I-IISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

and Myrtle Lodge, No. 43, Knights of Pythias,
at Clark. In 1899- 1900 he was grand chancellor
of the state grand lodge of the last mentioned
order, and in 1903 he was elected supreme rep-
resentative of the order for South Dakota, being
a delegate to the general assembly of the same
in Louisville, Kentucky, in August, 1904.

On the 19th of June, in the First Methodist
Episcopal church of the city of Chicago, was sol-
emnized the marriage of Mr. Piatt to Miss Kath-
arine A. Boyle, formerly of Jamestown, North
Dakota, but a teacher in the public 'schools of
Clark for a few years prior to her marriage.

FRANK D. GOODRICH, one of the repre-
sentative citizens and merchants of Cavour,
Beadle county, is a native of the old Keystone
state of the LTnion, having been born in Dundaff,
Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, on the igth
of April, 1850. He is a son of Dr. Ira and
Margaret Goodrich, the former of whom was
horn in Pennsylvania, of stanch English lineage,
his parents having been native of Connecticut
and representatives of old and honored colonial
families. The mother of the subject was born in
Kinderhook, New York, and was of Holland
Dutch ancestry. Dr. Goodrich was graduated in
Geneva Medical College, in the state of New
York, and was a man of high professional at-
tainments. He was engaged in practice in Penn-
sylvania for a number of years and finally re-
moved thence to Delavan, Wisconsin, in which
.state both he and his wife passed the remainder
of their lives.

The subject of this review secured his early
educational discipline in the public schools of
Delavan. Wisconsin, and at the age of sixteen
years began clerking in a local mercantile estab-
lishment. At the age of nineteen he entered
upon an apprenticeship at the blacksmith trade,
to which he devoted his attention for a long term
of years, having owned and operated a shop of
his own in Delavan, Wisconsin, for seven years
prior to coming to the present state of South
Dakota as a pioneer. He came to Beadle
county in 18S3 and took up government land.

being successfully engaged in farming and stock
growing for the ensuing fourteen years, while
for six years he purchased wheat for a local
elevator company. For two years he was
stationed on the Yankton Indian reservation, be-
mg industrial teacher in the school at that agency
and also directing the farming operations of the
Indians. In 1901 he located in Cavour and estab-
lished his present flourishing business, his store
having a large and complete stock of general
merchandise, while his trade extends throughout
the territory tributary to the thriving town. In
politics he is an uncompromising advocate of the
principles of the Republican party, and his in-
terest in the promotion of its cause has been un-
flagging.

On the 22d of October, 1874, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Goodrich to Miss Kate A.
Hewes, who was born near Racine, Wisconsin, in
1854, being a daughter of George and Mary
Hewes. Mr. and Mrs. Goodrich have three chil-
dren. Florence H., Ella M. and Marv.

JAMES MONTGOMERY JOHNSTON,
one of the representative citizens of Clark
county, was born at Fligh Point, Moniteau
county, Missouri, on the 14th of June, 1867, be-
ing a son of Francis and Sarah A. (Montgom-
ery) Johnston, the ancestery in both lines traced
back to stanch old Scotch Presbyterian stock,
though the subject has no authentic genealogical
record of either family. The father of the sub-
ject was engaged in farming in Missouri and
there died when the latter was a child of but
six years, being survived by his widow and six
children, while his financial circumstances were
such that his family were left in somewhat
straitened circumstances. The parents were
very strict Presbyterians and reared their chil-
dren under the most careful and punctilious dis-
cipline, the home environment being of the best
in this regard. Mr. Johnston early began to
assume his share of responsibility, being taught ,
by his devoted mother to be honest and in-
dustrious, and assisting as he could in the work
of the home farm. The father died in 1873 and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[533

Mr. Johnston thereafter continued to reside on
the old homestead with his mother until he had
attained the age of fifteen years, and in the
meanwhile he attended the local schools. His
mother then sold the Missouri farm and in the
spring of 1883 immigrated with her children to
South Dakota and located in Maydell township,
Clark county, where she and her son and daugh-
ter elder than our subject filed entry on gov-
ernment land. Here Mr. Johnston continued to
assist in the farm work and to attend the public
schools as opportunity afforded, while he was
later able to supplement this discipline by one
year's course of study in the college at Redfiield,
Spink county. In the intervening years he has
acquired a good farm of six hundred and forty
acres in Maydell township, this county, and he
has been duly prosperous in connection with the
development of the agricultural and stock-grow-
ing resources of this section of the state. He has
made excellent improvements on his place, and
his landed estate may be approximately valued
at twelve thousand dollars.

In politics Mr. Johnston has ever been a
stanch adherent of the Republican party, having
cast his first presidential vote in support of
Benjamin Harrison after the admission of South
Dakota to the Union. He has always taken an
active part in the supporting of such reform
measures as have promised to result in the moral
and social good of the community, and has been
specially active in the temperance cause. In the
autumn of 1890 he was elected to the state legis-
lature, and was chosen as his own successor in
November, 1902, thus serving as a member of
the seventh and eighth general assemblies, while
in the latter he was chairman of the house com-
mittee on engrossed and enrolled bills. On the
23d of June, 1894, Mr. Johnston became a mem-
ber of the Modern Woodmen of America, and in
the same has held the office of camp clerk and
deputy head consul, while in the latter capacity
he had charge of the establishment of twenty-five
local camps in the state, and was a delegate from
South Dakota to the meeting of the head camp,
in St. Paul, Minnesota, in June. 1901. He is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church and

has held several positions of trust in connection
with church affairs, having been twice a lay del-
egate to the conference and being a member of
the board of trustees of the local church. He is
not married. -

ORATOR HEXRY LaCRAI' T, the honored
and popular postmaster of Clark, was born in
Farmington, Washington county, Wisconsin, on
the 13th of August, 1850, and is a son of John
and Mary E. (Klice) LaCraft, both of whom
were born and reared in Ashtabula county,
Ohio, being representatives of pioneer families
of the old Buckeye state and of French and Puri-
tan lineage respectively. The maiden name of
the maternal grandmother of the subject was
Emily Kendall, and she was a direct descendant
of the progenitors of that name who came to
America in the Mayflower, while she was a niece
of Amos Kendall, who was at one time post-
master general of the United States. The sub-
ject of this review secured his educational dis-
cipline in the public schools of Wisconsin, com-
pleting a course in the high school. From 1871
to 1873 he was engaged in farming in the vicinity
of Scott, Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, in the
meanwhile teaching school during the winter
months. In 1883 he came to Clark, South Da-
kota, where he engaged in the general merchan-
dise business, having been one of the first set-
tlers in the town, and he continued to be suc-
cessfully identified with his line of enterprise
until 1 89 1, since which time he has been con-
nected with the executive affairs of the local
postofifice, while he also gives his attention to
his farming interests, having a well-improved
ranch of three hundred and twenty acres ten
miles southeast of his home city. In politics he is
a stalwart advocate of the principles and policies
of the Republican party, and he has served in
nearly a consecutive way as justice of the peace
since 1875, while he has been a member of the
board of education since 1892 and its president
for the past four years. He served as postmaster
from 1893 to 1896, and was thereafter deputy,
while later he was again appointed postmaster

1534

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

and is still incumbent of the office. He served
as a member of the state senate in 1900 and is
also a member of that body at the time of this
writing, 1904. He is identified with the Masonic
fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, the Knights of Pythias, the Ancient Order
of United Workmen, the Degree of Honor, the
Knights of the Maccabees and the :\Iodern
Brotherhood of America.

On the 16th of April, 1873, -Nfr. LaCraft was
united in marriage to Miss Charlotte R. Havi-
land, who was born in Scott, Sheboygan comity,
Wisconsin, on the 20th of July, 1852, and whose
death occurred on the 17th of July, 1883. She
was a daughter of Edgar and Susan Haviland,
and of her two sons one is living — William C,
who was born March i. 187^1, and who is now en-
gaged in the lumber business in Clark. O.
Merton, who was born on the 4th of January,
1878, died on the 21st of March, 1898. On the
2Sth of February, 1885, Mr. LaCraft consum-
mated a second marriage, being then united to
Miss Clara M. Smith, who was born on the 30th
of July, 1864, being a daughter of Charles and
Margaret Smith. Of the children of this union
we enter the following data : Walter S. was born
August 12. 1886; Delmar B. was born September
19, 1889. and died on the 3d of December, 1892:
Osnier H. was born May 16. 1893; Lynn K.,
October 3, 189s: and Irma R., September 17,
1897.

ALTON E. STEERE, one of the prominent
business men and honored citizens of Goodwin,
Deuel county, was born in Orland, Steuben
county. Indiana, on the 19th of April, 1857. and
is a son of Dr. Warren B. and Ellen (Emens)
Steere, the former of whom was^born in Hart-
wick, New York, and the latter in Lockport, that
state, whence they removed to Indiana in an early
day, the father having been an able physician and
surgeon, while for a time lie was professor of
materia medica in a college at Des Moines, Iowa,,
he having died in the state of Iowa, March i,
1900. When the subject was about five years of
age his parents removed to Iowa and located in

Dewitt, Clinton county, where he attended the
public schools until within a year of his com-
pleting a course in the high school, when he
withdrew and began clerking in a local grocery
store, in order to provide for his own mainte-
nance. He was a great reader and invested his
surplus earnings largely in good books, while he
was fond of out-of-door sports and never had
any predilection for such vices as gambling or
the use of intoxicating liquors, his ambitions
and ideals being too high to permit him to drift
into such indulgences. In the spring of 1876 he
left Dewitt and went to Dodge Center, Minne-
sota, where he remained two years, clerking for a
portion of the time and also spending several
months in the study of dentistry in a local office.
In the spring of 1878 he came to South Dakota,
where he has since inaintained his home, having
located in Goodwin, where he has remained. Hts
health was much impaired for a number of years,
owing to the results of a sunstroke which he re-
ceived in June, 1878, and to a severe hemor-
rhage of the lungs in the winter of 1880, caused
by a strain which ruptured an artery. He has
Ijeen fortunate in recovering completely from
both of these disorders. In December, 1889. Mr.
Steere entered into partnership with H. B. \'eor-
husen and engaged in the general merchandise
business in Goodwin, their cash capital being
represented in the sum of three hundred dollars,
so that they were compelled to borrow money to
initiate the enterprise. Eleven months after the
business had been established the father of our
subject furnished him with the capital to pur-
chase his partner's interest, and he has since con-
tinued the enterprise individually, after having re-
paid his father, built up an excellent trade and
carries a comprehensive stock, while he retains
the unqualified esteem and confidence of all who
know him. For the past twelve years he has
served as postmaster of the town, save for an
interval of about eighteen months under the ad-
ministration of President Cleveland, when he
was retired. He has also served as justice of the
peace and town clerk, and as treasurer of the
Republican central committee of the county, hav-
ing no desire for further official preferment, as

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

he prefers to give his time and attention to his
private affairs. He is an uncompromising Re-
publican and is well fortified in his convictions
as to matters of public policy, believing that the
principles of the grand and well-tried old Repub-
lican part)' are best adapted to securing the
greatest good to the greatest number in govern-
mental affairs, while the prosperity of his coun-
try lies very close to his heart. He is a member
of the Modern Woodmen of .America and the In-
dependent Order of Good Templars, having been
tJie first deputy or chief templar in the latter in
Goodwill, nliile he was district secretary of the
order for several terms. He and his wife are
prominent and valued members of the Baptist
church, and he is a member of the board of trus-
tees of the local organization of the same. He
has much musical taste and ability, playing a
number of instruments and being a member of
the choir of his church, while his wife is organist
of the same.

On the 8th of September, 1882, Mr. Steere
was united in marriage to ]Miss Nellie Smith, the
marriage being solemnized at Oakwood, Brook-
ings county, by Rev. Walter Ross. Mrs. Steere
was born at St. Giarles, ]\Iinnesota, her father
having been one of the first settlers in that lo-
cality, about a half century ago, while she and
her husband own nearly the entire interest in the
old homestead which her father took up as a
pre-emption claim in those early days of hard-
ship and privation. Mr. and Mrs. Steere have
two daughters : Fanny Estella, who was born
October 7, 1883, was married, on the 4th of No-
vember, 1903, to Perry C. Green, son of Hon.
David Green, of this county, who was formerly
a member of the state senate: and ^label Ellen,
who was born ^larch 22, 1890, is attending the
public schools of Goodwin.

WILLIA:\[ HEXRY RA.MSDELL, a suc-
cessful farmer in bloody county, was born in
Osage, Mitchell county, Iowa, on the 25th of De-
cember, 1863, and thus became a Christmas guest
in the household, though doubtless no one per-
sonally as appreciative of the great Christmas

anniversary as he has been in subsequent years.
He is a son of William ami Mary .V. Ramsdell,
the former of whom was born in the state of
New York and the latter in that of Michigan.
The father devoted his time principally to farm-
ing and stock raising and his death occurred in
the spring of 1896, while the mother now resides
at Flandreau. The subject was reared in Iowa
and secured his educational training in the pub-
lic schools of Osage. In 1885 he came to South
Dakota and took up his residence in Moody
county, where he bought land and Iiegan the in-
dependent life of a farmer and stock grower.
With the passing of the years prosperity has at-
tended him and he now has a good farm, im-
proved with substantial buildings, and showing
the unmistakable evidences of thrift and pros-
perity. In politics he gives his allegiance to the
Republican party, and fraternally he is affiliated
with the lodge of the .Ancient Order of United
Workmen in Flandreau, while he and his wife
are niciiibers of the ^Tethodist Episcopal church.
On the i8th of January, 1894, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Ramsdell to Miss Lulu J.
Roberts, who was born at Redwing, Goodhue
county, Minnesota, on the 2d of August, 1869,
being a daughter of Asahel D. and Eliza E.
Roberts. Mr. and Mrs. Ramsdell have four chil-
dren, namely : ^\'illiam Lester. Charles Stuart,
Eunice Madeline and Donnell Nixon.

JOHN O. ADAMS, one of the well-known
attonievs of Flandreau, Moody county, is a na-
tive of the Badger state, having been born in La-
favette county, Wisconsin, on the 8th of Novem-
ber, 1867, and being a son of \\'il!iam T. and
Clara (Blackstone) Adams, who are now both
living, both being of stanch English genealogy,
while both families have been established in
.America since the colonial epoch in our national
history. When the subject was eleven years of
age his parents removed to Franklin county,
Iowa, and there he was reared to maturity, se-
curing his early educational discipline in the pub-
lic schools, after which he was for three years a
student in the Iowa State Agricultural College,

1536

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

at Ames. He then entered the law department
of the Iowa State University, at Iowa City,
where he completed the prescribed technical
course and was graduated as a member of the
class of 1893, receiving the degree of Bachelor
of Laws and being admitted to the bar of that
state, as was he shortly afterward to that of
South Dakota, having taken up his residence in
Flandreau, on the 30th of August, 1893, and hav-
ing since been actively engaged in the practice of
his profession here. In 1894 he was elected
state's attorney of Moody county, and proved a
most careful and able prosecutor, a popular
recognition of this fact being given in his reten-
tion in this office for three terms. In 1903 he
was appointed deputy collector of internal rev-
enue, under Herman Ellerman, collector for this
district, and remained in tenure of this position
until July i, 1904. In politics he is a stalwart
advocate of the principles and policies for which
the Republican party stands sponser, and in a
fraternal way he is affiliated with the lodge,
chapter and commandery of the Masonic order in
his home city of Flandreau.

On the 28th of May, 1896, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Adams to Miss Cecilia F.
Pallansch, a daughter of Peter and Celena Pal-
lansch, well-known residents of Sioux Falls,
South Dakota. Of this union has been born one
child, Lillian Frances, the date of whose nativity
was June i. 1900.

JOEL FRY, who is now living practically re-
tired in the city of Sioux Falls, is one of the
sterling pioneers of the state, with whose in-
dustrial development he has been prominently
concerned, and the following brief record of his
interesting career will be read with pleasure by
his many friends. Mr. Frj' was born in Lower
Windsor township, York county, Pennsylvania,
on the 7th of December, 1832, being a son of
Frederick and Elizabeth (Tyson) Fry, the former
of whom devoted his life to agricultural pur-
suits. Martin Fry, the paternal great-grand-
father of our subject, came to America from
Switzerland in 1733, accompanied by his wife and

five children, and they settled in what is now
York county, Pennsylvania, with whose history
the name has been ever since identified. Martin
Fry, grandfather of the subject of this sketch,
was for four years a soldier in the Continental
line during the war of the Revolution. The ma-
ternal great-grandfather of Mr. Fry also came to
this country prior to the middle of the eighteenth
century.

Joel Fry was reared on the farm, attending
the district schools somewhat irregularly dur-
ing the winter terms, but finding the major por-
tion of his early discipline that involved in the
swinging of the scythe and grain cradle, follow-
ing the plow and performing the manifold other
duties in connection with the home farm. At
the age of eighteen years he entered upon an ap-
prenticeship at the carpenter trade, to which he
devoted his attention about twelve years. In the
spring of 1854 Mr. Fr>' removed from Pennsyl-
vania to Freeport, Stephenson county, Illinois,
where he purchased one-third interest in a sash,
door and blind factory and planing mill, the
venture proving successful until the interested
principles took stock in the company formed for
the building of the Racine & Mississippi River
Railroad, through which they lost' their entire
plant. In the spring of 1857 Mr. Fry removed
to W^aterloo, Iowa, where he was engaged in the
drug business until the following fall, when he
returned to Freeport, where he worked at his
trade until the summer of 1863, when he tendered
his services in defense of the Union, enlisting as
a member of Company D, Forty-sixth Illinois
Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until
the close of the war, being mustered out in Baton
Rouge, Louisiana, and receiving his honorable
discharge and his pay in Springfield, Illinois.
After the close of his military service Mr. Fry
removed to Boscobel, Grant county, Wisconsin,
in the spring of 1866, and there engaged in the
manufacturing of flour barrels, staves, etc., con-
tinuing the enterprise three years, the same then
proving a financial failure. On the 21st of
May, 1869, Mr. Fry arrived in Yankton, Da-
kota territory', and for the first six years he was
engaged in the work of his trade, as a carpenter

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[537

and builder, and since that time he has been
successfully engaged in farming and stock rais-
ing, owning a well-improved ranch of four hun-
dred and eighty acres, in Turner county, and
giving a general supervision to the same, though
he is now living practically retired from active
labor. In 1894 he took up his residence in Irene,
Turner county, and on the ist of July, 1903,
came with his family to Sioux Falls, where he
now maintains his home.

Mr. Fry has been a supporter of the Repub-
lican party from the time of its organization, and
lias voted for every one of its presidential can-
didates, casting his first vote for Fremont. He
served two years as a member of the village
council of Irene and has also been a school
officer, while in 1894 he was elected a repre-
sentative in the state legislature from Turner
county, serving through the assembly of 1895.
His religious faith is that of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, and fraternally he was fonnerly
affiliated in an active way with the Odd
Fellows and the Union League, having joined
the latter in 1861. He is also a member of Phil
Kearney Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at
Yankton.

In Freeport, Illinois, November 4, 1856. Mr.
Fry was married to Miss Elizabeth Forry, and
of their children we enter the following brief
record : Jemima Agnes was born April 20, 1858 ;
Alice Elizabeth, December 23, 1859; Gilmore
Grant, June 10, 1863; and Irene May, August
28, 1870. The youngest child was born in Yank-
ton county, this state, while the others are native
of Freeport, Illinois.

WILLIAM I. NOBLE, who is successfully
established in the real-estate and loan business
at Clear Lake, and is one of the representative
citizens of Deuel county, was born in the beauti-
ful little city of St. Thomas, province of Ontario,
Canada, on the ist of March, 1865, and is a
son of Elnathan and Mary (McBride) Noble,
toth of whom were likewise born and reared in
Ontario, while the latter met her death in a
railway accident at St. Thomas, in 1884. The

father of the subject was born near St. Thomas
and was there identified with the great, basic art
of agriculture until 1886, when he came to Clear
Lake, South Dakota, where his death occurred
in 1888, his remains being laid to rest beside
those of his loved and devoted wife, at St.
Thomas, Ontario. Isband Noble, the grand-
father of the subject, emigrated when a young
man from Massachusetts to Canada, in company
with the other members of the family, which was
early established in New England and which was
loyal to the British crown at the time of the Rev-
olution, the lineage being traced back to Scotch
derivation. The mother of the subject was a
daughter of Malcolm and Catherine (Campbell)
i^IcBride, who emigrated to Canada in early days
from Campbellford, Argyleshire, Scotland, set-
tling nine miles south of London, Ontario, in
Middlesex county, where they passed the residue
of their days.

William I. Noble received his early educa-
tional discipline in the public schools of Elgin
county, Ontario, and then attended the collegiate
institute in St. Thomas, where he completed the
classical course and then took up the matricula-
tion-work of the LTniversity of Toronto, where
he gave his attention to different courses, making
a speciality of mathematics. After the comple-
tion of his university work he decided to come to
South Dakota, the principal reason for taking this
action being that his health had become some-
what impaired. He came to this .state in March,
1886, and located in Deuel county, where he
gave his attention to farming for the fir.st four
j years, and thus fully recuperated his physical
energies. Thereafter he served two years as
deputy county treasurer, and since that time has
been engaged in the real-estate and loan business
in Clear Lake, having a wide circle of loyal
friends in this section of the state and being
known as a progressive young business man.

In politics Mr. Noble miaintains an inde-
pendent attitude, and his fraternal relations a'-e
here noted in somewhat of detail : Phoenix
Lodge, No. 129, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons, at Clear Lake ; Watertown Chapter,
Royal Arch Masons : Clear Lake Lodge, No. 97,

1538

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Ancient Order of United Workmen, and its
auxiliary, Hiawath Lodge, No. 83, Degree of
Honor; charter member of Qear Lake Lodge,
Xo. 144, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of
which lie is past noble grand ; Encampment No.
14, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Wa-
tertown ; charter member of the Patriarchs Mili-
tant, No. I , at Gar\' ; and New Century Lodge,
No. 81. Daughters of Rebekah.

On the i6th of February, 1886, Mr. Xoble
was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Cook,
of St. Thomas, Ontario, who died on the 20th of
December, 1897, of pulmonary tuberculosis, be-
ing survived by one son, Roy, who is eleven
}'ears of age at the time of this writing, in 1904.
She was a daughter of Ebenezer and Mary Cook,
of Springfield, Ontario. On the 26th of July,
1899, ]\lr. Noble married Miss Etta M. Liscomb,
daughter of I. P. Liscomb, a prominent citizen
of Clear Lake, and of this union has been born
one son. Pcrrv, who is nrnv three years of age.

TO'RKEL HANSEN, one of the prosperous
farmers and stock growers of Lake county, is a
native of Norway, where he was born on the
23d of May, 1838, being a son of Hans and
Sarah (Larson) Turkelson, who emigrated from
the far Norseland to America in 1858 and took
nj) their residence in Clayton county, Iowa, in
which state they passed the remainder of their
lives, the father having become a successful
farmer and having been one of the honored
pioneers of the Hawkeye commonwealth. The
subject was reared to maturity in his native land,
in whose excellent schools he received his earlv
educational training, while he was about twenty
years of age at the time of accompanying his
l)arents on their immigration to the new world.
He continued to be identified with agricultural
[lursuits in Iowa until 1878, in June of which
year he came to the present .state of South Da-
kota and took up pre-emption and timber claims
in Lake county, where he has ever since main-
tained his home. He still owns his original
claims, to which he has added until he now has
a well-inipruved estate of four hundred and forty

acres, of which three hundred and fifty are un-
der cultivation, while he has been successful in
the raising of live stock in connection with the
agricultural operation of his fine farm. Upon
locating on his claim he built a primitive sod
house of ihe type so common in the early days,
and in the next year constructed a somewhat bet-
ter shanty of lumber utilizing sod for filling in
the cracks, while about three years later he
erected a comfortable house, which is a portion of
his present coiT|modious and attractive farm res-
idence, which was erected at a cost of about
two thousand and five hundred dollars. In 1895
he built his substantial barn, which is fifty-four
by seventy feet in dimensions. He has made
other excellent improvements on his ranch, and
the well-matured trees which grace the same
were planted by him.

Mr. Hansen has ever been faithful to the
duties of citizenship and has given his aid and
influence in support of all measures for the ma-
terial, moral and civic advancement of the com-
munity, while in politics he is a stanch advocate
of the principles of the Republican party. He
has served as an official of his school district, and
has the unqualified confidence and esteem of all
who know him. He and his wife are consistent
and zealous members of the Lutheran church.

On the 15th of February, 1867, "Sir. Hansen
was united in marriage to Miss Julia Hansen,
and they have ten children, whose names, with
respective years of birth, are here entered :
Sarah, 1868; Lizzia, 1870; ]\Iargit, 1871 : Han-
nah H.. 1873; Bertha G., 1875: Hans, 1878:
Otilda, 1881 ; Henry, 1883: Albert, 1887, and
(ieorge, tSqo,

WALTER F. TOAIPKINS. of Egan town-
ship. Moody county, was born on a farm in
Dodge county, Wisconsin, on the 17th of
September, 1852, and is a son of Daniel D.
and Amelia (Tryon) Tompkins, both of whom
were born in the state of N^ew ^'()rk, of stanch
English lineage. Tlie father of our subject was
born in Duanesburg, Schenectady county. New
York, on the i6th of April, 1827, and was a rela-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1539

tive and namesake of Daniel D. Tompkins, who
served two terms as vice-president of the United
States, under the Monroe administration. In
1846 he married IMiss AmeHa Tryon. and in the
early 'fifties removed with his wife to Wisconsin,
becoming- one of the pioneer settlers of Dodge
connty, where he resided for several years and
where occurred the death of his devoted wife.
Of the two children of this marriage our subject
was the youngest, his brother, William H., hav-
ing died in childhood. In 1856 the father married
Miss Catherine Tryon, a sister of his first wife,
and in 1862 he removed with his family to Olm-
sted county, Minnesota, where he became a pros-
perous farmer and influential citizen. He was one
of the leaders in the Republican party in that sec-
tion, and he served as township supervisor in
1867-8, as assessor for three years, and in 1886
was elected to represent his county in the legis-
lature of the state. He died on the 17th of Jan-
uary, 1899, and is survived by his second wife,
They became the parents of four children,
namely: Minnie A. (deceased), .Samuel Earl,
Mary A. and Lafayette.

The subject of this sketch was reared to the
sturdy discipline of the home farm and after
completing the curriculum of the public schools
continued his studies for one year in Wasioga
Seminary, in Dodge county, Minnesota. In
March, 1878, he came to what is now the state of
South Dakota and located in Moody county,
where he entered claim to a quarter section of
government land, as a homestead, this constitu-
tion the nucleus of his present fine landed estate
of five hundred and forty acres, in section 9,
Egan township. His finances were limited and
his early struggles in developing his land were
of the most arduous sort. Two years after he
located here came the great blizzard of October
15 and 16, 1880. and in the same he was acci-
dentally caught, being for two days without food
or fuel. The following winter was a particularly
severe one, marked by blizzards and heavy fall
of snow. The railroads were blockaded and
supplies cut off entirely. Hay and straw were
used for fuel, and in many cases the only flour
available was that made from wheat ground by

hand, usually in the ordinary domestic coffee-
mill. Mr. Tompkins trusted and worked on and
his reward has not been ill proportioned to his
early struggles. Today he is the owner of five
hundred and forty acres of the fine land of the
Sioux river valley, the property being free from
incumbrance, and gives Ills attention prin-
cipalh- tci the raising nf .slue]>, having several
hundred on his ranch at all times, as well as a
number of high-grade cattle and horses, while he
has about one hmidred and fifty acres of his
land under eflfective culti\atiim. lie is an un-
compromising Republican in his pnlitical pro-
clivities, and has ever shown a public-spirited
interest in local affairs and lent his aid in the
furtherance of all enterprises and measures for
the general good. He was for two years super-
visor of Egan townshi]), three years was in-
cumbent of the office of township treasurer, and
for nine years was treasurer of his school dis-
trict, of which he has also been director. He
and his wife are prominent and valued members
of the Methodist Episcopal church at Egan, and
they have the cordial good will and unciualified
esteem of all who know them.

On the 28th of September, 1884, Mr.
Tompkins was united in marriage to Miss A.
Hodgman, who was born in Bristol, Addison
county, Vermont, on the 9th of May, 1855, being
a daughter of Harry and Huldah (Spaulding)
Hodgman. I'hey have two chil<h-en, Amelia
Mae, who was born on the 15th ni March, 1886.
and Melba D., who was horn on the 12th of
April, 1900.

CARL G. SHERWOOD was born on a farm
on Connecticut hill, Broome county, New York,
near Whitney Point, on the i8thof January,
1855, being a son of George and Mary A. (Jef-
fords) Sherwood. His father was a fanner by
vocation and was a man of no little influence in
his section of the Einpire state. He was a mem-
ber of the New York legislature in 1873-4, as a
representative of the Binghamton district ; was a
stanch abolitionist during the crucial epoch lead-
ing up to the war of the Rebellion, and supported

1540

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the Republican party from the time of its organ-
ization until his death. He was of English and j
French extraction, and his ancestors were num- I
bered among the early settlers near Greene, j
Chenango county. New York. The paternal !
grandmother of the subject bore the maiden name
of Budlong, and her family resided near Utica,
New York. The maternal ancestors, the Jef-
ords, came to Chenango county, New York,
from Connecticut and were of English and Irish
lineage.

The subject was a farmer's boy, and it was
with extraordinary difficulty and under discour-
aging circumstances that he obtained an ordinary
common-school education. He was reared on a
rough and stony farm, near Binghamton, New
York, and the work of cultivating the land was
more than ordinarily arduous. The land was
new .ind he aided in reclaim.ing quite a portion
of the farm from the native forest. His parents
were poor, and the members of the family had to
v.'ork hard and live closely in order to make ends
meet. Thus the early educational advantages af-
forded our subject were very limited, but his
alert mentality and his appreciation of the values
of life early quickened his ambition to action,
his first fixed purpose being to prepare himself
for the profession of law. His parents were very
devout in their religious life and Tt was their
earnest wish that he should enter the ministry,
and it was by reason of their insistency in this
regard that he left the high school at Bingham-
ton and came to the west to carve out his own
fortunes. Through his personal efforts he had
paid tlie expenses of carrying forward his studies
in the high school through the tenth grade. In
1879 he came west, and when he first crossed the
Mississippi river his cash capital was represented
in the sum of ten cents. He taught in the dis-
trict schools on the Illinois side of the river for
two years, and in the meanwhile borrowed tech-
nical books of A. R. McCoy, of Clinton, Iowa,
just across the river, and devoted his evenings
and other leisure moments to the reading of law,
while his vacations were likewise devoted to this
work. He continued to live in Whiteside coimtv,
Illinois, and in Clinton. Iowa, at intervals, until

June, 1881, when he was admitted to the bar of
Iowa, in the city mentioned. In the following
month he secured admission to the Minnesota
bar, at Lnverne, while he became a member of
the bar of Codington county, Dakota, in 1882.
He came to Watertown. this county, in July,
1 881, and on the 7th of the following month took
up his residence in the village of Clark, where
he has ever since maintained his home and been
actively and successfully engaged in the practice
of his chosen profession. He has been employed
by the county in most of its important litigations,
including the prosecution of Christ Oiristianson,
who was convicted of murder and sentenced to
the penitentiary for life, this being the only mur-
der trial ever held in the county. Mr. Sherwood
has been signally prospered in his efforts and
the tangible results are seen in his valuable prop-
erty interests. He is the owner of a well-im-
proved farm of twelve hundred acres and also
of considerable other real estate, including his
attractive home in Clark. He has one of the
best libraries in this section of the state, the same
being valued at twenty-five hundred dollars.

Mr. Sherwood has been active in public af-
fairs from the time of taking up his residence
here. He served from 1882 until 1887 as register
of deeds of the county, and was a member of the
constitutional conventions, in Sioux Falls, in
1883 and 1889, while he was a delegate to the na-
tional Republican convention which nominated
McKinley for the presidency in 1896. He was
state senator from the twenty-ninth senatorial
district of South Dakota in the first state senate
convened, and was temporary and permanent
chairman of the first Republican state convention
held after the admission of South Dakota into
the Union and chairman of the Republican state
convention held at Sioux Falls, May 23, 1900,
the largest convention ever held in the state. He
has been a delegate from his county to every
state convention of his party, with one exception,
served for nearly a decade as chairman of the
county central committee and is at the present
time a member of the Republican state central
committee. He has been intimately identified
with the industrial, political and civic develop-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ment of Clark county, having been thus associ-
ated with its interests from the time of its organi-
zation, while his was the distinction of being
elected its first register of deeds. Mr. Sherwood
has been afifiliated with the Masonic fraternity
since 1883, being a member of the lodge and
chapter in Clark and the commandery of Knights
Templar in Watertown. He was initiated in
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1884,
and is a member of the lodge in Clark. He is also
identified with the Knights of Pythias, the Mod-
ern Woodmen of America, the Ancient Order of
United Workmen and the Modern Brotherhood
of America, while in 1902 he became a member
of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
at Watertown. Both he and his wife were reared
in the faith of the Baptist church, but they now
attend and give support to the Methodist
Episcopal church.

On the loth of February, 1885, at Clark, this
state, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Sher-
wood to Miss Nellie C. Fountain, a daughter of
George H. and Dollie A. Fountain, who were
pioneers in Nashua, Iowa, whence they later re-
moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and from that
city to Clark, South Dakota, in 1879, being
among the first to settle in the vicinity of this
now thriving city, the site being unmarked by a
single building at the time of their arrival,
while their nearest neighbors were six miles dis-
tant. Of the four children born to Air. and
Mrs. Sherwood we enter brief record, the date
of birth being given in each respective con-
nection, and the three living still remain at the
parental home: George F., May 5, 1887; Harry
A., September 15, 1888, died December i, 1892;
Mary Carlton, June 3, 1892; and Dollie \'iola,
Tuly 2, 1897.

REV. MICHAEL DERMODY is one of the
able and honored representatives of the' priest-
hood of the holy Roman Catholic church in
South Dakota, being pastor of the parish of St.
Simon and Jude, at Flandreau, Moody county.
Father Dermody was born in Waterford, Ireland,
on the loth of September, i860, and is a son of

John and Catherine (Kennedy) Dermody, both
of whom were likewise born and reared in
Waterford, coming of stanch old Irish stock and
being folk of intelligence and sterling character,
the father of the subject having devoted the
major portion of his life to teaching as a voca-
tion. He whose name initiates this sketch re-
ceived his preliminary educational discipline in
the parochial schools of his native place and then
continued his studies in the monastery of
Mount Sion, in the same town, availing himself
fully of the excellent advantages of this old and
noble institution. In 1878 Father Dermody came
to America and completed his preparation for
the priesthood in St. Viator's College, at Kan-
kakee, Illinois, where he was ordained to the
priesthood by Rt. Rev. Bishop O'Gorman,
bishop of the diocese of Sioux Falls. After hold-
ing various pastoral incumbencies he came to
South Dakota and since 1898 he has been pastor
of the church at Flandreau, where he has given
himself with all the devotion and fervent zeal to
his sacerdotal and pastoral duties, vitalizing the
work of the parish and gaining the earnest co-op-
eration and affectionate regard of his parishion-
ers. His congregation now numbers about one
hundred families, and the parish is in a pros-
perous condition.

PETER O. RASMUSSON was born in
Vernon county, Wisconsin, on the 30th of April,
1859, and is a son of Ole Rasmusson, who was
born and reared in Norway, whence he emi-
grated to the United States as a young man and
became one of the pioneer settlers of Vernon
county, Wisconsin, where he developed and im-
proved a valuable farm. In that county the sub-
ject of this review was reared to maturity, having
duly availed himself of the advantages aiiforded
by the public schools and thereafter continuing to
be there identified ^vith agricultural pursuits un-
til 1887, in the autumn of which year he came to
what is now the state of South Dakota, where
he took up a claim of government land in Qark
county. In 1888 he returned to his home in Wis-
consin for a short sojourn and then came again

1542

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

to his farm in Clark county, developing the same
and making excellent improvements on the prop-
erty, which he still owns, having now one hun-
dred and sixty acres of most arable land. He
continued to give his attention to the operating
of his farm until 1900, when he was made the
candidate on the Republican ticket for the office
of register of deeds of Clark county, being
elected by a gratifying majority and giving
so excellent an administration that he was
the natural choice of his party for the
ofiice at the expiration of his first term,
having been re-elected in the autumn of
np2 and thus being incumbent of the office at
the time of this writing, while he has the un-
qualified confidence and good will of the people
of the county. He is a zealous worker in the
local ranks of the "grand old party," and takes a
lively interest in all that concerns the general
welfare and progress of his home town, county
and state. He and his wife are members of the
Lutheran church.

On the 28th of December. 1888, Mr. Rasmus-
son was united in marriage to Miss Oliana jM.
Kolbo, who likewise was born in Vernon county,
Wisconsin, being a daughter of Hans A. and
Tngeborg Kolbo. Mr. and Mrs. Rasmusson have
six children, namely : Henry Otto, Irina Ma-
thilda, Olga Paula, John Magnus, Marvin
Julian and Roland Albin.

It is worthy of note that, as the result of a
severe attack of fever when three years old, the
subject lost the use of his right leg. being com-
pelled ever afterward to use crutches. Never-
theless, while in Wisconsin, he ran a horse-power
threshing machine for eight \ears, and ran a
steam thresher in .South Dakota for six years,
wliile during 1900 he acted as salesman and ex-
pert fc:)r the Deering Harvester Company.

EDWIX CRAXT COLE :\ I AX, of Flan-
dreau, one of the able and representative mem-
bers of the bar of the state and at the present
lime serving as state's attorney for Moodv
comity, is a native of the state of Illinois, having
been horn in Pilot Grove towqship, Hancock

county, on the 6th of March, 1867, a son of
Charles B. and Nancy (Huckins) Coleman, who
a're now deceased, the father having been a
farmer by vocation. Both the parental and ma-
ternal grandparents of the subject were num-
bered among the earliest settlers in Hancock
county, whither the former came from Zanes-
ville, C)hio, and the latter from Concord, New
Hamjjshire, while both families trace the an-
cestral line back to stanch Puritan stock, hav-
ing been founded in New England in the early
colonial epoch.

The subject received excellent educational
advantages in his early youth. After complet-
ing the curriculum of the common schools he con-
tinued his studies in turn in the La Harpe Acad-
emy and the Giddings Academy, at La Harpe,
Illinois; later attended the Northern Illinois
Normal School, at Dixon ; and in 1889 was ma-
triculated in the law departmait of the Univer-
sity of Michigan, where he completed the pre-
scribed course and was graduated on the 28th of
June, 1892, having been admitted to the bar of
that state on the 3d of the same month. He was
admitted to practice before the supreme court of
Illinois (in the nth of June, of the same year;
and on tlie 15th of June. 1898. was admitted to
practice before the supreme court of South Da-
kota. In the autumn of 1892 Mr. Coleman
formed a professional alliance with J. F. Ham-
ilton and engaged in the practice of law in Gales-
burg, Illinois, where he remained until the spring
of 1898, when he came to South Dakota, locating
in P'landreau on the 29th of April and here open-
ing an office. He has since been actively and suc-
cessfully engaged in the practice of his profes-
sion here, retaining a representative clientage
and being known as a safe and conservative
counselor and as an able trial lawyer. On the ist
of Xovember. 1901. he entered into a professional
partnership with John O. Adams, under the firm
name of Adams & Coleman, and this association
has since obtained, the firm holding a very high
standing at the bar of the state and having the
confidence and esteem of the community.

In politics Mr. Coleman is a stanch advocate
of the principles and policies of the Republican

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

party, in whose cause he takes an active interest,
and he has served since 1902 as state's attorney
for Moody county, proving- a discriminating and
faithful prosecutor, wliile for the past five years
he has been a member of the village council of
Flandreau. He was for six years a member of
the Sixth Regiment of the Illinois National
Clnard. with which he was in active service dur-
ing the labor strikes in Qiicago. Pekin, Spring
V'allev and other places in the state, in 181)4.
Fraternally he is a Master Mason and also iden-
tified with the Modern Woodmen of America,
the Order of the Eastern Star, the Royal Neigh-
bors, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Be-
nevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

On the I2th of June, 1902, Mr. Coleman was
united in marriage to Miss Lucy M. Vance, a
daughter of Nathan Vance, of Flandreau, she
being a native of Minnesota and at the time of
her marriage with Mr. Coleman a resident of
Flandreau, North Dakota.

LEM McGEE. of Rapid City, present judge
of the seventh judicial district of South Da-
kota, was born in Davis county, Iowa, on March
12, 1858. After acquiring a preliminary edu-
cation in the public schools of his native place,
he pursued the higher studies for some time in a
noi nial institute, which course being completed
he devoted two or three years to the work of
teaching. His father being a farmer young Mc-
Gee was reared to agricultural pursuits and the
outdoor experience and excellent discipline
thus received had a marked influence in
fostering habits of industry, shaping his char-
acter and materially afifecting his future
course of life. Having decided to make the legal
profession his life work, Mr. McGee, at the age
of twenty-two. entered a law office in Bedford,
Iowa, and devoted the greater part of the ensu-
ing three years to close, painstaking study, sup-
porting himself by clerking in a store at odd
times. In 1883 he became greatly interested in
the Black Hills country, and his desire to seek
his fortune in that j^romising field finally led him
to purchase a wagon and a yoke of oxen with

which to make the journey thither. Starting the
above year he drove through over the old Pierre
trail and, arriving at Rapid City in the month
of September, at once entered the office of Now-
lin & Wood, the leading law firm nf the place,
where he prosecuted his studies until his admis-
sion to the bar in 1886, defraying his expenses
as formerly by doing office work and assisting
his preceptors in various ways.

Mr. McGee lironght to his prnfcssidu a mind
well disciplined by hard study and laborious re-
search and in due time became one of the rising
members of the Rapid City bar. The same year
in which he opened his office he was nominated
by the local Democracy for county judge and,
defeating his competitor in the ensuing election,
entered upon the duties of an office in which
he achieved an eminently creditable and honor-
able record. After six years on the bench Mr.
McGee resumed the practice and the large
volume of business which soon came to him and
his connection with the inost important litigation
in Pennington and neighboring counties attest
the high rank he achieved among the most dis-
tinguished members of the South Dakota bar.

As already indicated. Judge McGee is a
Democrat, and since coming west he has been an
influential force in the part\-. Yielding to the re-
peated solicitation of his party frientls, he ac-
cepted, in 1894, the nomination for the tipper
house of the general assembly and was elected by
an overwhelming majority. Owing to the press-
ing claims of his large and constantly increasing
legal business, which he could not afford to
neglect for legislative honors, Judge ]\TcGee,
after serving one term, refused a renomination,
although his record in the senate was a dis-
tinguished one. He continued uninterruptedly
the practice of his profession until the fall of
1897, when his name was again placed upon the
Democratic ticket, but for a higher order of
public service than any which he had previously
been honored, to-wit, the district judgeship. His
eminent qualifications for the position, together
with his recognized integrity and great per-
sonal popularity paved the way for an easy
election and he has helil the responsible and ex-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

acting office continuously to the present time,
having been chosen his own successor in the
year 1901. Judge McGee's judicial career has
more than realized the high expectations of his
iriends and the public, his thorough profes-
sional training, his familiarity with the principles
of jurisprudence and his long and successful ex-
perience in every branch of the law in the town
and higher courts of the state eminently fitting
him for the duties of the dignified office which
he so ably fills.

Aside from his profession, Judge McGee has
achieved enviable standing as a citizen and his
name has been closely identified with whatever
makes for the social, educational and moral wel-
fare of the community in which he resides. He
belongs to the ancient and honorable Masonic
brotherhood, in addition to which organization
he is active and liberal in his benevolences, both
public and private. The Judge owns a com-
modious and attractive home in Rapid City, and
has gathered around him many of the comforts,
conveniences and luxuries of life, which are
shared by his estimable companion and helpmeet,
to whom he was happily married on the i8th of
December, 1887. Mrs. McGee, who was for-
merly Miss Gertrude S. Richards, was born in
Delaware, but a considerable portion of her life
has been spent in Rapid City, South Dakota.

GEORGE MOREHOUSE, deceased, late of
Brookings, was one of the representative bank-
ers and capitalists of the state and one of its
most honored citizens, while the lesson of his
career is a valuable one, showing a particular
mastering of expedients, a strong mental grasp
and a rare power of initiative, through which
forces he has attained a high degree of success
and won the proud American title of self-made
man.

Mr. Morehouse was a native of the old Em-
pire state, having been born in the town of
Holley, Orleans county. New York, on the 23d
of December, 1839, being a son of Carlton More-
house, born in Galloway, Saratoga county.
New York, on the nth of December, 1797. The

latter was a son of Caleb and Abigail Morehouse,
the former of whom was born in the western part
of Connecticut, whence he removed to Saratoga
county. New York, immediately after the war
of the Revolution, and there for many years
was engaged in agricultural pursuits. His chil-
dren were as follows : Erastus, Ransom, Carlton,
Henry and William. The father of Caleb Alore-
house was the original progenitor of the family
in America, whither he emigrated from England
in the colonial epoch of our national history, tak-
ing up his abode in the western part of Con-
necticut. During the war of the Revolution his
live stock was confiscated by the British soldiers,
among the animals taken being a yoke of oxen,
which, after a few days, returned to the home
farm, much to the surprise and gratification of
the owners. In 1846 Caleb Morehouse came west
to Kane county, Illinois, in company with his son
Carlton, father of the subject, and he died at the
home of his son Henry, in Plato township, Kane
county, Illinois, said son having been a clergyman
j of the Methodist Episcopal churcli and a circuit
rider in Illinois from 1848 to 1853. The wife of
Caleb Morehouse died in Saratoga county. New
York, prior to his removal to the west. Each of
their sons was married in Saratoga county, and
the son Henry, who was a local preacher and a
farmer, was the first of the family to locate in the
west, having resided for a time in Kane county,
Illinois, whence he removed to Janesville, Bremer
county, Iowa, where he passed the remainder of
his life. He was the father of two children.
Bertha and Hattie. Erastus, the eldest of the sons
of Caleb Morehouse, passed his entire life in
Saratoga county. New York; Ransom died when
a young man ; and William, the youngest, became
a resident of Janesville, Iowa, about 1866, and
there he was engaged in the meat-market business
during the remainder of his active business life,
retaining his home there until his death.

Carlton Morehouse, the father of the subject,
was reared and educated in Saratoga county.
New York, growing up on the pioneer farm and
in his early youth securing employment as clerk
in a local mercantile establishment. On the 7th
of December, 1825, was solemnized his marriage

u.

^

tzr

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1545

to Miss Eliza Cornell, who was born on the 12th
of March, 1806, and whose death occurred on the
2d of July, 1863, she being a daughter of Wil-
liam Cornell, of Saratoga county, New York, the
Cornell family having been of English lineage
and the name having long been identified with
the annals of American history. William, Sr.,
had only two children, and his son and namesake
removed to Illinois and took up his abode on a
farm at Pleasant Ridge, where he passed the re-
mainder of his life. After his marriage Carlton
Morehouse removed to Orleans county. New
York, about 1838, and there he was engaged in
general merchandise business until 1846, when
he removed with his family to Plato township,
Kane county, Illinois, where he engaged in farm-
ing, later becoming a traveling salesman for
Ezra Wood & Comiiany, of Chicago, manufactur-
ers of agricultural implements, remaining thus
engaged until his death. His health had been
somewhat impaired during the winter of 1854-5
but he had recuperated sufiiciently so that he felt
himself able to resume his work, and he went to
Oiicago and died ver\- suddenly, of a congestive
chill, while in the office of his employers, his de-
mise occurring on the 6th of April, 1855. He
was a Democrat in his political proclivities and
served as supervisor of his township after his
removal to Illinois. He and his wife were mem-
bers of the Baptist church and were folk of
sterling character, ever commanding the respect
of air who knew them. Carlton Morehouse was
a man of fine intellectual gifts and marked ability,
and his early death alone prevented his rising to
a position of prominence in connection with the
public and civic affairs of the state of Illinois,
of which he was an honored pioneer. Carlton
and Eliza (Cornell) Morehouse became the par-
ents of six sons, concerning whom we enter the
following brief record : Ransom, who was born
in Saratoga county. New York, on the 23d of
March, 1827, married Margaret Brown, and he
died in Denver, Colorado. Frederick D., who
was born in Galloway, Saratoga county, on the
5th of June, 1829, died in Orleans county.
New Y''ork, on the 16th of July, 1845. William
Henry, who was born in Galloway. Saratoga

county, on the loth of January, 1832, married
Minerva A. McArthur, and devoted his life to
farming and merchandising, his death resulting
as the result of an operation performed in the
city of Chicago, where he passed away on the
17th of June, 1 901. Oiarlcs, who was born in
Saratoga county, March 13, 1835, died the fol-
lowing year. George is the immediate subject of
this sketch. Ezra Wilson, who was born in
Saratoga county, April 13, 1845, was a soldier in
the Union army during the war of the Rebellion
and died on the transport "Spread Eagle" on the
Mississippi river, near Napoleon, Arkansas, on
the 19th of January, 1863, his body being in-
terred with military honors at Milliken's Bend,
Mississippi. The subject of this sketch has little
knowledge in regard to his maternal grand-
mother, but after her death her hus1>and, William
Cornell, married Katherine Deforrest Fox, of
the old Holland stock of the Mohawk valley of
New York. He was born December 31, 1788,
and died on the ist of July, 1859.

George Morehouse passed the first twenty
years of his life on the home farm, while he at-
tended the district schools until he had attained
the age of sixteen years. At the age of nineteen
he left the farm and entered the Bryant & Strat-
ton Business College, in the city of Chicago,
where he completed a six-months course. In the
following autumn he secured a position in the
Racine County Bank, at Racine, Wisconsin, and
in the following spring, that of 1861, he mani-
fested the intrinsic loyalty and patriotism of his
nature by tendering his services in defense of
the Union, in response to the first call for volun-
teers. He enlisted as a member of Company F,
Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, but
was later rejected on account of physical dis-
ability. In order to recuperate his health he
then made a fishing expedition along the coast
of the gulf of St. Lawrence, and in the autumn
of 1861 returned to Wisconsin and assumed the
position of bookkeeper in the office of the Racine
Advocate. In the spring of 1863 he was made
chief accountant for Captain J. M. Tillapaugh,
who had charge of the enumerating of men eli-
gible for military service, superintending the

1546

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

drafting of soldiers, etc., and thus the subject
was located in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
until the spring of 1864, when he went to Brazier
City, Louisiana, as bookkeeper in the employ of
Captain C. H. Upham, a brother of ex-Governor
William H. Upham, of Wisconsin, and there he
remained until the close of the war, when he re-
turned to the north and located in Janesville,
Iowa, where he was employed as bookkeeper in
the flouring mill of his brother Ransom until
1872, when he was elected treasurer of Bremer
county, retaining this incumbency three terms
and having had no opposing candidate on the oc-
casion of his second and third elections, the dif-
ferent parties each placing his name on its ticket.
He thus served from 1872 until 1878, and during
the last two years of this period he also held the
position of cashier of the Bremer County Bank,
in Waverly. On the first of January, 1880, he I
resigned this latter executive office and in the '
spring of the same year came to Dakota and
settled in Brookings, where he took up his abode
on the 27th of February, forthwith directing his
efforts to the establishing of a private banking
institution, in which the interested principals were
himself and his brother William H., of Burling-
ton, Iowa. In 1884 the bank was incorporated
with a capital of fifty thousand dollars, and of
the same, known as the Bank of Brookings, the
subject continued as cashier until the ist of Janu-
ary, igoi, since which time he has served as
president. In the meanwhile, in 1883, the two
brothers also established a private bank at
Estelline, this state, the same being afterward in-
corporated as the Bank of Estelline, and of this
institution the subject was vice-president, while
he was also one of the incorporators of the First
National Bank of Volga, Brookings county, in
the spring of 1902, being president of this insti-
tution. Mr. Morehouse was a man of rare busi-
iiess ability, public-spirited, upright and straight-
forward in all the relations of life, and he not
only contributed in a material way to the advance-
ment of the interests of the great state of South
Dakota btit also held at all times the unequivocal
confidence and regard of those with whom he
came in contact, being one of the honored and

distinctively representative citizens of the state.
He served for eight years as a member of the
board of regents of the State Agricultural Col-
lege, in Brookings, and also was a valued mem-
ber of the board of education for a number of
years. He was from the time of its organization
a director and treasurer of the Brookings Land
and Trust Company and was also financially in-
terested in numerous other corporations in the
city, ever lending his aid and influence to further-
ing all enterprises which make for the progress
and well being of the community. His political
allegiance was given to the Republican party,
and his religious faith was that of the Baptist
church, of which he was a zealous member and
to which his widow belongs. He held the office
of clerk of the local church from the time of
its organization, in 1880. His devotion to the
work of the church may be better understood
when we state that for eighteen years, or until
the church debt was liquidated, he gave his
services as janitor, sparing no pains in attending
to the work which he thus assumed and arising
at five o'clock Sunday mornings to attend to the
building of fires in the church and otherwise
providing for the comfort of the worshipers.
He was known as a man of liberality in the sup-
port of all good works, but used proper dis-
crimination in the extension of charity and in
other benevolences, while he was ever ready to
aid all churches, being tolerant and kindly at all
times, and believing that Oiristianity represents
the bulwarks of our national prosperity and
spiritual welfare. He manifested particular in-
terest in the success of the Baptist college at
Sioux Falls, and this interest was timely and
helpful. Fraternally he was a charter member
of Lodge No. 21, Free and Accepted Masons, in
Brookings. The family residence is the finest
in the city and is a center of gracious and refined
hospitality. He was the artificer of his own
fr)rtunes and his noteworthv success represents
the results of industry, integrity and wise
economy. He died November 2, 1903, at his
home in Brookings, the cause of his death being
cancer of the stomach.

On the 2r)th of .\ugust, \Sf)/. was solemnized

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1547

the marriag^e of Mr. Morehouse to Miss Anna
P.. Crosby, who was bom in Relvidere, Illinois,
on the 23d of January, 1845, a daug-hter of
Henry L. Crosby, who was born in Frcdonia,
Giautauqua countv. New York, on the 29th of
October, 1819, while his wife, whose maiden
name was Mary E. King, was born in Delphi,
Onondaga county, that state, on the 30th of
January, i.Siq, their marriage having occurred
at Fairfield, Kane county. Illinois, on the loth
of March, 1842. while the officiating clergyman
was Rev. John S. King, father of the bride.
Henrv L. Crosby was a son of Nathaniel, who
was born in Thompson. Connecticut, February
18, 1786. while the latter's wife, whose maiden
name was Sallie Merrill Larned. was born in
the same place, December 6, 1793. The maternal
grandfather of Mrs.' Morehouse was born in
Arlington, Bennington county. Vermont, Janu-
arv 16, 1787. and his wife, Anna, nee Bristol, was
born in Cornwall, Litchfield county, Connecticut,
Julv 23. 1783. John S. King was a clergyman
of the Baptist church and was also a physician.
Henrv L. and Mary E. (King) Crosby became
the parents of seven children, concerning whom
we offer the following brief record : Sarah L. was
born in Boone county. Illinois. April 7. 1843 ;
Anna B. became the wife of the subject of this
review: Flsie. who was born September i. 1846.
died in September, 1871 : Lucy, who was born
May 29. 1848, died in infancy; William H.. who
was born September 12, 1849. died in March,
1903. at San Antonio. Texas: Ernest, born De-
cember 15. 1852. is a resident of Brookings,
and Lncia E.. who was born September 19, 1857,
is a resident of Oakland, California.

]\Ir. and Mrs. IMorehouse became the parents
of two children. Mary Eliza, who was born in
Janesville, Iowa, on the 25th of September, 1870,
died on the 13th of Januar\% 1875. Henry Carl-
ton, who was born in Waverly, Iowa, September
17, T877. still remains at the parental home. He
was graduated in the Brookings high school, as
a member of the class of 1896. and thereafter
continued his studies for three years in the State
Agricultural College, in this place, while later
he completed a commercial course in the same

institution. After leaving college he made a trip
through Europe and through the Pacific coast
states of the Union. He is at present engaged
in the real-estate business at Willow City, North
Dakota, though, as before stated, he makes his
home with his mother in Brookings.

J. FRAXKLIN AVANT is a native of Clin-
ton county, Illinois, and the son of John V. and
.Mary (Trout) Avant, both parents born in the
state of Ohio. He was born January 15, 1863,
grew to maturity on a farm and received his edu-
cation in the district school. He assisted his
father in cultivating the farm until reaching the
years of manhood, also helped the latter ship
cattle to St. Louis, driving them from that city
to Hastings. Nebraska. In the spring of 1885
i\Ir. Avant went, via Kearney and Broken Bow,
to the Black Hills, and for some time thereafter
was engaged with his father in buying cattle, the
two finally locating ranches about six miles from
the town of Hermosa. Mr. Avant has been en-
gaged in stock raising ever since coming to
South Dakota, and now owns one of tlie finest
and best improved ranches in Custer county, the
land being situated in one of the best grazing
districts in the southwestern part of the state.
While making this place his home, he has car-
ried on his business in various parts of the
country, and at intervals from 1893 to 1897 he
was engaged in running cattle about one hun-
dred miles northeast of Rapid City, disposing of
his interests there in the latter year.

In addition to his home place Mr. Avant
owns a valuable ranch in the foot hills about six '
and a half miles southwest of Hermosa, the same
well stocked, besides containing a number of sub-
stantial improvements. In December, 1903, with
his brother George, he bought the Glendale hotel
at Hermosa and since they have conducted the
same. In politics Mr. Avant is a Republican,
but not a partisan, and beyond voting for the
regular nominees and defending the soundness
of his principles, he takes no active interest in
party affairs, being first of all a business man,
and making every other consideration secondary

t548

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

thereto. He holds membership with the Ancient
Order of United Workmen, Independent Order
of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of
America, in all of which organizations he has
been honored with official positions, and in the
deliberations of which he takes an active and in-
fluential part. The domestic life of Mr. Avant
dates from the 7th day of January, 1893, at
which time he entered the marriage relation
with Miss Kate Hanlon, of Illinois, the union
being blessed with one child, a son who answers
to the name of Leonard Avant.

D. D. BALDWIN, engaged in the real-estate
business at Carthage, is a contributor to the
growing commonwealth of South Dakota from
New England. Among the residents of Ver-
mont during the earlier decades of the nineteenth
century were E. B. and Lucia (Brown) Baldwin,
whose marriage was unusually fruitful, in as
much as it resulted in the birh of eleven children,
whose names in order of birth were Willard H.,
Marcella, Francelia, George W., Eleazer B.,
Enrico H., .\della L., Emma B., D. D.. William
A. and Rufus C.

D. D. Baldwin was torn at Sharon, Vermont,
February 16, 1857, and was educated in the pub-
lic schools of his native place. After thus ac-
quiring a thorough elementary groundwork he
entered as a student at the famous Dartmouth
College and spent two years in that historic seat
of learning. Thus equipped with a good and
practical education, the young Vermonter turned
his face resolutely westward in search of fame
and fortune. New countries have no terrors for
such men, but they rather delight in meeting and
overcoming obstacles, and it was in this spirit
that Mr. Baldwin appeared on his new theater
of operations in 1881. His first location was in
Union county, South Dakota, and his first ocu-
pation there was in the capacity of school
teacher. For two years he had charge of a class
at Jefferson, but not intending to make this a
life work he went at the end of his term to Miner
county and located at what is now the town of
Carthage. Having purcjiased a tract of land in

this neighborhood he was engaged for some time
in farming, but subsequently was in the banking
business. This enterprise, however, was sur-
rendered in 1890 as a result of his election to
the county judgeship, in which office he served
for one term of two years. .\t a late period he
embarked in the real-estate business in connec-
tion with Mr. Lyons.

Mr. Baldwin was married in North Dakota
to Miss Josie Dewey, who died in 1887, leaving
an only son named J. Dewey. Mr. Baldwin
contracted a second matrimonial alliance with
Miss Jennie P. Eaton, of Alassachusetts, and as
a result of this union the following children have
been born, Richard, Ruth, Dorothy and Ken-
neth. Air. Baldwin's political affiliations are
with the Democratic party and he takes a lively
interest in public affairs of county, state and na-
tion. He was brought up in the Episcopal
church and has always given his allegiance to
the doctrines taught by that historic religious de-
nomination. His fraternal connections are with
the Masons and the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows.

F. B. WARD is a son of James and Levini
(Barber) Ward, old residents of Jefferson
county, in the Empire state. They lived at
Carthage and there, in 1838, F. B. Ward was
born, his earlv education being obtained in the
schools of his native place. At a later period
he had the benefit of a course in a normal school
at Albany, where he was graduated in 1859.
Shortly after this event he engaged in the mer-
cantile business and in 1874 returned to the place
of his nativity at Carthage, where his parents
were still living. In 1882 he decided to cast his
lot with the rapidly rising commonwealth of the
west and obtaining a position as surveyor with
the Northwestern Railroad Company, he assisted
in the survey of that line from Hawarden, Iowa,
to Iroquois, South Dakota. He filed a claim
on a quarter section of land in Miner county,
planned a town site and named the embryonic
city Carthage, in honor of the old home in
New York state, where he had spent his boyhood

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1549

days. The growth of the place wa.s rapid and
its development was largely due to the enterprise
and business foresight of Mr. Ward. He it was
who built the Palmer House and established the
Piank of Carthage, the latter important event in
the town's early career occurring in 1883. This
bank is the oldest in Miner county and enjoys the
distinction of having weathered all the financial
storms occurring during the formation period
of the Dakotas, which wrecked so many other
struggling financial institutions. Mr. Ward has
always been an ardent Republican in politics,
but. while ever ready to help along the cause by
word of mouth and timely work, he has never
sought political rewards and kept aloof from
office seeking. Mr. Ward's fraternal connections
are with the Masonic fraternity, the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Flks.

In i860 Mr. Ward was united in marriage
with Miss Harris, of Harrisville. New York,
who shared his fortunes in the west until claimed
by death, in 1892. Subsequently IMr. Ward was
married to Miss I^ngley and has one child
named Francis B.

ARTHUR J. COLGAN, one of the leading
iiusiness men of Edgcmont, was born in Bur-
lington, Iowa, on the 25th day of July, 1856.
When he was a child his parents moved from
the above city to Ottimiwa and it was at the
latter place that he grew to manhood's estate
and received his education, remaining there va-
riously employed until his twenty-second year.
In 1878 he went to southwestern Nebraska,
thence after a brief period to Colorado, where
he engaged in railroading, to which kind of
work he deyoted his attention until the year
1880, when he came to Valentine, Nebraska, the
terminus of the railroad at that time. A^alentine
being an important point and the center of trade
for a large area of country, Mr. Colgan at once
opened a restaurant and hotel in the town, which
were well patronized, and he continued in this
line of business until 1886, when he sold out
and changed his location to Oelrichs, Fall River

county, near which place he took up land and
engaged in cattle raising. After spending two
years in the live-stock industry, he opened, in
1888, a general store at Oelrichs, which from
the beginning proved very profitable, and in
due time he commanded the bulk of the mer-
cantile trade in that town. The business con-
tinuing to increase with each succeeding year,
he was induced, in 1897, to start a branch store
in Edgemont, but three years later the two es-
tablishments were combined at the latter place,
where, as already indicated, Mr. Colgan is now
the leading merchant in the various lines of
goods which he handles. He has a large and
well-appointed store, carries a full and complete
stock of general merchandise and commands a
lucrative patronage, his establishment being
taxed to its utmost capacity to meet the con-
stantly increasing demands of his numerous
customers.

Mr. Colgan not only stands high in com-
mercial circles, but enjoys worthy prestige as
one of Edgemont's representative citizens. He
has justly earned the American title of self-made
man, having from his boyhood relied upon his
own exertions for a livelihood, and that too in
spite of many obstacles calculated to discourage
and deter. Mr. Colgan is a zealous supporter of
the Democratic party, but has persistently re-
fused to accept office at the hands of his fellow
citizens, having little taste for partisan politics
and still less for public honors. He enjoys the
confidence and respect of his fellow citizens and
is well deserving of mention among the repre-
sentative citizens of his adopted county and state.

On January 22, 1882, in the town of Mont-
rose, Kansas, Mr. Colgan entered the marriage
relation with Miss Ellen Stack, of Iowa, the
union being blessed with six children, whose
names are as follows : Thomas, Nellie, Edward,
Charlie, ^larv and Leonard.

THOMAS F. STECHER, D. D.. was born
at Cincinnati. Ohio, December 20, 1852, his par-
ents being Thomas and Caroline Stecher. At
an early age the subject was sent to the

t55o

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

parochial school of his native city, where he was
well grounded in the ancient classics and the hu-
manities, after which he took a course in me-
chanical engineering, which he followed as an
occupation until the completion of his twenty-
fifth year. Having decided to take holy orders,
he abandoned secular pursuits and entered earn-
estly upon his studies for the priesthood. Hav-
ing finished his studies in Cincinnati, he came to
Sioux Falls in July, igoi, where he received his
subdeaconship August 15, 1901. After his or-
dination as priest in Jefferson, South Dakota, by
Rt. Rev. Bishop M. Marty, November 22, 1901,
he was assigned to the Catholic congregation at
Howard, of which he has since had charge.
Lender his pastorate and chiefly owing to his
energy and persistence, a beautiful church and
pastorage have been erected. In addition to this,
Father Stecher built churches at Carthage and
Brisbine, of which he has pastoral supervision in
connection with his duties at the county seat.
When Father Stecher came to this section the
Catholic communicants were comparatively few
and the chuich accommodations quite limited.
By his indefatigable eflforts a pleasing change
has been brought about and he now has seventy-
five families under his ministrations. But the
good he has done in a public way is surpassed
by his private services, his charities and his earn-
est work for every good cause. The needy never
approach him in vain for help, the heavy-laden
have their burdens lightened by his sympathetic
advice and the despairing are braced for braver
struggles with the worries of the world. Father
Stecher's popularity is not confined to his own
parishioners, but he enjoys the general good will
and kindly consideration of all classes at
Howard.

MRS. ATLANTA H. KING.~The life of
this estimable lady illustrates very forcibly the
fact that under certain conditions women may
succeed as well as men in conducting the stern
practical affairs of life and achieve as great suc-
cess as their brothers in a domain which from
time immemorial has been considered the latter's

special province. Atlanta Smith, daughter of
David and Samantha (Warner) Smith," was born
in Cleveland, Ohio, and spent the first eleven
years of her life in that city, being left an or-
phan at that age, after which she became an in-
mate of her grandmother's home. She accom-
panied the latter to Illinois, where she lived three
years, attending school the meanwhile and at the
expiration of that time, went to Iowa, thence
after one year to Albert Lea, Minnesota, where
she made her home for several succeeding years
and where she also met a gentleman by the name
of William Robinson, who subsccjuently became
her husband.

Mr. Robinson owned a ranch near the town of
Albert Lea, and it was on this place that the sub-
ject spent the first seven years of her wedded
life. In the spring of 1867 the couple disposed
of their interests in Minnesota and with a party
of friends and acquaintances came to Dakota ter-
ritory, and took up land near the little town of
Bon Homme, twenty miles from Yankton, build-
ing their house on the bank of the Missouri
river. Mr. Robinson developed a farm and in the
matter of cultivating the soil was ably assisted by
his wife, who assisted in the work of the fields
when not attending to the domestic duties of the
household. Mrs. Robinson lived about fifteen
years on the Missouri, where she originally set-
tled, during which time she was left a widow and
later she entered the marriage relation with James
F. King, a well-known farmer and stock raiser
of eastern Dakota, the nuptials being celebrated
in the month of October, 1880.

In the spring of 1882 Mr. and Mrs. King
moved to the Black Hills and purchased a ranch
on Squaw creek, one and a half miles from Her-
mosa, at once began the work of its improvement.
Mr. King was an industrious, hard-working man,
a good manager and he soon reduced the greater
part of his land to cultivation and had it well
stocked with cattle and other domestic animals.
He conducted his affairs quite successfully, accu-
mulated a comfortable competency and became
widely and favorably known as an energetic busi-
ness man and upright, law-abiding citizen. He
was machinist and mining engineer by profes-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

sion and served the governnient several years
on Indian reservations. While in Bon Homme
county he served as sheriff one term. He de-
parted this life on October 13, 1890, from which
time until a recent date, his widow managed the
ranch, conducted the business affairs of the same,
reared her family and provided for their intel-
lectual training as well as for their material sup-
port, giving them the best educational advantages
obtainable. As her oldest son by her first mar-
riage, Eli C. Robinson, grew to maturity he grad-
ually assumed the burdens and responsibilities of
the place, and being intelligent and naturally in-
clined to business, he soon grasped the details of
cattle raising and at this time is one of the most
enterprising and progressive live-stock men in
his part of the county.

Mrs. King deserves great credit for the busi-
ness-like manner in which she managed the ranch
and looked after the varied interests of her chil-
dren, all of whom acknowledge their great in-
debtedness to her for her untiring activity in
their behalf. By her second marriage she had
two children, a son, James B., and a daughter by
the name of Pearl. Mrs. King's first marriage
was blessed with four children, namely : Mrs.
Emily Beadle, Mrs. Etna M. Beach, Eli C., a suc-
cessful live-stock man residing on Spring creek,
and Mrs. Lennie L. Beatty, all living in South
Dakota and greatly esteemed in their respective
communities.

GEORGE T. PAINE is of New England
birth and inherits many of the sterling character-
istics for which the people of that section of the
Union have long been distinguished. He was
born January 8, 1861, in Providencetown, Massa-
chusetts, but when a child of seven years was ta-
ken by his parents to Champaign, Illinois, where
he grew to maturity, received his educational dis-
cipline and began his life work. His father be-
ing an enterprising contractor and builder, young
George was early instructed in brick masonry,
and after becoming an efficient workman he fol-
lowed the trade in different parts of Illinois until
1884, the two or three years prior to that date

being devoted to contracting upon his own re-
sponsibility. In the fall of 1884 he took a gov-
ernment contract to do certain masonry work in
Fort Robinson, South Dakota, which being com-
pleted, he was similarly engaged the following
years on Fort Niobrara. Finishing these con-
tracts, Mr. Paine, in the latter part of 1885, went
to Buffalo Gap, preceding the railroad to that
point and located a ranch on Chilsin creek, thir-
teen miles west of Hot Springs, to which the
next spring he brought a large number of cattle
with the object in view of making the raising of
live stock his principal business. He made many
improvements on this ranch and devoted his at-
tention exclusively to cattle raising until 1891,
when he was 'attracted to the newly settled town
of Edgemont, where he found abundant oppor-
tunity for the exercise of his trade, builders of all
kinds having been in great demand at that time.
He at once took contracts to erect a nimibcr of
business blocks, private residences and other
kinds of work, and in due time had his various
edifices under headway, giving emplo_\-ment to a
considerable force of men, who under his leader-
ship soon transformed the place from a wild
waste into a beautiful and by no means unpreten-
tious city of large expectations.

The year of his arrival Mr. Paine opened a
feed and grain store in Edgemont which early
became the chief source of supplies for the farm-
ers of the surrounding country, and he has main-
tained an establishment of this kind ever since,
the meanwhile building up the extensive busi-
ness which he still commands. In addition to
flour, grain, feed, etc., he handles large quanti-
ties of coal, being the heaviest dealer in these
lines of merchandise in this part of the country.

In 1901 Mr. Paine organized the Bank of
Edgemont, a state institution of which he is pres-
ident, George Highly, vice-president, and H. H.
Thompson, cashier, all three business men of rec-
ognized ability and high standing. Mr. Paine's
brother-in-law, E. L. Arnold, is interested with
him in his various business enterprises, the latter
looking after the ranch and giving personal atten-
tion to the live stock, while the subject manages
the bank and store, besides devoting considerable

[552

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

time to contracting, which he still carries on.
From the foregoing brief career it will not be
difficult to assign Mr. Paine his proper place in
the history of Fall River county and the city of
Edgemont. In addition to his connection with
the general welfare of Fall River county, in the
different spheres of endeavor, Mr. Paine proved
of great benefit to Edgemont by his activity in
behalf of the Burlington & Missouri Railroad
and he still has a large contract to furnish the
company with sand to be used on the line through
this part of the country, thus giving employment
to a large force of men who live in the town and
who derive their entire income from this source.
By good management the subject has come into
possession of an ample fortune and is now ac-
counted one of the wealthiest men in the county
of Fall River, owning in addition to his various
business interests, a large amount of land in dif-
ferent parts of the country, and valuable city
property, being one of the heaviest real-estate
holders in this section of Dakota. Fraternally
Mr. Payne belongs to the Pythian lodge at Edge-
mont, the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks, at Lead, and is an influential member of the
Modern Woodmen of America and the Woodmen
of the World organizations, which meet in the
former place. Politically a stanch Democrat, he
has repeatedly and persistently declined public
office, being first of all a business man to whom
the plain title of citizen is much more desirable
than any honor within the power of the people to
confer. Mr. Paine has a beautiful modern resi-
dence in Edgemont, and is the head of a family
which is highly esteemed not only in the best so-
cial circles of the city, but by all classes and con-
ditions of people in the community.

FRANK SEARS, a leading member of the
bar of Day county, and a prominent citizen of
Webster, the county seat, was born July i8, 1856,
at Moscow, Livingston county. New York. He
is the son of William and Margaret A. (Poor-
man) Sears, both natives of New York state, the
former born in Livingston county in 1828. and
the latter in Seneca county in 1833. The Sears
are of English descent. The grandparents

(paternal) were Franklin and Elizabeth (Shad-
ders) Sears, the former born in Massachusetts
and the latter in Hagerstown, Maryland. Wil-
liam Sears, the father, removed from Livingston
county. New York, to Woodford county. Illinois,
in 1857. and from there he removed to Chatworth,
Livingston. Illinois, in 1866. He is a lawyer by
profession and has held local public office for
many years. He and wife are still living. The
mother of the subject is the daughter of Jacob
Poorman. Frank Sears was reared in Chats-
worth, Illinois. He graduated from the Chats-
worth high school in 1875, following which he
attended German school for three years, becoming
a fluent writer and talker in that language. Fol-
lowing his schooling, he spent four years in the
service of the Illinois Midland Railroad Com-
pany. In 1884 he came to Andover, Day county,
South Dakota, where he took up the study of
law. In November, 1888, he was admitted to
the bar. and in 1890 he was elected state's at-
torney for Day county, while living at Andover.
He removed to Webster, where he assumed the
duties of his office. He was re-elected state's
attorney in 1892. In April, 1895, he was elected
the first mayor of Webster. In 1904 he was
renominated for state's attorney by the Repub-
lican party. He has been prominent in legal
circles for fifteen years, and has been connected
with the most important cases in this section of
the state. He makes a specialty of criminal
practice. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Improved
Order of Red Men and Dramatic Order Knights
of Khorassan. He is a self-made man in every
respect.

In June, i88r, ^h. Sears was married, at
Pekin. Tazewell count)-. Illinois, to Isabell
Hammond, the daughter of Daniel Hammond.
The following four children were born to that
union : Mayme, married to Frank J. O'Regan,
of St. Paul ; William Wallace, now of St. Paul ;
Frank, Jr., now of St. Paul; Madaline, of St.
Paul. On October 27, 1901, Mr. Sears was mar-
ried to Miss Alice Cavanaugh, who was born at
McComb. Illinois, the daughter of John Cava-
naugh. To them two children have been born,
Barnabus and a daughter, unnamed.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1553

THEODORE HESNARD is an American
by adoption and has been a citizen of the I^nitcil
States but a short time, his residence in this
country covering a period of only twenty-three
years. He was born April 17, 1843. in Flers,
Normandy, France, and grew to maturity in that
city, receiving an excellent scholastic training
the meanwhile, and while still young he began
earning his own livelihood in the woolen mills
of his native place. He became quite proficient in
this line of work, which he followed as long as
he remained in France, and by industry and
thrift, not only provided comfortably for himself
and those dependent upon him, but succeeded in
laying up a surplus by means of which he was
afterward enabled to emigrate to a country of
greater advantages and larger opportunities than
obtained in the land of his birth. ^Ir. Hesnard
married and practically reared his family in
Flers, and made that city his home until 1881,
in the spring of which year he came to America
and proceeded as far west as Pierre, South Da-
kota, where his wife and children stopped tem-
porarily, while he went further looking for a
favorable place in which to locate. Staging it
through to the Black Hills the same season, he
took up land where Hermosa now stands, but
through the dishonesty of a would-be friend he
was cheated out of his valuable real estate. He
then settled on a ranch about five miles east of
the town to which he brought his family the
following spring, and turned his attention to agri-
culture and cattle raising, in both of which pur-
suits he was totally inexperienced, his previous
mode of life in a large city having been in an
entirely different direction. He soon accustomed
himself to the new conditions, however, and ad-
dressing himself manfully to the task before him,
made much better progress as a tiller of the soil
than many who have devoted their lives to the
pursuit. Mr. Hesnard improved his ranch by
erecting a comfortable dwelling and good out-
buildings, and with such assistance as his older
sons could render, succeeded in due time in
getting a substantial start. He managed his
affairs in a systematic and business-like manner,
and by continued toil and perseverance, in the

course of a few years, had one of the best ranches
in the locality. Tn 1889 he purchased several
mining claims on Battle creek, in which he put
flumes, preparatory to working the same, but
receiving a flattering offer for the property, he
sold it and resumed agriculture and stock rais-
ing, prosecuting the same w'ith good success
until 1898, when he disposed of his home place
and bought the ranch five miles west of Hermosa
on which he has since lived and prospered. Mr.
Hesnard's success as a farmer and stock raiser
has been marked and he now occupies a promi-
nent position among the leading men of Custer
count}-, similarly engaged. Mr. Hesnard is a
man of wide intelligence and practical ideas, is
well informed, not only on matters coming
within his sphere of endeavor, but on iniblic af-
fairs and current events, and as a citizen com-
mands the respect and confidence of all with
whom he mingles. Emil E.. the oldest son, is
engaged in mining at Keystone, this state, and
is one of the rising young men of that city.
Arsene T., the second in ordtT of Ijirth. after
finishing the common schools, attended the State
Normal, at Spearfish, and later took a course in
the college at Fremont, Nebraska, graduating
from the latter institution. On finishing his edu-
cation he engaged in teaching, in which he
achieved distinguished success, and in the year
1899 he was elected, on the Dehiocratic ticket,
superintendent of the Custer county public
schools, filling the position one term with a very
creditable record. In 1903 he accepted a pro-
fessorship in the Colorado State Normal School,
at Saguache, and at this time ranks with the
able instructors in that institution. The other
sons, Edward and Theodore, assist their father
on the ranch. Two daughters complete the fam-
ily circle, namely; Amelia and Matilda.

ALLEN W. CAREY, one of the enterpris-
ing farmers and stock raisers of Custer county,
has been an honored resident of South Dakota
since the year 1877. He was born September 27,
1 83 1, in Indianapolis. Indiana, and grew to ma-
turity on a farm near that city, receiving a fair

1554

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

education. On attaining his majority he engaged
in agriculture upon his own responsibihty and
continued the same in his native state until 1856,
when he disposed of his interests there and went
to Des Moines, Iowa, near which place he also
turned his attention to tilling the soil. When
the great Rebellion broke out he tendered his
services to the government, enlisting in 1861 in
Company B, Thirteenth Iowa Infantry, with
which he served with an honorable record until
the close of the war, being mustered out in 1865.

Immediately after his discharge, Mr. Carey
returned to his Iowa farm, where he remained
until the year 1876, when he sold out and, mov-
ing to Nebraska, took up a homestead- near the
city of Lincoln. His residence in the latter state
was of short duration, however, for in February
of the following year he sold his land and came
to South Dakota, where for some time thereafter
he gave his attention to prospecting and mining
in various parts of the Black Hills. Later, in
April, 1880, he went to Battle creek and took up
a ranch about six miles from the town of Her-
mosa, and on this place he has since lived and
prospered as a farmer and cattle raiser, meeting
with marked success in both pursuits. Mr. Carey
has labored hard to improve his place, and made
a comfortable home for his declining years, and
by good management and thrift he is now the
possessor of a sufficiency of this world's goods
to render his future from care or anxiety.

Mr. Carey, on November 23, 1854, was mar-
ried, in the city of Indianapolis, to Miss Mary
Miller, of Indiana, the union being blessed with
five children : Mrs. Sarah Perry, Mrs. Frances
Alley, Mrs. Alice Chevront, Mrs. Ella Prouty
and James H. Carey.

JOHN E. REDDICK, farmer, stock raiser
and one of the representative citizens of Custer
county. South Dakota, was born"" in Crockett
county, Tennessee, on the first day of May, 1857.
Owing to unfavorable environment while young,
he liad no school privileges and while a mere lad
he was thrown upon his own resources. In the

fall of 1876 Mr. Reddick went to Memphis,
thence via the Mississippi and Missouri rivers to
southwestern Iowa, where he worked for two
years as a farm hand. Discontinuing that kind
of labor, he secured the position of janitor of a
school building in the town of Atlantic and while
discharging the duties of the same attended
school. Although a full grown man, he was not
ashamed to take his place in classes composed of
children, ranging in age from eight to twelve
years, and so anxious was he to learn that he
spent all of his leisure time and the greater part
of each night poring over his books. In his laud-
able ambition to acquire an education, he was
greatly helped by the principal of the school, J. J.
McConnell, now of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who at
odd times gave him much assistance and encour-
agement. Mr. Reddick attended this school three
years, supporting himself the meanwhile and
paying his tuition by janitor work, and at the end
of that period he was a fairly good scholar.
Leaving Iowa in the spring of 1882, Mr. Reddick
went to Nebraska, where he spent about one year
riding the range, and the following spring found
him on the way to the Black Hills. He went by
rail as far as O'Neil, and from that place made
the rest of the trip on foot. Reaching Battle
creek, he took up land about fourteen miles from
Hermosa, which he at once proceeded to im-
prove, and when not thus engaged he worked
on neighboring ranches until earning sufficient
money to purchase a tolerably respectable outfit.
His progress at first was slow and considerably
hampered, but he gradually improved his condi-
tion until within the course of a few years he
found himself the owner of a comfortable home,
a good supply of farming utensils, besides horses
and a respectable number of cattle. He enlarged
the area of cultivated land, added to his live
stock with each succeeding year, until in due time
he forged to the front as one of the largest cattle
raisers and most successful farmers in his part
of the county, which reputation he still sustains.
Mr. Reddick's ranch contains one thousand
three hundred acres of land, three hundred acres
irrigated and from one hundred and sixty acres
in cultivation, he raises abundant crops of all the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

'555

grains, vegetables and fruits grown in this part
of the country.

Mr. Reddick was married in Rapid City,
South Dakota, July 5, 1886, to :\liss Rose .\. Mc-
Mahon, of Wisconsin, and is the father of seven
children, viz : Benjamin, James, John, Theoph-
ilus, Mary, Martha and Rosa, all living except
the oldest son, who met with a tragic death some
years ago by the turning over of a loaded wagon,
being crushed beneath the same.

JOHN W. STRATER was born in Ger-
many, November 11, 1845. When a child he was
brought to the United States by his parents and
spent his early life on a farm in Jasper county,
Iowa, remaining at home until his seventeenth
year. In 1S63 he left the parental roof and went
to New Mexico, where he remained several
years engaged in prospecting and mining, and
later traveled over the greater part of that ter-
ritory, Colorado and other mining districts of the
southwest, meeting with fair success at times,
but failing to realize the fortunes which he set
out to seek. When gold was discovered in the
Black Hills Mr. Strater, with three companions,
at once started for the new Eldorado, leaving
Denver in the spring of 1875 for Fort Laramie,
thence to Custer Park, reaching the latter place
on May 20th of that year. At the time of Mr.
Strater's arrival there were only four or five men
in the Black Hills, and they went there despite
the orders of the government to the contrary.
Locating temporarily on Castle creek, the sub-
ject and his companions continued prospecting
until the following August, when they were ar-
rested by a detachment of soldiers and taken
to Fort Laramie, where they were turned loose.
They retraced their steps to the Hills and in
due time arrived at their diggings on Castle
creek. Resuming mining, the little party worked
with might and main, determined if possible to
make a lucky find, but they appear to have reck-
oned without their host, for only ten days passed
until they again fell into the hands of the sol-
diers, who took them to Custer City, where they
were imprisoned in what was known as the "Bull

Pen," a rude corrall made of rough logs and de-
void of everything in the shape of comfort or
convenience.

After being detained a little over a week they
were taken to Cheyenne and soon after the mar-
shal gave the prisoners their freedom, admonish-
ing them, as they left, against repeating their
former offenses, unless they wished to incur the
severe displeasure of the government. Nothing
daunted, however, the men immediately returned
to their camp, and again began digging and
were never thereafter interfered with. After
remaining at the original camp on Castle creek
until April, 1876, Mr. Strater went to Custer
City^ thence a little later to Spring creek, where
he prospected during the summer months, and
in the fall located at Haywood, where he con-
tinued prospecting and mining until 1880. In
the latter year he engaged in mercantile business
at Hayward, purchasing his goods in Rapid City,
and he soon had a lucrative trade, his establish-
ment being the first of the kind in the trnvn.
After doing a successful business until 1882. he
moved his store to his ranch on Battle creek, ten
miles from Hayward, where he continued to sell
goods about three years, in connection with
which he also raised cattle, besides farming on
a limited scale. At the expiration of the period
noted he changed the location of the store to a
point on the Sidney road, south of Battle creek,
where a postoffice was established and named,
in compliment of himself, Strater, he being the
first postmaster. Mr. Strater's business experi-
ence at the latter place lasted until 1887, at
which time he moved to Hermosa, a new town,
which was settled in the spring of that year.
The subject has been very closely identified
with the business interests and general prosperity
of Hermosa, and he is now not only the oldest
merchant in the place, but also one of its most
enterprising and public-spirited citizens. He car-
ried a full line of general merchandise, com-
manded the bulk of the trade, and had one of
the largest and most successfully conducted
stores in the Black Hills. He sold his interest in
this business in January, 1904. Mr. Strater's
ranch, on which he still makes his home, contains

1556

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

about six hundred and forty acres of fine grazing
land, and being situated only one mile from Her-
niosa, he experiences little difficulty in it manage-
ment. His live-stock business is extensive and
successful and in the main he has been quite
prosperous in his various undertakings, being at
this time one of the financially strong and relia-
ble men of his part of the state. In addition to his
career as a prosperous miner, pioneer and busi-
ness man, he also has a military record, having
served about one year in the late Civil war, as
private in a Colorado regiment, enlisting in 1864.
He is a member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows at Hermosa. belongs to the Grand
Armv post at the same place, and manifests a
lively interest in the deliberations of both or-
ganizations.

JOHN J. r.FATTY, farmer and stock raiser,
living on a fine ranch two and a half miles from
Hermosa. is a native of Winnebago county. Illi-
nois, where his birth occurrred on September
25. 1857. His father was a farmer and to this
useful calling the subject was reared. He en-
joyed the best educational advantages the com-
mon schools of his neighborhood afforded, de-
voting the summer seasons to farm labor until
twenty-one years of age. On attaining his ma-
jority, Mr. Beatty left home and in January,
1879. went to western Kansas, where he spent
the greater part of the following summer with a
cattle outfit. In the fall he helped drive a hcd
to western Dakota and for some time thereafter
was employed by different parties, riding the
range along the Cheyenne river and other parts
of the country. While thus engaged he several
times returned to Kansas and Nebraska to buy
cattle and from those states he drove them
through to the Black Hills, continuing this free
cowboy life until 1887, when he took up a ranch
about two and a half miles north of Fairburn,
and turned his attention to farming. Mr. Beatty
spent the greater part of four years on this
place, and in the main met with good success,
but an intensely dry season coming on at the
expiration of that time, he was obligetl to dis-

continue agricultural pursuits in that locality
and seek a more favorable location elsewhere.
The next season he rented the old Slater ranch,
on Battle creek, which was well irrigated, but
after spending three years on the same with
fairly profitable results, he purchased a ranch of
his own, making a judicious selection on Battle
creek, about two and a half miles from Hermosa,
where, since 1896, he has been quite extensively
engaged in agriculture and stock raising. When
Mr. Beatty took possession of his ranch it con-
tained but little in the way of improvements.
He at once addressed himself to the matter and
within a comparatively brief period a large part
of the place was irrigated and in a high state of
cultivation, a comfortable dwelling was prepared
for the reception of his family, suitable oiubuild-
ings made their appearance at intervals, and in
due time he had one of the most beautiful and
desirable homes on the creek. He has continued
his improvements ever since, and in addition to
cultivating the soil and raising abundant crops of
grains, vegetables and fruits, his herds have
steadily increased until he now ranks with tlie
leading live-stock men in his part of the state.

Mr. Beatty was married, on November 24,
1890, to Miss Lena L. Robinson, who was born
and reared in South Dakota, the union being
blessed with two children, Cora and Archie.
Since coming west Mr. Beatty has contributed
his share to the material development of the
county of which he is an honored citizen, and
achieved distinctive success in his business af-
fairs.

LO( i^iHS S. CULL, who is not only one of
the leading members of the Fall River county
bar, but enjoys honorable distinction in legal cir-
cles throughout the state, is a native of New Eng-
land and dates his birth from the 24th day of
July, 1S60, having first seen the light of day in
the village of Waterville, Lamoille county, Ver-
mont. He spent his childhood and youth at the
place of his birth and after finishing the public-
school course, prosecuted his studies for some
time at Norwich L'niversitv, at Northfield. When

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1557

twenty years of age, Mr. Cull went to Marslial-
town, Iowa, where he studied law in the office
of a prominent local attorney and in due time was
admitted to the bar. following; which he came
to Dakota, locating in April, 1882, at Plankinton,
where he opened an office and began the practice
of his profession under favorable auspices. He
built up a lucrative business in that town and
made it his place of residence until 1886, in Sep-
tember of which year he located at Hot Springs,
where, as already indicated, he soon won recog-
nition at the local bar, besides earning the repu-
tation of one of the ablest lawyers in the Black
Hills. In addition to his general practice, he was
frequently employed to try important cases in
the United States courts, and in 1891 was ap-
pointed by Judge Edgerton United States com-
missioner, which position he filled with inarked
ability during the five years following, retiring
from the office in 1896.

The same year in which he entered upon his
duties as commissioner ^Ir. Cull was appointed
county judge, to fill out the unexpired term of
Judge Wood, and the next year was chosen his
own successor by the votes of the people, having
been the Republican nominee for the office. His
career on the bench was creditable to himself and
eminently satisfactory to the public, as he dis-
charged the duties of the position ably and im-
partially and by the uniform fairness of his rul-
ings and decisions gained the confidence of all
who had business to transact in his court. In
1897 'Sir. Cull removed to Lead and a little later
was appointed city attorney, but after a brief resi-
dence at that place he returned to Hot Springs
and resumed the practice of his profession. In
the spring of 1900 he was appointed to the office
of city attorney of Hot Springs, and the follow-
ing fall was further honored by being elected, on
the Republican ticket, state's attorney, holding the
latter position two terms, having been re-elected
in 1902. In addition to the offices enumerated,
I\Ir. Cull has served the people in several other
public capacities, besides being identified with
various important enterprises for the advance-
ment of the different interests of the community.
As already indicated, he has achieved a distin-

guished record as a lawyer and stands today
among the foremost practitioners in his ]):irt of
the coimtry. In the trial of suits he has been uni-
formly successful. The careful preparation of his
cases, his watchfulness over the just interests of
his clients, his knowledge of authorities and his
ability to see and utilize the strong points in his
cause, combined with his earnestness and well-
known integrity make him a strong advocate be-
fore court and jury, as well as a formidable an-
tagonist in matters involving legal acumen and
technical knowledge of the law. Mr. Cull has
long been recognized as one of the Republican
leaders in southwestern Dakota, being firm and
decided in his political opinions, and earnest in
their support.

]\Ir. Cull was married at Buffalo Gap, South
Dakota, in the year 1887, to Miss Carrie M. Holp,
a native of Ohio and a sister of Col. P. E. Holp,
formerly of Siou.x Falls, later a prominent citizen
of Watertown, this state. J^Ir. and Mrs. Cull
have one child, a son by the name of George C.

HOX. CHAUXCEY L. WOOD, of Rapid
City, was liorn on April 20. 1851. in Jones
county. Iowa, and there received his early edu-
cation, meanwhile working with his father on
the farm. He continued his scholastic training
at Cornell College at Mount Vernon, and se-
cured his professional preparation at the Iowa
State University, where he was graduated from
the law department in 1875. After his gradua-
tion he remained on the farm one year, and in
1877 began the practice of law at Anamosa, the
county seat of his native county. In April, 1878,
he arrived at Rapid City in this state, and there
met Hon. J. W. Xowlin, a menil)er of his class
who had come to the Black Hills in 1877, and
who was afterward the first circuit judge in this
part of the state. They formed a partnership for
the practice of law and opened an office in
Rapid City. The firm was very successful and
rose rapidly to prominence, the partnership con-
tinuing until Mr. Nowlin was elected judge of
the seventh circuit court of South Dakota in the
fall of 1889. After that ?^Ir. Wood practiced

t558

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

alone for some time, then formed a partnership
with C. J. Buell which lasted twelve years. Since
February, 1902, Mr. Wood has again been alone
in professional work and has built up an exten-
sive and representative practice in all depart-
ments of the law. He has been connected in a
leading wa}' witli many of the most important
cases that have been tried in this section of the
country and has won high distinction as an able
and adroit trial lawyer, an eloquent and effective
advocate, and a jurist of great learning and
breadth of view. He practices in the United
States court also and has considerable business
before that tribunal. From 1895 to 1900 he was
special assistant United States attorney, and as
such had full control of all timber cases in which
the interests of the government were involved.
As a member of the territorial constitutional con-
vention in 1883 he displayed a wide and accurate
knowledge of affairs and great power in present-
ing and enforcing his views ; and as a member of
the convention that met in 1889 and formulated
the present state constitution, he was of great
service to his county and the state at large in
securing the insertion of wise provisions in the
organic law and the elimination of unwise ones
therefrom. Being an ardent Democrat in polit-
ical faith and warmly devoted to the welfare of
his party, Mr. Wood has never shirked a duty
in connection with its progress and vitality. In
1893 he led the forlorn hope of his party .as its
candidate for judge of the state supreme court
after having made a similar race the year before
as a candidate for the United States house of
representatives, he being the most prominent man
in the party in this portion of the state. He was.
however, elected mayor of Rapid City in 1894
and again in 1899, and in 1898 was chosen state's
attorney for Pennington county. In this posi-
tion he has had some remarkable cases to try, and
in conducting them has so borne himself that all
the opposers have been wary of him. One of the
most celebrated cases with which he has been con-
nected was tliat of the Jacob Reid Heirs v. the
Holy Terror Mining Company in 1893, which he
conducted to a successful conclusion for his side
and received as his fee two-ninths of the stock

of the company. In addition to his professional
interests Mr. Wood has extensive cattle proper-
ties in Wyoming and considerable real estate of
value in Rapid City, the latter comprising both
business and residence property ; and he also has
real estate in Seattle, Washington. He is an ac-
tive member of the Masonic order and stands
high in its councils, having served as worshipful
master of his lodge at Rapid City and held other
offices of importance.

AUGUST C. WITTE, president of the
Witte Hardware Company, and one of Aber-
deen's prominent citizens, was born in the city of
Pein, Hanover, Germany, on July 6, 1857. His
parents were August and Anna (Mueller) Witte,
both natives of Germany, the former of whom
died in 1875. The subject was educated in the
public schools and in Hildesheim College, com-
pleting the three-years course in the latter and be-
ing graduated in 1874. He then became an ap-
prentice in a wholesale hardware store with the
purpose of preparing himself for a commercial
career. He spent four years in the above es-
tablisliment, and then entered the German army
as a one-year volunteer, being stationed in the
city of Hanover. At the end of his term of one
3'ear he was commissioned a second lieutenant.
In November, 1879,, he arrived in America, and
proceeding to Faribault, Minnesota, he entered
a hardware store, where he was employed for
one year. In 1880 he engaged in the same line
of business in Faribault, associating himself as a
partner with A. W. Mueller, under the firm name
as Mueller & Witte. This firm continued in
business at F"aribault until 1883, when they
closed out, in order to give all their attention to
their hardware business in Aberdeen which they
had previously established in 1881. This co-
partnership continued until the death of Mr.
Mueller, in 1893, and from that time on until
T902 the subject carried on the business by him-
self. In the last named year the Witte Hardware
Company was organized, the subject taking in
his two stepsons as active partners. The company
have one of the largest and best equipped hard-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1559

ware establishments in South Dakota, and do
a large and increasing business.

Mr. Witte has been a Republican in politics
since coming to America, and during his resi-
dence in Aberdeen has been active and promi-
nent in public affairs. In 1885 he was elected to
the board of aldermen, and, with the exception of
two years, has continued a member of the board,
being at the present time a member from the
fourth ward. His worth as a faithful city offi-
cial was recognized by the people in 1902, when
he was elected mayor of the city for a term of
two years. His administration of the affairs of
the ofSce during the term was most satisfactory
to all concerned.

Mr. Witte is a member of the Masonic fra-
ternity, in which he has attained the thirt\'-sec-
ond degree of the Scottish Rite, and the honor of
K. C. C. H., which was bestowed upon him by
the supreme council ; he is at the present time
commander of Albert Pike Council, No. 4,
Knights of Kadosh, in this division of the order.
He is also a member of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, in which he was grand patri-
arch of South Dakota in 1893, having repre-
sented the grand encampment of South Dakota
in the sovereign grand lodge for two years.

On April 30, 1895, Mr. Witte married Mrs.
Carole W. Mueller, widow of his late partner.
Mrs. Witte, by her former marriage, became the
mother of three children : Arthur L., Otto E.
and Alma. The sons are members of the Witte
Hardware Company.

\'EST P. SHOUX was born in Johnson
county, Tennessee, on July 18. 1837. and re-
ceived his early education in the place of his
nativity, remaining at home until he reached the
age of eighteen. In the spring of 1856 he
crossed the Missouri into Kansas and Nebraska,
a section of the country which was then in the
throes of a border war over the question of
slavery, and which was therefore an uninviting
place to live. Accordingly, in 1857, he joined
a party of mining men who were getting up an

outfit at Springfield, Missouri, wherewith to
cross the plains to California. They were well
equipped for the journey and had nine hundred
cattle with them. The trip consumed nine
months of weary travel, but was otherwise un-
eventful until the party reached Humboldt river
in what is now Nevada, where they had a skir-
mi.sh with the Indians in which they lost a few
of their cattle, but escaped without loss of human
life. On reaching California Mr. Shoun left
the party and went into Jackson, Amadore
county, California, and there passed a year work-
ing in the mines. From there he went into
Oregon prospecting until 1859. then proceeded
to British Columbia where he prospected about
five months in the Frazer river country, but with
indiflferent success. The next year was passed at
Salem, Oregon, and in the spring of 1861, hav-
ing heard of the discovery of gold by a party of
prospectors in the P>oise Basin, now a part of
I Idaho, he went to that region among the first of
the miners to arrive there, and was at Elk City
when the territory was organized. He remained
there until 1865 and took an active part in all
the exciting incidents of the early history of
the section, among them being with Jeff Stan-
ford and other miners when they attacked and
killed a number of hostile Indians on Owyhee
river in 1862. In 1865 he went to Virginia
City, Montana, then a new mining camp. There
he secured an outfit and began freighting from
that place. Helena, Fort Benton and other
points in ^Montana to Salt Lake City. In 1868
he joined the workmen on the Union Pacific,
which was then built to Green river, and during
the next year he worked on that great highway
of commerce and travel, at the end of that period
taking an outfit into Nevada and from then until
1 87 1 being engaged in freighting through all
portions of that state and Arizona. Selling out
then he made an extended trip through the West
and Southwest to New Orleans, and from there
north to Minnesota. Here he did contract work
on the construction of the Northern Pacific until
the fall of 1873. The love of travel and ad-
venture was still strong with him, and at this
time he determined to make another trip to Iowa

[560

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

and thence to New Orleans and Texas and back
to Iowa. In March, 1875, he joined a large
party comprising one hnndred and seventy-six
men and two women who outfitted at Sioux
City to go into the Black Hills. This was known
as the John B. Gordon expedition, Mr. Gordon
being its captain. They crossed the Missouri
at Sioux City on April 5th, and when they
reached a point sixty miles from the Spotted
Tail agency and twenty from the present town
of Gordon they were taken prisoners by United
States troops who burned all their wagons and
supplies and conducted the entire party to Fort
Randall on the ?yIissouri. There, giving them
three days' rations of flour, coffee, and beans, the
commander at the fort started them east with
orders to never come on the reservation again.
Mr. Shoun and half a dozen others remained at
the fort and he secured employment with the
Piatt & Ferriss Freighting Company, with which
he remained until September. He then or-
ganized an expedition into the Black Hills on his
own account, which started from the Spotted
Tail agency, and an account of which is given
in the historical part of this work. He was one
of the first men at Deadwood and helped to or-
ganize that town, locating on claim Xo. 11 there
and No. i at Black Tail. He opened mines and
got them running, then sold his interest. Being
an expert marksman, he passed the winter of
1875-6 hunting deer, at which he was very suc-
cessful, clearing one thousand dollars on the meat
and having three hundred and twenty hides to
sell in the spring. He then engaged in freighting
between Pierre and Sidney at one end and Dead-
wood and Rapid City at the other, continuing
his operations in this line until the completion of
the railroad through this region. In 1879 he
located on his present ranch on Elk creek about
thirty-five miles from Rapid City, on the old
Pierre and Deadwood freight trail, taking up the
land while he was yet engaged in freighting;
and from the time when he settled there until his
freighting operations ceased he conducted a road
ranch. Since then he has devoted his entire
. time to raising stock of high grade. He has a
large body of land and his ranch is one of the
finest on Elk creek.

SILAS E. MORRIS, one of the represent-
ative bankers of the state and president of the
city council of Redfield, Spink county, was born
in Mount Carroll, Carroll county, Illinois, on the
27th of November, 1861, and is a son of Joseph
P. and Jemima (Barrett) ]Morris, both of whom
were born in Ohio, whence the}^ removed to Illi-
nois in an early day, the lineage on the paternal
side being of Welsh extraction and on the ma-
ternal of English.

The subject of this sketch was reared in his
native state, and after completing the curriculum
of the public schools he entered the Northern
Illinois College, at Fulton, in which institution
he was graduated as a member of the class of
1882. In 1884 he engaged in the clothing busi-
ness at Darlington, Wisconsin, where he re-
mained until 1886, when he came to South Da-
kota and became cashier of the First National
Bank of Doland, Spink county, of which he
became president in 1888, since which time he
has been incumbent of this executive office, while
he is also president of the Merchants' Bank, of
Redfield, and of banking houses at Faulkton,
Faulk county, and Frankforf, Spink county. He
took up his residence in Redfield in 1895 and
has ever since been prominently identified with
its business and civic affairs. In politics he is a
stalwart advocate of the principles and policies
for which the Republican party stands sponsor,,
and though he has never sought official prefer-
ment he has been called upon to serve in various
local positions of public trust, while he has been
a delegate to state and other conventions of his
party, in whose success he maintains a lively in-
terest. He was a member of the board of edu-
cation of Redfield for several years, and has
been a valued member of the city council, of
which he was elected president in 1902, since
which time he has presided with ability and dis-
crimination as the chief executive of the mu-
nicipal government. In a fraternal way we find
him identified with the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of
America. He and his wife are influential and
zealous members of the First Methodist Episco-
pal church of Redfield, of which he has been
steward for the past nine years, while in igoo he

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1561

served as delegate to the general conference of
the church held in the city of Oiicago, being one
of the la)- representatives of the state of South
Dakota. He is also a member of the board of
trustees of Dakota University, at Mitchell, this
institution being conducted under the auspices
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and for the
past eight years he has rendered most effective
service as superintendent of the Sunday school
of his home church.

On the 22d of May. 1884, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. ]\Iorris to Miss Estella May
Hall, who was born in the city of Dixon, Illinois,
in the year 1863, being a daughter of ^^'arren
and Catherine Hall, well-known residents of that
place. The names of the four children of Mr.
and Mrs. Morris are here entered, with respect-
ive ages at the time of this writing, in 1904:
Florence, eighteen years : I_.eRciy. sixteen years ;
Stanley, twelve years, and \Miitncv, nine years.

HAVTLAH C. JUDSON is a native of Port
Washington, Wisconsin, born on September 23,
1853. While he was yet a child his parents
moved to Winnebago county in that state, and
there he remained until he was about twelve
} cars old and received his early education. The
family at this time moved to Houston county,
Minnesota, where the son Havilah continued his
schooling, assisting between terms on the farm.
He remained at home until the fall of 1870, then
in company with his brother Lucius came to Ver-
million, in this state, where his brother took up
land, but he not being of age and therefore not
qualified to do so, found employment in various
sawmill, being so occupied for a period of four
years. In the spring of 1878 he went to Pierre
and engaged in freighting between that town
and Rapid City and Deadwood in the employ of a
large firm. Later he secured outfits of his own
and followed this business on his own account,
continuing his operations until 1886, when he
took up a ranch on Elk creek twenty-seven miles
from Rapid City, and settling on the place began
a stock industry which he has continued ever
since. In 1901 his dwelling was destroyed by

fire, and since then he has been living on a ranch
which he manages for an eastern company and
which is located about eight miles from his own.
Mr. Judson has been very successful in the stock
business and is regarded as one of the progress-
ive and representative men of this section of the
state. He is well known and universally es-
teemed.

On January 19, 1886, Mr. Judson was mar-
ried to Miss Lois Oliver at Sturgis. She is a na-
tive of Wisconsin. They have two children, Al-
cena and Mabel. Mr. Judson is a member of the
Ancient Order of United Workmen, belonging
to the lodge of the order at Stursjis.

BENJAMIN N. OLR'ER, postmaster of
Viewfield, in Meade county, was born at Berk-
shire, FVanklin county, Vermont, on June 16,
1840. When he was ten years old his parents
moved the family to Winnebago county, Wiscon-
sin, where he grew to manhood and was edu-
cated. After lumbering in that region a few
years, in the fall of 1870 he came to Dakota and
settled in Clay county where he took up land and
began farming. During the first five years of his
residence in that county grasshoppers destroyed
all the fruits of his labors ; but with characteristic
courage and determination he faced the adversity
and continued his work, and in time was victori-
ous over every pest and won a substantial suc-
cess, remaining there twelve years. During the
next two years he conducted a hotel at Lodi, but
in 1884 he disposed of his interests in that part
of the state and moved across the country to the
Black Hills, taking with him horses and cattle.
He took up a ranch on Elk creek, about twenty-
six miles from Rapid City and twenty-eight from
the mouth of the creek, on which he settled and
again engaged in raising stock. The freight road
between Pierre and Rapid City passed his ranch
and the traffic over it was enormous. During the
first few years after he located on the property
he frequently saw as many as two hundred teams
pass in a day, and could hear the snap of the
bull-whacker's whip at all times of the night.
In 1S92 he took up a tree claim on the Divide,

1562

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

one mile north of his ranch, and before the year
was ended buih a dweUing on it which has since
then been his home. The next year he erected a
storehouse and opened a general store on the
ranch which he has carried on ever since ; and
when a postoffice was established near by he was
appointed postmaster, a position he is still hold-
ing. In politics he is an ardent Democrat, and
was elected a member of the legislature in 1895
and was re-elected in 1897.

On October 29, 1861, Mr. Oliver was married
at Fremont, Wisconsin, to Miss Deborah Hick-
man, a native of Ohio. They have eight chil-
dren, John B., Lois (^Irs. Judson), Albert, Harlo,
Willis, Arthur, I]ert and Clarence.

WILLIAM F. BRUELL, of Redfield, one of
the representative members of the bar of Spink
county, was born in Earlville, La Salle county,
Illinois, on the ist of January, 1872, and is a son
of Gustav and Martha (Myers) Bruell, the for-
mer of whom was born in Prussia, the family hav-
ing been members of the German nobility several
generations back, but the estates having been
confiscated during one of the German wars. He
came to America as a young man and in Illinois
married his wife, who was born in that state, and
it was his to render valiant service to his adopted
country as a soldier in the Union army during
the war of the Rebellion. He is now one of the
extensive farmers and landowners of Spink
county, whither he came from Illinois in 1880.
He came to what is now South Dakota with very
little means, and he and his family endured many
hardships and privations in the early years, but
they plodded on and finally their industry and in-
tegrity were rewarded.

The subject of this review was a lad of eight
years at the time of his parents' removal from
Illinois to South Dakota, and it was his to ex-
perience all the bitter and grinding poverty of the
early pioneer life here. The greatest ambition of
the subject was to secure an education, but the
hot winds blighted the crops and his hopes were
deferred for many years, but in time were at
least partially realized. From carl\- youth he had

an ambition to enter the legal profession, and
after a desperate struggle with poverty and the
burning of much midnight oil, he finally finished
his college course. From the age of twelve to
that of sixteen years, he attended school only
three months each year, and yet managed to
keep pace with the members of his class who at-
tended nine months. While attending college he
had the care of fourteen horses, then walked two
miles to his school and seldom arrived late, and
he found the discipline of value, for it is ever true
that adversity has its beneficent uses. After at-
tending the public schools of Redfield ^Ir. Bruell
entered Redfield College, in which he completed
a thorough course, being graduated as a mem-
ber of the class of 1895 and receiving the degree
of Bachelor of Philosophy. He' has also taken
special post-graduate college work in higher Eng-
lish and sociolog}'. He has distinctive and appre-
ciative literary tastes, has accumulated a fine pri-
vate library and enjoys nothing better than a few
quiet hours among his books or in digging among
the flowers of his garden. In 1896-7 Mr. Bruell
read law in the office of Howard & Walsh, of
Redfield, and was admitted to practice before the
supreme court in 1897, ^""^^ ''• short time after-
ward to the federal courts. His professional life
has been a busy one and one of signal devotion to
its work, and today he enjoys one of the best pay-
ing practices in his section of the state. He has
just completed the erection of a new residence in
Redfield, which is one of the most modern and
attractive in this section. He is a member of the
directorate of one of the leading banks of the
town, and has other capitalistic and real-estate
interests. He has never held any important po-
litical offices, in fact has been too busy to accept
candidacy. He has been a stanch supporter of
the Republican party from the time of attaining
his majority, and he has rendered effective serv-
ice in the cause, having had charge of several
local campaigns, while in the various conventions
he is always on hand to further the interests of
his friends. He is identified with the Masonic
fraternity and several other orders, is a member
of the board of trustees of Redfield College and
p-lso of the ^Tcthodist Episcopal church, of which

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[563

both he and his wife are valued members. Prior
to her marriage Mrs. Bruell had charge of the
primary department of the Redfield graded
scliools and she has always been prominently iden-
tified widi social, religious and educational affairs
in the city.

On the 20th of September, 1900, Mr. Bruell
was united in marriage to IMiss Carol Riggs, a
daughter of Samuel H. and Eliza Riggs, who
still reside in this county. Mr. Riggs was one of
the early pioneers of this section and was one of
the first to advocate irrigation by means of arte-
sian wells.

HARLAN P. PACKARD, executive head
of the Merchants' Mutual Fire Insurance Com-
pany, and a representative citizen of Redfield,
Spink county, was born in Madrid, St. Lawrence
county. New York, on the 2d of June, 1845, ^"^
is a son of Hiram and Caroline (Dimick) Pack-
ard, the former of whom was born in Massa-
chusetts and the latter in Vermont, while both
were representative of stanch old Puritan stock.
Hiram Packard was a son of Abisha Packard,
who was a valiant soldier in the Continental
line during the war of the Revolution, and who
was a great-grandson of Zaccheus Packard, who
landed in North Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in
1638. Zaccheus Packard married Mercy Alden,
a granddaughter of Priscilla Alden, whose
gentle fame has been so beautifully perpetuated
by the great New England bard, Longfellow, in
his poem of "Miles Standish."

IMr. Packard completed his educational dis-
cipline in the Potsdam Academy, at Potsdam. |
New York, and in the early part of the year 1
1864 tendered his services in defense of the
I'nion by enlisting as a member of the Fiftieth
New York Engineers, with which he served until
the close of the war. He then came to the west
and located in Janesville. Minnesota, in 1871,
Ix'ing there engaged in the mercantile business
frir the ensuing decade, at the expiration of
which, in 1881. he came to Redfield, Spink
county. South Dakota, where he has ever since
n-.aintaincd his home and where he was for a

number of years prominently identified with
general merchandising, while since 1895 he has
been at the head of the well-known and excep-
tionally popular and prosperous insurance com-
pany mentioned in the initial paragraph of this
sketch. He is a stalwart Republican in his po-
litical proclivities and has served his county as
representative in the state legislature for three
terms. He is identified with the Masonic fra-
ternity, the Grand Army of the Republic and the
Knights of Pythias, while both he and his wife
are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal
church.

In 1872 Mr. Packard was united in marriage
to Miss Hattie B. Lee, who died within the same
year, and in 1874 was solemnized his marriage to
Miss Mary E. Wentworth, who was born in
Michigan, being a daughter of Virginia Went-
worth. Mr. and Mrs. Packard have five chil-
dren, namely: Harlan C, Frank H., Lillian G.,
M. Hazel and Clavton W.

MRS. DELIA (HEALY) OWENS was
born in Ireland and came to United States when
she was a young girl in company with an aunt.
After a residence of a few years in Brooklyn,
New York, she came west to Denver, Colorado,
and there made her home with a cousin until her
marriage, on May 16, 1869, to Michael Owens,
also a native of Ireland who came to this coun-
try in his childhood. They were married at
Cheyenne, Wyoming, but lived at Denver until
the spring of 1877. While yet a boy Mr. Owens
was a mail carrier on the overland route, and after
his marriage he engaged in the stock industry.
In the spring of 1877 he disposed of his interests
in Colorado and moved to the Black Hills, stop-
ping for a short time at Deadwood and settling
later at Central City, where he remained about a
year prospecting and mining. In 1878 they
moved to Sturgis where he conducted a profit-
able livery business for more than two years, and
in 1 88 1 they came to Elk creek and located the
ranch on which Mrs. Owens now lives, which is
twenty-five miles from Rapid City. The land
was unsurveved at the time, and after remaining

1564

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

on it long enough to make the necessary improve-
ments they returned to Sturgis, and early in 1882
Mr. Owens was taken ill, and on February 15th
he died, his remains being buried in the Catholic
cemetery at Rapid City. In June of that year
Mrs. Owens moved back to the ranch with her
children, and here she has since made her home.
She has four children, Margaretta, Thomas, Fran-
ces and Mamie (Mrs. Duhamel.) When they
moved to the ranch after the death of the father
Thomas was but eight years old, and the mother
and oldest daughter managed the farming opera-
tions. Mrs. Owens bought a small herd of cat-
tle to start with and hired men to do her work
while she superintended the business. The place
soon showed the vigor and capacity of her man-
agement, rising steadily" in improvement and
value, and her cattle kept increasing in numbers
and improving in quality. In the course of time
she replaced her first rude dwelling with a com-
fortable and commodious residence, and in all
other respects made her place more homelike and
attractive. When her son Thomas reached a
proper age he took charge of the property for her,
and since then he has remained at home working
with her and for their common welfare. The
family all belong to the Catholic church and are
prominent among its members.

FRANK B. LOCKWOOD, who for more
than a decade past has held the office of postmas-
ter at Humboldt, Minnehaha county, is a native
of the Empire state of the Union, having been
born in the village of Cross River, Westchester
county. New York, on the 15th of March, 1839,
and being a son of John P. and Jane A. (Barn-
hart) Lockwood, who passed the closing years
of. their lives in Huron county, Oliio, the father
having been a school teacher by vocation. When
the subject was a child of three years his parents
removed to Huron county, Ohio, where he was
reared to maturity, securing a common-school
education and being there engaged in farming at
the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion, when
he promptly manifested his intrinsic loyalty by
tendering his services in the defense of the Union.

In June, 1861, at the age of twenty-two years, he
enlisted as a private in Company D, Twenty-
fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he
proceeded to the front, the command being as-
signed to the Army of West Virginia. In May,
1862, the entire company was transferred and
given the title of Twelfth Ohio Independent Bat-
tery of Light Artillery, and under these condi-
tions Mr. Lockwood continued to serve until the
close of the war. Among the more notable bat-
tles in which he participated may be mentioned
the following: Cheat Mountain, West Virginia,
Summit of Alleghany Mountain, Cedar Moun-
tain, second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and nu-
merous other small engagements.

After the close of his long and gallant serv-
ice as a soldier of the republic Mr. Lockwood re-
turned to Ohio, where he remained a short time
and then removed to Rockland, Illinois, where
he was engaged in clerking for one year, and
thereafter was engaged in the lumber business
for intervals of varying length in Minnesota,
Wisconsin and Iowa, until 1879, when he came
to South Dakota and located as a pioneer in Mc-
Cook county, taking up a homestead claim and in-
itiating the work of improving the same and
bringing it under cultivation^ He there continued
to reside until 1884, when he removed to the vi-
cinity of Humboldt, Minnehaha county, where he
became the owner of a farm of one hundred and
sixty acres, in Humboldt township. He here
continued to be actively engaged in agricidtural
pursuits until 1892, when he took up his abode in
the village mentioned, and has ever since resided
here, a prominent and honored citizen. In Jan-
uary, 1893, he was appointed postmaster at Hum-
boldt, of which office he has ever since been in-
cumbent, while he has served for six years as no-
tary public, and has been township clerk since
1893. He is a man of sterling character and has
the high esteem of all who know him. In politics
he has given his support to the Republican party
from practically the time of its organization to
the present, and fraternally he is a member of
Jo Hooker Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at
Sioux Falls.

On Christmas dav, 1883. at Salem, South Da-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1565

kota, Mr. Lockwood was united in marriage to
Airs. Celestia A. (Dodge) Royce, widow of
Daniel D. Ro3xe, of Ohio, of which state she is
a native, having been born in 1840, in Ashtabula
count}-, and being a daughter of Gilead Dodge.
Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood have no children.

JOSEPH P. GALLAGHER, one of the
prominent and successful farmers of Humboldt
township, Minnehaha county, is a native of the
old Keystone state, having been bom in Alle-
gheny county, Pennsylvania, on the 2d of March,
1856, and being a son of Michael and Kate
( Leonard) Gallagher, both of whom were born
in Ireland. This worthy couple continued
to reside in Pennsylvania until 1857, when
they came west and located in Winona
count}-, Minnesota, where the father of our sub-
ject engaged in farming, developing a good farm
from the forest wilds. Both he and his wife
passed the closing years of their lives in the same
place, and they ever commanded the unqualified
esteem of all who knew them, having been de-
voted communicants of the Catholic church, while
in politics the father was a stanch and uncom-
promising Democrat. Of their nine children,
seven are living, the subject of this sketch having
been the third in order of birth.

Joseph P. Gallagher was an infant in arms
at the time of his parents' removal to Alinnesota,
and there he was reared to maturity on the farm,
while his educational advantages were such as
were afforded in the common schools of the lo-
cality. He there continued to maintain his home
until 1878, when, at the age of twenty-two years,
he came to what is now the state of South Da-
kota, locating in Minnehaha county, where, on
the loth of May, of that year, he entered home-
stead and timber-culture claims in Humboldt
township, about one and one-half miles south of
the present village of the same name. He began
operations in a primitive way, his original dwell-
ing being rudely constructed of lumber, and
through energy, perseverance and good manage-
ment during the long intervening years he has ac-
cumulated a valuable property, while his ranch

is equipped with the best improvements. He still
retains his two original claims, to which he has
since added an adjoining half section, so that the
area of his landed estate at the present time is
six hundred and forty acres, nearly all of which
is available for cultivation, yielding large re-
turns for the labor expended. Mr. Gallagher's
religious faith is that of the Catholic church, in
which he was reared ; politically he gives an un-
wavering allegiance to the Democratic party, and
fraternally is a member of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen.

On the 27th of July, 1885, Mr. Gallagher was
united in marriage to Miss Maggie Kelly, who
was born and reared in Minnesota, and who was a
resident of Minnehaha county at the time of her
marriage. Of this union have been born two
children, George, who is associated with his
father in the management of the home place, and
Mamie, who likewise remains beneath the paren-
tal roof.

HERBERT D. OAKS, dealer in hardware
and farm machinery, Hartford, South Dakota,
is native of Olmsted county, Minnesota, born in
the town of Mola, on the 21st day of July, 1858.
When a youth of twelve he accompanied his par-
ents, D. W. and Loraine (W'aite) Oaks, on their
removal to South Dakota and during the ensuing
nine years lived with them on a farm twelve miles
west of Sioux Falls, atttending school the mean-
while and assisting his father in developing the
latter's land. On attaining his majority, he en-
tered the eniploy of the Peavey Elevator Com-
pany, at Montrose, conducting the business of the
company in an able and satisfactory manner and
becoming familiar in the meantime with every
phase of the grain trade. Resigning tlie above
position in 1883, Mr. Oaks came to Hartford and
accepted a clerkship in the mercantile house of
John Mundt, continuing to sell goods during the
five years following. At the expiration of that
time he became a member of the mercantile firm
of Shimmech, Oaks & Company, which partner-
ship lasted three years, when Mr. Shimmech
disposed of his interest in the business, this

1566

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

change resulting in the organization of the well-
known firm of John Mundt & Company, with
which the subject was identified until 1897. In
the latter year Mr. Oaks severed his connection
with the firm and began handling hardware
and farm machinery, in which he soon
built up an extensive business, being at
this time one of the leading dealers in
these lines in Hartford. Mr. Oaks car-
ries a large and carefully selected stock of
hardware, represents a number of the leading
implement firms of the United States, and the
steady growth of his establishment in public fa-
vor bears evidence to his ability, tact and re-
sourcefulness as a business man. In politics
he was originally a Republican, but of recent
years he has affiliated with the Bryan wing of the
Democratic party, and is now one of its earnest
advocates and active supporters in the county of
Minnehaha. Mr. Oaks is identified with the Odd
Fellows fraternity, and stands high in the local
lodge to which he belongs. He was married on
March 23, 1883, to Miss Ida G. Marson, of Sioux
Falls, and has a family of children whose names
are as follows : Mabel, Cliff, Elma, Elsie, Mar-
cene, Loraine, Lelia, Dorotha and Mildred.

WILEY, V. LOWE.— We are pleased to
make specific mention of the East Sioux Falls
granite quarries, of which the firm of Lowe &
Handley are the proprietors, the subject of this
sketch being the senior member of the firm. They
conduct a large and important business, as con-
tractors for the celebrated Sioux Falls granite
and make a specialty of paving blocks, building
and dimension stone, etc., and are contractors
for street paving and architectural work.

Mr. Lowe is a native of the beautiful city of
Wnieeling, West Virginia, where he was born on
the 13th of August, 1865, the family name hav-
ing been identified with the annals of the southern
section of the Union for many years. He is a son
of Wiley V. and Margaret (Miller) Lowe, and
his father was engaged in farming near Wheel-
ing until 1867, when he removed with his fam-

ily to Wenona, Marshall county, Illinois, where
he engaged in farming until 1873, when he re-
moved to Gaylord, Smith county, Kansas, while
about 1879 he located in Creston, Iowa, where
he engaged in farming, becoming one of the
prominent farmers of that section. He died in
1890, and the mother is now living at Creston,
Iowa.

The subject of this skecth was but two years
of age at the time of his parents' removal to Illi-
nois, and in the public schools of Wenona he se-
cured his rudimentary educational training, while
later he continued to attend the public schools
in Kansas and Iowa. At the age of seventeen
years Mr. Lowe entered the Northwestern Com-
mercial College at Stanberry, Missouri, where he
was graduated as a member of the class of 1885,
after which he returned to his home, in Creston,
Iowa, where he secured a position as bookkeeper
in the local office of a mining company, while
later he was similary engaged for a short time
at Qiariton, that state. In the fall of 1889 he
came to East Sioux Falls as bookkeeper for the
East Sioux Falls Granite Company, the prede-
cessor of the firm of which he is now a member,
and in 1895 he became associated with Williaip
I Handley in the purchase of the business, organ-
I izing at the time the present fimi of Lowe &
i Handley, and having since continued to success-
fully operate their valuable quarries, while the
I business has shown a continual increase in scope
and importance during the intervening years.

Mr. Lowe gives an unequivocal allegiance to
the Republican party, and in 1892 he was .ap-
pointed postmaster of East Sioux Falls, by Hon.
John Wannamaker, who was then postmaster-
general, while during the intervening years the
subject has continued to fill this office. He has
held various local offices, including that of city
auditor and member of the board of education,
while he is also a notary public. Fraternally he
holds membership in Sioux Falls Lodge, No. 262,
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in
Sioux Falls.

The marriage of Mr. Lowe was solemnnized
in Stanberry, Missouri, on the ist of July, 1887,
when he was united to Miss Oma I. Shisler, who

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

'567

was born in Stanberry, Missouri, being a daugh-
ter of T. J. and Vassie Shisler, who are now res-
idents of Stanberry. Mr. and Mrs. Lowe have
two children, Dehner C. and J. Virgil.

EDWIN E. BUCK, a prominent and success-
ful business man of Hartford, Minnehaha county,
is a native of the old Empire state of the Union,
having been born on the homestead farm, in St.
Lawrence county. New York, on the 29th of July,
1866, and being a son of Epaphroditus and
Phoebe (Russ) Buck, both of whom are still liv-
ing and each of whom is ninety years of age at
the time of this writing, the father having al-
ways followed the vocation of farming and having
lived a significantly long and useful life. The
subject passed his boyhood days on the home farm
and early began to aid in its cultivation, while
his educational discipline was somewhat limited,
being confined to a few years' attendance in the
public schools. He initiated his independent ca-
reer when a lad of but twelve years, coming west
to Wisconsin at that age, in 1878, and there being
engaged in work on various farms until 1888,
when he came to what is now the state of South
Dakota and prepared to gain the fullest measure
of success possible by the application of the forces
at his command. He took up a homestead claim
near Hartford, duly perfecting his title to the
property and there engaging in fanning about
six years, at the expiration of which he took up
his residence in Hartford and entered the employ
of the J. W.Tuttle Lumber Company, with which
he was connected until 1892, when he engaged in
the real-estate business, associating himself with
I. C. Kingsbury, under the firm name of Buck
<Sc Kingsbury. He continued operations in this
line for a period of three years and thereafter
was variously engaged until 1900, when he be-
came a member of the present firm of Buck,
Evans & Company, dealers in hardware, farm-
ing implements and machinery, furniture, etc.,
the owners taking rank among the leading busi-
ness houses of the town and controlling a large
and representative trade. Mr. Buck has "hewed
close to the line" and has made everv effort

count, being known as one of the progressive
and public-spirited citizens of Hartford. In pol-
itics he was formerly aligned with the Republi-
can party, but the Kansas City platform of the
Democrac}' met with his approval and in 1898
he gave his support to William J. Br3^an for
the presidency, as did he also in the campaign of
1900. Fraternally he is identified with the local
lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
On the 2Sth of March. 1883, Mr. Buck was
united in marriage to Miss Millie Thrall, who was
born and reared in Wisconsin, and they have two
children, Grace and Rctta E.

CHARLES FEYDER has been an honored
resident of Minnehaha county ever since 1881 and
from 1884 to 1902 he was actively identified with
the growth and business interests of the town of
Hartford, where he still makes his home.
Charles Feyder, son of Nicholas and Rosa (Nich-
olas) Feyder, was born at Port Washington, Wis-
consin, on the 2d day of March, 1850, and
.spent his early life in his native town. He at-
tended the public schools of that place until his
seventeenth year, and then left the parental roof
to make his own way, his first experience being
on the great lakes, which he plied in different
capacities during the ten years following. He
entered the maritime service in a humble po-
sition, but by faithfully discharging his duties
was gradually advanced until at the early age
of twenty he received a pilot's commission, be-
ing one of the youngest men ever intrusted with
such an honorable and responsible post. During
the greater part of his experience on the lakes
Mr. Feyder was in the employ of the Goodrich
Transportation Company, which fact attests his
ability as a pilot, as none but men of the highest
efficiency were intrusted with the guidance of the
company's vessels, and when he resigned his
position he received from his employers flattering
testimonials as to his faithfulness in looking after
their interests.

On quitting the lake service. Mr. Feyder re-
turned home and engaged in the grain trade at
Port Washington, but after spending about four

1568

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

years there he disposed of the business and in
1881 came to Minnehaha county, South Dakota,
and settled on a tree claim in Humboldt town-
ship, which had been taken up in his name the
year previous. He at once began improving his
land and in due time had a considerable part of it
in cultivation. A good dwelling and other build-
ings were erected, fences were put up and it was
not long until his place became one of the most
beautiful and attractive country homes in the
township of Humboldt. Mr. Feyder devoted
his attention exclusively to agricultural
pursuits and stock raising until the year
1884, when he abandoned rural life and,
moving to Hartford, opened a hardware
store, which line of business he conducted
with encouraging success during the ensuing
seven years, disposing of the establishment in
1901. Two years after changing his residence to
the town he took charge of the Plavey Grain
Elevator, which he managed in connection with
the hardware trade, building up an extensive
business, buying and shipping grain and con-
tinuing the same until 1902, when he turned it
over to his son and retired from active life.

Mr. Feyder's business enterprises proved quite
successful, and he is now the possessor of a suf-
iiciency of this world's goods to place him in
independent circumstances, besides rendering un-
necessary any care or anxiety as far as the future
is concerned. His career has been characterized
by great activity and devotion to duty, and
whether laboring for others or looking after his
own interests, his industry was untiring, his man-
agement able and judicious and his rewards al-
ways liberal and certain. A strong Republican
and at all times standing for the principles of
his party and laboring earnestly for its success,
he has persistently refrained from office seek-
ing and leaves to others the honors and emolu-
ments of public position. Mr. Feyder, on January
21, 1875, was happily married, at Fort Washing-
ton, Wisconsin, to an estimable young lady of
that place, by the name of Elizabeth Beck. Five
children have been the fruits of this union, viz:
Nicholas J., Rose, Williami, Giarles and Theo-
dore.

ALEXANDER I^IADILL was born in
Ogdensburgh, St. Lawrence county, New York,
on January 29, 1843. He was reared to agri-
cultural pursuits in his native county, attended the
public schools at intervals during his minority,
and at the age of twenty-three left New York and
went to Waupaca county, Wisconsin, where he
engaged in the lumber business. After remain-
ing in the latter state until the spring of 1877,
Mr. Madill came to South Dakota and during the
greater part of the next year and a half devoted
his attention to prospecting in the Black Hills,
with Deadwood as his headquarters. In the fall
of 1878 he went to Custer City and began pros-
pecting on French creek, but the following year
changed his location to the site of the present city
of Keystone, where he purchased a number of
mining claims, which have since increased in
value. In 1880, with Dr. Hope, he located the
Rullipn mine, in which Benjamin Mitchell sub-
sequently acquired an interest. Mr. Madill and
the latter gentleman being principal owners of
the property at the present time. This mine,
which is bonded to eastern capitalists, shows
great value and promises, when fully developed,
to become one of the largest and richest mining
properties in the Black Hills.

In addition to the above. Mr. Madill has
located a number of other valuable claims in
different parts of the country, several of which
he sold at liberal prices, and he was also inter-
ested for some time in the Ida Florence mine,
a mine of great promise, which he helped pro-
mote and ilevelop. Mr. Madill lived at Keystone
until the spring of 1891, when he came to Squaw
creek and took up his present ranch, five miles
from Hermosa, where, in addition to looking
after his mining intere.sts, he has since been en-
gaged in farming and stock raising. He has a
fine place which is admirably suited to agriculture
and grazing, and has spared neither pains nor
expense in developing and improving the property
and providing his family with the conveniences
and comforts and not a few of the luxuries of
life. Mr. Madill is one of the progressive men
of the Black Hills and manifests commendable
zeal in whatever makes for the growth and de-

(::k.Ayyi .^^^e^^K^^lJ^^

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1569

velopmeiit of tliis section of the statev Alwavs
a staunch Republican, he persistentl}- refused to
accept office from his party until the fall of 1900,
when he was induced, much against his will, to
consent to run for the legislature. His election
followed as a matter of course and he represented
the county in a very creditable manner, proving
an able and indefatigable worker for the inter-
ests of his constituency, and earning an honor-
able reputation as a law maker. In all that con-
stitutes intelligent and aggressive citizenship, Mr.
Madill is easily the peer of any of his contem-
poraries, and as a kind and obliging neighbor,
with the good of his fellow men at heart, he en-
joys the esteem and confidence not only of the
community in which he resides, but of the people
of the county as well. He is a member of the
Masonic fraternity, at Keystone, and in addition
thereto gives his support to all public and private
benevolences, being charitable and ever ready
to assist the deserving poor wherever they may
be found.

On January 20, 1873, Mr. Madill was united
in marriage with Miss Emma Kelley, a native of
Maine, but at that time living in Waupaca
county, Wisconsin, where the ceremony took
place. Five children have been born to Mr. and
Mrs. Madill, namely: George, Gertrude, Roy,
Earl and Olive.

CHARLES LEMl'EL EAKIX. the owner
of a finely improved ranch of sixteen hundred
acres, near Blunt, Hughes county, is a native of
Illinois, having been born in Indianola, Vermil-
lion county, on the 2d of August, 1865, and being
a son of Edmond W, and Ellen M. Eakin. He
was afiforded the advantages of the excellent
public schools of his native state, completing his
specific scholastic discipline in the high school at
Danville. He continued to reside in Illinois un-
til 1883, when he came to what was then the ter-
ritory of Dakota, and here he has achieved pros-
perity and independence and gained prestige as
one of the able business men and influential
citizens of his home county, where h:^ is held in
bigh ei^teem liy all who know him. In politics

Mr. Eakin is a stalwart adherent of the Republi-
can party, and in a social way lu- is affiliated with
the M:\sonic fraternity, tlu- An;-ient Order of
United \\'(.rknicn and the Knis^l.ts nf the Macca-
bees.

On the nth of November, i8yi, Mr. Eakin
was united in marriage to Miss Etta J. Sheldon,
who was born in Eyota, Olmsted county, Minne-
sota, in 1865, and whose death occurred on the
14th of May, 1892. She was a daughter of
Porter G. and Caroline Sheldon, who were num-
bered among the pioneers of Minnesota. On the
8th of July, 1895, the subject .consummated a
second marriage, being then united to Miss Lelia
Bailey, who was born in Rochester, Illinois, on
the 8th of March, 1870, being a daughter of
Emory and Lucinda Bailey. Mr. Eakin has
three children, one of whom was born of the first
marriage, and two of the second, namely: Etta
S.. Russell L. and Muriel.

PETER LYNUM. the leading CDUtractor and
building of Hartford, South Dakota, and the
son of Peter and Lena (Jacobson) Lynum, was
born in Menominee, Wisconsin, on the 23d day of
June, 1876, but grew to maturity in the town of
Baldwin, that state, to which place his parents
removed when he was a child, .\fter attending
ihe public schools of Baldwin until acquiring a
good practical education he turned his attention
to mechanical work, for which he early mani-
fested a decided liking, and in due time became
an efficient carpenter, which trade he followed
at dififerent places in his native state until 1897.
In that year he came to South Dakota and, lo-
cating at Hartford, worked for other parties until
1901, when he began contracting upon his own
responsibility, since which time he has erected
many of the finest residences in the city, also a
number of business blocks and public edifices,
besides doing considerable building in other towns
and throughout the country districts. i\Ir. Lynum
is a skilled mechanic and a master of his trade;
he has devoted much attention to the study of
architecture, is prepared to furnish all kinds of
plans and specifications, and in addition thereto

tS7o

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

makes a specialty of fine cabinet work, in which
he is without a rival in the city of his residence.
Since engaging in business for himself his ad-
vancement has been rapid and at this time he
furnishes steady employment to quite a force of
skilled workmen, having on hand a number of
important contracts which when completed will
add greatly to the growth and beauty of the city
and surrounding country.

Politically Mr. Lynum has always been stead-
fast in his allegiance to the, Republican party, but
he is by no means narrow or illiberal in his opin-
ions. He is a married man, having contracted a
matrimonial alliance, on January i, iqoi, with
Miss Gail Sarah Scott, of Hartford, South Da-
kota, daughter of Joseph and Ella (Banton)
Scott, the union being blessed with one child, Al-
len LeRov.

ALBION THORNE, who maintains his
home in the pleasant little city of Hartford, Min-
nehaha county, is a native of the old Pine Tree
state, having been born in Canton, Oxford
county, Maine, on the 19th of October, 1836, and
being a son of John Owen Thorne, a farmer by
vocation, who was born at Lisbon, Maine, in
1804, and who died in Dell Rapids, South Da-
kota, in 1874. His wife, whose maiden name
was Mary Hall Billings, was born at Temple,
New Hampshire, on the 24th of September, 1810,
and died in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on the
6th of April, 1901, both of these sterling pioneers
having been numbered among the earliest perma-
nent settlers in Minnehaha county. Both families
were established in New England in the colonial
era, and Thomas Thorne. grandfather of our sub-
ject, was an active participant in the war of 1812,
and a pioneer settler in the state of Maine.
Albion Thorne, to whom this sketch is dedicated,
completed the curriculum of the common schools
in his native county, and thereafter continued
his educational discipline in Westbrook Seminary
and the Maine State Seminary, now known as
Bates College, while in September, 1858, he was
matriculated in Tufts College, at Somerville,
Massachusetts, where he pursued a classical and
scientific course of studv.

On the 9th of September, 1862, he enlisted
as a member of Company C, Twenty-third Maine
Volunteer Infantry, in which he was made first
lieutenant, remaining in the service for ten
months and then receiving his honorable dis-
charge. Thereafter he was engaged in the
mercantile business for one year at Canton,
Maine, in the meanwhile taking up the study
of law and making such progress that he secured
admission to the bar of Oxford county in 1866,
and began the practice of his profession
after closing out his mercantile interests.
In 1864-5 he served as superintendent of
schools in his native county, and was
also justice of the peace for a time. In
1868 he removed to Waterloo, Iowa, where he
held the superintendency of the East Side school
from 1869 to 1871, in which latter year he came
to the territory of Dakota and located in Dell
Rapids, and he was superintendent of schools for
Minnehaha county from 1872 to 1874. inclusive,
while from 1872 to 1878 he also served as dis-
trict attorney for the county. From 1881 to 1891
he was secretary of the board of education of
Dell Rapids, and thereafter was clerk of the
county courts, with residence in Sioux Falls, un-
til 1895. In 1881 he represented his county in
the territorial legislature, and he has been other-
wise prominent in public and civic affairs, while
he has attained precedence as an able lawyer.
He has maintained his home in Hartford. In
politics Mr. Thorne gavo his allegiance to the
Democratic party up to the time when the Con-
federacy fired upon the Walls of old Fort Sum-
ter,^ and thereafter he supported the Republican
party until he became convinced that it was bow-
ing down to false gods, and he has since opposed
its policies in the upholding of trusts, expansion
of territory, etc.. while he holds himself aloof
from any political affiliation at the present time.
On the 7th of September. 1862, Mr. Thorne was
initiated in Oriental Star Lodge, No. 21, Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons, at Livermore, IMaine,
and was master of the same in 1868. He became
a member of Dell Rapids Lodge, No. 8. Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, in 1876, and has
held all the principal offices, including that of
chief patriarch of Occidental Encampment, Pa-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1571

triarchs Militant. He attended the Universalist
church and one of its colleges in Maine, and is
favorably inclined to the same, but is tolerant in
his attitude.

On the i8th of July, 1868, at Canton, Maine,
Mr. Thorne was united in marriage to Miss Clara
Maria Bolster, of Dixfield, that state, and of their
children we here enter the names and respective
dates of birth ; Bina May, February 19, 1870 :
Alice Cynthia, July 15, 1873; Mabel Marth, July
7, 1875; Otis Albion, May i, 1879; Arthur Al-
bion, May 7, 1883 ; Grace Clara, August 29, 1886 ;
and William Bolster, January 27, 1886

M. A. BUTTERFIELD, attorney and coun-
sellor at law, Montrose, South Dakota, was born
April 20, 1847, in Chautauqua county. New
York, the son of Orville K. and Nancy J. (Bem-
us) Butterfield, both natives of the Empire state.
When about six years of age he was taken by
these parents to Spring Creek, Pennsylvania, at
which place he grew to young manhood, receiv-
ing the meanwhile a publip-school education, and
as soon as old enough assisting his father by
working at. different pursuits. When the great
Rebellion war broke out, he was one of the first
in his community to tender his services to the
government, although but a mere youth at the
time, being not quite fourteen years and four
months old when he entered the army, and ex-
perienced in full the vicissitudes and terrible real-
ities of warfare. Mr. Butterfield enlisted August
7, 1 861, in Company I, Eighty-third Pennsylvania
Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until
1864, when he re-enlisted, joining on January
4th of that year the Sixteenth Pennsylvania Cav-
alry and remaining with the same until honorably
discharged, on the 17th day of August, 1865.
Shortly after re-enlisting he was promoted quar-
termaster sergeant and subsequently was made
first sergeant of his company, filling the latter of-
fice while in the cavalry service. During the
four years in which he upheld the honor of the
flag in the southland, Mr. Butterfield took part
in a number of the most noted campaigns of the
war, principally in Virginia, where his command

was frequently engaged in battles, which made
that state truly historic ground. Among the more
important actions in which he participated were
the seven days' fight in front of Richmond, sec-
ond Bull Run, battle of the Wilderness, Sheri-
dan's great raid through the Shenandoah valley,
and others, sixteen in all, in each of which he
bore himself bravely and gallantly, shirked no re-
sponsibility and never hesitated at danger or
death, while in the discharge of his duty. He
was three times wounded, at Bull Run very se-
verely, and his escape under many trying cir-
cumstances was little less than marvelous.

For some time after Lee's surrender Mr. But-
terfield served on provost marshal duty, but on
leaving the army he returned to Pennsylvania
and for a number of years thereafter taught
school in that state. Later he took up the study of
law and in August, 1880, came to Montrose,
South Dakota, where he opened an oflSce and
soon won a lucrative practice in the courts of
McCook and neighboring counties. Mr. Butter-
field's professional experience includes a wide
range, and for a number of years his name has
appeared in connection with the majority of im-
portant cases in the city and county in which he
resides, besides commanding a lucrative office
business, to say nothing of extensive litigation in
other parts of the state and before higher courts.
He is well-grounded in the principles of the law,
being not only recognized as one of the most suc-
cessful attorneys of the McCook county bar, but
also as one of the most honorable and trustworthy
practitioners in his part of the state.

Mr. Butterfield was formerly a Republican,
but of recent years he has acted with the Peoples'
party and is now one of its leaders in Montrose
and McCook county. He served two terms as
state's attorney, was at one time superintendent of
the public schools of the above county, and his
interest in matters educational led him some years
ago to accept the secretaiyship of the Montrose
school board, which position he still holds. He
is an enthusiastic member of the Grand Army
of the Republic, and has held several important
offices in the organizations. He served two years
as aid with the rank of captain on the staff of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

General Free, took an active interest in organ-
izing the Union Veterans' Union of Sioux Falls,
and was honored by being made major of John A.
Logan Regiment, No. 2, in Sioux Falls. He also
served six years as adjutant of the McCook
County \'eterans' Association, was commander
of the same in 1903, and in 1904 was appointed
on tlie l^nion Veterans' Union department
executive . committee, with rank as colonel.
Mr. Butterfield stands high in military circles,
is a loyal friend of the old soldiers and spares
no pains in looking after their interests and if
necessary spends his means freely for their com-
fort and support, realizing that the country is
under a debt of gratitude to the veterans which
it can never sufficiently repay.

Mr. Butterfield, on October 14, 1882, entered
the marriage relation with Miss Edith A. Fowler,
of Olmsted county, Minnesota, the union being
blessed with four children, whose names are as
follows: Jennie E., Ethel M., -Irl M. and
Claude E.

GEORGE \\'. RLISS, \[. D., of X'allcy
Springs, was born in Cambria, Columbia county,
Wisconsin, March 27, 1868. He is the son of
John and Emma (Hodkinson) Bliss and at the
age of twelve years accompanied these parents
to South Dakota, where he grew to manhood and
received his educational training. After at-
tending the public schools of Minnehaha county
until completing the elementary branches, he en-
tered Sioux Falls College, where he pursued his
studies until finishing the prescribed course, be-
ing graduated with a creditable record in the year
I goo. During the ensuing two years he devoted
his attention to teaching, spending one year as
principal of the East Sioux Falls schools, and at
tl:e expiration of that time took up the study of
medicine, which he had formerly decided upon
as his life work. After his usual course of pre-
liminary reading, he entered the medical depart-
ment of the Minneapolis University, where he
was graduated in 1895. immediately following
which he served six months in the hospitals at
that place, and then located at A'alley Springs,

South Dakota, where he in due tim.e built up the
large and lucrative practice which he still com-
mands. Dr. Bliss easily ranks with the leading
men of his profession in South Dakota and his
professional services both as a physician and sur-
geon have gained him a reputation far beyond
the limits of the field to which his practice is prin-
cipally confined. He is a member of the Sioux
Valley Medical Association, the American Med-
ical Association and other societies for the ad-
vancement of professional knowledge and ef-
ficiency, and takes an active interest in the de-
liberations of these bodies.

While making every other consideration Sub-
ordinate to his professional duties, the Doctor is
a public-spirited citizen, and as such has been in-
terested in various enterprises, notable among
which is the local telephone system, organized in
the year 1902. He was one of the chief
promoters of the company, invested con-
siderable of his means and devoted much
of his time to make it a success, and
as president he has managed its affairs in a
.'^afe and business-like manner, making it one of
the best local systems in the state. Being an
educated man and appreciating the value of
knowledge, he has been untiring i'l his efforts to
promote the cause of education in Valley Springs,
and as president of the board of education he has
been instrumental in advancing the interests of th-
schools of the city imtil they now compare fav-
orably with those in any other part of the state.
In addition to the official relations already re-
ferred to, he is treasurer of the Inter-state Gin-
seng Association, which is now attracting at-
tention throughout the country. They are the
largest growers in the northwest and are meet-
ing with the greatest encouragement.

Doctor Bliss has been a consistent member
of the Democratic party ever since old enough to
exercise the rights and privileges of citizenship,
and since locating at Valley Springs his influence
has been felt in political circles as an organizer
and successful campaigner.

The Doctor, on March 24, 1897, was hajipily
married to Miss Lucy Udell and at this time his
home circle includes, besides himself and amia-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1573

h\e wife, one child, a daughter by the name of
Rowena. Doctor Bhss is a man of strict busi-
ness principles and his regard for professional
courtesy has given him high standing among the
leading physicians of the state in wliicli Ik- re-
sides, alsii with the general public.

WALE P. THIEL:\IAX, who, though now a
resident of Iowa, still retains large c.ipitalistic
and real-estate interests in South Dakota, is a na-
tive of Prussia, where he was bom on the loth
of October, 1843, being a son of Peter and Mar-
garet Thielnian, who emigrated thence to Amer-
ica in 1846, so that he has passed essentially his
entire life in the L'nited States. His parents lo-
cated in Erie county,' New York, where the father
turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, and
there both passed the remainder of their lives.
Peter Thielnian passed away at the age of sixty-
five years, while his devoted wife lived to attain
the age of seventy-three years. The early educa-
tional advantages of the subject were limited in
scope to six months and he early learned to know
what is implied in the term hard work. He at-
tended the common schools of his home county
as opportunity offered and has effectually supple-
mented this meager discipline by that gained in
i 1 the practical school of a busy and useful life.
In i8f)i, at the age of seventeen years, Mr.
Thielman tendered his services in defense of the
Union, enlisting as a private in Company H,
Third New York Volunteer Infantry, and with
this command he participated in many hotly con-
tested battles. He received a wound in the sec-
ond battle of Bull Run and also in the memorable
battle of Gettysburg. At the expiration of his
three years term of enlistment he received an hon-
orable discharge, and in November, 1864, re-en-
listed, becoming a member of Company D, One
Hundred and Forty-seventh Illinois Infantry,
with which he served until the close of the war,
being first lieutenant of his company at the time
of receiving his discharge, while his record was
that of a valiant and loyal son of the republic.

After the close of the war Mr. Thielman lo-
cated in Crawford county, \A^isconsin, in which

state he continued to be identified with agricul-
tural pursuits until the first of June, 1867, when
he took up his residence in what is now the state
of South Dakota, residing in Todd county until
1869, when he came to what is now Turner
ciiunty. being one of its earliest settlers and hav-
ing been intimately concerned in its development
and upbuilding, and also with the founding of the
town of Parker, the thriving county seat. In
1870 he started the first set of abstracts of titles in
this county and in connection with his absract
business also began dealing in real estate and ex-
tended financial loans. In these lines of enter-
prise he successfully continued until 1895, when
he disposed of his interests to the firm of W. R.
Wood & Company, who still continue the busi-
ness, having at the present time the only com-
plete set of abstracts in the county. Mr. Thiel-
nian has ever been arrayed as an uncompromising
advocate of the principles and policies of the Re-
publican party and has been active in the promo-
tion of its cause, both under the territorial and
state regimes. The confidence and esteem re-
posed in him by the people of Turner county has
been manifested in no uncertain way, as is evi-
dent when we advert to the various ofiicial posi-
tions in which he has been called upon to serve.
He was the second register of deeds of the county,
served as county clerk for a period of eight years ;
was clerk of the district court for fifteen and one-
half years ; and has also held the offices of sec-
retar}' of the board of immigration, chairman of
the first board of .county commissioners, deputy
county treasurer, member of the legislature, post-
master at Swan Lake, mayor of Parker, etc.,
while further distinction came to him in being
chosen as the first state senator from Turner
county. He has maintained his home in LeMars,
Iowa, since 1899, but passes a considerable por-
tion of his time in travel. He has not lost inter-
est in Turner county and its people and still re-
tains large real-estate interests here. Fraternally
Mr. Thielman is identified with the Grand Army
of the Republic, the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient
Order of United Workmen. He has a host of
friends in Turner countv and all will read with

1574

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

satisfaction this brief review of his career. On
the nth of October, 1873, Mr. Thielman
was vmited in marriage to Miss Sarah J. Black,
who was born and reared in Jo Daviess county,
IlHnois, being a daughter of Daniel and Maria
Black. Of this union no children have been
bom, but Mr. and Mrs. Thielman adopted a
a daughter, Nora M., whom they reared from in-
fancy, and who is now the wife of Professor
Morris H. Leitner, principal of the Alorningside
schools of Sioux City, Iowa.

THOMAS W. LAXE. one of the popular
citizens and prominent and successful farmers
and stock growers of Jt-'rauld county, is a native
of the state of Illinois, having been born in the
city of Freeport. Stephenson county, on the i6th
of May, 1857, and being a son of Thom?.s and
Bridget Lane, the former of whom was born in
England and the latter in Ireland. His father
was for many years engaged in the grocery busi-
ness in Freeport, he being now deceased. The
wife is now living in Chicago, being about
eighty-five years old. The subject of this sketch
attended the public Echools of his native city un-
til he was thirteen years of age. He began to
shift for himself when nine years old. working
on a farm until thirteen years old, when he se-
cured a position as brakeman on the Western
I'nion Railroad, out of Freeport. He came to the
territory of Dakota as conductor on a construc-
tion train on the Iowa & Dakota division of the
Chicago. Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, in

1879, and was conductor on the first regular
train with the coaches out of Mitchell, in May,

1880. He was identified with the line until the
road reached Woonsocket, in May, 1883, and then
conducted trains from Sanborn, Iowa, to Cham-
berlain, South Dakota, until 1886, when he went
to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and followed the
same occupation until 1892. Then, on account of
his wife's ill health, he went to his present ranch
which land he secured from the government.
Here he has ever since maintained his home,
while he has purchased additional land and now
bas a finely improved ranch of twenty-six hun-

dred acres, where he devotes his attention prin-
cipally to the raising of high-grade live stock,
conducting operations on an extensive scale and
being one of the leading citizens of the county.

Mr. Lane is a stanch Republican in his po-
litical proclivities and has been an active worker
in its cause, while in 1902 he served with marked
acceptability as a member of the state senate
from the nineteenth senatorial and sixteenth rep-
resentative district ; he has been incumbent of
various township offices, in some one of which he
has served ever since coming to the state. He is
a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he
passed the commandery degrees in 1881, being
now identified with Crusade Commandery, No.
39, at Cherokee, Iowa, and to the Shrine at Sioux
Falls, South Dakota, while he is also affiliated
with the Modern Woodmen of America and the
Order of Railway Condrctors. He and his wife
are ir.embers of the Baptist churcli.

On the t4th of October, 1880. 'Sir. Lane was
united in marriage, at La Crosse, Wisconsin, to
Miss Lina A. Harrington, who was born in
Cambria, Columbia county, that state, being a
daughter of James A. and Charlotte J. Harring-
ton. Mr. and Mrs. Lane have no children.

The town of Lane, in this county, was named
in honor of the subject, who lived here sixteen
years. He owns a half interest in a section of
'and adjoining Grove Valley and a fourth inter-
est in the quarter section on which the town is
located-.

MARION LEONIDAS FOX, who was the
organizer of the Security Trust Company, of
Sioux Falls, and who has been its secretary and
manager from the time of inception, is one of the
able newspaper men of the state, having been
prominently identified with several enterprises of
this line in South Dakota. He is a native of Bun-
combe cixuity, North Carolina, where he was
born on the 25th of October, 1865, being a son of
John Jacob and Elizabeth (Roberts) Fox, native
of North Carolina and both of whom are dead,
the fonner having been for many years engaged
in acricnlture and having served in the senate of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

North Carolina from 1884 to 1888. After com-
pleting' the curriculum of the public schools the
subject entered Greenville and Tusculum College,
at Tusculum, Tennessee, where he completed the
scientific course and was graduated as a member
of the class of 1889. Thereafter he was identified
with the newspaper business in Asheville, North
Carolina, until he was appointed to a clerk-
ship in the department of the interior in the
national capital. He retained this incumbency
until 1893, when he resigned to accept a posi-
tion on the staff of the Washington News, then
recently established, and he afterward held a re-
portorial position in Washington with the United
Press Association, and later was employed on
the Washington Post. In 1895 Mr. Fox came to
South Dakota and became editor of the Sioux
Falls Daily Press in the fall of the following year.
He retained this position until August, 1898, when
he accepted the editorial charge of the Deadwood
Independent. In 1900 he again became editor of
the Sioux Falls Press and continued in tenure of
the position until the paper was sold to its pres-
ent proprietors, the firm of Dotson & Bowen. In
January. 1901, he organized the Security Trust
Compan>-. of Sioux Falls, for the purchase and
sale of cheap lands, and since that time has been
actively and successfully identified with the real-
estate business, the company mentioned controlling
extensive and valuable landed interests in various
sections of the state. He is a Democrat in poli-
tics, a member of the Masonic order and is iden-
tified with the Presbyterian church.

On the /th of June, 1900, Mr. Fox was united
in marriage to Miss Jessamine Lee, the only
child of Governor Andrew E. Lee, of South Da-
kota.

HON. EBEN WEVER MARTIN, one of
the representative lawyers of South Dakota,
maintaining his residence in the city of Dead-
wood, is a native of Maquoketa, Jackson county,
Iowa, where he was born on the 12th of April,
iS^.q. being a son of James W. and Lois Hyde
(Wever) Martin, the former of whom was born
in Vermont ai:d the latter in the state of New

York. The father of the subject was numljered
among the pioneers of the Hawkeye state and
was prominently identified with its industrial and
commercial development, while during the war
of the Rebellion he rendered valiant service in
defense of the rniun. Ijcing captain of Company
I, Twenty-fourth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. His
grandfather, John Martin, was a soldier under
Genera! Washington in the war of the Revolu-
tion. The agnatic ancestry traces back to stanch
Scotch-Irish stock, while the nritevnal genealogy
is of English derivation.

Eben W. Martin received his early educa-
tional discipline in the public schools of his na-
tive town, and after completing a course in the
high school in IMount Pleasant, Iowa, he went
to the city of St. Louis, where he was emi)loyed
as bookkeeper for four years. He then entered
Cornell College, at Mount \'ernon, Iowa, where
he co;npleted the classical course and was gradu-
ated as a member of the class of 1879, while in
1882 his alma mater conferred upon him the
degree of Master ojf Arts. He had in the mean-
while determined to adopt the profession of law
as his vocation in life and with this end in view
was matriculated in the law department of the
Michigan State University, at Ann Arbor, where
he continued his technical studies during the
years 1879-80. In March of the latter year he
was admitted to the bar of the state of Iowa
and in August established himself in Deadwood,
Dakota territory, and entered upon the active
practice of his profession. His ability and his
devotion to his work soon gained to him marked
prestige and he stands today in the front rank
of the active law practitioners of the state, while
he has taken an active part in public and civic
affairs and is one of the honored citizens of
Deadwood. He has ever given a stanch al-
legiance to the Republican party, and in 1884-5
served as a member of the territorial legislature.
He was for several years a member of the board
of trustees of Sonth Dakota State Norrnal School
at Spearfish, and for three terms rendered ef-
fective service as president of the board of edu-
cation of his home city. In 1900 Mr. Martin
was elected t^ represent his di-fict in the halls

1576

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of congress, where his record has been a most
creditable one, as may be inferred from the fact
that he was chosen as his own successor in the
election of November, igo2, and nominated again
by acclamation in 1904. Mr. Martin has been sig-
nally loyal to the state of his adoption and has
manifested an abiding faith in its future, while
he has accimiulated financial and real-estate in-
terests of importance in Lawrence, Pennington,
Custer and Fall River counties. Fraternally he
is identified with the Sons of the American Revo-
lution and the Iowa Commandery of the Loyal
Legion. Cornell College conferred upon Mr.
Martin the degree of Doctor of Laws in June,
1904. He and his wife are members of the
Alethodist Episcopal church.

At Cedar Falls, Iowa, on the 13th of June,
1883, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Mar-
tin to Miss Jessie Arvilla Miner, who was born
in the same city, being a daughter of George N.
and Artemisia G. Miner, who were residents
of Cedar Falls at the time of her marriage but
who later took up their abode in Hot Springs,
South Dakota. Following are the names of the
children of the subject, together with respective
dates of birth : George M., January 14, 1885 :
Lois W., January 31, 1887; Paul E., December
28, 1889 ; Charles E., October 21, 1892, and Jessie
A., May 26, 1896.

RICHARD OLSEN RICHARDS, one of the
representative citizens of Huron; Beadle county,
was born in Sandefjord, Norway, on the 2d of
January, 1866, and is a son of Richard Martin
and Maren Sebille, his surname being derived
from the Christian name of his father, according
to the Norseland custom. Richard Martin was a
prominent shipbuilder and vessel owner, the fam-
ily having been long identified with maritime in-
terests in the same line,- — in fact, for as many
generations as the history is authentically traced.
The family has resided for generations at Sandef-
jord and on landed estates in that vicinity; the
names of some of these estates where its ances-
tors have been established during the various
generations for several centuries are Kamfjord,

Gogstad, Bogen and Stanum, their ship-building
yards having been located on the estates of
Kamfjord and Bogen. The subject was edu-
cated in an excellent private school in Sandefjord,
and was graduated in 1880, after which he be-
came clerk in the establishment of his uncle,
Richard Andersen, who conducted a ship-chand-
ler's store and export lumber business in Sandef-
jord. Shortly afterward he went to London,
England, whence he came to America, landing
at , New York city in ;\Ia>-, 1881, where he
secured employment as interpreter at Cas-
tle Garden for the State Steamship Com-
pany, and later accepted a clerical position in
the company's office, at 53 Broadway, where he
remained until 1883, in November of which year
he came to tlie west and identified himself with
South Dakota. He was engaged in common labor
during the spring and summer of 1884 and then
secured a position as bookkeeper in the banking
house of Ormsby, Clute & Company, at ^Mitchell,
retaining this incumbency until the summer of
1885, when he was tendered and accepted the
position of farm examiner of loans for the Amer-
ican Investment Company, of Emmettsburg, Iowa,
later becoming manager of its extensive business
in South Dakota, where its farm loans reached
the notable aggregate of approximately three mil-
lions of dollars. Mr. Richards was thus engaged
until November, 1888, when he organized the Na-
tional Land and Trust Company, of Huron, and
later effected the merging of the same into the
Consolidated Land and Irrigation Company and
finally into the Richards Trust Company, of Hu-
ron, of which he has since been president. Tlie
company is capitalized for one hundred thousand
dollars and conducts a general brokerage business
in connection with its functions in the making of
loans upon approved real-estate securities and in
the handling of trust funds, etc., the concern be-
ing one of the important and solid financial insti-
tutions of the state and controlling a large busi-
ness. The Consolidated Land and Irrigation
Company, of which Mr. Richards was the or-
ganizer, as already noted, had under its care and
exclusive management seven thousand farms in
South Dakota at one time, and all of these were

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

located east of the Missouri river and taken in on
farm mortgages by eighteen different non-resident
mortgage-loaning companies during the long pre-
vailing drouth and financial depression from 1888
to i8g6. The Consolidated Company, of which
Mr. Richards was president and manager, suc-
ceeded in merging the management of the landed
interests of all these non-resident companies in
South Dakota and held the same until 1896, when
finally all of these companies failed, there being-
no sale for the land acquired and a general scar-
city of money, which made it impossible for them
to meet the interest on their debenture bonds and
guaranteed mortgages. Mr. Richards has proved
his powers of organization in a significant way,
and is typically persistent and determined in car-
rying forward to success any enterprise with
which he identifies himself, while his course is al-
ways straightforward and marked by integrity of
purpose, so that he commands at all times the
confidence, respect and esteem of those with
whom he comes in contact, while he is essentially
progressive and public-spirited. He has always
exercised his franchise in support of the princi-
ples and policies of the Republican party save in
1896, when he cast his ballot for William J.
Bryan for president. His religious faith is that
of the Lutheran church, in \\hich he was reared,
and in 1892 he became fraternally identified with
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in
Sioux Falls.

At Hudson, Wisconsin, on the 8th of January,
1891, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Rich-
ards to Miss Grace May Durell, who was born
in Laconia, New Hampshire, of stanch old co-
lonial ancestry. Her paternal great-great-grand-
father was Eliphalet Durell, a French Huguenot,
who fled from his native land to America to es-
cape the religious persecutions entailed by the re-
vocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1685, settling
in historic old Salem, Massachusetts. Anna
(Weed) Hutchinson, the maternal grandmother
of Mrs. Richards, was a daughter of Levi Hut-
chinson, who vv'as a member of a New Hampshire
regiment during the war of the Revolution, as is
shown in the records of that commonwealth as
well as in those pertaining to the war. Her

mother was a member of the well-known Sargent
family of New England. Following are the
names of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Richards,
the respective dates of birth being entered in con-
nection : Blanche Alma, December 20, 1891 ;
Maren Grace, November 12, 1896; Josephine
Helena, August 25, 1898 ; Thelma Dakota «*n^
■wit, August 9, 1900; and Richard Olsen, Jr.. Feb-
ruary 24, 1903. ^KAJxdUl f^iy^tA^/^ £jUitri<^/<jiS',

JOHN H. WILLIAMSON, a member of the
state senate, from Lake county, is a native of the
old Pine Tree state, having been born in the town
of Stark, Somerset county, on the 30th of July,
1859, and being a son of Hon. Henry and Tem-
perance (Boardman) William.son, both of whom
were born and reared in that same county, be-
ing scions of prominent old families of New
England. The paternal grandfather of the sub-
ject was Rev. Stephen Williamson, who was
born in Siasconset, Nantucket county, Massa-
chusetts, and was a clergyman of the Freewill
Baptist church and was long active in the work
of the ministry. The original progenitors of the
family in America came hither from England in
the colonial days, and the great-grandfather of
the Senator was a valiant soldier in the Con-
tinental line during the war of the Revolution,
while the Rev. Stephen Williamson was in ac-
tive service during the war of 1812, in which
he was an officer. Patriotism and loyalty have
been distinctive traits in the several generations,
and the father of the subject was a stanch abo-
litionist in the crucial epoch culminating in the
war of the Rebellion. He was physically disqual-
ified for active, service in the field but took a
prominent part in recruiting work and in sustain-
ing those who went to the front. He was a
farmer by vocation, owning and operating a large
homestead in his native county, where he was
held in the highest esteem and confidence. He
was graduated in Hamilton College, at Clinton,
New York, as a member of the class of 1847. He
was a member of the state senate of Maine and
also of the lower house of the legislature, was
chairman of the board of selectmen of his counlv

1578

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

for fifteen years, while he served for four years
as county judge and for a time as a member
of the governor's council, all of which prefer-
ments indicate the influential position which was
his. He was twice married, the two children of
the first union being John H., the immediate sub-
ject-of this review, and Horace B., who died
April lo, 1900, at Madison, South Dakota. The
honored father died in 1892, at the advanced age
of seventy-five years.

John PI. Williamson received his preliminary
educational discipline in the public schools of
Stark, Maine, and then entered the Eaton School,
at Norridgewock, Maine, and later the Maine
Central Institute, at Pittsfield, where he com-
pleted his preparatory collegiate work, being
graduated in the institution as a member of the
class of 1882. He was shortly afterward matric-
ulated in Bates College, at Lewiston, Maine,
where he completed the classical course and was
graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts,
in t886, with special honors in mathematics. In
October of the same year he came to South Da-
kota and took up his abode in Madison, where
he entered the law office of Judge William E.
Howe, under whose direction he prosecuted his
technical study of the law for one year, at the
expiration of which he entered the law depart-
ment of the University of Wisconsin, at Madi-
son, where he took up the work in both the
junior and senior classes, this being the first at-
tempt of the sort made by any student in that
celebrated institution, being graduated as a nTem-
ber of the class of 1888 and receiving the degree
of Bachelor of Laws and being simultaneously
admitted to the bar of Wisconsin by the supreme
court of the state. He then went to Anoka, Min-
nesota, where he was for six months associated
in practice with George Wyman, and at the ex-
piration of the period noted he returned to Madi-
son. South Dakota, where he has ever since been
actively and prominently identified with the work
of his profession. He served two years as police
or city ju.stice, and in 1892 was elected to the
bench of the county court, retaining the office
four years. In 1900 he was elected to the state
senate, of which he was an active working mem-

ber during the ensuing general assembly, while
he was chosen as his own successor in the elec-
tion of November, 1902. He is a stalwart advo-
cate of the principles of the Republican party, and
a voucher of his ability and personal popularity
was that offered at the time of his first election
to the senate, since he was the first Republican
to have secured this preferment in the district for
a decade. He was one of the organizers of the
Lake Madison Chautauqua Association, of which
he was the first president, holding this office eight
consecutive years, and being at the present time
a member of the directorate of the organization.
He is vice-president of the Madison State Bank
and is the owner of residence property in the
town of Madison. The Senator is identified with
the ^lasonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias,
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and
the Modern Woodmen of America. He has taken
a specially active interest in the State Normal
School, in Madison, and both in the senate and
in a private way has done nnich to foster the
same. It should also be noted in the connection
that during the general assembly of the legis-
lature of 1902 he received the special honor of
being elected president pro tern, of the senate,
his intimate knowledge of parliamentary rules
making him a specially capable presiding offi-
cer.

On the Qth of June. 1891, Senator Williamson
was united in marriage to Miss Stella L. Storms,
daughter of Elisha C. and ^lary ( Tnttle)
Storms, of Anoka, Minnesota, while she was
born in Waukesha county, Wisconsin. Of this_
union have been bom four children: Lura M.,
Henry S.. Frank E. and J. Horace.

WILLIAM WALLACE GIRTON, secre-
tary of the State Normal School, at Madison,
was born in Lincolnshire, England, on the loth
of April, 1850, being a son of John and Mary
(Hubbard) Girton, both of whom were likewise
born in England, of stanch old English lineage.
The father of the subject there devoted his at-
tention to farming until 1850, when he came with
his family to America, locating in Florence,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

tS79

Michigan, where he engaged in fanning, and in
that state he passed the remainder of his life,
his death occurring in 185 1, while his wife moved
to Wisconsin with her two orphan boys, both of
whom are living, the subject of this sketch being
the younger in order of birth. The mother died
at the home of her eldest son in Winchester, Ten-
nessee, November 3, 1893, at the age of seventy-
one years.

William W. Girton received his rudimentary
education in the public schools' of Wisconsin, at-
tending the district schools of Sauk county dur-
ing the winter terms until he had attained the
age of eighteen years, when, in 1868. he en-
tered an academy at Spring Green, that state,
where he continued his studies for two terms,
while during the winter of 1869 he was a student
in the academy at .Sextonville, Wisconsin. That
he had duly i)rofited by the advantages thus af-
forded him is evident when we revert to the
fact that in the fall of 1870 he initiated his
career as a teacher, having charge of a district
school near Reedsburg, Sauk county, and being
thus employed during the winter of 1870-71. In
April, 1871, he entered the State Normal School
at Platteville, Wisconsin, where he completed a
thorough course, being there graduated in J^ne-
1874. In 1875-6 he was incumbent of the posi-
tion of principal of the graded schools at Mus-
coda, Wisconsin, and then went to A'inton, Iowa,
where he held the office of assistant superintend-
ent of the State School for the Blind for one
year, at the expiration of which he became prin-
cipal of the public schools at Harlan, that state,
where he rendered most effective service until
November, 1880. when he entered upon his du-
ties as superintendent of the schools of Shelby
county. Iowa, to which office he had been elected
to fill a vacancy, while he remained incumbent
of the same for four rears, proving a most able
and discriminating executive and showing great
facility in organization and systemization. In
1883 he founded the Shelby County Republican,
at Harlanr Iowa, and continued as editor and
publisher of the same until 1886, in September
of which year he came to South Dakota, having
disposed of jiis newspaper property. In De-

cember, 1886, Mr. Girton organized the Vilas
Banking Company, at \'ilas, Miner county,
South Dakota, and was president of the same
for the ensuing three years, while he also es-
tablished the .Miner County Farmer, which he
conducted simultaneously during the period men-
tioned. In 1892 he was elected county super-
intendent of schools for Miner county, in which
capacity he served two terms, doing much to
forward educational interests in that section of
the state. In 1889 he served as deputy territorial
auditor, and in the same year was chief clerk of
the joint commisson which had in charge the set-
tlement of accounts between the new states of
North and South Dakota. In 1896 he was elected
to the chair of geography and civics in the State
Normal School, at Madison, of which office he
has since remained incumbent, while he has
served as secretary of the institiUion for the
regents of education, during the same time, en-
joying the respect and esteem of his confreres
and also of the students of the school, while he
has here added materially to his prestige as a
capable and enthusiastic worker in the field of
education. He has been particularly successful
and prominent in normal institute work in the
.state during the past fifteen years, and it may
be said without fear of contradiction that he
has conducted more teachers' institutes in that
period than has any other man in the state, while
in the connection he has accomplished a work
of unequivocal value and one of which he may
justly be proud. In the year 1901-2, in the
absence of the president, !Mr. Girton was ap-
pointed acting president of the .State Normal
School, which position he filled to the entire satis-
faction of the regents. It may be farther noted
that he served as chief engrossing clerk of the
last territorial legislature, in 1889. and while
clerk of the joint commission of North and
South Dakota shipped the territorial library,
records and other property, having an aggregate
weight of nearly sixty tons, down the Missouri
river from Bismarck to Pierre, the new capital
of South Dakota, while he also made copies of
the territorial records for this commonwealth, a
work of no little mas-nitude and difficult\-.

i58o

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

In politics Mr. Girton has ever given a stanch
allegiance to the Republican party in the promo-
tion of whose cause he has taken an active in-
terest, while as candidate on its ticket he was
elected to the office of county superintendent of
schools in Shelby county, Iowa, and later in
Miner county, South Dakota. In 1878 he be-
came a member of the First Baptist church at
Harlan, Iowa, and holds a letter from the same
at the present time. He has advanced to high
degree in the Masonic fraternity, of which noble
order he is an appreciative member, having
reached the Royal Arch degree of the York-rite
bodies, while he is now serving his fifth con-
secutive year as master of Evergreen Lodge,
No. 17, Ancient Free and Accepted IMasons, at
Madison, South Dakota, and he has attained the
thirty-second degree in the Ancient Accepted
Scottish Rite, being affiliated with Yankton Con-
sistory, Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret, in
the city of Yankton. He also holds membership
in Madison Lodge, No. 20, Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, and Howard Lodge. No. 62,
Ancient Order of Lfnited Workmen.

On the 1st of August, 1877, Mr. Girton was
united in marriage to Miss Frances Richmond,
who was born in Belturbel, County Cavan, Ire-
land, on the loth of May, 185 1, being a daughter
of Francis and Susan (Moore) Richmond, who
came to America in i860 and located in Green
county, Wisconsin, where Mrs. Girton was
reared and educated. The subject and his wife
have six children, whose names are here entered,
with respective dates of birth: Lee Richmond,
August 13, 1878: Daisy M., April 8, 1880;
Susan M., May 17, 1882 ; Edith A., January 27,
r884; William T., July 6, 1886, and John F.,
.September 21, 1891.

The State Normal School at ALadison was
established by act of the territorial legislature
in March, 1881, and commenced its work in De-
cember, 1883. It is situated on elevated -ground
in the north part of the city of Madison on a
nearly level campus of twenty acres, which has
been artistically laid out and set with trees.

The main school building was erected in
1886. It is constructed of red quartzite, oljtained

at Dell Rapids, South Dakota, and trimmed with
white cut stone from La Crosse and with Mil-
waukee pressed brick. This building is seventy-
six by eighty-four feet, four stories in height,
the lower one being half basement. It is finished
throughout with oak and Georgia pine. It cost
thirty-five thousand dollars. It is situated near
the center of the campus. The oldest dormitory,
called West Hall, situated near the southwest
corner of the campus, is a frame brick-veneered
building, thirty-six by eighty-six feet, four
stories in height and contains rooms for the ac-
commodation of sixty-five students. It is o.-cu-
pied by the young men. This liuilding cost
eleven thousand dollars.

East Hall is a four-story, massive structure,
built of Sioux Falls stone and trimmed with the
same. It is ninety by one hundred and ten feet
and was erected in 1900, at a cost of twenty-two
thousand dollars. Eighty young women make
their home in this building and more than one
hundred assemble in the spacious dining room
in the basement for meals. The faculty is at
present composed of twelve members as follows :
W. W. Girton, acting president, psychology,
bookl<eeping ; J. W. Goff, English, rhetoric, liter-
ature ; W. H. Dempster, mathematics, physical
geography ; Cora M. Rawlins, Latin, English
grammar ; Mirza French, drawing, arithmetic,
librarian ; Louise A. Wilkinson, elocution, physi-
cal culture; Olga B. Forsyth, history, vocal
music, elementary algebra; Isabel Larsen, zo-
ology, botany, physiology, general history ; Wini-
fred K. Buck, elementary English, geography,
civil government ; Anna B. Herrig, principal
training department, methods ; Susan ^\^ Norton,
grammar critic ; Nellie Collins, primary critic.

RT. REV. THOMAS A. FLYNN, the hon-
ored priest in charge of St. Thomas church and
parish in Madison, Lake^county, is at the present
time vicar general of the diocese of Sioux Falls,
and also has the distinction , of being domestic
prelate to the noble head of the church, Pope
Pius X.

Father Flynn is a native of Milwaukee county,.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Wisconsin, where he was born on the i6th of
May, 1854, being a son of John and Sarah (Cav-
eny) Flynn, both of whom were born and reared
in County Mayo, Ireland, whence they came to
America more than sixty years ago, being num-
bered among the pioneers of Milwaukee county,
Wisconsin. They located near the present city of
Milwaukee, and there passed the remainder of
their long and useful lives, the father having
been a farmer by vocation, while both were de-
voted and consistent communicants of the Holy
Mother church, which their son is honoring by
his earnest and self-abnegating services. They
became the parents of four children, two sons
and two daughters, all dead except the subject
of this sketch.

Father Flynn received his preliminary educa-
tional discipline in the common and parochial
schools of his native county and hereafter com-
pleted his classical course in the Jesuit college
in Milwaukee. At the age of eighteen years he
entered the Seminary of St. Francis de Sales,
near that city, where he prepared himself for
holy orders, continuing his theological and phil-
osophical studies in that institution for several
years. He early became identified with the mis-
sionary work of the church in what is now South
Dakota, and at Yankton, this state, was ordained
to the priesthood, by the late Bishop Marty, on
the 29th of June. 1881, having the distinction of
being the first priest ordained in the state. He
was forthwith assigned to the missionary par-
ishes in Lake and Moody counties, taking up his
permanent abode in Madison, and forthwith en-
tering with vigor and zeal into the labors as-
signed him. In 1883 he had completed the erec-
tion of St. Thomas church, in Madison, having
personally organized the parish, and within the
present year (1904) he has here completed a new
and attractive church edifice, the former having
proved inadequate to properly accommodate the
enlarged congregation. When he assumed the
pastorate here the congregation of his parish
was repr-esented by forty families, while at the
present time there are more than one hundred
and fifty families represented in the parish mem-
bership. Father FIvnn has not onlv exercised his

sacerdotal functions most earnestly and effect-
ively, infusing spiritual zeal into all parts of the
parish work and securing the affectionate regard
and hearty co-operation of his flock, but he has
also proved a specially able executive and has
brought the temporal affairs of his parish into a
most prosperous and gratifying condition. In
1900 Father Flynn was appointed vicar general
of the diocese, in which capacity he acts for the
bishop when the latter is absent from his juris-
diction, and in 1902 he was appointed domestic
prelate to the late pope. In 1900 he made a trip
to Rome, and in the "eternal city" had the ex-
treme gratification of being granted an audience
with Pope Leo, the noble patriarch and gracious
head of the church at that time.

CHARLES B. KENNEDY.— Among the
names of the honored pioneers of the territory
of Dakota and the state of South Dakota there
are few that stand forth with more prominence
or that are representative of more distinctive pub-
lic spirit than that which initiates this paragraph.
Mr. Kennedy has accomplished much in forward-
ing the upbuilding of the great commonwealth,
is well known throughout the state and is an ex-
emplar of the highest type of citizenship. In a
prefatory way we can not do better than to in-
corporate an appreciative estimate of the man
written by one who has known him long and
well, the same being an extract from an article
published not long since : "There are two things
which Hon. Charles B. Kennedy did for Lake
county in the early days which will make him
prominent while he lives and cause his name to
be remembered after death. One was the found-
ing of Madison upon its present site, while the
other consists in the aid, both moral and financial,
which he gave to the State Normal School, being
virtually its organizer. Mr. Kennedy's history
is closely linked with that of Lake county, and,
as a local paragrapher aptly put it : "If you want
to know about Lake county, look up Kennedy;
and if you want Kennedy, just look up Lake
county.' "

Charles B. Kennedy comes of stanch old

>582

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

New England stock and the far distant Pine
Tree state figures as the place of his nativity.
He was born in i\Ioscow, Somerset county.
Maine, on the 28th of March, 1850, being a son
of Bartholomew C. and Olivia (Smith) Ken-
nedy, both of whom were born in Maine, the
former being of Scotch-Irish extraction and the
latter of English lineage. Bartholomew C. Ken-
nedy was a farmer by vocation, and his death
occurred in July, 1902, at the age of eighty-three
years, while his widow still resides in Madison,
South Dakota, having attained the age of eighty-
five years, her ancestors having been numbered
among the early settlers of Maine. The paternal
grandfather of the subject was William Ken-
nedy, who was born in Massachusetts, whence
lie emigrated to Maine as a young man and there
[jassed the residue of his life.

The subject of this review was reared to the
sturdy discipline of the farm and secured his
early educational training in the common schools
of his native state, supplementing the same by
a course in the Maine Central Institute, at Pitts-
field, after which he took a partial course in the
Maine State College, at Orono, his health becom-
ing so impaired as to render it impossible for
him to complete the full course. The self-re-
liance and ambitious spirit which have been
dominant characteristics of the man through-
out his life were exemplified in these early days,
when he was putting forth every eflfort to secure
an education, depending upon his own resources
for the securing of the necessary funds. He
worked on farms during the summer months,
taught in the country schools during the winter
terms and set his hand to such other work as he
could secure, and thus he defrayed, unassisted,
the expenses of his school and college courses.
In 1864 Mr. Kennedy accompanied his parents
on their removal to a farm in Herman township.
Penobscot county, Maine, the place being a few
miles distant from the city of Bangor. After
leaving college Mr. Kennedy devoted his atten-
tion to teaching school, and when but twenty-
one years of age he was elected superintendent
of schools of a portion of Penobscot county,
while two years later, in 1873, he removed to

Leroy, Alinnesota, where he was elected prin-
cipal of the village schools and appointed deputy
superintendent of schools for the county, retain-
ing this dual incumbency one year, at the ex-
piration of which he turned his attention to the
real-estate business, with which he has ever since
continued to be identified, his operations in the
line having eventually become of wide scope and
importance. In 1874 Mr. Kennedy established,
in Leroy, a weekly newspaper, the Leroy Inde-
pendent, of which he continued editor and pub-
lisher for the ensuing four years, when he sold
the property and business.

In March, 1878, Mr. Kennedy came to the
territory of Dakota, making his way to Lake
county, there being not more than twelve families
within its borders at the time. He secrured from
the government a homestead and a timber claim,
aggregating three hundred and twenty acres, and
forthwith started a stock farm. Two years later
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad
Company constructed a line across this land and
Mr. Kennedy secured thereon the location of a
town site, which he duly platted, while the name
of Madison was given to the embryo village by
its founder. The main street of the present city
runs through the center of his original farm,
and it is needless to say that the land rapidly
appreciated in value with the development and
substantial upbuilding of the town. In 1884 Mr.
Kennedy was primarily instrumental in effecting
the organization of the First National Bank of
Madison, of which he was chosen the first presi-
dent. The following year he established the
Kennedy Brothers' Bank, of which he became
president, and this institution continued business
until 1889, when it was absorbed by a company
which was organized and incorporated by Mr.
Kennedy, under the title of the Northwestern
Loan and Banking Company, of which he was
chosen president. Tliis corporation did a large
business in the extending of real-estate loans,
while the banking departments also represented
a flourishing and well-conducted enterprise. In
1891 the subject organized the ]\Iadison State
Bank and was made its president, and this insti-
tution succeeded to the banking business of the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1583

company previously mentioned, the undertakings
having grown to such an extent as to render it
expedient to segregate the two departnients. In
1882 Mr. Kennedy engaged in the raising of
hve stock upon an extensive scale, entering into
[wrtnership with Horace B. Williamson, under
the firm name of Kennedy & \\"illiamson. The
firm had a stock farm of two tlmusand one hun-
dred and sixty acres in the western part of Lake
county, and the enterprise was successfully con-
tinued until ahout iSgS. when Mr. Kennedy
withdrew from the same, his other capitalistic in-
terests demanding Jiis entire time and attention.
In this connection it should be noted that this
firm brought the first large band of sheep into
the territory of Dakota, — about two thousand
head. ^Ir. Kennedy has shown himself to be
an energetic and practical business man and his
administrative talent has been brought into
evidence in connection with the important and
varied enterprises with which he has been
identified. He has always been a firm believer
ui and advocate of the great possibilities and
future development of the state of South Da-
kota, and has become thoroughly familiar with
all sections of the commonwealth and with its
varied resources, so that his judgment is prac-
tically ultimate. As a believer in the broadening
effect of travel and its valne as a means of recre-
ation and health preservation, Mr. Kennedy has
not failed to amply avail himself of the privileges
afforded, and with his family has traveled over
practically all sections of the Union, as well as
through parts of Mexico and the Dominion of
Canada.

In politics Mr. Kennedy is known as one of
the leaders in the ranks of the Republican party
in South Dakota. In November, 1880, he was
elected as a representative of Lake county in
the territorial legislature, and within the suc-
ceeding session introduced and secured the enact-
ment of a bill locating the State Normal School
at Madison, while his generosity and public spirit
were further shown in his donating to the state
the twenty acres of land upon which all the build-
mgs of this excellent and valued institution are
located. He was a member and secretary of the

board of trustees of this school for a period of
eight years and has ever maintaini-d a lively in-
terest in its welfare, h'rom uS'-'o to 1889 he
served as a member of the board of aldermen of
Madison, — a term of nine consecutive years, —
and during 1891-2 he was mayor of the city,
giving a most alile and progressive administra-
tion of municipal affairs. During the period
leading up to the division of the territory of
Dakota Mr. Kennedy passed considerable time
in the national capital, in the interest of such
division and the admission of South Dakota to
the Union. Fraternally Mr. Kennedy is identified
with the following Masonic bodies: Evergreen
Lodge, No. 17. Ancient Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, and Cyprus Qiapter, No. 26, Royal Arch
Masons, at Madison; Cyrene Commandery. No.
2, Knights Templar, at Sioux Falls ; Oriental
Consistory, No. i. Ancient Accepted Scottish
Rite, at Yankton ; El Riad Temple, Ancient
Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine,
at Sioux Falls ; Madison Chapter, No. 6, Order
of the Eastern Star, at Madison, while he also
holds membership in Madison Lodge, No. 20,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

At Pittsfield, Maine, on the 21st of May,
1873, Mr. Kennedy was united in marriage to
Miss Alay Ella Williamson, who was born in
that state, being a daughter of Hon. Henry
Williamson, of Starks, Somerset county, Maine.
Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy have two children. C.
Leroy, who was born on the loth of January,
1878, and Dean M.. who was born January 3,
1887.

JACOB L. KEHM, one of the represent-
ative business men of Harrisburg, Lincoln
county, is a native of the state of Illinois and
a scion of one of its pioneer families, having
been born in Shannon, Carroll county, on the
13th of January, 1864, a son of Jacob and
Katherine Kehrn, both of wham are still living.
The father was engaged in the lumber business
in that place until 1892 and is at present a resi-
dent of Canton, South Dakota. The subject com-
pleted the curriculum of the public schools in

1584

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

his native town, having been graduated in the
high school as a member of the class of 1880,
after which he took a course in the commercial
department of the Northwestern University, at
Naperville, Illinois, being graduated in 1882.
After leaving school Mr. Kehm initiated his prac-
tical business career by entering the employ of
the lumbering firm of Kelly, Weeks & Company,
at Racine, Wisconsin, with whom he remained
about one and one-half years. In 1885 he went
to Hastings, Nebraska, where he was engaged
in the lumbering trade for several years. In
1892 he came to Harrisburg, South Dakota,
where he entered into partnership with L. P.
Meinger in the lumber and hardware business,
under the title of Meinger & _ Kehm, the firm
being the first merchants in the town, and here
they have ever since continued operations in
these lines, having built up a prosperous and ex-
tensive business and having gained unqualified
confidence and esteem in the community.

In politics Mr. Kehm has ever been an un-
compromising advocate of the principles of the
Repul)lican party, in wliose cause he has ren-
dered most effective service. He has mani-
fested no political ambition in a personal way,
but in November, 1902, a distinctive marl< of the
hold which he has upon popular regard and con-
fidence in Lincoln county was given when he
was elected a representative in the state legis-
lature, receiving a gratifying majority. Fra-
ternally he is identified with Hastings Lodge,
No. 28, Knights of J'ythias. in Hastings, Ne-
braska.

On tlie 17th of October, 18S8, in his native
town of Shannon, Illinois, was consummated the
marriage of Mr. Kehm to Miss Lillie McDowell,
who was born in Freeport, that state, a daugh-
ter of E. R. McDowell, a prominent citizen of
that city. Of this union have been born two
sons, Harrv and Arthur.

RUDOLPH D. JENNINGS, M. D.. of Hot
Springs, has not only achieved worthy prestige
in the line of his profession, but for many years
has been prominent in the business circles of his
adopted state, being one of the founders and chief

promoters of the thriving city in which he now
resides. Dr. Jennings was born November 21,
1853, in Fremont, Ohio, and grew to young man-
hood and received his literary education in Mt.
Vernon, Iowa, to which place his parents re-
moved when he was a mere youth. His father
being a physician, he early took up the study of
medicine and continued to prosecute the same in
Mt. Vernon until 1872. when he came to Bis-
marck, Dakota territory.

Shortly after locating at Bismarck, Dr. Jen-
nings entered the employ of the Puget Sound
Land Company, and later was appointed deputy
collector of internal revenue, in which capacity
he served for a number of years, the meanwhile
becoming identified with various enterprises for
the develooment of Dakota and the opening of
its resources. After remaining at Bismarck until
1876. he went to the Black Hills, locating first
at Crook City, subsequently removing to Dead-
wood, with the growth and development of which
he soon became actively interested. While a
resident of Crook City he served as deputy col-
lector of internal revenue for the Black Hills
country, and to him also belongs the unique honor
of being the first judge before whom a murder
case was tried in the city, having been chosen to
the position by practically the unanimous voice
of the citizens of the place. In addition to his
duties as collector, he also dealt quite extensively
in real estate and as opportunities afforded con-
tinued the study of medicine with the object in
view of ultimately making the profession his
life work.

Dr. Jennings remained at Deadwood until the
year 1881, when he came to the present site of
Hot Springs for the purpose of looking over
the country, having heard many favorable reports
of the locality and of the advantages it possessed
for becoming, under judicious management, the
center of a thriving populace. Realizing these
advantages he at once purchased a squatter right
from a "squaw man" and took up a homestead
where the city of Hot Springs was afterwards
located, taking possession of the same in the sum-
mer of 1882. The same year he was instrumental
in organizing the Dakota Hot Springs Company,
with the object in view of developing this highly

#^^^^

-^^^ry

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

^585

favored section and attracting attention to the
springs, which already had become widely known
for the purity and wonderful curative properties
of their waters. Later Fred T. Evans, E. G.
Dudley, L. R. Graves and Dr. Stewart, all of
Deadwood, took stock in the company and under
tlieir joint management the town of Hot Springs
was in due time laid out and a number of sub-
stantial buildings erected, among them being the
Evans Hotel and Bath House, the Mankate
House, the Big Plunge, besides several business
blocks, and not a few private residences. The
cit}- thus founded soon met the high expecta-
tions of the proprietors, for it was not long
until a thrifty class of people was attracted to the
]ilace and within a comparatively brief period
Hot Springs not only became a favorite watering
place and pleasure resort, but the center of popu-
lation and the chief trading point for a large
area of territory.

Dr. Jennings was initiring in his efforts to
promote the varied interests of the town, took I
an active part in pushing its different enterprises
to successful completion and to him more per-
haps than to any one individual is due the credit
of inducing the Burlington and Elkhorn rail-
road companies to extend their respective lines
to the city. He was an influential factor in the
Hot Springs Company as long as it existed,
served for several years as its secretary, also as
a director, and when it had accomplished its pur- ]
poses, assisteil to wind up its affairs to the satis-
faction of all concerned.

Actuated by a laudable desire to finish his
medical education and engage in the practice of
medicine, Dr. Jennings, in 1885, entered a medi- j
cal college at Chicago, and after his graduation, I
two years later, opened an office in Hot Springs,
where in due time he built up a large and lu-
crative professional business. He was medical
director of the Hot Springs Company for a
period of ten vears and his private practice dur-
ing that time and since assumed large propor-
tions and won for him much more than local repu-
tation as an able physician and skillful surgeon.

Believing in taking advantage of every op- (
portunity to add to his professional knowledge

and efficiency, the Doctor, in i8go, went to Lon-
don, England, where he took special courses
under some of the most distinguished medical
men of the age, thus by careful study and thor-
ough research fitting himself for the most exact-
ing duties of his chosen calling.

Dr. Jennings has not only been highly suc-
cessfid in his profession, but in business matters
his advancement has also been rapid, being at this
time one of the largest real-estate holders in Hot
Springs, besides owning other valuable property
in the city and elsewhere, all of which came to
him through legitimate means and superior busi-
ness management. He is a public-spirited citizen,
deeply interested in the development of this
thriving city, with the founding and growth of
which he has had so much to do. and his in-
fluence and material support are also given to all
progressive mea.sures for the social, educational
and moral advancement of the community. He
served five years as a member of the state board
of health, during three of which he was its chair-
man, and his labors in that capacity were pro-
fluctive of great and lasting results to everj' part
of the commonwealth. In politics the Doctor is
a Republican, but he has always declined public
position, the claims of his profession and his
large business interests having more attraction
for him than the honors or emoluments of office.

Dr. Jennings is a thirty-second-degree Scot-
tish-rite Mason, also a member of the Mystic
Shrine, and is prominent in all branches of the
ancient and honorable fraternity to which he be-
longs. He is also identified with the Independ-
ent Order of Odd Fellows, Master Workmen of
America, Ancient Order of United Workmen
and Improved Order of Red Men, in all of
which he has not only been an active and influen-
tial worker, but an honored official, whose un-
tiring efforts have made the organization realize
the objects for which intended.

GABRIEL W. ABELL, who is in charge of
the South Dakota business of the extensive in-
vestment, banking and real-estate firm of Trev-
ctt, ]\Iattis & Abell. of which he is an interested

[586

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

principal and which is one of the oldest and most
solid and popular concerns of the sort in the
Union, having had its inception in 1861 and hav-
ing continued business consecutively since that
time, with but few changes in the personnel of
its principals, is established with headquarters
in the city of Huron, Beadle county, while he
controls a business extending throughout the en-
tire eastern section of the state. He has at all
times most attractive properties listed on his
books and special attention is also given to the
negotiation of financial loans on farm realty. Mr.
Abell is an authority on land values in the north-
west and elsewhere and stands as the local head
of the firm of which he is a member, while he
is known as one of the representative citizens of
the state and as one worthy of the confidence and
esteem in which he is so uniformly held.

Mr. Abell was born in Harding county, Ken-
tucky, on the 7th of June, 1844, and is a son of
Washington and Eleanor (Overall) Abell, who
were likewise born and reared in that state, being
representatives of old and prominent families of
that favored section of' the Union. Samuel Abell,
the grandfather of the subject, was likewise born
in Kentucky. The original American progeni-
tors were three brothers of the name who emi-
grated hither from Wales in the colonial epoch,
and the Kentucky branch of the family has been
principally identified with agricultural pursuits
during the several generations. The father of
the subject followed this vocation and both he
and his wife passed their entire lives in Ken-
tucky. They became the parents of ten chil-
dren, of whom three are living, while two of the
number still maintain their home in Kentucky.

Gabriel W. Abell passed his youthful years
on the homestead farm and received his educa-
tional discipline in the common schools of that
section. At the age of seventeen years he re-
moved to central Illinois, locating in Shelbyville,
where he eventually engaged in the mercantile
business and later in the farm, mortgage and
bond business, becoming one of the prominent
citizens of that section. There he continued his
residence until November 11, 1882, when he came
to South Dakota and located in Huron, which has

since been his home and base of business opera-
tions. He had previously become associated with
the real-estate firm of Burnham, Trevett & Mat-
tis, a large concern, with headquarters in Cham-
paign, Illinois, and he came to Dakota territory
as the representative of this firm, which already
controlled an extensive business in the middle and
western states. The firm was established in 1861,
as before noted, and at this time stands as one
of the oldest banking and farm-loan concerns in
the west, while the history of its business has
since continued without interruption. On the
death of Mr. Burnham, in 1897, the firm name
was changed to its present form, and Mr. Abell
continued in charge of the South Dakota branch
of the business, having greatly expanded the in-
terests of the firm in this section of the Union.
He not only has jurisdiction in this state, but
from the headquarters in Huron also controlled
the business of the firm in a portion of North
Dakota and the northern section of Nebraska.
The business controlled now runs into the mil-
lions, and the subject has gained a high reputa-
tion as an executive, having ably and successfully
protected the interests of his concern and those
of its patrons in this section during the dark days
of financial depression from 1893 to 1896, passing
through the ordeal with flying colors and gain-
ing new prestige for the old and reliable firm,
whose entire history has been one of unqualified
business integrity and honor. They own and
control a large amount of valuable fanning land
in the state, as well as in Nebraska and North
Dakota, while the Huron headquarters are es-
tablished in a fine modern building of brick and
stone, the same having been erected by the firm
for the purpose, while in the structure are found
the best of office accommodations for other busi-
ness concerns and professional men. In politics
Mr. Abell is a stanch supporter of the cause of
Democracy, and he received the distinction of be-
ing nominated for governor of the state on the
party ticket in 1902, but declined to make the
campaign or to accept the nomination, feeling that
his business interests would not permit him to
give the requisite time to either the preliminary
canvass or to the duties of the office in event of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

his election. He is a member of the Masonic fra-
ternity, in which he has attained the Knights
Templar degrees, and is distinctively popular in
both business and social circles as well as in the
coteries of public men in the state. He and his
wife are identified with the regular Baptist
church.

On the 22d of September, 1868, Mr. Abell
was united in marriage to Aliss Louisa Hughey,
who was born and reared in Bracken county,
Kentucky, being a daughter of Richard J. and
Elizabeth (Fallin) Hughey. Of their children
we incorporate the following brief record : Clara
Elenor is now the wife of John L. Trincher, of
Danville, Illinois; Pearl Louise is the wife of Rev.
iNIarshall F. Montgomery, rector of St. John's
church, in Aberdeen, who contributes the interest-
ing chapter on the history of the Protestant Epis-
copal church to this work, being also chaplain of
the First Regiment of the National Guard of the
state.

STEPHEN V. JONES, one of the honored
pioneer members of the bar of Turner county,
was born in the township of L'nion, Rock county,
Wisconsin, and is a son of Ira and Sarah J.
(Lemon) Jones, both of whom were born and
reared in Ohio. The Jones family came origin-
ally from Wales, the progenitors in the new world
locating in Pennsylvania prior to the war of the
Revolution, in which representatives of the name
were active participants, aiding in the securing of
the independence of the colonies, while those of
later generations showed their patriotism by tak-
ing part in the war of 1812, the Mexican war and
that of the Rebellion, while members also served
in connection with the early Indian wars in Ohio,
being contemporaries and companions of Allen
Poe and other noted Indian fighters. The Lemon
family came from England to Virginia and be-
came prominently identified with the early his-
tory of the patrician Old Dominion, where the
name stood for loyalty and patriotism, members
of the family taking part in the early French and
Indian wars and also in the Revolution, one, at
least, of the name having been a mem1>er of

Harry Lee's famous light horse cavalry. The
Lemons became numbered among the early pio-
neers of Ohio, and were associated with Simon
Kenton and other celebrated Indian fighters. Rep-
resentatives of this stanch old stock have been
found in every war in which the nation has been
involved, from the ke\-(iluti()n up to and includ-
ing that with Spain.

Immediately after their marriage Ira and
Sarah J. Jones removed from Ohio to central
Illinois, where they located about 1835, thus be-
coming pioneers of the state. They later re-
moved to the northern part of the state and then
to Rock county, Wisconsin, where they settled
upon a pioneer farmstead in 1840, there being but
few white settlers in that section at the time,
while the .Indians were much in evidence. There
the honored parents of the subject passed the
remainder of their lives, being persons of sterling
character and ever commanding the nn(|ualific(!
esteem of all who knew them.

The subject of this review was reared to the
sturdy discipline of the home farm, and his early
educational training was secured in the public
schools and under the direction of private tutors.
He early put his scholastic acquirements to prac-
tical use by engaging in teaching, through which
means and through soliciting for insurance com-
panies he obtained the funds which enabled him
to further prosecute his studies. He was ever
ready to turn himself to any honest labor which
presented and has retained the most wholesome
respect for the dignity of honest toil and en-
deavor. He studied surveying, and for a time
followed work along this line, in 1870, 1871 and
1872. He was a member of what was known as
the Colorado river exploring expedition, under
command of Major J. W. Powell, and in this con-
nection has the distinction of being one of the
seven men who have ever gone through the mag-
nificent canons of the Green and Colorado rivers.
The trip was made in open boats and was at-
tended with much peril. The party started at
Green River Station, in southeastern Wyoming,
and after a year and a half left the Colorado
river near the southeastern line of Nevada.

Mr. Tones was admitted to the bar of the state

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of Illinois, after careful preliminary study, and
he was for a short time engaged in practice in
Wichita, Kansas, coming to the present state of
South Dakota, arriving at his present home town
of Parker, on the 19th of September, 1883, and
having ever since been actively and successfully
established in the practice of his profession here.
He has served several terms as state's attorney of
Turner county, and in 1896 was the Republican
candidate for attorney general of the state, but
met the defeat which attended the party ticket in
general in the state election of that year. He has
ever been an uncompromising and ardent advo-
cate of the principles and policies for which the
"grand old party" stands sponsor and has been
an active worker in its cause. He has been for
many years identified with the Masonic frater-
nity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
while his two elder sons are likewise Freemasons,
his wife a member of the Woman's Relief Corps
and the Daughters of Rebekah, and his daughter
is affiliated with the Royal Neighbors. Mrs.
Jones is a communicant of the Methodist Episco-
pal church, and all the other members of the
farnily incline toward the faith of the same.

On the 22d of January, 1883, ^^- Jones was
united in marriage to Miss Jennie R. Boys, who
was born in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, being a
daughter of Samuel and Catherine (Andre) Boys,
who removed to central Illinois when she was
young, her educational training having been se-
cured in the public schools of Pennsylvania and
Illinois, including a course in the high school at
Lacon, latter state, and in Ouincy College, Illi-
nois. Concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs.
Jones we incorporate the following brief record :
Claude L. was graduated in the Parker high
school and the Iowa College of Law, at Des
Moines. In October, 1897, he was admitted to
practice in the supreme court of South Dakota
and in May, 1899. to that of Iowa. Since June
I, 1899. he has been associated with his father in
practice, under the firm name of Jones & Jones.
In November, 1902. he was elected state's attor-
ney of Turner county, just sixteen years after his
father's first election to that office, and had the
distinction of receiving the largest majoritv ever i

given any candidate in the county. Ethel, the
only daughter of the subject, is a graduate of the
Parker high school and the Northwestern Univer-
sity, at Evanston, Illinois. Carl R. is a graduate
of the home high school and the Iowa College of
Law, having been admitted to the bar in 1902,
and is now engaged in the practice of his profes-
sion. Ira A. was graduated in the Parker high
school as a member of the class of 1904.

GEORGE W. MILLER, formerly represent-
ative of the thirty-third district in the state sen-
ate, and one of the honored pioneers and influen-
tial citizens of Brown county, is a native of the
Wolverine state, having been born on a farm in
Montcalm county, Michigan, on the loth of Feb-
ruary, 1852, and being a son of Lester R. and
Louisa (Kent) Miller, both of whom were born
in the state of New York, while both were scions
of stanch old colonial stock, the Millers tracing
back to William Miller, who settled at Northamp-
ton, Massachusetts, in 1654. Isaac D. Miller, the
grandfather of the subject, was one of the pio-
neers of Michigan, having there taken up his resi-
dence when it was still a territory. In 1830 he
removed with his family from New York to
Michigan and took up his residence in the city of
Detroit. Five years later he removed to Oak-
land county, there giving his attention principally
to farming, and having reclaimed his land from
the virgin forests. He sold out in 1853 and
moved to Montcalm county, where he lived until
his death. The father of the subject was born on
the 27th of August, 1827, and was thus a mere
child at the time of the family removal to Michi-
gan, where he was reared to maturity, being one
of ten children. At the age of twenty years he
inaugurated his independent career, and in 1850
located in Montcalm county, where he passed the
residue of his life, having been one of the prom-
inent farmers and influential citizens of that sec-
tion of the Peninsular state and having ever held
the implicit confidence and esteem of all who
knew him until death, which occurred June 10,
1 901. His devoted wife also died in that county
in October, 1837. By this union there were two

IIlSrORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1589

children, George W. and Delia. Mr. Miller was
again married to Sarah L. Cole, to whom three
children were given, John C, Agnes S. and
Mabel, who died in infancy.

George W. Miller was reared to the sturdy
and invigorating discipline of the farm upon
which he was born, and completed his specific
educational training in the excellent public
schools of the city of Greenville, of his native
comity. He continued to assist in the manage-
ment of the home farm until 1873, when he en-
gaged in the same line of enterprise on his own
responsibility, continuing his residence in Mont-
calm county until August, 1882, when he came
to South Dakota and took up homestead, pre-
emption and tree claims in Claremont township.
Brown county, a portion of the village of Clare-
mont being located on his pre-emption. He still
retains this valuable property, to which he has
added from time to time, and, as before stated,
he is now the owner of a finely improved farm of
seven hundred and twenty acres. He gives his
attention to diversified agriculture and to the rais-
ing of live stock, making a specialty of sheep
growing, usually having an average of eight
hundred head, while he also raises high-grade
cattle and horses, and has for some time con-
ducted a profitable dairying business. In poli-
tics Mr. Miller gives his allegiance to the Re-
publican party, and he has served in various of-
fices of local trust, while in 1889 he was elected
tn represent his district in the state senate, in
which body he made an excellent record, doing
all in his power to promote wise and efifective leg-
islation and to stand sponsor for his constitu-
ency.

On the 2ist of December, 1875, Mr. Miller
was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Barnes,
who was born in Short Tract, New York, being
a daughter of Charles and Dr. Cordelia (Dib-
ben) Barnes, both of whom were born in Dor-
setshire, England. At the age of fifteen Mr.
Barnes determined to seek his fortune in Amer-
ica, and took passage in a sailing vessel, and was
three months in crossing the Atlantic. He re-
sided in the state of New York until 1856 and
then removed to ]\Iontcalm county, JNIichigan,

where he died in November, 1892. Mrs. Barnes
was born December 12, 1831, in Deanlane, Dor-
setshire, and was the youngest of ten children.
She came to America when but fifteen years of
age to visit a sister and eventually took up the
study of medicine and was admitted to prac-
tice, being one of the pioneer women physicians
of the Union and thus encountering the opposi-
tion and criticism which marked the advent of
her se.x into the new domain, but she was a wom-
an of superior ability, courage and determin-
ation, and eventually won high recognition, hav-
ing been successfully engaged in the practice of
her profession in Montcalm county for thirty
years. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have one son, M.
Hugh, who was born on the 27th of September,
]88o, in Montcalm county, Michigan, and who
is now engaged in farming in Brown county.
He completed his education in the State Agri-
cultural College, at Brookings, and is one of the
popular young men of Brown count)-. Novem-
ber 25, 1903, he was united in marriage to Miss
Maud J. Weaver, who was born in Michigan,,
and came to South Dakota in 1885, where she
has since lived, being a daughter of John R.
Weaver, one of the prominent farmers and mer-
chants of Brown countv.

JOHN H. BROQKS, the popular and ca-
pable proprietor of the Commercial Hotel in
Britton, Marshall county, comes of stanch old
Quaker stock, the original American ancestors,
in both the paternal and maternal lines, having
first settled in Vermont, while later they removed
to Pennsylvania, where the respective families
have resided for several generations. The sub-
ject was born in York county, Pennsylvania, on
the nth of June, 1852, and was reared to man-
hood in the famous old Keystone state of the
I'nion. His father, John Brooks, was born in
that state, on the ist of January, 1812. and there
both he and his wife, whose maiden name was
Eliza Harry, passed their entire lives, being per-
sons of sterling character and ever commanding
uniform respect and esteem. They became the
parents of five children, of whom three are living.

I590

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the subject of this review being the youngest.
Mr. Brooks received his educational training in
York, the capital of his native county, where he
attended the public schools until he had attained
the age of eighteen years. In 1870 he went to
the city of Baltimore, Maryland, where he
learned the machine-moulder's trade, continuing
his residence in the "Monument City" until 1875,
when he removed to Ogle county, Illinois, where
he remained for three years, engaged in farm-
ing and also teaching school for a time. He
thence went to Wichita, Kansas, where he was
engaged in the buying and selling of cattle about
three years, making trips to Texas and other
points for the purpose of securing stock for ship-
ment. In 1881 he went to Pierce City, Missouri,
where he remained until the spring of 1883,
when he came to the present state of South Da-
kota and numbered himself among the pioneers
of Marshall count}'. In May of that year he
filed entry on a pre-emption claim in the imme-
diate vicinity of the present village of Newark,
being one of the first settlers in that locality and
remaining on his claim one year, duly perfecting
his title. He also took up a homestead and a tree
claim after proving on his original claim, and to
the two latter tracts he proved title in 1886. In
that year he engaged in the livery and draying
business in Newark, successfully continuing op-
erations in the line until 1893, when he was
elected sheriff of the county and forthwith re-
moved to Britton, the county seat, in the mean-
while disposing of his business interests in New-
ark. After the expiration of his official term he
engaged in fanning and trading, thus continuing
until November, 1899, when he purchased the
Commercial Hotel, which he has since conducted
most -successfully, having doubled the capacity
of the house and made it modern and attractive
in all respects. The building is three stories in
height and has forty sleeping rooms, while its
appointments are first-class throughout and its
cuisine exceptionally excellent. ' He spares no
pains in catering to the wants of his patrons, and
is ably seconded by his wife, both being genial
and hospitable nnd having the esteem of all who
know thcni. It may he stated at this point that

Mrs. Brooks also has the distinction of being
a pioneer of the county, having been the first
woinan to permanently settle in Newark town-
ship. In politics Mr. Brooks is a stalwart Re-
publican, and has taken an active part in public
affairs, though he has not held other important
official preferment than that of sheriff', in which
capacity he made a most creditable record.
He is a meinber of Benevolent Lodge, No. 98,
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.

On the 2 1 St of Decetnber, 1880, Mr. Brooks
was united in marriage to Miss Adella Tarbert,
who was born and reared in Maryland, as were
also her parents, Andrew and Amelia Tarbert.
Mr. and Mrs. Brooks have no children.

RICHARD R. JONES, M. D., who is suc-
cessfully established in the practice of his pro-
fession in Britton, Marshall county, is a native
of tlie Badger state, having been born in Cain-
bria, Columbia county, Wisconsin, on the 19th
of September, 1861, and being a son of Hu^h R.
and Laura (Williams) Jones, both scions of
stanch old Welsh stock and both natives of
Wales. The father of the Doctor came to
America in the 'fifties and took up his residence
in Wisconsin. The maternal ancestors of the
subject were the first settlers of Cambria, that
state, and through their influence others of their
countrymen were induced to locate in that lo-
cality, the name of the town having bten given
in honor of the original name of their native
land. Hugh R. Jones remained in Wisconsin
until the discovery of gold in Colorado, when
he joined in the memorable stampede to Pike's
Peak. He remained a short time and then re-
turned to Wisconsin, where he devoted his at-
tention to farming until 1890, wlun hv returned
to Colorado and has since maintained his hi)nie in
the city of Denver, having there followed his
trade, that of stone-mason, and having been a
successful contractor and builder. He and his
estimable wife have three children, the Doctor
being the eldest.

Dr. Jones passed his boyhood days in his
native cduntv and received his enrlv educati'Mial

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

discipline in the public schools of Cambria, later
supplementing; this by a course of study in
Downer College, at Fox Lake, that state. In
1885 he was matriculated in that celebrated in-
stitution. Rush Medical College, in the city of
Giicago, where he completed the prescribed
technical course and was graduated as a member
of the class of 1888, receiving his degree of Doc-
tor, of Medicine. He began the practice of his
profession in his native town, where he remained
six months, at the expiration of which he came
to South Dakotk and took up his residence in
Britton, where he has built up a large and repre-
sentative practice and gained the highest con-
fidence and regard of the people of the com-
munity, while he has been in practice here for a
longer period than any other physician in the
county, while it may be said without fear of con-
tradiction that there are few in the northern part
of the state who can lay credit to as many years
of continuous practice here as can he. In the
early days his labors were of the most arduous
and exacting nature, and called for much self-
abnegation, devotion and courage, as he was often
called to attend those distant from thirty to fifty
miles, traversing the prairies in all kinds of
weather and sparing himself no effort or per-
sonal discomfort in thus ministering to those in
affliction. In 1898 the Doctor opened a drug store
in Britton. and he has since conducted this enter-
prise in connection with his active professional
work. He is a member of the state medical so-
ciety and other professional organizations, and
is medical examiner for nearly all the leading-
life-insurance companies doing business in this
section of the state, while he is also incumbent
of the office of coroner. In politics Dr. Jones is
a stanch advocate of the principles and policies of
the Republican party, and fraternally he is af-
filiated with the Masonic order, the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of
United Workmen and its Degree of Honor; the
Daughters of Rebekah, and the Knights of the
Maccabees.

On the 2 1 St of Xovember. 1890, was solem-
nized the marriage of Dr. Jones to Miss Florence
Thaver. who was born in the state of Xevv York,

and they have three children, — Floyd, Graccne
and Marion. .\ twin brother of the eldest died
aged three nmnths.

JAMES MADDEN, of Worthing, who has
been a resident of Lincoln county for more than
thirty years, was born near Newcastle, Schuyl-
kill county, Pennsylvania, on the 9th of Novem-
ber, 1847, and is a son of Owen and Ellen (Tul-
ley) Madden, both of whom were born in County
Galway, Ireland, whence they came to America
when young, their marriage having been solem-
nized at Pottsville, Pennsylvania. They were de-
scended from stanch old Irish stock, identified
with the annals of the province of Connaught
for many generations. The father of the sub-
ject was employed in the mines in Pennsylvania,
and met his death as the result of an accident
while thus working, our subject being but eigh-
een months old at the time; while his mother
died when he was but nine years of age, so that
he was early thrown upon his resources and is to
be considered as essentially the architect of his
own fortunes. He attended the common schools
of Pennsylvania until the death of his mother
and later contrived to effectively supplement this
training by doing farm work in summer and va-
rious chores in winter, during which latter period
he had the privilege of attending school, receiv-
ing his board in compensation for his services in
the line noted. In 1856. wishing to find some
other occupation than that which had cost his
father his life, he accompanied an unmarried un-
cle to McHenry county, Illinois, where he worked
on a farm for several years, in the meanwhile at-
tending school, as before stated. In 1864 he sig-
nalized his patriotism by enlisting in the defense
of the Union, becoming a private in Company A,
Ninety-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with
which he proceeded to the front, taking part in
the battle of Nashville, Tennessee, and the en-
gagement at Spanish Fort, Alabama, which was
captured by the Sixteenth Army Corps, on the
evening of April 8, 1865, General A. J. Smith
commanding the corJDS. ^Ir. Madden continued
in active service until the close of the war. when

1592

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

he received his honorable discharge and returned
to IlHnois, where he rtmained until 1868. when
he removed to Steele county, Minnesota, where
he was engaged in farm work during the summer
of that year and employed in the lumbering woods
during the ensuing winter. In the spring of 1869
he returned to Illinois, and with the money saved
from his earnings he purchased a team of horses,
with which he returned to Minnesota, where he
was associated with' a friend in farming for one
season, disaster attending their enterprise, as their
crops were destroyed by a severe hailstorm.
Mr. Madden then abandoned agricultural pur-
suits and passed the winter of 1871-2 in the
south, and in the spring of the latter year he
came as a pioneer to what is now South Dakota
and filed on a homestead claim in Lincoln county,
and on this place he has ever since maintained
his home, while he has added to his holdings un-
til he now has a valuable and finely improved
landed estate of one hundred acres, being part of
the town site, continuing to devote his attention
to diversified agriculture and to the raising of
stock, while for the past twelve years he has also
controlled a prosperous business in the buying
and shipping of grain. He held for several
terms the office of chairman of the official board
of Lj'nn township, and has also been a valued
member of the board of trustees of the village of
Worthing, which is located on his- old homestead.
He gave his allegiance to the Republican party
until its repudiation of bimetallic monetary sys-
tem, and since that time he en<leavors to support
the men and measures which seem most fully
American and make for the perpetuation of the
principles on which our republic is founded.
Fraternally he is an appreciative member of the
time-honored Masonic order, with which he has
l)een identified since 1882, having at the time of
this writing attained to the thirty-second degree
in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite and being
affiliated with Oriental Consistory, No. i, of the
valley of Yankton. He has also been a member
of the Grand Arni>- of the Republic since 1885,
and takes a deep interest in his old comrades in
arms. He is liberal and tolerant in his religious
views and recognizes the good accomplished by

all denominations. He is straightforward and
sincere in all the relations of life, his integrity
is beyond question, and thus he has gained a wide
circle of loyal friends, and ever holds this friend-
ship inviolable.

On the 1 2th of December, 1876, at Canton,
this county, Mr. Madden was united in marriage
to Miss Mary Gerber, a daughter of Frederick
and Augustine Gerber, the former of whom was
born and reared in Switzerland, while the latter
was born in Germany. The following record is
entered concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs.
Madden, the respective dates of birth being given
in the connection: Ernest, December 13, 1877;
Cora, Alay 29, 1882 ; Maud, May 18, 1885 ; Fred-
erick, July 2, 1886; Mary Ellen, July 3, 1894;
June, October 18, 1896; and Edwin Tulley, Sep-
tember 25, 1903.

LOUIS H. CLYBORXE, one of the repre-
sentative and highly honored citizens of Herreid,
Campbell county, is a native of the state of Illi-
nois, having been Ijorn in Cameron, Warren
county^ on the 5th of October, 1861, and being
a son of Archibald and Jennie E. (Leeder) Cly-
borne, the former of whom is now a resident of
the city of Chicago. The original representatives
of the Ch'borne family in America were num-
bered among the first settlers of the patrician
old state of Virginia, where the family became
one of prominence and influence, the lineage of
our subject being traced back to William Cly-
borne, who established his home in the Old Do-
minion state in the early colonial epoch of our
national history. William L. Clyborne, the
grandfather of the subject, was one of the early
settlers in Cass county, Michigan, in which state
Archibald Clyborne was born and reared. In
i860 he removed to Illinois and located near
Galesburg, where he continued to reside until
1876, when he removed to the city of Chicago,
where he has ever since maintained his home and
where he is engaged in the live-stock commission
business. Of the four children the subject of
this sketch is the eldest.

Mr. Clvborne was reared in Illinois and se-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1593

cured his education in the public schools of Gales
burg and Chicago. He continued to reside ii
Illinois until 1883, when he came to South Da-
kota, arriving in Aberdeen, Brown county, on
the 27th of March. After passing a few months
in Aberdeen he removed to Lagrace, Campbell
county, in which locality he was engaged in farm-
ing and stock growing until i8go, having been
very successful in his efforts and having con-
tributed materially to the development of the in-
dustrial resources of this attractive section of the
state. In the year mentioned he was elected reg-
ister of deeds of the county, and took up his
residence in Mound City, the county seat. He
was re-elected in 1892, and thus remained incum-
bent of this office for four successive years.
Upon retiring from office Mr. Clyborne engaged
in the real-estate and abstract business in Mound
City, and in 1895 formed a partnership with C.
E. Eckert, which association has ever since con-
tinued. In 1897 they purchased the bank of
Campbell & Johnston, in Alound City, which
they conducted until 1903, when they moved to
Herreid, and on the I si of ;\Iay, 1903, they pur-
chased the Herreid State Bank, which they reor-
ganized as the Campbell County State Bank, of
which they still remain in control. The bank is
capitalized for twenty thousand dollars, has de-
posits of fifty thousand dollars. The institution is
a solid and reliable one, being ably and carefully
managed and controlling an excellent business.
Mr. Clayborne has extensive real-estate interests
in the county, being associated with Mr. Eckert
in the ownership of five thousand acres of valua-
ble farming lands, while he is also interested in
various manufacturing and industrial enterprises.
He has an attractive modern residence in Her-
reid, and the same is a center of gracious hos-
pitalit)-. In politics the subject accords a stanch
alk,t;iance to the Republican party, and frater-
nally he is identified with Acacia Lodge, No. 108,
.Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He has
been an earnest and zealous factor in church and
Sunday school and is one of the prominent and
valued members of the :\Iethodist Episcopal
church in his home town. He was for thirteen

years superintendent of a Sunday school in
Mound City.

On the 19th of November, 1889, Mr. Cly-
borne was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth
N, Stuart, who was born in Fillmore county,
Minnesota, being a daughter of Charles Stu-
art, who there continued to reside until his death.
Mr. and Mrs. Clyborne have four children,
namely: Helen V., Robert A., Gladys Ramona
and .^lildred Ruth.

D. G. STOKES, one of the Kading farmers
and stock growers of Marshall count}-, was born
in \\'right county, Minnesota, on the 8th of Jan-
uary, 1859, and is a son of Frederick and .Mary
( Hogue) Stokes, both of whom were born and
reared in England. The father of the subject
came to America in the early 'fifties and remained
for some time in the state of Xew ^'ork. whence
he came to the west and settled thirty miks mirth
of the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, where both
he and his wife still reside. They became the
parents of twelve children, of whom the subject
was the sixth in order of birth.

D. G. Stokes secured his early educational
training in the public schools of Minnesota, duly
availing himself of the advantages thus aft'orded
and thus laying the foundation for a successful
career in connection with the active duties and
responsibilities of life. Fle was identified with
the saw milling business in Minnesota until 1888,
when he came to the present state of South Da-
kota, which was admitted to the Union about
two years later, and he joined his brother, H. L.,
at Burch, Marshall county, the latter having lo-
cated here in 1886. They continued to be asso-
ciated in the carrying on of a general merchan-
dise business in Burch until 1896, when they re-
moved their stock of goods to Britton, where the
enterprise has since been continued and where
the firm have built up a large and representative
business, having a well-appointed store and car-
rying a select and comprehensive stock. They are
also the owners of sixteen hundred acres of fine
farming and grazing land in the county the

1594

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

homestead ranch being located four miles north-
west of Britton. The subject resides on the farm
and has direct supervision of its operation, while
his brother has chargt of the mercantile business
and is also president of the Marshall County
Bank, in Britton. The ranch is chiefly devoted
to the raising of high-grade live stock upon an
extensive scale, and on the .same is to be found one
of the finest herds of registered Galloway cattle
in this section of the state. The subject also buys
and ships grain upon a large scale, having his
headquarters at Burch and controlling an im-
portant business in the line. The ranch is sup-
plied with an abundance of pure water, a fine
artesian well of six-inch piping having been sunk
to a depth of nine hundred and thirty-five feet,
and having a flow which affords a twenty-five
horse power, said power being utilized in the
grinding of feed and also for other purposes.

In his political proclivities Mr. Stokes is an
uncompromising advocate of the principles of the
Republican party, and he has taken a lively in-
terest in the promotion of its cause, while he has
held various county and township offices, and in
1902 was elected to represent his county in the
state legislature, where he made an excellent
record as a zealous working member of the lower
house. He is identified with the Masonic fra-
ternity and also with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, in which latter he has served as
noble grand of his lodge.

On the 28th of November, 1882, Mr. Stokes
was united in marriage to Miss Rosamond
Eastor, who was born and reared in Minnesota,
and they have two sons. Guy L. and Max G.

JAMES SOLBERG, president of the Mer-
chants' Exchange Bank of Lake Preston, is a
native of Norway, where his birth occurred on
February 17, 1852. His parents, Peter and
Georgiana Solherg, also of Norwegian birth, came
to America in 1853, and located at Buffalo, New
York, moving from there to London, Ontario,
and later to Winona, Afinnesota, where the fa-
ther followed his trade of shoemaking until 1876,
when he moved to Le Seuer county, Minnesota,

and engaged in farming. He departed this life
in the latter state, July 2, 1903, leaving to mourn
his loss a widow and six children, the former still
on the home farm in the county of Le Seuer.

Until thirteen years of age the subject of this
review spent the greater part of his life in Lon-
don, Canada, and received his preliminary educa-
tion in the schools of that place. He remained
with his parents until about the age of twenty-
two and then went to Chicago, Illinois, where he
spent two years as clerk in a boot and shoe house.
Resigning his position at the expiration of the
time noted, he went ti:> St. Paul, Minnesota, and
during the ensuing two years represented the in-
terests of the Schaffer & Rossum Saddlery Hard-
ware Company, of that city, as a traveling sales-
man. Severing his connection with this firm,
Mr. Solberg embarked in merchandising at Lake
Crystal, Minnesota, and after spending nine pros-
perous years m that town, disposed of his busi-
ness and in the spring of 1893 came to South Da-
kota and purchased an interest in the Merchants'
Exchange Bank of Lake Preston, with the career
of which institution he has since been identified.
Mr. Solberg served the bank several years as
vice-president, but in 1900 was elected president
and in the latter capacity he still continues, fill-
ing the position in an able and satisfactory man-
ner and by. his energy and progressive business
methods adding greatly to the prestige and in-
fluence of the institution. As a financier he is
familiar with monetary questions, and their re-
lation to commercial and industrial life, and oc-
cupies a prominent place among his compeers.
In connection with banking he deals quite exten-
sively in real estate, and now owns a large body
of fine land in Kingsbury county, also a beautiful
residence property in the town of Lake Preston,
in addition to his financial interests represented
i)y the bank of which he is chief executive.

On January 16, 1879, Mr. Solberg was united
in marriage with Miss Carrie I. Gutterson, of
Winona county, Minnesota, the daughter of Egel
and Magla Gutterson, natives of Norway, the
union being terminated by the death of the lov-
ing and faithful wife on the 17th day of March,
1 901.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1595

Fraternally jNIr. Solberg is a member of the
Masonic brotherhood, belonging to the blue lodge
at Lake Preston, the chapter at Arlington and the
commandery at Brookings. He is also identi-
fied with the Eastern Star lodge, of which his
wife was a charter member and the first matron,
and his name has long adorned the records of
the Ancient Order of United Workmen in the
place where he resides. In politics he always
has been stanchly Republican, and stood firmly,
by the party during all of its trials, caused by the
wave of Populism, which a few years ago spread
throughout the entire west.

CHARLES S. WHITIXG. judge of the cir-
cuit court of the ninth judicial circuit of the state,
maintaining his residence and professional head-
quarters in DeSmet, the capital of Kings-
l)ury county, is a native of the state of Minnesota,
having been born on a farm in Olmsted county,
on the 25th of May, 1863, and being a son of
Ammi N. and Mariette (Rice) Whiting, both
of whom were born in the state of New York,
while their marriage was solemnized in Wiscon-
sin. The father of our subject accompanied his
parents on their removal to Wisconsin, about
1850, being a young man at the time, and they
settled on a farm in Green county, while later he
became identified with mercantile pursuits, in St.
Marie, that state. In 1858 he removed to Olm-
sted countv, ^Minnesota, where he became the
owner of a farm upon which he continued to re-
side until 1902, when he came to DeSmet, South
Dakota, where he has since lived practically re-
tired, being seventy-one years of age at the time
of this writing, in 1904. His wife died at the time
of the birth of the subject of this sketch. After
the death of his mother Judge Whiting was ta-
ken to the home of his paternal grandparents,
Ellis F. and Laura (Rice") Whiting, with whom
he remained until he had attained the age of six-
teen years, in Rochester, Minnesota, where he
completed the curriculum of the public schools,
being graduated in the high school as a member
of the class of 1879. He then spent three years
with his father on the farm, and at the expiration

of this period began teaching, to which vocation
he continued to devote his attention for the ensu-
ing five years, passing the vacations on the home
farm. For three years he \Vas principal of the vil-
lage school at Elgin and Eyota, Minnesota, and
he proved a successful and popular teacher. In
1887 Judge Whiting was matriculated in the law
department of the University of Michigan, at
Ann Arbor, where he continued his studies until
1888, when he entered the law department of the
State University in the city of Minneapolis,
where he completed his professional course and
was graduated as a member of the first class to
thus go forth from this now prominent institu-
tion, in 1889, there having been but three mem-
bers in the class. He was admitted to the bar of
Minnesota at the time of his graduation, and in
July of the same year came to DeSmet, being du-
ly admitted to the bar of South Dakota. When
the Judge came to this state his financial
resources were at the lowest possible ebb,
but he was fortified by a thorough knowl-
edge of the law, by a determination and
courage which recognized no such thing
as failure, with the logical consequence
that he now stands at the present time in the front
rank of the members of his profession in this
section of the. state. In 1892 he was elected
state's attorney of Kingsbury county, in which
office he served four terms, and an indication of
the esteem in which he is held in the county was
afforded in the first two elections, for he was the
candidate on the Republican ticket and overcame
the very considerable majority represented in the
combined forces of the Democracy and Populists
in the county. In 1897 he was the candidate of
I his party for the office of circuit judge of the
third circuit, but was unable to overcome the
large opposing majority in the district, though he
carried his own county, being the first Republi-
can candidate to do this in connection with any
office aside from those of purely a county order.
In March, 1903, he was appointed to the bench
of the ninth circuit upon the creation of said cir-
cuit, and his term will expire in December, 1904.
His circuit comprises the counties of Spink,
Beadle, Miner, and Kingsbury, and he is making

[596

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

a most enviable record in his judicial capacity,
while there is little doubt be will be chosen as
his own successor at the next election, having at
the time of this article been unanimously nomi-
nated by his party as his own successor. The
Judge is a stanch and uncompromising advocate
of the principles of the Republican parly and has
been an active and eflfective worker in the party
cause since coming to the state. Fraternally the
subject is affiliated with DeSmet Lodge, No. 58.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and with the
encamf)ment of the order at DeSmet, while he is
also a member of the Modern Woodmen of
America.

On the 4th of November, i8gi. Judge Whit-
ing was united in marriage to Miss Mary G.
Mitchell, of Dover, Minnesota, she being a
daughter of William Mitchell, a prominent citi-
zen of that place. Mrs. Whiting was summoned
into eternal rest on the 29th of October, 1897,
and was not long survived by her only child,
Ruth, who died on the 7th of April, 1899. On
the 2ist of July, 1900, Judge Whiting consum-
mated a second marriage, being then united to
Miss Eleanor Hilton, who was born in Detroit,
iVIichigan, being a daughter of Thomas and
Julia A. Hilton, the former of whom died in
1889, while the latter now resides in the home
of the subject. Judge and Mrs. Whiting have
one daughter, Mariette, who was born on the
nth of April, 1901, and one son, Fred N., born
March i, IQ04.

FRANCIS H. SCHOOX MAKER, M. D.,
of Arlington, was born in Gardner, Illinois, Sep-
tember 24, 1858, being the oldest in a family of
four children, whose parents were W. H. and M.
E. (Hall) Schoonmaker. The father, a native of
New York and of German-English descent, went
to Illinois when a yoimg man and engaged in
merchandising in the town of Gardner, to which
line of business he devoted the greater part of his
life. He spent some twelve or fifteen years in
Joliet, Illinois, where he also conducted a mer-
cantile establisliment and finished his life work
in that city, dying about 1891. Mrs. Schoon- i

maker still makes her home in the above place,
and of her four children there are still living
Francis H., Charles F. and Lorise AL, the de-
ceased member of the family dying in infancy.

Doctor Schoonmaker was reared to manhood
in his native state, attended the schools of
Gardner and other places until the age of seven-
teen, spending his vacations the meantime on a
farm, where he early learned the lessons of in-
dustry, which had so much to do in shaping his
future course of life. Having decided to enter
the medical profession, he spent one and a half
years in preliminary study under the direction of
Dr. C. B. Alford, of Odell, Illinois, now of
Huron, South Dakota, and in 1884, at the age of
twenty-six, entered the Chicago Aledical College
of Northwestern l.^niversity, from which he was
graduated three years later. In the spring of
1887 Doctor Schoonmaker loi-atcd in Be'.oit, Kan-
sas, but not finding a fa v. >ral)le opening at that
place, he returned to Illinuis in September of the
same year and the following December came to
Arlington, South Dakota, where he has since
been actively engaged in the practice of his pro-
fession.

Doctor Schoonmaker, in 1892. entered the
marriage relation with Miss Frances A, Searles,'
of Joliet, Illinois, daughter of M. E. and J. M.
Searles, the father for many years a leading
grocer of that city, also deputy postmaster. One
child has been born to this union, a son who
answers to the name of \\'illiam F.

The Doctor is a member of the !\iasonic fra-
ternity, belonging to the blue lodge and chapter
at Arlington, and the commandery at Brookings.
He is also identified with the Ancient Order of
United Woodmen, the Woodmen and the Degree
of Honor, being at this time grand medical
examiner of the first named order. He acts in
the capacity of medical examiner for the leading
life insurance companies represented in this part
of the state, and for some time past has been
serving as coroner of Kingsbury county, to
which office lie was elected by the Republican
party. Although a Republican in principle, he
generallv votes as his judgment dictates, espe-
cially in local affairs, where politics should cut

HISTORY OF SOTJTH DAKOTA.

but little figure. Mrs. Schoonmaker is a member
of the Baptist church of Arlington ; she is also
a member of the Eastern Star and Degree of
Honor. While not subscribing to any creed or
statement of faith, the Doctor has a profound re-
gard for religion and the church, being a liberal
contributor to the congregation with which his
wife is identified.

J(.)HX llALDRIDGE.— The di.stinction ac-
corded the subject of this review of being one of
the progressive business men and representative
citizens of South Dakota has been honorably
earned and is cheerfully conceded by all who
know him or have come within the range of his
influence. Coming west during the formation
period of this state and experiencing in full meas-
ure the difficulties and hardships incident to pio-
neer life, he perseveringly pursued his course
until in due time he surmounted unfavorable
environment and rose from obscurity to the com-
manding position he now occupies in business
circles and the world of affairs. John Bald-
ridge, president of the Farmers and Merchants'
Bank of Iroquois, is descended from two old
tamilies, one of which originated in Ireland, the
other in England. Hervey Baldridge, the sub-
ject's father, was a native of Seneca county.
New York, and in his veins flowed the blood of a
long line of sturdy ancestors. Eliza Wilkinson,
the mother, was born and grew to womanhood in
Seneca county, (Ihio, and traced her lineage in
this country to the original "Mayflower" pil-
grims, thence to a much remoter period in Eng-
land, where her family name has been known for
generations beyond the memory of man. Hervey
was reared in Seneca county, New York, where
from the age of twenty-one' to twenty-seven he
was engaged in teaching, in connection with
wdiich calling he also devoted considerable at-
tention to agricultural pursuits, giving particu-
lar attention to horticulture. He purchased land
in the above county and his farm was for years
considered one of the finest grain and fruit farms
m western New York. At the age of thirty-five
he was united in marriage with Eliza Wilkinson,

from which event until his death, in i8<)7, he
lived the life of a prosperou.s and contented tiller
of the soil, his wife departing this life in i885.
They reared a large family of ten children in all,
of whom tile following survive; John, whose
name ininuluces this sketch; Mrs. Snessa Blahie,
of Washington, D. C. ; Belle, now Mrs. C. G.
Birdsell, also a resident of that city; Raymond
W.. who lives in Geneva, New York, and Har-
rison A., wliose home is also in the Empire state.

John Baldridge was born November 24, 1862.
in Seneca county, New York, spent his child-
hood and youth on the family homestead, and
after attending the district schools until the age
of sixteen, entered the Geneva Classical and
Union School, an educational institution of high
grade, where he pursued his studies for two
years, standing at the head of his classes in
mathematics and other branches. Later, at the
age of nineteen, he successfully passed the state
regents' examination and was granted a diploma
from the University of the State of New York.
In the spring of 1883, at the age of twenty, with
his elder brother Willis, he came to Kingsbury
county, South Dakota, where the two took up
claims, Willis filing on his land at once and John
later on when he reached his majority. Willis
died November 24, 1884, the result of an acci-
dental fall from a mule which he was riding a
few days previous. By a strange coincidence his
death occurred on John's birthday and also on
the day on which he was to make final proof on
his claim. Subsequently his father completed the
final proof on the land and afterwards deeded it
to John, in accordance with the wish expressed
by Willis before his death and the mutual agree-
ment between the two brothers that in case of
the death of either the survivor was to receive the
other's claim.

The subject experienced, iluring the first
three or four years on his claim, many of the
hardships and privations of pione«r life, but in
due season he reduced his land to cultivation,
made a number of substantial improveinents,
and on leaving it, in 1891, was in comfortable
financial circumstances. Renting his farm that
year and changing his abode to Irot|uois, he ac-

1598

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

cepted the position of cashier in the Farmers and
Merchants' Bank, and continued in that capacity
until January i, 1903, when he largely increased
his interests in the institution and became its
president. He is still serving in this responsible
position, and to his correct business methods and
superior executive ability the bank is indebted for
a large measure of the success and prosperity
which has characterized its career since he as-
sumed the management and previously. What
Mr. Baldridge has achieved in the business world
has been entirely through his own efiforts, as he
came west with but limited capital, but with a
first-class credit which enabled him to embark
in enterprises which in the course of time
yielded him large returns on his investments and
made him not only one of the well-to-do men of
his community but also one of the wide-awake,
representative business men of Kingsbury
county. In addition to city property and his
banking interests, he now owns over eight hun-
dred acres of valuable land in South Dakota and
is also quite extensively engaged in stock rais-
ing.

On the nth day of March, 188.6, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Baldridge and Miss
Flora Adelaide Purintun, daughter of Orin S.
and Mary A. Purintun, who were among the
early pioneers of Kingsbury county, the mother
still living in the city of DeSmet. The three chil-
dren born of this union are Clarence L., aged
seventeen, Grace, sixteen years old, and Blanche,
whose birth occurred eleven years ago. Mr.
Baldridge is a member of the Ancient Order of
United Woodmen, also of the Degree of Honor,
and has represented the former in the grand
lodge, besides taking an active interest in all
the local work of the orders. r^Irs. Baldridge is
also identified with the Degree of Honor, and has
been the representative of the Iroquois lodge in
the grand lodge of the state. Religiously both
are members of the Congregational church and
have been for a number of years, Mr. Baldridge
being deacon and treasurer of the Iroquois Con-
gregational church at the present time.

In politics the subject has always been stead-
fast in his allegiance to the Republican party and

never swerved from his principles when so
many of his friends and associates were carried
away by the great Populist movement, which a
few years ago threatened to disrupt the two great
parties throughout the west. He served as town-
ship clerk and treasurer before moving to Iro-
quois and since taking up his residence in the
town has repeatedly been elected to the office of
school treasurer, in addition to which office he
has also rendered valuable service as a member
of the school board, besides being identified with
the State and National Bankers' Associations.

Mr. Baldridge possesses talent as a musician,
and has cultivated the same under the direction
of some of the most accomplished artists in the
country, among whom was the distinguished
pianist. Madam Towler, a pupil of Moscheles,
for a number of years musical instructor of
Queen Victoria. Amid the pressing claims of his
various business interests he finds time to de-
vote to this his favorite pastime. For the last
eleven years he has been organist of the First
Congregational church of Iroquois, and in many
ways has taken an active interest in musical af-
fairs throughout the state.

Mr. Baldridge is an admirer of the German
language and literature and has formed the habit
of doing a portion of his regular reading in that
tongue.

CHARLES T. LIDDLE, son of John T. and
Mary Liddle, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere
in these pages, was born in Hastings county,
Minnesota, on October 5, 1865. When about five
years old he was taken by his parents to Lansing,
that state, and there entered the district schools,
which he attended until the age of sixteen, the
meanwhile assising his father in cultivating the
farm. In November, 1881, he accompanied the
family to Kingsbury county. South Dakota, and
until attaining his majority remained under the
parental roof, contributing his share to the de-
velopment of the claim his father entered, and
during the greater part of two years continuing
liis studies in the public schools.

Shortlv after his twentv-first vear Mr. Lid-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1599

die purchased the rehnquishment on a quarter
section of land south of Iroquois, and addressing
himself to its improvement soon had a good farm
developed and in successful cultivation. After
tilling it one year, he sold out and, returning to
Minnesota, spent one summer and fall in a gro-
cery store in the city of Minneapolis. Meantime,
however, he further added to his scholastic
training by spending the falls and winters of
1886-7 i" th^ Agricultural College of South Da-
kota, at Brookings, and in this way fitted himself
for the duties of the active and successful busi-
ness life upon which he was soon to enter. Re-
turning to Kingsbury county in September, 1888,
Mr. Liddle bought out the flour and feed store
of C. O. Bortle, at Iroquois, and, forming a
partnership with Perry Lawton, greatly enlarged
the business, the firm soon becoming one of the
most prosperous of the kind in the place. In
March, 1891, the subject purchased his asso-
ciate's interest, and has since been sole proprietor
of an establishment which has steadily grown in
magnitude and importance. The same year in
which he became sole owner Mr. Liddle added a
full line of furniture to his business and one year
later farm implements and machinery were in-
cluded, subsequently buggies, wagons and all
kinds of vehicles being added to the stock.

Mr. Liddle was married December 25, 1889,
to Miss Anna Williams, of Iroquois, a union
terminated by the death of the wife in October,
1891. Later, September, 1895, he again entered
the marriage relation, choosing for a wife Miss
Kate Bradly, of Pierre, South Dakota, who has
proved a faithful and devoted companion and
helpmeet. Fraternally Mr. Liddle is member of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of
the Ancient Order of United Workmen, being
active in both fraternities. Mrs. Liddle is one of
the leading spirits in the Rebekah degree lodge,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has
filled various offices in the same ; she is also a zeal-
ous worker in the Methodist Episcopal church of
Iroquois, to which religious body her husband
belongs, the latter having been a trustee of the
congregation for a number of years, also one of
its most liberal financial supporters. Politically

Mr. Liddle has always been a stanch Republican.
He was one of the first of his party in Irotjuois
to advodite the gold standard and labored un-
ceasingly for the measure, standing firm and un-
wavering for the time-honored principle of
sound money. He has been a delegate to a num-
ber of conventions, is a power in local politics, a
successful organizer and leader, but has never
aspired to office or any kind of public distinction.

JOHN T. LIDDLE was born June 30, 1832,
in Dearborn county, Indiana, the son of Stephen
and Sarah Liddle, natives of England. These
parents were married in the land of their birth
and after living there a number of years came to
the United States and settled in Dearborn county,
Indiana, where they spent the remainder of their
days on a farm. Stephen Liddle always followed
agriculture for a livelihood and in addition there-
to devoted considerable time to the public minis-
try. His wife bore him ten children, namely : Bel-
sie, Stephen, Sarah, Ann, James, Martha, Isaac,
Hannah, Mary and John T., all deceased but the
subject of this review and James, the latter liv-
ing in Dearborn county, Indiana, at the age of
seventy-nine years.

John T. Liddle was reared on the family
homestead in Miller township. Dearborn county,
Indiana, attended the indifferent subscription
schools of the early day, and at the age of twenty-
one began working for himself as a farm hand,
continuing this line of labor for a period of about
two years. He then returned home and took
charge of the farm which he cultivated success-
fully in his own and his parents' interests as long
as the latter Hved, besides looking after their
support and comfort in many other ways. When
a young man he married Miss Mary Barkuloo,
of Logan township. Dearborn county, after which
he continued to farm the homestead for three or
four years and then moved to Minneapolis, where
he purchased land and followed the pursuit of
agriculture until disposing of his possessions in
that state and migrating to South Dakota a few
vears later. Mr. Liddle entered a quarter sec-
tion of land in Kingsbury county and developed

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the same, but after cultivating- his place several
years sold out to good advantage and changed
his abode to Iroquois, where he has since resided,
devoting his attention the meanwhile to the busi-
ness enterprises in which himself and son are
engaged.

Mr. Liddlc served one year and three months
in the latter jiart of the Civil war as a member
of Company C, Hotchkiss Battalion Volunteers,
enlisting at St. Paul and remaining with his
command until the cessation of hostilities. His
company was stationed for some time at Alexan-
dria, Minnesota, and was transferred thence to
Fort Duty to protect the settlers of a large area
of territory against the hostile Indians. He
rendered valuable assistance and retired from the
army w'ith an honorable record, since which
time he has been as zealous in promoting the in-
terests of civil life as he was brave and loyal in
upholding the integrity of the national union.

Mr. and Mrs. Liddle became the parents of
eleven children, only five of whom are living,
namely : Charles, who is in business at Iroquois ;
Hannon, also a resident of Iroquois and a farmer
by occupation ; Latimer, buttermaker of the Iro-
quois Creamer)^ ; Walter, who is engaged in the
railroad business, and Mrs. Esther Bangs. Mr.
Liddle is and always has been a pronounced Re-
publican, and is an active member of the Grand
Army of the Republic post at Iroquois, and
with his wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal
church, both being faithful and consistent mem-
bers and zealous in all lines of religious and
charitalile work.

.■\L\'A X. ALDRICH, mayor of the citv of
Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he is also pro-
prietor and manager of the Wisconsin House,
one of the leading hotels of the city, was born
at Ionia, Michigan, on August 29, 1866, the son
of William E. Aldrich, who was born near Buf-
falo, New York, February 23, 1840, the son of
Warren and Sarah Aldrich, both born near Buf-
falo, New York. William E. Aldrich went to In-
diana in T85r), where he followed farming. He
served ten months as a member of Companv E,

j Thirtieth Regiment Indiana Infantry, as a pri-
I vate. He removed to Michigan in the fall of
1857, and his .death occurred February 2, 1877.
He married Amelia E. Stedman, who was born
at Spencer, Medina county, Ohio, in 1848. the
daughter of Nelson and Roxana ( Parrent ) Sted-
man, natives of New York state, the former born
in 1809, the later in 1810.

The subject was reared to manhood in and
about his native place, and attended the public
schools. In 1887 he cime to South Dakota and
took up a homestead in Frederick, Brown countv.
which he at once proceeded to improve and upon
which he resided for the following two years.
Owing to the stringency of the tim.es and the
difficulty experienced in obtaining a livelihood
from his land, he disposed of the same at the ex-
piration of the above period, being obliged to sell
at such a low figure as to cause the loss of nearlv
all of his labor and improvements. For some
time after disposing of his homestead Mr. Aid-
rich clerked in a clothing store in Aberdeen, and
it was while thus engaged that he decided to go
into the hotel business, and in May, i8c6. with
borrowed capital, he purchased the Wisconsin
House, which he at once remodeled and refur-
nished throughout, making of it one of the lead-
ing hotels of the city. The hotel contains fo'^ty
commodious rooms, with accommodations for
a hundred guests, is modern in its appointments,
and supplied with all the comforts and conve-
niences found in any first-class hotel. Mr. Aid-
rich has proven a model landlord, his companion-
able and congenial nature having wdu' him a
host of friends among the traveling public. Not
only is he popular with his guests, but he stands
high with his fellow citizens who esteem him
highlv as a man and citizen, and have honored
him in electing him to important places in the city
government. In April. 1898, he was elected as a
Republican to the board of aldermen at .\ber-
deen, and was re-elected to that body in igoo
and 1902. In iSq8 he was made chairman of
the committee on fire department, and remained
at the head of that important committee as lo-ig
as he was alderman. Dmang that period the
Gamewell fire alarm system was installed. In

ALYA N. ALDRICH

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1902 tlie board of aldermen honored him by elect-
ing him acting mayor. In March, 1904, Mr. Aid-
rich was nominated by the Republicans for tjie
office of mayor, and in April, following, he was
elected. His administration began with the
inauguration of needed reforms, among which
was the strict closing of all saloons on Sunday,
and causing the proprietors to comply with the
law forbidding them to obstruct the public view
of their bars bv the placing of palms, sign's, etc.,
in the front windows. He also closed all the
gambling houses, and began the vigorous en-
forcement of other ordinances, among the same
being the one forbidding spitting upon pave-
ments and sidewalks. And those who know the
mayor feel certain the public can rest assured that
these reforms are not spasmodic, but will continue
as long as he remains at the head of the city's
government. Mr. Aldrich is a member of the
;\Iasonic fraternity, belong to the blue lodge, the
chapter and commandery at Aberdeen. He is
also a member of the Knights of Pythias order.
On June 5, 1895, Mayor Aldrich was married
to Miss Louise Wylie, of Aberdeen, and to this
union one son has been born : Louis Wylie, who
is now in his sixth vear.

I. A. KEITH, the leading druggist of Lake
Preston and a man of state reputation by reason
of his connection with important public enter-
prises, was born in Rock county, Wisconsin, on
September 20, 1847. His parents, Alonzo A.
and Julia M. ( McFarland ) Keith, were natives
of Xcw Viirk, and there lived until about the
year 1845. when they moved to Rock county,
Wisconsin, where the father .entered land, de-
veloped a farm and became successful in agri-
cultural pursuits. In 1882 he disposed of his
interests in that state and came to South Dakota,
locating at Lake Preston, near which place he
took up a homestead and retired from active life.
He died at his home in Lake Preston in the year
1895, leaving a widow and three children, the
former still living at the advanced age of eighty-
one. Alonzo Keith was a man of strict integrity
and high repute, popular with all wlio knew him.

and for many years lived an earnest, consistent
Christian life, as a member of the Congrega-
tional church, to which denomination his good
wife also belongs. Of the four children born to
this excellent couple, three are living, Irwin A.,
the subject of this sketch, Edgar P., a prominent
real-estate dealer and large landowner of Al-
gonia, Iowa, and Charles W., who is connected
with a Chicago business enterprise ; Herbert, the
third in order of birth, died at the age of fourteen
\ears.

The subject of this review was reared in
Rock county, Wisconsin, grew to manhood on
his father's farm and attended the public schools
until fifteen years old, the training thus re-
ceived being supplemented by a course of study
in an academy at Allen's Grove and a commercial
college at Janesville, Wisconsin. At the age of
twenty he entered a drug store in Janesville, and
after remaining four years in that city and be-
coming a proficient pharmacist, came west, stop-
ping one year in Iowa, and in 1882 settled with
his family at Lake Preston, South Dakota. In
March of the latter year he purchased a small
pioneer stock of drugs, representing a value of
two hundred and sixty-five dollars, and soon
built up a lucrative business. Meanwhile, in
1882, Mr. Keith took up a tree claim, and later lo-
cated a homestead, on both of which he proved
up, and from which he has since received no small
part of his income. He owns one tract of real
estate, amounting to one hundred and sixty
acres, adjoining Lake Preston, its proximity to
the town adding greatly to its value, and he now
has a beautiful and in every respect desirable
home on this property.

Mr. Keith devoted his attention very closely
to the drug trade until recently, since which time
his son Herbert, a profesional pharmacist and
a graduate from the .pharmaceutical department
of State "Agricultural College of South Dakota,
has managed the business. Mr. Keith has been
officially identified with the South Dakota Phar-
maceutical Association since its organization, in
1886, and for ten years served as secretary of that
organization and the state board of pharmacy,
and for six vears he has been a member of the

l602

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

state board of pharmacy, being at this time its
president. In 1895 he assisted in organizing the
Druggists' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of
South Dakota, and has served as secretary of the
same since that date, the success of the enterprise
being largely attributable to his interest and able
management. This company was organized by
the leading druggists of the state and has its
headquarters at Lake Preston, and carries all
classes of commercial risks, having a large and
well-distributed business in nearly every city and
town in the state. It has saved its policy holders
approximately seventy-five thousand dollars in
premiums refunded, and has paid fire losses
amounting to thirty thousand dollars. The cost
to its members has been about fifty per cent, of
existing insurance schedules.

The domestic life of Mr. Keith dates from
1872, on June 4th of which year he was wedded
to Miss Addie C. Burke, of Rochester, New
York, daughter of P. Y. and Miranda Burke,
old and respected residents of that city. To Mr.
and Mrs. Keith three children have been born,
Minnie, Herbert, who has charge of his father's
drug business, and Grace, all three at home.

Mr. Keith belongs to the Masonic fraternity
and Ancient Order of United Workmen, and is
a charter member of the Odd Fellows lodge at
Lake Preston, which he has served in the highest
official capacity within the gift of the organi-
zation. Religiously he is a Congregationalist, as
is also his wife, both being • members of the
church at Lake Preston, besides being most lib-
eral contributors. He has for many years been a
member of the board of education and in 1897
represented the twenty-first senatorial district in
the upper house of the state legislature, in which
body he made an honorable record, serving as
chairman of the senate appropriation committee
and as a member of the committees on insurance
and banking, education, cities and municipal
corporations and public health, besides taking
an active part in the general deliberations on
the floor. In politics he is a Republican, casting
his maiden vote for U. S. Grant in 1868. He
was, however, identified with the Populist party
for several years, being led to this action by

reason of his views upon the financial question
and other reform measures of that party. He is
a political leader in Kingsbury count\', and is not
only a power in local politics, but his influence as
an organizer and campaigner is felt throughout
a large section of the state.

GEORGE W. LATTIN, one of the leading
lawyers and juri.sts of Kingsbury county, claims
the old Empire state of the Union as the place
of his nativity, having been born in Dutchess
county. New York, on the 23d of April, 1858,
and being a scion of old and honored families of
that state. The original American ancestors in
both the paternal and maternal lines came from
England to the new world in the colonial epoch
of our national history, locating in New England,
from which cradle of history representatives of
both have gone forth to diverse sections of the
Union. The subject is a son of E. C. and Ruth
(Mosher) Lattin, both of whom were likewise
born and reared in Dutchess county. The father
of the subject was a miller by vocation and his
death occurred, in Nassau, New York, in 1865.
Judge Lattin was a lad of seven years at the
time of his father's death, and in 1869 he ac-
companied his widowed mother on her removal
to DeKalb county, Illinois, where his mother pur-
chased land, continuing to reside on this home-
stead farm until her children had been reared
to maturity. In 1882 she removed to Franklin.
Nebraska, where her death occurred in the
spring of 1889. Of her four children we enter
the following record: Stephen is a resident of
Glyndon, Minnesota, where he is engaged in
business ; George W. is the subject of this re-
view; Alma is the wife of Samuel Chriswell, of
Charleston, Oklahoma ; and Ella is the wife of
William Mercer, of Aurora, Illinois.

George W. Lattin received his rudimentary
education in the public schools of Poughkcepsie,
New York, and was eleven years of age at the
time of his mother's removal to Illinois, where
he was reared to maturity on the homestead farm.
In the meanwhile he completed the curriculum
of the public schools, and in 1876 he entered the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1603

Classical Seminary at East Pawpaw, Illinois,
where he was graduated as a member of the class
of 1880, receiving the degree of Bachelor of
Science. In 1880 he was matriculated in the
law department of the Northwestern University,
in Chicago, where he completed the prescribed
course and was graduated as a member of the
class of 1882, William J. Bryan having been a
member of the junior class at the time of the
subject's graduation. Mr. Lattin secured the
highest honors in his class, and upon his examin-
ation prior to graduation made the mark of one
hundred per cent.

In the spring of 1882 Judge Lattin came to
Kingsbury county, South Dakota, and took up
a claim near the present village of Iroquois, and
thereafter he lived upon his farm for eight years,
making gool improvements and bringing a goodly
portion under a high state of cultivation. In
1890 he was elected judge of the county court,
whereupon he took up his residence in DeSmet,
where he has since made his home. He served
on the bench until 1898, and made a most
enviable record, very few of his decisions meet-
ing with reversal in the higher courts. In 1892
he purchased the Kingsbury County Independent,
a weekly paper, and retained entire control of the
same until 1898. when he disposed of his in-
terests in the enterprise. In April of that year
he was appointed captain of Company E, First
South Dakota Volunteer Infantry, and pre-
liminary to entering active service with his
command he resigned his position on the bench.
He accompanied his regiment to the Philippines,
where he remained in command of his company
during the entire term of service, participating
in all the engagements in which his regiment
was involved, and returning to his home in
October, 1899, having received his honorable dis-
charge on the 5th of October of that year. Since
his return Judge Lattin has been actively en-
gaged in the practice of law in DeSmet, while
he makes his home on his fine farm, of one hun-
dred and sixty acres, which lies contiguous to
the town. He has attained a high degree of suc-
cess in temporal affairs, and the same stands as
the result of his own efforts, for through his own

exertions he made his way through college,
having been practically dependent upon his own
resources from the age of si.xteen years. In pol-
itics he was formerly arrayed with the Republi-
can party, lint upon the organization of the Pop-
ulist party he identified himself with the same,
and has since been a stanch advocate of its prin-
ciples. Fraternally he holds membership in De-
Smet Lodge, No. 55, Ancient Free and Accepted
Alasons, and in DeSmet Lodge, No. 25. Ancient
Order of L'nited Workmen.

On the nth of July, 1881, Judge Lattin was
united in marriage to Miss Sarah \'an Patten,
of Lee county, Illinois, in which state she was
born and reared, being a daughter of C. F. Van
Patten, who was one of the pioneers of Lee
county. To Judge and Mrs. Lattin have been
born eight children, namely : Mary, who is a suc-
cessful teacher, is a member of the class of 1903
in the State Normal School, at Madison; Wil-
liam, who was graduated in the DeSmet high
school, is now engaged in teaching ; and Herbert,
Lois, Homer, Ralph, Mark and Sidney are all
at the parental home.

HON. THOMAS REED is a native of Scot-
land, born in the town of Auchleblest on the ist
day of October, 1839. His parents were Robert
Reed and Agnes Farley, both born and reared in
Scotland, and their marriage also occurred in that
country. Robert Reed farmed in his native land
until 184T, when he came to America and after
following the pursuit of agriculture for a few
vears in the state of New York moved to Ogle
county, Illinois, where he continued his chosen
vocation until his death, in 1894. Mrs. Reed died
in New York in 1842, leaving four motherless
children to be cared for by her husband, and
right nobly did he discharge this loving duty.
Mr. Reed never remarried, but kept his family
together until each child was grown and able
to care for himself. He possessed more than or-
dinary powers of mind, was a close student, and
ardent friend of high education and at the age of
fifty-five took up the study of astronomy, in
which he became (|uite proficient. The following

i6o4

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

are the names of his children : John, JMichael.
Agnes, who married Henry Earl, and Thomas,
all deceased but the subject of this sketch.

Thomas Reed was quite small when his
parents came to the United States and after
spending a short time in New York he was taken
to Ogle county, Illinois, where he remained until
his eighteenth year. He attended school of
winter seasons until that age, but began earning
his own livelihood when a youth of fourteen by
working at different kinds of labor. In 1857 he
went to California, via New York city and the
isthmus of Panama, and after spending three
years mining in Placer county, that state, enlisted
in August, 1861, in Company E, First California
Infantry, for service in the Civil war. This com-
mand marched to .Santiago, thence to Fort 1
Yuma, and from there through Arizona, New !
Mexico and a part of Texas, retaking the gov-
ernment forts and posts that had been captured
by the Confederates, finally returning to Santa
Fe, where Mr. Reed was mustered out in the year
1864. After a brief rest he re-entered the army,
joining Hancock's Veteran Corps, which he ac-
companied throughout its various experiences, j
until 1866, in September of which year he re-
ceived his final discharge at the national capital. |

Returning to Illinois at the expiration of his [
period of enlistment, Mr. Reed settled down to
farming in Ogle county, and there remained until
1881, when he came to Kingsbury county.
South Dakota, and purchased eight hundred and
sixty acres of land, on which he lived during the
nine years following. At the end of that time he !
changed his abode to Arlington and opened a
real-estate office to which line of business and
money loaning he has since devoted his attention.

Mr. Reed's financial success has been com-
mensurate with the energy displayed in all of his
undertakings and in addition to a large amount
of valuable property in Arlington, he now owns
three thousand acres of fine land in the counties
of Kingsbury and Brookings, all under cultiva-
tion and yielding him a liberal income; also two I
hundred acres of valuable farm land in Ogle i
county, Illinois, besides the ample fortune repre-
sented by personal ])rop(.Tty and private capital.

He has other than his business standing and
financial success to recommend him to the fav-
orable consideration of his felljw citizens, as he
has long been deeply interested in the public af-
fairs of this city, county and state. Since com-
ing to South Dakota he has been actively identi-
fied with the Republican party, in local and state
politics, has been honored with a number of
responsible official positions, prominent among
which was that of state senator, having been
elected to represent his district in the upper
house of the legislature in 1892. He served the
district very acceptably for a period of two years
and refused a renomination, although impor-
tuned by his constituents to accept the honor, as
his record as a law-maker was eminently sat-
isfactory, not only to his own party but to the
people of his jurisdiction, irrespective of political
ties.

.Air. Reed is a member of the Masonic broth-
erhood, belonging to the blue lodge and chapter
at Arlington, the commandery at Brookings,
and it was through his individual efforts that the
charter for the second named organization was
procured, this being the first chapter instituted in
South Dakota after its admission to the Union
as a state.^ He is also identified with the Odd
Fellows lodge at Arlington, and for over twenty
years has been an active worker in the Grand
Arm\- of the Republic, being a charter member of
the post in the city of his residence and a leader
in all of its deliberations. He stands high in
Grand Army circles throughout South Dakota,
and at the present time is commander of the order
in this state, to which honorable position he
was elected on June 24, 1903. In August of the
sam.e year he attended the national en-
campment at San Francisco, the place
where he enlisted forty-one years before,
and also revisited many of the scenes
made interesting by reason of his thrilling ex-
periences as a miner. Mr. Reed was married
November 22, 1871. to Miss Margaret A. Knapp,
daughter of Jarrald and Harriett Knapp, of Ogle
county, Illinois, the union being blessed with two
children, Robert \\'. and George P. Mrs. Reed
comes of a very old English family, the history of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

which is traceable to an early date in this
country, and to a much remoter period in the land
of her forefathers. Among the relics of her
ancestry still in her possession is an old chair,
which has been in the family and in constaiU use
for over one hundred and fifty years, a ])iece of
furniture not only interesting on account of its
great age, but highly prized as a iK-irlnMni liy
reason of its associations.

'Sir. Reed and family belnng to the Disciple
church of Arlington, and are among its active
and much respected members. He finds time
from the pressing claims of his business afl^airs
to devote to church work and as a faithful and
consistent Christian never allows his secular in-
terests to interfere with his religious duties.

BOETIOUS H. Sl-LLI\-AX. one of the- in
fluential citizens of I'lankintoii, Aurora county
maintaining his residence in the attractive vil-
lage of Plankmton, was born in Harvard. Mc-
Henry county, Illinois, on the 23d of August,
1859, and is a son of Eugene and Alary (Sulli-
van) Sullivan, to whom were born nine children.
The parents were born in County Kerry, Ireland,
whence the father emigrated to the United States
when sixteen years of age, settling in Illinois,
where he became a successful merchant, there
continuing in business until his death, at the age
of'forty-six years. He was city collector for sev-
eral years and was a man who commanded un-
qualified esteem in his home community. His
wife came to America as a girl of fourteen
vears, and joined her brother, who had pre-
viously taken up his abode in Illinois. She died
in 1893. at the age of fifty-two years.

. The subject of this review received an aca-
demic education in Belvidere, Illinois, and Mil-
waukee. Wisconsin, and in the spring of 1880
he came to the territory of Dakota, remaining
for a few months in Huron and passing the
winter of 1880-81 in Sioux Falls, while in the
following .spring he took up his residence in
Plankinton, where he has since maintained his
home. Prior to coming to the west he had read
law under the preceptorship of Judge Charles

E. Fuller, of Belvidere, Illinois, and in the spring
of 1881, at Canton, he was admitted to the bar of
the territory of Dakota. He established himself
in the practice of his profession in- Plankinton,
and in the intervening years has become one of
the successful and prominent attorneys of the
.^tale. while he has also conducted a large busi-
ness in llie handling of real estate. In 1881 he
was a[)pointed clerk of the courts of .Aurora
county, holding the office for six years, and in
1886 he was elected to represent his district in
the territorial legislature, while in 1888 he was a
delegate to the Republican national convention,
in Chjcago, which nominated Harrison ff)r the
presidency. In the following year he was ap-
pointed surveyor general of the territory of Da-
kota, to succeed General Maris Taylor, and upon
the division of the territory and the admission
of South Dakota to the l^nion he was reap-
pointed as surveyor general of the new state,
serving in this capacity for a total of five years.
He is the owner of about four thousand acres of
valuable land in Aurora county, and is promi-
nently identified with agriculural pursuits and
stock growing, while his residence in Plankinton
is one of the handsomest of the many attractive
homes in the town. He is a stalwart advocate of
the principles of the Republican party and both
he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic
church. Mr. Sullivan is a member of Auroa
Lodge, No. 32. Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows ; Sioux Falls Lodge. Xo. 262, Benevolent
and Protective Ordei* of Elks; Plankinton Camp,
^^o- .S558. Modern Woodmen of America ; and
Plankinton Lodge. No. ■//. .Ancient Order of
L^nited Workmen.

On the 30th of November, 1882, Mr. Sulli-
van was united in marriage to Miss Mary H.
Comerford, of Chamberlain, this state, she being
a native of Morris. Illinois, and they have one
daughter, Clare.

L. L. LOSTUTTER was born October 15,
1863, in Switzerland county, Indiana, and is
the third in a family of four children, whose
parents were W. C. and Avarilla Lostutter, both

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

natives of the Hoosier state. After farming for
a number of years in Indiana, W. C. Lostutter
moved to Illinois, where he also followed agri-
cultural pursuits, subsequently engaging in the
mercantile business. In the fall of 1880 he
changed his abode to Hand county. South Da-
kota, locating at St. Lawrence, of which he was
one of the first settlers and until the spring of
1883 ran a lumber yard in that town. He then
removed to Iroquois, where he also engaged in
the lumber business in partnership with his son,
to whom he subsequently sold out, and in 1884
established a bank which soon became one of the
successful and popular institutions of the kind
in the county of Kingsbury. He departed this
life September 13, 1885, deeply lamented by all
who knew him, leaving to mourn his loss a
widow and three children, the names of the latter
being as follows: Mrs. Addie Frederick, Mrs.
Fannie Pinkerton and L. L., the subject of this
review.

The early life of L. L. Lostutter was spent in
Clarence, Illinois, and he received his education
in the public schools and Paxton Normal Insti-
tute. When a mere lad he became his father's as-
sistant in the store, and after the family moved to
South Dakota he remamed one and a half years
in charge of the business, closing the establish-
ment out at the expiration of that time and re-
joining his parents at St. Lawrence. Later, in
partnership with his father, he engaged in the
lumber business. When the father died, L. L.
took charge of the banking and lumbering inter-
ests and managed the same with success and
profit until 1887, when he bought out the
other heirs and from that time until 1903
was sole proprietor of the Farmers and
Merchants' Bank of Iroquois. In January
of the latter year he sold out and re-
tired from banking and since then has devoted
his attention mainly to the handling of real es-
tate, in which business he had previously been
engaged, and in which he built up a large and
lucrative patronage in connection with his other
enterprises. He now deals extensively in all
kinds of realty, city and country, is also identified
with other lines nf activity and occupies a com-

manding position in business circles, locally and
throughout the state. Mr. Lostutter is one of
the prominent Odd Fellows of South Dakota, and
has filled all the chairs in the local lodge to which
he belongs, besides being high in the councils
of the grand lodge, in which body he has also
been honored with exalted official station. He
served five years as grand treasurer, was grand
warden for a considerable length of time, held
the office of deputy grand master for a term and
later rose to the honorable position of grand
master, the highest office within the gift of the
order. For a series of years he was chosen
representative to the sovereign grand lodge, in
which exalted assemblag-e his activity and in-
fluence brought him to the favorable notice of
the leaders of the fraternity throughout the
L^nion, among whom he is now numbered. In
addition to his deep interest in Odd Fellowship,
Mr. Lostutter is also a zealous Mason, in which
ancient and honorable brotherhood he has held
offices of high rank, serving two years as treas-
urer of the grand lodge, being the only man in
South Dakota ever re-elected to that responsible
position.

Politically Mr. Lostutter is a Republican and
has always been an unswerving supporter of the
party and judicious advisor in its councils, also
a splendid organizer and successful campaigner.
For years he has been a delegate to city, county,
district and state conventions, has served several
terms as chairman of his delegations to the latter
and in 1896 was alternate to the national con-
vention, which met in St. Louis, Missouri, also
attended as a delegate the nptional convention
at Philadelphia in 1900.

Mr. Lostutter was appointed receiver of the
Huron National Bank in 1891, and in due time
wound up the business of the institution to the
satisfaction of all concerned. He is a safe, reli-
able business man of sound judgment, prudent
and resourceful in his dealings, but at all times
honorable, and his integrity is unstained by the
slightest suspicion of anything savoring of dis-
repute.

In March, 1887, was solemnized the mar-
riage of Mr. Lostutter with Miss Minnie Hall,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

l607

daughter of Jackson Hall, an old settler of
Kingsbury county, who now lives in the state of
California. Mrs. Lostutter has been a true help-
meet to her husband, presiding over his home
with true wifely dignity, and sympathizing with
him in all of his aspirations and endeavors. She
is a leader in the Rebekah lodge of Odd Fellows
at Iroquois, has attended a number of high as-
semblages of the order, besides holding im-
portant official positions; and is a faithful and
consistent mjember of the Congregational
church. Mr. Lostutter also subscribes to this
faith, and for a period of seven or eight years
has been a trustee of the Iroquois congregation.
He is fond of travel and in addition to visiting
nearly every state of the Union, has made a trip
to Mexico, in which he was accompanied by his
wife. Recently, 1903, the two went upon an ex-
tensive and pleasant sea voyage, during which
they visited Porto Rico ; Venezuela, South Amer-
ica : stopping at St. Pierre, Martinique, and the
Spanish Island of St. Thomas and many other
interesting places, spending nearly a hundred
days making the trip.

ORUAN;DO T. GRATTAN was born in
[Mount Carroll, Carroll county, Illinois, on the
8th of May, 1853, being a son of H. G. and
Phoebe (Tisdell) Grattan, the former of whom
was born in Connecticut. The paternal grand-
father of the subject was Amos Grattan, who was
a blacksmith by trade and who came of* stanch
old New England stock. As a young man H. G.
Grattan learned the printer's trade, becoming one
of the pioneer newspaper men of Illinois, and
having been identified with the publication of pa-
pers at Mount Carroll, Freeport and Sterling.
He later became general agent for the McCor-
mick Harvesting Machine Company, and finally
removed to Waukon, Allamakee county, Iowa,
where he died in 1896, his wife having passed
away in 1866, at Sterling, Illinois. The subject
attended the schools of Sterling, Illinois, until he
had attained the age of thirteen years, and then
accompanied his father on his removal to Wau-
kon, Iowa, where he worked on his father's farm

until he had attained the age of eighteen years,
in the meanwhile attending school as opportunity
aflforded. He then entered the employ of the Mc-
Cormick Harvesting Machine Company as trav-
eling salesman, and was thus engaged about
seven years. In December, 1880, he came to Elk-
ton, South Dakota, and here engaged in the hard-
ware business, beginning operations with a capi-
tal of only two hundred dollars of his own. Upon
coming to tiie state it was his intention to locate
in Pierre, but at Tracy he met a traveling sales-
man for the house of Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett
& Company, of Qiicago, who advised him to look
over the field at Elkton, which was then known
as Ivanhoe. He arrived in the embryonic village
at ten o'clock at itight, and his first impression
could not have been very favorable, for he found

' entertainment, so called, in the only hotel, which
was connected with the local blacksmith shop.
The interior was not plastered, and the second
story had a floor of loose- boards, while the roof
was of most flimsy construction. There were five,
beds in the room which was assigned to him, and
during the early days of his sojourn in the town
blizzards raged every day, while he states that
the snow was drifted so deep in some places
that one might, if desired, sit on top of the tele-
graph poles and view the prospect o'er. This
memorable winter of 1880-I was one of the worst
ever experienced since the settlement of this sec-
tion, but the subject was not dismayed by the out-
look and detennined to establish a business here.

' About the middle of January he began the erec-
tion of his two-story "business block," the same
being a most primitive structure. He secured
a portion of the lumber from Flandreau, eight-
een miles distant, and the remainder from Lake
Benton. Twice within that winter he made his
way on foot to and from Flandreau, and when
the roof was placed on his building those engaged
in shingling the same could walk about on the
snow drifts and prosecute their work, though the
building was of two stories. On the 15th of
April, 1881, Mr. Grattan equipped himself with
snow-shoes, on which he started for Gary, thir-
ty-five miles distant, to meet a friend. The
journey required two days. The first night he

i6o8

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

stopped at the home of Henry Kienast, ten miles
out, and there found that the only supply of food
was that secured by grinding wheat in an ordi-
nary coffee-mill and then baking the same into
bread. He finally had to hire a team to take him
to his destination, having become snow-blind, so
that it was unsafe for him to continue alone. He
then returned to Waukon, Iowa, where his wife
and two children had remained in the meanwhile,
and as soon as the railroad was opened in the
spring, he brought his family to the new home,
and for the first week after their arrival they
slept on improvised beds laid on the floor of the
local railway station, a small and rude building.
Thereafter the family resided in the rooms over
the store for seven years, when they took posses-
sion of the present attractive and commodious
modem residence, which is valued at about five
thousand dollars, and which is one of the best in
the town.

During the first year of business in Elkton,
Mr. Grattan made expenses and cleared sixteen
dollars, and from this nucleus he has built up his
present extensive and flourishing enterprise and
has gained precedence as one of the leading busi-
ness men and capitalists of the town. In 1897
his place of business was destroyed by fire, entail-
ing a loss of four thousand ck)llars, but he
promptly erected his present substantial brick
and stone block, of two stories, which is one of
the best in the town, being valued at ten thou-
sand dollars, while his stock of hardware reaches
a valuation of four thousand dollars. He for-
merly handled farm machinery, but has now
dropped this branch of his enterprise. He con-
trols a large and representative trade, and in ad-
dition to his hardware business does a large loan
and insurance business. In politics he supported
the Republican party until 1896, when he became
convinced of the legitimacy of the financial poli-
icy adopted by the Democratic party in its plat-
form, and .showed the courage of his convictions
by transferring his allegiance to the latter, whose
principles he has since advocated. He is not
formally identified with any religious organiza-
tion, but gives his support to the Baptist church,
of which his wife is a devoted member. He is

identified with the lodge and chapter of the Ma-
sonic fraternity in Elkton, with the commandery
of Knights Templar at Brookings, and with the
temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Sioux Falls.

On the 1 8th of May, 1874, Mr. Grattan was
united in marriage to ]\Iiss Eva Hersey, who
was born and reared in Waukon, Iowa, being a
daughter of Adaniram J. and Mary (Reed) Her-
sey, who came to that state from Massachusetts.
Mr. and Mrs. Grattan have three children, con-
cerning whom we offer the following data : Paul
H., who was graduated in the South Dakota
State Agricultural College in i8i)f>, and in the
law department of the Iowa State rniwrsity in
1899, is now a traveling salesman; Ray J. is as-
sociated with his father in the conducting of the
store; and Edna G., who is now prosecuting her
nnisical studies in the city of Buffalo, New York,
where she will complete a two-years course in
1903, was previously a student in the Francis
Shirmer Musical Academy of the University of
Oiicago, and is a specially skilled pianist, hav-
ing gained a high reputation in Buffalo, where
she is now studying.

GEORGE C. KNICKERBOCKER.— All
who are familiar with the delightful writings of
Washington Irving, and ]):irticidarly with his
"Knickerbocker's New York," will understand
that the name borne by the subject has through
this source become alniost a generic term as desig-
nating the sturdy and aristocratic divisir-n of the
old Holland families who settled in New Amster-
dam, tlie nucleus of the present national metrop-
olis, and also became prominent in connection
with the settlement of other sections of the Em-
pire state. The lineage of Colonel Knickerbocker
is traced in an unbroken way back to the original
American progenitors whom Irving thus singled
out in giving title to one of his most interesting
works, and the genealogical record is one in
which he may well take pride. The Colonel is one
of the honored pioneers and popular citizens of
McPherson county and has been the owner of a
liotel in Eureka since the founding of the town.

COLONEL AND MRS, GEORGE C. KNICKERBGCKER AND GRANDCHILDREN.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1609

having-, in fact, purchased the first lot and erect-
ed the first building in the place save for those
put up in a preliminary way by the railnia<l com-
pany.

The gencal.jgieal record is traced back to
John \'anl!erghau Knickerbocker, of IJrabant.
who was captain in the navy of the Xetherlands,
rmd whose son. Harmon Jansen Knickerbocker,
born in Friesland, in 1648, was the original pro-
genitor in America. He came from Holland to
the new world in 1678, and through his second
son, Lawrence, who married Catherine Van
Horn, the line of direct descent i.s traced to the
subject of this review. Harmon, snn of Law-
rence, married Rebecca Wandelar, and their sec-
ond son, Harmon Jansen, wdio married Susannah
Basson. was the great-grandfather of our sub-
ject. Peter Knickerbocker, grandfather of the
Colonel, married Jane Montrose, and they became
the parents of eighteen children, of whom seven
are yet living, the average age of the number be-
ing four score years, which venerable age is
that of our subject's father, William, who now
resides in Aurora, Illinois, the family being nota-
ble for longevity. William Knickerbocker was
born and reared in Dutchess county. New York,
as was also his wife, whose maiden name was
Helen M. Crouse and who is still living, as are
two of their four children, of whom the subject
was the first in order of 1)irth.

.Kbijut the year 1848 William Knickerbocker
took up his residence in Illinois, becoming one of
the pioneers of that state, where he followed the
vocation of contractor and builder for many years.
In .\urora, Illinois, on the nth of October, 1850,
(Jeorge C. Knickerbocker was ushered into the
world, and there passed his boyhood days, secur-
ing such educational advantages as were afforded
in the common schools. He acquired the mason's
trade in his youth and as a young man was suc-
cessfully engaged in contracting and building in
Illinois and adjoining states. At the age of
twenty-seven years he located in, the city of Min-
neapolis, Minnesota, where he engaged in the
furniture business. In the early 'eighties he con-
ducted the largest establishment of the sort in the
city mentioned, but his place was destroyed by

42-

fire in 1882, entailing a total loss of sixty-five
thousand dollars. In 1885 the Colonel came to
South Dakota and located in .Mcl'her.son county,
being one of the first settlers in the western part
of the county. At the time of the inception of
the town of Eureka and before the railroad com-
pany, owning the site, had granted permission for
anyone to build on the ground, Colop.el Knicker-
bocker "took time by the forelock" and sn.cceeded
in erecting a hotel bnildini^ in tlir Inwn, (|niul\-
perfecting the plans and bringing his force of
workmen on the spot selected. This was on Sun-
day, and by putting forth every effort the build-
ing was raised during the day and to a large ex-
tent the exterior was finished by .\hind;iy. when
the railroad officials put in an a])pearance an<l
sized up the situation. Perhaps admiring the
enterprise and courage of the subject, they made
no serious protest and tflus he gained the credit
of being the first to erect a binlding on the site
of the present thriving and attractive town, save
those, as noted, which have been put uj) by the
railroad company. He has ever since continued
his residence in Eureka, is well knfnvn through-
out this section of the state, and his circle of
friends is bounded only by that of his ac(|naint-
ances, while he has at all times shown himself
ready to aid to the utmost of his abil-
ity in the furthering of all undertakings
and enterprises tending to enhance the gen-
eral weljare and promote the development
of the country and the material pros-
perity of his town. He takes a deep interest in
public affairs, particularly those of a local nature,
while he has been and continues an active worker
in politics in the county, wielding no little in-
fluence, though never resorting to .spectacular
methods. He served for five years as a mem-
ber of the board of county commissioners, was
a member of the first board of aldermen, and has
held other offices of local trust. On the 23d of
February, 1901, he was appointed colonel on the
stafif of Governor Herreid and remains incumbent
of this office at the time of this writing. He is a
prominent and popular affiliate of the Knights
of Pythias, and a member of the grand lodge
of the order in the state.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

On the i6th of February, 1871, Colonel
Knickerbocker was united in marriage to Miss
Sarah Ellen Jones, who was born and reared in
Cook county, Illinois, being a daughter of Sam-
uel Jones, who came of stanch Welsh lineage.
Mrs. Knickerbocker bears the distinction of hav-
ing been the first woman in Eureka. Of this union
were born two children, Gertrude B. and Harry
M. The daughter became the wife of John E.
Regan, of Eureka, and her death occurred in
1898. She is survived by three daughters,
namely : Georgia, Grace and Genevieve. The
son of the subject is now engaged in music teach-
ing and is a natural musician, having inherited
his talents. He performs on almost any instru-
ment, but the violin is his specialty, and of this
instrument he is considered almost a master.
He is now a resident of Hajvey, North Dakota,
where he is engaged in organizing and teaching
orchestras and bands, at which he meets with
great success. In 1900 he married Alma Thor-
haug, who was born in Wisconsin. To this union
a son has" been born, George Stanley Knicker-
bocker.

J. L. HALL, a prominent and influ-
ential business man of Volga, Brookings
county, and president of the First State
Bank of that place, is a native of Illi-
nois, having been born in the beautiful
city of Rockford, on the 25th of November, 1856,
and being a son of Charles A. and Margaret
(Dixon) Hall, the former of whom was born in
j\Iassachusetts and the latter in New York.
Charles A. Hall was reared and educated in his
native state, and as a young man came west to
Illinois, where he was engaged in farming for a
number of years, after which he established him-
eslf in the livery business in Rockford, continu-
ing this enterprise until his death in 1859, at
which time the subject was but two years of age.

J. L. Hall, the immediate subject of this
sketch, was reared to maturity in the city of his
birth, and there prosecuted his studies in the pub-
lic schools until he had attained the age of seven-
teen years, when he entered upon an apprentice-

ship at the tinner's trade, becoming an expert
workman, and continuing to follow his
trade in Rockford for a period of five
years. In 1880 he removed to Tyler, Min-
nesota, where he was engaged in the
hardware business for the ensuing two
years, at the expiration of which, in the
spring of 1882, he came to South Dakota and cast
in his lot with the embryonic village of Volga.
He brought with him about two thousand dol-
lars' worth of tinware and hardware, and with
this as a nucleus he engaged in business in the
new town. With the settling up of the surround-
ing country Volga increased in population and
commercial importance, and Mr. Hall succeeded
in building up a most profitable enterprise, thus
having continued in the hardware business for
! more than twenty- years, and now controlling a
I large and representative trade in the line, and
having a commodious and well-equipped estab-
ishment, in which he handles full lines of heavy
and shelf hardware, tinware, stoves, ranges, agri-
cultural implements, machinery, etc. In 1892
Mr. Hall purchased the lumber business of J. H.
Anderson, and has since continued the enterprise,
which is a most prosperous one. He is one of
the three stockholders in the First State Bank,
which was organized and incorporated in 1901.
and he has been president of the institution since
that time. Mr. Hall has served as a member of
the board of village trustees, and also as village
treasurer, and is one of the popular and highly
esteemed citizens of the town of which he may
well be considered one of the founders and build-
ers. Mr. Hall has an abiding faith in the legiti-
macy of the principles of the Democratic party
as exemplified by Jefferson and Jackson, but is
maintains an independent attitude in politics,
adopted in the platform of 1896, so that he now
maintains an independent attitude in politics.
He is affiliated with Volga Lodge. No. 98,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in Volga,
having passed the various official chairs in the
same, and having represented it in the grand
lodge of the state. He also holds membership in
the Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoos, an organ-
ization of the lumbermen throughout the LTnion.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1611

JOHN H. CARROLL, one of the leading
citizens of DeSmet, Kingsbury county, is a native
of the city of Philadelphia, being a son of T. N.
and Hannah (Clarke) Carroll, both of whom
were born in England. The father of the subject
came to America in 1846 and settled in Philadel-
phia, where he engaged in cotton manufacturing,
and he passed practically the remainder of his
life in that fine old city of the Keystone state,
having been for a few years a resident of Iowa,
whence he returned to the "City of Brotherly
Love," where both he and his wife died. They
became the parents of nine children, of whom
seven are living. The father was a Republican
in politics, and both he and his wife were mem-
bers of the Congregational church.

The subject of this review was reared to ma-
turity in his native city, and after completing the
curriculum of the public schools continued his
studies in the Philadelphia central high school,
which is virtually a college, and one in which
many of the nation's eminent men have been stu-
dents. He was graduated as a member of the
class of 1869 and received the degree of Bachelor
of Arts, while he secured third honors in his
class, which had about fifteen members. After
his graduation Mr. Carroll engaged in teaching
in the graded schools of Wilkesbarre, Pennsyl-
vania, where he remained one year. In August,
1870, he was elected principal in Waukon, Alla-
makee county,- Iowa, of the public schools, con-
tinuing to teach in the schools of that section of
the Hawkeye state for a period of eight years, at
the expiration of which he came to the territory
of Dakota, locating in Fountain. Brookings
county, in July, 1878, before the present city of
Brookings was founded, while Kingsbury county
was then known as Wood county. He engaged
in the general merchandise business in Fountain,
and later identified himself with the real-estate
business, and he continued his residence there un-
til the spring of 1880, when he came to Kings-
bury county, where he was appointed clerk
of the court, by United States Judge J.
P. Kidder, serving in this capacity until
1884, when he resigned. In 1880. soon
after comino- to the countv, he established

the postofifice of DeSmet, the village being

|| named in honor of the heroic and venerated mis-

1' sionary of the early days. Father DeSmet, who

' labored among the Indians throughout the noth-

\ west before civilization had gained a foothold.

Il Mr. Carroll became the first postmaster of the

embryonic town, and was appointed to the office

under the administration of President Arthur,

resigning in 1887, under the regime of President

Cleveland. In 1889 he was elected the first mayor

of the city of DeSmet. In 1882 he established

the Bank of DeSmet, which is now one of the

solid and popular financial institutions of this

section of the state and one of which he still has

full control, while his real-estate operations have

been of extensive scope.

In politics Mr. Carroll has long been recog-
nized as one of the leaders of the Republican
party in the state, having been frequently a del-
egate to county, congressional and state conven-
tions, and having on a number of occasions served
as chairman of the county conventions. He has
been in no sense a seeker of official preferment,
but the confidence and esteem reposed in him by
the people of his district were signalized in a sig-
I nificant way in his election to the legislature in
' igo2. He served during the eighth general as-
sembly, and in the connection manifested the
same dominating public spirit and loyalty which
have marked his course since coming to the state.
He was assigned to a number of important com-
mittees, notably the committee on appropriations
and those on banking, enrollment and engross-
ment of bills, public libraries, and the committee
on the State Historical Society. Fraternally he
is one of the prominent members of the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, being affiliated
with DeSmet Lodge, No. 58, in DeSmet, of
which he is the representative in the grand lodge
of the state at the time of this writing, while
both he and his wife are charter members of the
auxiliary lodge of the Daughters of Rebekah.
He also holds membership in the Ancient Order
of LTnited Workmen and the Knights of the Mac-
cabees, having represented his lodge of the former
order in the grand lodge of the state, in which he
was elected grand receiver. Mr. and Mrs. Carroll

l6l2

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

are coiunninicants of the Protestant Episcopal
church and are prominent in the work of both the
parish and diocese. In the connection it may be
noted that he is a member of the Chapter of Cal-
varv Cathedral, of the diocese, which has charge
of all church property in the diocese of South
Dakota, while he is also a senior warden of St.
Stephen's church, in DeSmet.

On Christmas day, 1876, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Carroll to J\Iiss Sara R. Imus,
of Corunna, Indiana, a daughter of Charles and
Lucv Imus, the former of whom was born in the
state of New York and the latter in Vermont.
Thev were numbered among the early settlers in
Calhoun county, Michigan, and 'Mr. Imus was
for manv years engaged in business in Corunna.
Thev are both now deceased.

PHILETUS CLARK TRUMAN, who died
at his home in Volga, on the 27th of October,
1901, as the result of an attack of pneumonia,
was born in Preston, Chenango county. New
York, on the 20th of December, 1841. being a son
of Clark and Clarissa Truman. His father was
born on Long Island, New York, and his ances-
tors were nun>bered among the early settlers in
Connecticut, whether they came from England
in the colonial era of our national history. Rep-
resentatives of the name later removed to Long
Island, New York, locating at Little Falls, and
thence the father of the subject removed to Qien-
ango county. New York, where they remained for
a number of years, finally coming west to Mag-
nolia, Iowa, where the parents passed the re-
mainder of their lives.

Mr. Truman received his rudimentary edu-
cation in the district schools of his native county
where he was reared on the home farm, and later
he continued his studies in the institution at De-
ruyter, New York. He effectually supplemented
this early discipline during later years, being a
close observer and student and becoming a man
of broad and liberal information and distinctive
intellectuality. In 1856 he left the parental home
and went to ^^'isconsin. where he devoted several
\cars to teaching, in the schools of Rock, Dane

and Green counties, while he simultaneously gave
special attention to the reading of law. In July,
1862, he went to Magnolia, Iowa, where he mar-
ried Miss Eunice Truman, whose death occurred
in November, 1873. She is survived by one
daughter, Alice M., who is now the wife of John
C. Jenkins, of Brookings, this state. After his
marriage Mr. Truman continued his residence in
Iowa, where he was engaged in teaching school
for several terms, while for several years he
served as superintendent of schools in Shelby
county and also as county surveyor. In 1873 he
was admitted to the bar of that state, and there-
after was successfully engaged in the practice
of his profession at Harlan. Iowa, until 1881,
when he came to Brookings county. South Da-
kota, and took up a pre-enipti<in claim in Lake,
Sinai township, upon which he resided until he
had perfected his title. He then located in the vil-
lage of \'olga, where he resumed the practice of
his profession, entermg into partnership with
Arthur S. Mitchell, with whom he continued in
practice until 1891, from which time forward
until his death he conducted an individual and in-
dependent practice of general onler, gaining
marked prestige. In 1893-4 he served as county
judge, and in the fall of the latter year was
elected to represent Brookings county in the state
legislature, in which he proved a valuable and
conscientious working member. In politics he
gave an unwavering allegiance to the Republican
party, of whose principles he was an able and ef-
fective advocate, taking an active part in forward-
ing the party cause. He was reared in die faith
of the Seventh-da\- Baptist church, but u])on
coming to Volga enrolled himself as a member
of the Presbyterian church, ordering his life in
harmony with the faith which he professed. He
was one of the prominent members of the Ma-
sonic fraternity in this county, having been iden-
tified with Mystic Lodge, No. 89. Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons, of which he was past-
master; Qiapter No. 17, Royal Arch Masons, at
Arlington ; and Golden Rod Oiapter. No. 58, Or-
der of the Eastern Star, of which Inis widow is
also a valued memlier. At the time of his death
Mr. Truman was the owner of sixteen hundred

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1613

and forty acres of farming; land, in Brookings
and Kingsbury counties, and also of a considiT-
able amount of property in Volga. He was a nat-
uralist of marked ability and enthusiasm, and in
this line held a high reputation for his intimate
and comprehensive knowledge, while he had the
hnest collection of lepedoptera and coleoptera in
tlie northwest, and having given much of his
time in the later years of his life to study and in-
vestigation along this line and to the perfecting
of his iine collection. He retired from the active
practice of his profession in igoo. and thereafter
gave his attention to his capitalistic and landed
interests.

( )n the I2th of January. 1892. Mr. Truman
was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Uick-
erson, who was born in Jordan, Minnesota, being
a daughter of David D. and Emelinc (Edgerton)
Dickerson, natives of Oneida and Madison
county. New York, respectively.. The mother of
Mrs. Truman was summoned into eternal rest on
the 27th of December, 1900, at the age of seven-
th-three years, and Mr. Dickerson made his home
with his daughter, Mrs. Truman, having attained
the venerable age of seventy-nine years at the
time of his death, December 25, 1903.

Mrs. Truman is a lady of culture aufl gra-
cious personality, and is prominent in the social
life of the community, while her lieiutiful home
is a center of refined hospitalit\ . She was edu-
cated in the seminary at Whitestown. .\'e\v York,
and in the Agricultural College, at Brookings,
South Dakota, and was a popular teacher in the
public schools of this state for several years prior
to her marriage. She is a musician and also pos-
sesses much literary ability, while she and her
husband passed many grateful hours in their
fine library and in the arranging of his collection
of specimens to which reference has been made,
and which she still retains. She is an active
worker in the local chapter of the Order of the
Eastern Star, of which she is past worthy mat-
ron, while she has also served as grand conduct-
ress in the grand chapter of this state. She is a
member of the Presbyterian church, and active in
forwarding the work in its different departments.
She was made administratrix of her husband's

estate, and still retains a personal supervision
nf ln-r various properties.

The following obituary notice nf .Mrs. Tru-
man's father apjieared in print at the time of his
demise and will l)r df und(iiil)ted interest in the
coimection :

Dii;i). — David Dicl<ergon, at Volga, on Friday,
Decemljer 2.5, 1903, aged sevenly-nine years, eleven
months and tliree days. Mr. Diolverson was born in
Lee, Oneida county. New York, .January 21, 1824.
He was the sixth child of John and Phoeba Dicker-
son. When he was one year old his parents moved
to Mexico, Oswego county, where they lived for eight
years. They then moved to Lee Center, Oneida
county. His education was obtained in the common
schools, the Gilbertville high school and the Rensse-
laer Academy, at Mexico. New York. He afterwards
taught twelve terms of school. August 4, 1852, he
was married to Emetine Edgerton. of Ava, New
York, and they immediately moved to Portland, Illi-
nois, where they resided until 1856. On account of
tailing health they moved to Jordon. Minnesota. In
1857 he was a member of the constitutional conven-
tion of Minnesota, representing Scott county. He
was a prominent member of this convention, being
on the iinance. public debt and tax committees. He
first came to Volga in 1881 to visit with a sick daugh-
ter, Mrs. J. S. Bandy, who died on Christmas day. —
just twenty-two years prior to his death. His health
has gradually failed since the death of his wife three
years ago last Sunday. He was brought up in the
Baptist faith, but was not a member of any denomi-
national church. The only member of his immediate
family surviving him is Mrs. M. E. Truman, of tbis
city. For twenty years Mr. Dickerson lived in this
community, first settling in Windsor township,
where he lived for a few years, but later moved to
Volga, where he has since resided. He still retained
his land interests in Windsor, but at different times
had business interests in the city, he having owned
and edited the Tribune in 1885. The deceased was
a wonderfully well preserved man for a person of his
age. He had a jovial disposition and wai always
cheerful and full of sunshine.

HUBERT BERTON MATHEWS, one of
the able and popular members of the faculty of
the State Agricultural College of South Dakota,
at Brookings, was born at Eagle Corners, Rich-
land county, Wisconsiti, on the loth of April,
1868. His father. Louis A. Mathews, was born

i6i4

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

in Ohio, a son of Hubert and Mary Matliews,
who were born near the famed old city of Strass-
burg, Germany, which was at that time included
in the province of Alsace-Loraine, France.
Shortly after his marriage Hubert Mathews em-
igrated with his wife to America and settled in
Ohio, where he was engaged in farming for a
number of years, eventually removing thence to
Eagle Corners, Wisconsin. He enlisted as a
Union soldier in the war of the Rebellion, was
wounded in action and taken captive by the
enemy, being incarcerated in Andersonville pris-
on and dying after exchange from the effects of
captivity, his body being thrown into the gulf of
Mexico while homeward bound. His widow is
still living, having attained the venerable age of
eighty-one years and residing in Muscoda, Wis-
consin. Louis Mathews was reared to maturity in
the state of Wisconsin, and there was solemnized
his marriage to Miss Mary Newburn, a daughter
of Jeremiah and Catherine Newburn, who were
numbered among the early settlers of the Badger
state, the former having been a native of Penn-
sylvania and the latter of Maine. After his mar-
riage the father of our subject settled on a farm
in Richland county, Wisconsin, whence he finally
removed to the city of Detroit, Michigan, where
he remained two years, at the expiration of which
he returned to his farm. He there continued in
agricultural pursuits until 1882, when he came
to what is now South Dakota and secured a
tract of land near Willow Lake, Clark county,
where he continued to reside until 1889, when he
removed to Seattle, Washington, where he has
since been identified with mining enterprises.
After locating on his homestead in South Dakota
his humble sod house served not only as the fam-
ily domicile, but also as a place of worship, a
school house and a place of public meeting for
the settlers of this section, the house having been
erected two years previously to his bringing his
family to the farm. Louis and Mary Mathews
became the parents of eleven children, of whom
nine are yet living, while of the number five were
graduated in the State Agricultural College of
South Dakota, while a sixth is now a student in
the institution, being a member of the class of

1905. Of the children we enter a brief record,
as follows: Hubert B. is the immediate subject
of this review; Sarah died at the age of four
years; Emma is the wife of Professor Howard
H. Hoy, of the State Agricultural College; Alta
is the wife of Perry Smith, of Bisbee, Arizona;
Alice is a successful teacher in the public schools
of Brookings county; Roscoe A. is a resident of
Great Falls, Montana, where he is identified with
mining enterprises ; Harry is a student in the
South Dakota Agricultural College and is a
leader in its athletics, having been the winner of
the pole-vaulting contest in the state in the sea-
son of 1903 ; Leroy is on a farm in Illinois ; Ar-
thur is a student in the high school at Brookings ;
Oscar graduates in the class of 1904 in the same
school, and Minnie, who was the sixth in order
of birth, died at Willow Lake, at the age of six-
teen years.

Professor Mathews entered the district school
at Willow Corners, Wisconsin, when but four
years of age, and was there enrolled as a pupil
until he had attained the age of thirteen, after
which he attended the high school at Muscoda
for two terms, coming then to South Dakota and
continuing his studies for one term in the school
at Willow Lake. In October, 1885, he began
teaching in Clark county, this state, devoting his
j attention to pedagogic work during the winter
terms, while he was employed on the farm dur-
ing the intervening summer. In 1889 he was ma-
triculated in the State Agricultural College,
where he continued his studies two terms, when
he again began teaching during the winter terms
at Willow Lake, in order to earn the funds with
which to continue his college work during the
summers. While in the college he also availed
himself of every opportunity to add to his finan-
cial resources, never swerving from the course
which he had defined and finally being able to
realize his ambition, in the completion of the pre-
scribed course, and he was graduated in the col-
lege as a member of the class of 1892, receiving
the degree of Bachelor of Science. During his
college days he was prominent in the athletic
sports and in society work, having been a mem-
ber of the college ball team and an enthusiastic

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1615

devotee of all manly sports. He was also presi-
dent of his class and editor of the college paper. ;
During the summer which witnessed his gradna- j
tion he also worked with a threshing-machine !
outfit, thus accumulating a reserve fund which
enabled him to enter, in the autumn, the Nebraska
State University, at Lincoln, and in that institu-
tion he continued his studies until the holiday
vacation, when he accepted the principalship of
the public schools at Clark City, South Dakota,
retaining this incumbency until the following
March, when he was appointed an instructor in
physics and meteorology in the Agricultural Col-
lege, whose sessions are held during the summer
months, and he was thus enabled to do post-grad-
uate work during the winters, availing himself of
the advantages afforded in the University of j
Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and later of those of
the University of Wisconsin, at Madison. In
i8g6 he was made active professor in the depart- |
ment of physics, being given the full professor-
ship in July of that year, and he has ever since j
retained this important office, in which his effect- j
ive and indefatigable efforts have justified the
wisdom of his being chosen. At the time when I
he became connected with the department of I
physics and electrical engineering no laboratories
had been provided for said department, and it is
gratifying to note that the college now has sup- I
plied for this important department one of the •
best equipped laboratories to be found in the
northwest. In 1898 the degree of Master of
Science was conferred upon Professor Mathews
by the South Dakota Agricultural College. He
is prominently identified with the Masonic frater-
nity, being a member of the blue lodge, chapter
and commandery at Brookings and of El Riad
Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of
the Mystic Shrine, at Sioux Falls. - He is also af-
filiated with the Ancient Order of United Work-
men and the Modern Woodmen of the World.
Mrs. Mathews is also a member of the Ladies'
Club of Brookings.

On the 1 2th of November, 1894, Professor
Mathews was united in marriage to Miss Eva E.
Plocker, who was born near Plainfield, Wiscon-
sin, being a daughter of James and Fannie

Plocker, the former of whom was born in the city
of Amsterdam, Holland, and the latter in the
state of Maine. The paternal grandfather of Mrs.
Mathews was Cornelius Plocker, who was a sea
captain, identified with the Dutch East India
Company. After his marriage James Plocker
settled in the southern part of Wisconsin, where
he was engaged in farming for several years,
eventually removing to Plainfield, that state,
where he died in tlie year 1884. In the same year
his widow and her daughter, Eva E., wife of the
subject, came to South Dakota, locating in Elk-
ton, in which vicinity the son, Henry, and daugh-
ters, Fannie, Anna and Aura, had previously lo-
cated and taken up tracts of land, which they
were then holding preliminary to proving title.
Of the other children of Mrs. Plocker it may be
said that her daughter, Olive, was then residing
in Nebraska ; Edward and Frank at Bancroft, ;
and Lucinda in Arizona. Mrs. Mathews became
a student in the State Agricultural College in the
autumn of 1887, thus being a classmate of her
future husband. She was graduated in 1892,
having previously been a successful and popular
teacher in the district schools, while after her
graduation she taught in the Brookings city
schools. In 1894 the degree of Master of Science
was conferred upon her by her alma mater, while
in 1 89 1 she completed a course in pharmacy. She
was for two years in charge of the art department
of the college. Professor and Mrs. Mathews
have three children, Hubert, who was born on the
4th of January, 1897 ; Hermine, who was born on
the 4th of October, 1901, and Baby, who was.
born at St. Petersburg, Florida, February 24,
1904.

GEORGE W. MENTCH, a leading citizen
of Pennington county, is a native of Indiana
county, Pennsylvania, born on September li,
1847, 'in'^' remained in his native county until he
reached the age of twenty-three, being educated
there and afterward following farming for a
livelihood. In 1870 he moved to the neighbor-
hood of Winfield, in southwestern Kansas, and
during the next seven years was occupied in

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

farming there. In 1877 he came to the Black
Hills, arriving at Rapid City on May 17th. In
Deceml)er of the same year he went to the min-
ing district around Rockerville. where he re-
mained until the ensuing fall, when he returned
to Rapid City and took up a homestead on Rapid
creek, ten miles from the town. Here he en-
gaged in farming and raising stock. He was
one of the first men in this part of the state to
take an active part in organizing Sunday-school
and church work, and during the whole period of
his residence here he has been zealous and ener-
getic in all forms of religious enterprise. For a
few years lately he has been partially retired from
active business pursuits, but he still retains an
interest in the stock industry. From his advent
into this country he has been active and forceful
in local public affairs, and is regarded as one of
the leading citizens of Pennington county. In
politics he is a loyal and devoted Republican, and
to the service of his party he has ever been a wil-
ling and helpful contributor. His first vote was
cast for General Grant for President, and since
casting it he has never faltered in the support of
the party's principles and candidates. Although
essentially a man of peace, he has always been
ready for military service when the best inter-
ests of the country demanded it. He served in
defense of the Union during the closing year of
the Civil war in an independent companv or-
ganized in Pennsylvania, and here in the west
he has never failed to take his place in the ranks
against savage fury and treachery.

M.VJOR JOHN A. PiCKLER is a native of
Wasliington county, Indiana, where he was born
on the 24th of January. 1844. being a son of
George and Emily ( Martin) Pickler, the former
of whom was born in Indiana and the latter in
Kentucky, while both families early settled in the
Hoosier state, in the pioneer epoch. The father
of the subject was for many years engaged in
agricultural pursuits, finally removing to Davis
county, Iowa, where he engaged in merchandis-
ing, as (lid iu' later in Kirkville, Missouri, where
l)nth lie and his wife iiassed the closing years of

their earnest and useful lives. Major Pickler
passed his boyhood days on the old Indiana
homestead and secured his preliminary educa-
tional discipline in the district schools, after
which he completed a course of study in
the high school at Bloomfield, Iowa, where
his parents had taken up their abode. He
was later matrictdated in the Iowa State
University, where he was graduated as a
niemljer of the class of 1870, with the degree

1 of Bachelor of Philosophy. Shortly afterwards
he entered the law department of the celebrated

1 University of Michigan, at .\nn .\rbor, where he
completed the prescribed course and was gradu-
ated in 1872, receiving the degree of Bachelor of
Laws. Alter thus fortifying himself for the
work of his exacting profession he engaged in
the practice of law in Kirksville. Missouri,
whence, in 1875, he removed to Muscatine, Iowa,
where he entered into a professional alliance as
a member of the law firm of Hoffman, Pickler &
Brown, which held high prestige at the bar of the
Hawkeye state, and he continued to be thus asso-
ciated until coming to South Dakota, in 1882.
since which \-ear he has retained his home in
Faulk county. He possesses one of the largest
and best selected libraries in the state. •

Prompted bv intrinsic loyalty and patriotism.
Major Pickler early offered his services in de-
fense of the Union when "grim-visaged war

^ reared its horrid front." In 1862 he enlisted in
Company D, Third Iowa \^olunteer Cavalry, in
which he became a non-commissioned officer.
During his period of service with this command
he was granted a furlough of thirty days in order
that he might attend, in Philadelphia, a military
training school for applicants for command in
colored troops. He was later examined, in the
city of St. Louis, and passed for captaincy, and
there rejoining his regiment to await develop-
ments. He continued in active service with
the Third Iowa Cavalry until 1864, when
he veteranized and rejoined the same com-
pany and regiment, being promoted to sec-
ond lieutenant, first lieutenant and finally
captain of Company D, in the meanwhile
having declined to be mustered in as captain

MA.J. JOHN A. PICKLER.

r\

%^

MRS. ALICE M. A. PICKLER.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

i6i7

in the One Hundred and Twenty-second Regi-
ment ni the United States Colored Infantry.
L'|)on heiiis; mustered out of llie Third Cav-
alr\' he was made major of the One
Hunih'ed and Thirty-eighth Regiment nf
Uniteil States Colored Infantr\-. at the age
of twenty-one years, and commanded this
regiment for several months at Atlanta, Georgia.
This regiment was mustered out in January, 1866,
and Major Tickler then .received his honorahle
discharge. He participated in a number of the
notable engagements of the great internecine con-
flict and made an enviable record as a faithful
and valiant soldier and able commanding officer.
He retains a deep interest in his did cmrades
in arms and is an huUDred menilier uf tlie (irand
Army of the Republic.

In September, 1882, Major Tickler can-e from
Iowa by railroad to Mitchell, Si.nUh Dakota,
and thence b}- stage to Huron, at which point h?
joined a party of gentlemen who were going
to the center of Faulk county to locate a town,
which they hoped to make the county seat. The
party iiroceeded b}- rail to ^liller. Hand county,
where the subject and others of the company pro-
cured huul)er for claim shanties, the material be-
ing loaded with other lumber belonging to others
of the party and designed for the construction
of a hotel in the new town. In the procession that
finally proceeded northward over the untrampled
prairies there were thirteen wagons, each being-
well loaded. For eight miles out of Aliller they
followed a somewhat beaten track, but thereafter
proceeded across the prairies without a trail,
placing lath on various high points as they trav-
eled, in order that they might find their way back
by the same route. On sunfall of the second dav
they arrived on the present site of Faulkton, locat-
ing that town on the south back of the Nixon
river. The next dav Major Pickler settled upon
a pre-emjjtion claim adjoining the town, and his
pleasant home is located on this property, a
considerable portion of which is now platted into
town lots. He was active in assisting in the or-
ganization and development of Faulk county, be-
ing one of the pioneers of this part of the state,
and one of the most prominent members of the
bar of this section.

In politics he has ever given an uncompro-
mising allegiance to the Republican party and has
long been known as -one of its leaders in the
state. He served as state's attorney of Adair
county, Missouri, and while engaged in practice
in hnva was a Garfield elector from the second
district of that state. He served as a member of
the legislature of Iowa, and in 1885 was elected
to the territorial legislature of South Dakota. By
bis old colonel of the Third Iowa Cavalry, Gen-
eral John W. Xoble, secretary of the interior
under Tresident Harrison, he was appointed an
inspector in the public-land service, in which
capacity he served until his election to congress
in i88y. Upon the admission of South Dtkota
to the Union Major Pickler was elected at large
as one of the first members of congress from
the state, the fifty-first congress. He was re-
elected at large to the fifty-second, fifty-third and
fifty-fourth congresses, and thus was a represen-
tative of his state in the lower house of the fed-
eral legislature for four successive congresses,
within which he accomjilished much for the
furtherance of the best interests of South Dakota.
He served as a member of the committees of
public land, Indian affairs, invalid pensions, ir-
rigation of arid lands, alcoholic-liquor traffic and
that of claims. He was chairman of the com-
mittee on invalid pensions in the fifty-fourth
congress. He was not a candidate for re-election
to the fifty-fifth congress, but was a candidate
for nomination for the United States senate. He
received the Republican legislative caucus nom-
ination and the unanimous vote of the caucus for
more than thirty days, but the Republicans were
lacking five votes of a majority and as it was
deemed improbable that a Republican could be
elected, the representatives of the party, with
one exception, voted for Hon. James H. Kyle
to succeed himself as senator, and he was duly
elected. The senate succeeding President Mc-
Kinley"s first election was known to be very
equally divided between the Republicans and the
opposition, and the national Republican commit-
tee was very desirous, and so expressed itself to
Major Pickler, that in case it became apparent
that a Republican could not be elected, the Re-
publican strength in South D. ik<ita he thrown to a

i6iS

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

man who would, if necessarj', vote for the tarifif
and financial policies of the Republican party.
In accordance with this expressed desire of the
national leaders, and after protracted support by
the caucus, Major Pickler advised the change of
vote from himself to Senator Kyle, who could
be relied upon to support the measures de-
sired. The Major is identified with the Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of
Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Work-
men. He and his wife are prominent and valued
members of the Methodist Episcopal church in
their home city.

On the i6th of November, 1870, was solem-
nized the marriage of Major Pickler to Miss Al-
ice M. Alt, who was born in Johnson county,
Iowa, in 1848, being a daughter of Joseph A.
Alt, one of the sterling pioneers of that state.
They have four children. Lulu A., Madge E., Al-
fred A. and Dale Alice.

ALICE M. A. PICKLER is the daughter of
Joseph and Eliza Alt. She was born in Johnson
county, Iowa, near Iowa City, in 1848. She
comes of a family very old in America. A pa-
ternal ancestor, Michel Drew by name, left the
service of the king a few years prior to the out-
break of the Revolution, came to America, and
enlisted and served in the Continental army. An
ancestor on her mother's side, Frederick Kep-
ford, was with Washington at Valley Forge. A
family tradition hg.s it that upon one occasion,
as he slept one winter night at his accustomed
place under a baggage wagon, his cue froze fast
to the ground. The names of these ancestors
still survive among the Christian names of the
family. Mrs. Pickler's father was born near
Harper's Ferry, Virginia, and when a few weeks
old was taken by his family to Springfield, Ohio,
where he lived until 1840. He then came to
Johnson county, Iowa, and resided on land which
he obtained from the government, until his death,
in January, 1904, a period of sixty-four years.
I-Ter mother, Eliza Kepford, removed with her
people from Pennsylvania to the same county in
the 'forties, where she married Mr. Alt and

where they had their home together for fifty-six
years. She died February 5, 1904, one week
after the death of her husband. They were the
last of the early Iowa pioneers in that vicinity.

The subject of this sketch lived with her par-
ents upon the farm, attending the district school
and engaging in the duties devolving upon a
girl living in the country at that time. She at-
tended the Iowa State University for a period of
six years, commencing jvlien at the age of four-
teen. She was one of the early students of that
institution and is a member of the Elder Daugh-
ters of the University. She taught school a
portion of the time during her attendance at
the university, a part of the time in the model
school of that institution. While attending the
\miversity she became acquainted with her fu-
ture husband, J. A. Pickler, who was attending
at the same time. They were married Novem-
ber 16, 1870. She accompanied her husband
during his law course at Ann Arbor, Michi-
gan; afterwards they resided at Kjrksville, Mis-
souri, two years and at Muscatine, Iowa, seven
years, from whence they came as pioneers
to Faulkton. Faulk county, South Dakota, their
present home. She was accompanied to Dakota
by her two younger sisters, Kate E. and Xellie
Alt, the wives respectively of W. G. Faulk-
ner, county auditor, and D. H. Latham, state's
attorney of Faulk county, both Mrs. Pickler's
nearest neighbors.

Mrs. Pickler's parents were quiet, but ag-
gressive and positive, people, who loved good
principles as their own lives, and in this atmos-
phere their oldest daughter, Alice, grtw to
womanhood. The church and the temperance
reform found in her parents warm friends. Dur-
ing the great Civil war eight of their immediate
relatives had a part, serving with fidelity and
distinction. ^^Ir. Alt was a Whig and cast his
vote for John C. Fremont for President. So in-
tense was their loyalty that it was deeply im-
pressed on the minds of the children who were
old enough to understand the editorials in the
New York Tribune, which was the standard pa-
per in the family. The enthusiasm that sent
hospital supplies to the army at the front was

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1619

shared by the children and young people. When
the war ended A number of the younger soldiers
attended school at the Iowa State University,
among them Major J. A. Pickler, then twenty-
ty-two years old. A four-years acquaintance in
this pleasant college ended in the marriage of
Alice M. Alt to him.

Up to the time of their removal to Dakota,
Mrs. Pickler's field of work was most and first of
all, her family of three children, the Methodist
church and a membership in the Woman's Chris-
tian Temperance Union. When she, with others
in that great territory of Dakota, began to
make homes and "plant the roots of states," a
desire for the same happy environments in the
new state that had been left in the old, led her
into more active work along broader lines. Her
husband was a member of the territorial legisla-
ture of 1885, which gave her a wide acquaint-
ance with many of the best and most active men
and women of the two Dakotas. This friendship
she cherishes at the present time. Her sphere of
opportunity was still more widened upon the ac-
cession of statehood and during the eight years
following she became acquainted with a number
of representatives of the western states, who
made their home for a time at the national capi-
tal.

Mrs. Pickler has been a member of the ex-
ecutive board of the Woman's Christian Tem-
perance Union in her state for many years.
Also was honored as the unanimous choice for
president of the State Relief Corps. She was
also national chaplain of that body in 1900. She
was one of the first trustees of the Method-
ist Episcopal church at Faulkton. She is at
present president of the State Suflfrage Associa-
tion. She is also a grand officer of the Order of
the Eastern Star. In all of these organizations
■ she is an earnest member, but to her family she
is most devoted. The children. Lulu A., wife
of W. J. Frad, late editor of the Mitchell (South
Dakota) Gazette; Madge E., Alfred A. and
Dale A., have all done honor to themselves and
parents in their college work and in assuming
other responsibilities.

In their pioneer home a large lamp always

hung m the window to guide the lost traveller
on the great prairies to a place of shelter. The
home has grown to one of ample size, of the
colonial type. The light still shines and friend
or caller there finds the same open-handed hospi-
tality which helped in the early 'eighties to weave
the ties that bind in unbroken friendship those
pioneers who have made the history of the state
of .South Dakota.

' CA.REY W. SMITH, who is cashier of the
First National Bank of Volga, Brookings county,
was born in Parkersburg, Butler county, Iowa,
on the 2ist of March, 1869, and is a son of Henry
and Emily (Marston) Smith, both of whom
were born and reared in Cattaraugus county. New
York, being representatives of old and honored
families of the Empire state. Soon after their
marriage they came to the west and located in
Clayton county, Iowa, where Mr. Smith took up
one hundred and sixty acres of government land,
to whose cultivation he gave his attention for a
few years and then removed to Butler county
and purchased land near Parkersburg, where he
continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits
for a score of years. In 1881 he came to South
Dakota and purchased a farm in Lake county,
near IMadison, in which attractive little city he is
now living retired, having sold his farm a num-
ber of years ago. Of their four children one died
git the age of nine years and of the other three we
enter the following data : Eugene L. is a grain
buyer at Bryant, Hamlin county; Ida M. is the
wife of Henry J. Hopley, of Bryant ; and Carey
W. is the immediate subject of this sketch.

Carev W. Smith received his eary educational
training near Parkersburg, Iowa, where he at-
tended the public schools until he had attained the
age of thirteen years, when he accompanied his
parents on their removal to South Dakota, com-
pleting his studies in the public schools of Madi-
son, Lake county, and then, in 1883, entering the
State Normal School, in that place, where he was
graduated as a member of the class of 1888, hav-
ing in the meanwhile been a successful teacher
'in the countrv schools of Lake county. After

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

his graduation he was in turn principal of the
schools at Hudson, Wentworth and Bryant, con-
tinuing; to follow the pedagogic profession for
four years, and proving a valuable factor in the
educational field. In 1892 he was matriculated
in Cornell College, at Mount \'ernon, Iowa,
where lie completed the scientific course, being
graduated as a member of the class of 1895 and
receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science. In
the spring of the following year Mr. Smith came
to Volga and became bookkeeper in the liank of
A'olga, of which he was soon afterward cWosen
cashier, and was also elected secretary of the
Equitable Loan and Trust Company, retaining
these positions for the ensuing six years. When
the First Xational Bank was organized, in the
spring of 1902, he was elected cashier of the new
institution, and has thus presided over its count-
ing room from the start, while he has gained a
high reputation for his executive and administra-
tive abiltiy and has done much to further the in-
terests of the bank, which is capitalized for
twenty-five thousand dollars and which is one of
the solid financial instituticjiis of Brookings
count}. In Januarx . iip4, the E(juital)le Loan
and Trust Com])any was reorganized with Mr.
Smith as president. Air. Smith is the owner of
five hundred and eighty acres of land in Brook-
ings county, three hundred and t\vent\- acres in
McPherson county, one hundred and sixtv acres
in Clark county, one hundred and sixty acres in
Grove county, three hundred and twenty acres in
Nebraska, and one hundred and sixty acres in
]\IcLean county. North Dakota, and is making
the best of improvements on the propertv, whose
value is constantly increasing. For the past three
_\ears he has given no little attention to dealing
in real estate, and his investments have invaria-
bly been judicious, while he has unbounded confi-
dence in the .still more .splendid future in store
for South Dakota. He was two hundred dollars
in debt when he came to Volga, and it stands to
his credit that he has gained so distinctive suc-
cess. He is the owner of one of the finest homes
in Volga, his attractive and modern residence
having Ijcen erected at a cost of over two thou-
sand dollars. In [jolitics he gives his allegiance to

the Prohibition party, so far as national isues
are involved, and fraternally he is affiliated with
the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and Modern \V'oodmen of .\merica. Both
he and his wife are accomplished musicians, and
as vocalists they are much in demand in connec-
tion with social and public entertainments, as well
as in connection with church work. Mrs. Smith
was engaged as a vocalist in connection with
evangelical work in various- states prior to her
marriage, and is the possessor of a soprano voice
of excellent timbre and range and also of thor-
ough cultivation. Mr. Smith is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church and his wife of the
Baptist church, but as neither of these denomina-
tions have organizations in Volga they attend the
Presbyterian church and take an active part in
various departments of its work. He is a teacher
in the Sunday school, of which he is superintend-
ent at the time of this writing, while he is also
president of the Young People's Society of
Christian Endeavor. Both he and his wife are
members of 'the choir.

On the loth of April, 1899, Mr. Smith was
united in marriage to Miss Caroline (Porter)
Runk, of ?iIcKeesport, Pennsylvania, where she
was bom and reared, being a daughter of Ed-
ward Winfield and Margaret (Gillmen) Runk,
Mr. and Mrs. Smith have a winsome little daugh-
ter, Dorothy, who was born on the 24th of
March, 1900.

ROBERT F. KERR, the able and popular
librarian of the State Agricultural College of
South Dakota, at Brookings, is a native of the
state of Indiana, having been bom at Sugar
Grove, Tippecanoe county, on the 12th of April,
1850, a son of Andrew J. and Nancy (Sayers)
Kerr. His father was born in Franklin county,
Ohio, and was a son of Samuel Kerr, who was
a native of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, being
the sixth son of John Kerr, who was born in
northern Ireland, whence he emigrated to the
Cnited States in the colonial epoch of our
national history, while he was a valiant
soldier in the Continental line during the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

war of the Revolution, and he was num-
bered among the sterHng pioneers of the
old Keystone state, the family having
been principally engaged in agricultural pursuits
during the various generations. Andrew J. Kerr
removed from Ohio to Tippecanoe count}-, Indi-
ana, in company with an elder brother, being a
lad of eleven years at the time, and he forthwith
initiated his independent career and began to de-
pend ujion his own resnurces. He continued to
work by the m<_inth until his marriage to Miss
Eliza Ward, two children being born of this
union, — Jesse, who is a resident of Sioux Falls,
South Dakota ; and Josephine, who became the
wife of John Sprague, her death occurring in
Tippecanoe county, Indiana. After the death of
his first wife Andrew J. Kerr married Miss Nan-
cy Sayers, whose father was Robert Sayers, while
the maiden name of her mother was McMillan.
Robert Sayers was a native of X'irginia. and the
family name has been itlentified with the histciry
of Indiana from the early pioneer days. The
McMillan family is of Scotch-Irish extraction,
and representatives of the same were patriot sol-
diers in the war of the Revolution. The mother
of the subject died in 1864. and his father subse-
quently consummated a third marriage, having
devoted his active life to agricultural pursuits in
Tippecanoe county, Indiana, while he is now liv-
ing retired in Xew Richmond, that state, having
attained the venerable age of eighty-four years,
while he still retains possession of his old home-
stead farm, which he purchased in 1848. Of his
second marriage were born six children, concern-
ing whom we incorporate brief record, as fol-
lows: Robert F. is the immediate subject of this
review ; Clara is the wife of James D. Thomas,
who resides near Wingate, Indiana ; Martha is
the wife of William Bennett, who resides near
New Richmond, that state; Susan H.. who is a
maiden, resides in ^^'ingate, In<liana : Mary E.
is the wife of J. L. Hayes, of Newtown, Indiana ;
and Emma died in early childhood. Of the third
marriage were born three children, namely :
Thomas L., who resides near Otterbein, Indiana ;
Hattie F., who is the wife of Daniel E. Storms,
now secretary of state of Indiana: and Nettie,

who is the wife of John Rust, residing near Ot-
terbein, that state.

Robert F. Kerr received his prelinnnar\ edu-
cational discipline in the public >ch()(il,-, in the vi-

ittai

years, while during the summer vacations he gave
his attention to farm work. Ai the age noted he
began teaching school in Warren county, Indi-
ana, being thus engaged during one winter term
and then entering Wabash College, at Crawfords-
ville, Indiana, where he continued his studies one
term, after which he again taught a term in the
same school as before. In the spring of 1872 he
was matriculated in .\sbury College, now knciwn
as Del'auw I'niversity, at Greencastle, Indiana,
while he thereafter continued to teach and attend
college at intervening periods, depending upon
his pedagogic efforts for the securing of the
funds to defray his college expenses. He was a
student in die college mentioned during the entire
sessions of the years 1876-7, completing the
classical course and being graduated as a member
of the class of 1877, with the degree of Bachelor
of .\rts. He then secured a position as a teacher
in the public schools at Kentland. Indiana, and
in the spring of 1878 was chosen county superin-
tendent of the schools of Newton county, that
state. In April, 1878, he went to Japan, where he
was for eighteen months employed as a teacher
in the provincial school at Hir Osaki, returning
to the United States in October, 1880, and during
the year 1881 and a part of 1882 he was an as-
sistant in the surveying of the route of the Clover
Leaf Railroad through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois,
knowing nothing of the details of the business at
the time he joined the surveying party, but • so
rapidly accumulating technical knowledge that
within nine months he was placed in charge of
a corps of men. Thereafter he was assistant
principal in schools at Blair. Nebraska, until
1885, when he came to Brookings, South Dakota,
as principal of the preparatory department and
teacher of history in the State Agricultural Col-
lege. The school had been organized but one
year previously, and he has thus been intimately
identified with the work and histor\- of this now

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

nourishing and important institution, having
known in a personal way every student who has
been graduated in the college. In 1892 he went
out of the institution, which was placed under
different executive control at the time, but in Jan-
uary, 1899, he was recalled, assuming the princi-
palship of the preparatory department and also
being placed in charge of the library of the col-
lege, while for the past year he has had the super-
vision of the library and the college extension
work. After leaving the college in 1892 Profes-
sor Kerr was for one year traveling representa-
tive of a leading book-publishing concern, while
in 1894 he was elected county superintendent of
schools for Brookings county, of which position
he continued incumbent until he was again called
to official duty in the college as noted. He re-
ceived the degree of Master of Arts from De-
Pauw University in 1880. In politics he has al-
ways given an uncompromising allegiance to the I
Republican party, in whose cause he has taken
a lively interest. . He is a member of the director-
ate of the State Historical Society of South Da-
kota, and has made valuable contributions to the
literature pertaining to the annals of the state.
Professor Kerr is an appreciative member of the
Masonic fraternity, with which he has been iden-
tified since 1874, being identified with the lodge,
chapter and commandery in Brookings and also
with the El Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic Order
of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in Sioux
Falls. He also holds membership in the local
chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, of
which he is the past grand patron of the grand
chapter of the state, while at the present time he
is worshipful master of Brookings Lodge, No.
24, Free and Accepted Masons. He is now pre-
paring to follow through the circle of the Scot-
tish-rite degrees of Masonry. He is identified
with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and
was also a member of the Knights of Pythias un-
til the la])se of the lodge organization in Brook-
ings, v/hile he is affiliated with the Beta Theta Pi
college fraternity. His religious faith is that of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and he is a steward
of the local congregation and also a member of
the board of trustees, taking an active interest in
the various departments of the church work.

E. E. HEMINGWAY.— Some wise man
has well said that "A country is largely measured
by the kind of men it turns out" ; another has
said that "Some men are born great, some
achieve greatness, and that some have greatness
thrust upon them". The subject of this sketch,
Hon. E. E. Hemingway, has come to his present
eminence by worthy achievement and the no-
bility of hard and persistent labor. He was
born in the township of Marathon, in Lapeer
county, Michigan, on the i6th day of December,
1861. His father was Hon. H. L. Hemingway,
who was a son of Needham Hemingway, a native
of Canandaigua, New York. The Hemingway
family came to this county originally from
Wales. The grandfather, Needham Heming-
way, was a contractor of mills, and at the same
time was also engaged to a considerable extent
in farming. He came to the state of Michigan
m an early day, braving the rigors of a new
country, and there spent the remainder of his
sturdy life in the above occupation.

Hon. H. L. Hemingway first saw the light of
day on a farm where he was afterward reared,
having received by nature and hard manual la-
bor a strong constitution. He early in life be-
came engaged in the lumber business and the
fruitful occupation of farming. While thus
gaining an honorable livelihood, he was chosen by
the people of Lapeer co;mty. Michigan, to fill
many important offices in , the township and
county.

He was united in marriage to Lydia E.
Tower, whose family came from the state of
New York, from the same vicinity that the Hem-
ingway family had previously emigrated. Mrs.
Lydia Hemingway departed this life March 31,
1876. In the course of time H. L. Hemingway
was again united in marriage, this time to Susan
C. Tower. He was the father of nine children,
four of whom still survive him. Sarah (de-
ceased) was the wife of William Larkin, of Ot-
ter Lake, Michigan. Ernest is a resident of Ot-
ter Lake, Michigan. Laura (deceased) was the
wife of James A. Tompkins, of Oxford, Michi-
gan. Ella J. is the wife of W. S. Cook, of
Pontiac, Michigan. Eugene died in young man-
hood. Ida, the sixth child of the familv, died

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1623

in infancy. E. E., the subject, was the seventh
child of this excellent family. The eighth child,
Ada, died at the tender age of thirteen years.
The ninth child, Bruce W.. now resides at Otter
Lake, Michigan, on the old Hemingway home-
stead. Hon. H. L. Hemingway passed away
upon the nth day of April, 1903.

While the subject of this interesting sketch
applied himself industriously in the mill and on
the farm, he managed to receive his primary
schooling in Marathon township, Lapeer county,
iMichigan, until he was fifteen years of age, at
which time he entered college at Oxford, Michi-
gan, and there spent three years, from which in-
stitution he graduated. He afterward took a
commercial course in the Pontiac International
Business College, which is situated in the same
state. Thus amply fitted, he was called to take
a position in the bank of William Peter, of Co-
lumbiaville. Michigan, which position he ably
filled for five years. Upon August 17, 1887, he
removed to Watertown, South Dakota, where he
at once engaged with the Dakota Loan and Trust
Company, and at the same time he assisted the
Watertown National Bank, filled the office of city
clerk of Watertown for three years and for two
years was the manager of the electric light plant.
Mr. Hemingway continued actively in business
in Watertown for five years. During the last
half of 1892 he was employed by the W. H.
Stokes Milling Company, of Watertown, as col-
lector and salesman, making extensive trips into
South Dakota, Minnesota, Towa, Illinois and
Missouri. In October, 1892, he removed to
Brookings, South Dakota, and engaged in the
retail boot and shoe trade, and continued suc-
cessfully in this business until December, 1894.
In 1895 he was appointed public examiner of
South Dakota, by Governor Sheldon, in which
position he ably and efficiently served his term
of two years, which expired March 6, 1897, He
then engaged with the Minneapolis Journal until
May, 1898. After the expiration of this work he
engaged with the George D. Barnard Company,
of St. Louis, Missouri, as traveling salesman for
the space of two years. On May i, 1900, he
engaged with the C. Ross Coal Company, of She-

boygan, Wisconsin, and traveled for them in
North and Soutli Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa.
Upon December 15, 1902, he was again ap-
pointed public examiner for the state of South
Dakota, to fill an unexpired term, and was again
reappointed in January, 1903, to hold until
March, 1905.

Believing that it was not g(3od for man to
be alone, Mr. Hemingway was married on the
29th day of June, 1892, to Miss Jennie E. Wing,
of Brookings, who was a daughter of O. C. and
Elizabeth Wing, who came to Brookings in 1882.
Her father still resides there, the mother having
passed away on May 14, 1900. These sturdy
people were of English descent. Mr. Heming-
way's family consists of four children, three sons
and one daughter : Charles, ten years of age ;
Robert, aged eight years ; Grace, aged five, and
Frank, but five months old.

Mr. Hemingway has always been to an
eminent degree a public-spirited man, actively
engaged in the promotion of any and all worthy
causes. He is a member of the Masonic order,
and has attained the degree of the Royal Arch
and Temple. He also belongs to the Eastern
Star, of Brookings, and El Riad Temple, of the
Mystic Shrine, at Sioux Falls. He is a charter
member of the Woodmen at Brookings, and was
the first worthy advisor. The Watertown
Knights of Pythias lodge still claims him as a
member in good and regular standing, as also
does the lodge of Royal Neighbors, to which
IMrs. Hemingway belongs. In politics he is a
stanch Republican and his family are members of
the Methodist Episcopal church.

JOHN H. FIREY, one of the representative
business men of the city of Aberdeen, is a native
of the state of Illinois, having been born in Edin-
burg. Christian county, on the 13th of Novem-
ber, 1859, and being a son of Henry and Minerva
(Lord) Firey, the former of whom was born in
Maryland and the latter in Ohio, the paternal
grandfather, Joseph F. Firey, having been like-
wise born in Maryland. Joseph Tilden Lord, the
maternal grandfather, who was an early pioneer

1624

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

in Ohio, was born in \'ermont, and migrated to
Ohio, and was a soldier in the war of 1812, in
which connection he served under General Wil-
liam Henry Harrison, having been present at the
battle of Tippecanoe, and also that of the Thames,
where the famous Indian warrior, Tecumseh, met
his death. Joseph F. Firey was a pioneer of
Illinois. He removed to Sangamon county, and
settled near the site of the present city of Spring-
field, the capital of that state. The old homestead
still remains in the possession of the family, and
there the grandfather died when seventy years
of age. The maternal grandfather of the sub-
ject likewise became a pioneer of Illinois, and
was there accidentally killed shortly after locating
in the state, in the later 'thirties. The father of
the subject of this sketch continued to follow the
vocation to which he had been reared, becoming
a successful and influential farmer of Sangamon
county, where both he and his wife passed the
closing years of their lives. Of their eight chil-
dren seven are living, John H. having been the
youngest of the family.

John H. Firey was reared on the old home-
stead farm and received his preliminary educa-
tional training in the district schools, after which
he continued his studies in Carthage College, at
Carthage, Illinois, where he was graduated as a
member of the class of 1882. On the 17th of Au-
gust of that year he made his advent in what is
now the city of Aberdeen, South Dakota, the
place having been at that time scarcely more than
a frontier village. He had previously become a
registered pharmacist in Illinois and upon locat-
ing in AlDerdeen he at once established himself
in the retail drug business. His enterprise proved
successful from its initiation and with the rapid
settling of the surrounding country and the de-
velojjmenl and substantial upbuilding of Aber-
deen tile business rapidly increased in scope and
importance, so that he gradually developed a man-
ufacturing and jobbing department, and it was
this feature that led to his becoming one of the
organizers and incorporators of the Jewett Drug-
Company, in 1903, while he is one of the stock-
holders m the concern and in the same holds the
office <if manager. The company utilize a fine

building, one hundred by one hundred and fifty
feel in dimensions, four stories in height, besides
basement, and constructed of light-colored pressed
brick, with granite trimmings, and the wholesale
and jobbing business already built up far sur-
passes the most sanguinary expectations of the
interested principals, while the enterprise is a dis-
tinctive acquisition to the jobbing interests of the
city. Mr. Firey is the general manager of the
business and is handling its affairs with marked
discrimination, being straightforward in his
methods, forming his plans readily and carrying
them to proper execution, and thus proving an
able administrative officer and a business man
who commands unqualified confidence and es-
teem. In politics he gives his allegiance to the
Democratic party, and he has held various local
offices, including that of postmaster of Aberdeen,
to which position he was appointed in 1885, serv-
j ing four years. Fraternally he is identified with
1 the lodge, chapter and commandery of the Ma-
sonic order and also with the Ancient Order of
I'uited Workmen.

On the 25th of January, 1883, Mr. Firey was
united in marriage to Miss Sue A. Mack, of Car-
thage, Illinois, she being a daughter of David
Mack, a leading member of the bar of that sec-
tion and president* of the Hancock National Bank
of Carthage. Of this union have been born two
children, Carl R., who is an assistant in the drug
establishment of which his father is manager, and
Margaret, who is still attending school.

JAMES HENRY AlcLACGHLIN, who is
now conducting a trading store at the Oak Creek
sub-issue station of the Standing Rock Indian
reservation, was born in Faribault, Minnesota, on
the 15th of January. 1868, being a son of Major
James McLaughlin, who was born in the province
of Ontario, Canada, of stanch Scottish ancestry.
He was educated in the Dominion of Canada,
where he was reared to maturity, and as a young
man he removed to Minnesota, having been en-
gaged in blacksmithing at Faribault for several
\-ears, and having removed thence to the terri-
tory of Dakota in 1871, in company with his fam-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1625

ily. He located at Fort Totten, Devil's Lake In-
dian agency, in what is now North Dakota,
where he remained ten years, having been there
engaged as agency blacksmith and head farmer
on the reservation. Upon the death of Major
Forbes he was appointed government agent,
about 1881, and was transferred to the Standing
Rock agency. North Dakota, where he still re-
mains incumbent of this responsible office.

The subject of this sketch passed his youthful
years at the Devil's Lake agency, and there re-
ceived fair educational advantages. About 1886
he secured a clerkship in the trading store of the
firm of Perkins & Roberts, at the agency, and in
the following year went to St. John's College, at
Collegeville, Minnesota, where he continued his
educational work during the ensuing year. He
thereafter worked for different traders at the
Standing Rock agency, and finally passed another
term in college, thus effectually rounding out his
education. For three years thereafter he was in
llic iMuploy of ^l. H. Angevine, on the Standing
Ruck reservation, and then engaged in ranching
on the Cannon Ball river, giving his attention
principally to the raising of cattle, while he gave
liis place the title of Circle M ranch. He there
continued operations until 1891, when he entered
the employ of Parkin Brothers, leading Indian
traders, with whom he remained, under most
pleasant and favorable relations, for the follow-
ing seven years. In 1885 he made a tour with
the famous Sitting Bull combination, under
Colonel Allen, acting as interpreter. In 1893,
while still in the employ of Parkin Brothers, he
A-i sited the World's Columbian Exposition, in
Chicago, and the following season was passed at
the famous eastern resort. Coney Island, where
he had on exhibition Rain-in-the-Face and other
Indians, who were there exploited by his em-
plovers, the Parkin Brothers. In 1897, when the
elder of the brothers died. Mr. McLaughlin pur-
chased their trading business at the Standing
Rock agency, conducting the same two years and
then selling out to Mr. Parkin, in whose employ
he had formerly been retained. About three
months later he went to the national capital and
there secured from the department on Indian af-

fairs a license to trade at the Oak Creek sub-
issue station, where he has since been located,
and where he controls a large and profitable
business. In addition to his trading post he also
has a large number of cattle on the range, as
well as horses, and conducts a successful enter-
prise in this line.

In 18S2 Mr. McLaughlin went out on a buf-
falo chase, in company with about five hundred
Indians and five other white men, and they were
out about one week, within which time they killed
about five thousand of the great animals, which
are now practically extinct, this having been next
to the last big chase in the history of slaughter-
ing the bison on the great plains of the west. In
politics Mr. McLaughlin is a stanch advocate of
the principles of the party in power.

On the 28th of January, 1891. Mr. Mc-
Laughlin was united in marriage to Miss Annie
Goudreau, of Grand River Indian agency. South
Dakota, she being a daughter of Robert Gou-
dreau, who has been identified with the govern-
ment Indian service for a number of years. Mr.
and Mrs. McLaughlin have four children,
nan:,elv : Sidncv. Louisa, Henr\- and Imelda.

JOHN CURTIS SIMMONS, the able and
popular cashier of the Bank of Frederick, at
Frederick, Brown county, was born in Grange-
ville, Saratoga county, New York, in the year
1857, and is a son of William Simmons, who was
born and reared in Ireland, whence he emigrated
to the United States and took up his residence in
Saratoga county. New York, where he died when
our subject was but eighteen months of age, so
that the latter has very meager data in regard
to his family genealogy. The subject was reared
in his native county, in whose public schools he
secured excellent educational advantages, so that
he became eligible for pedagogic honors, having
there been successfully engaged in teaching for
about three years. In 1882 he came as a pioneer
to the present state of South Dakota and located
in Aberdeen, in which place he arrived on the
iSth of IMay. He entered the employ of C. A.
Bliss, merchant and bank-cr. with whom he re-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

mained until 1886, when he came to Frederick j
and, with others, purchased the Dow Brothers' I
Bank, organizing then the Bank of Frederick,
in which institution he has ever since been incum-
bent of the office of cashier, handling his execu-
tive duties with marked discrimination and ability
aind having thus done much to maintain the bank
on a firm foundation and to gain to it high pop-
ularity. The institution controls a large and suc-
cessful business, being capitalized for fifteen thou-
sand dollars and having a surplus fund of half
that amount. During the financial depression of
1893-4 the bank was one of the few which,
through careful and conservative management,
successfully weathered the storm and added to
its prestige and solidity, no assessment having
been levied on its stockholders during that critical
period. In addition to his banking interests Mr. j
Simmons is the owner of a large amount of val-
uable real estate in the county and also has im-
portant interests in live stock. In politics he gives
his allegiance to the Republican party, and fra-
ternally has attained to the thirty-second degree
of Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Masonry, be-
ing also afHliated with the Ancient Arabic Order
of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He has
shown much interest in public affairs and in the
promotion of all objects tending to conserve the
general welfare and progress. He was a mem-
ber of the first legislature of the state, having
been elected to represent his district in 1889.

On the 3d of December, 189 1, Mr. Simmons
was united in marriage to Miss Emma Burton,
who was bom in \\'isconsin, being a daughter of
William Burton, who came to South Dakota in
1882. becoming one of the honored and influen-
tial pioneers of Brown county. 3,lr. and Mrs.
Simmons have one child, Ruth.

CHALKLEY H. DERR has the distinction
of having been elected the first judge of the
courts of Faulk county, while he continued on
the bench for the long period of twelve succes-
sive years, and is still engaged in the practice
of his profession in Faulkton. He is a native of
fhe old Hiicke\c state and a scion of one of its

pioneer families. He was born near the village
of Salem, Columbiana county, Ohio, on the 14th
of April, 1840, and is a son of Charles and Re-
becca (Elliott) Derr, both of whom were like-
wise native of that state. The paternal great-
great-grandfather of the Judge was a patriot
soldier in the Continental line during the war of
the Revolution, and his great-grandfather took
part in the war of 1812, while the subject him-
self upheld the military prestige of the name by
his valiant service in the Civil war. Frederick
Derr, grandfather of the Judge, was born in
Pennsylvania, whither his father had come from
Germany prior to the war of the Revolution.
He removed to Ohio when a young man and lo-
cated four miles south of Salem, Columbiana
county, being one of the early settlers in that
section of the state, where he engaged in farm-
ing and also in the work of his trade, that of
cooler, while he and his good wife there made
their home until they were called from the scenes
of life's activities. The father of the subject
was a millwright by trade and also owned a
good farm in Columbiana county, his death ac-
curring when the future judge was but thirteen
years of age, so that the latter was soon thrown
on his own resources, having been in the full-
est sense the artificer of his own fortunes and
having accumulated a competency through his
own efforts.

Judge Derr secured his early educational dis-
cipline in the district and select schools of his
native county, where he was reared to maturity.
In September, 1861, as a young man of twenty-
one years, he gave significant evidence of his pa-
triotism by enlisting in defense of the Union,
in response to President Lincoln's first call. He
became a private in Company I, Nineteenth Ohio
Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel Sam-
uel Bailey, and was mustered in at Alliance,
Ohio, as orderlv sergeant, whence he proceeded
with his regiment to Cincinnati, where they were
equipped, and went forward to Louisville and
then to Columbia, Kentucky, where they passed
the winter. The regiment thence proceeded into
Tennessee in the spring and was actively en-
gaged in the liattlc of Shiloh, in April, as well

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1627

as the battle of Perryville. Kentucky, and the
siege of Corinth, from, which city it went to
Holly Springs, Mississippi, and to Florence and
to Battle Creek, and thence over the mountains
with General Buell's forces, reaching Louisville
after having had daily skirmishes with General
Bragg's forces. Thence they went to Stone
river, where, owing to a severe attack of rheu-
matism and the results of an injury received in
the battle of Shiloh, the subject became incapac-
itated for active service and was given a three-
months sick furlough, passing the time in Ohio
and then being assigned to the quartermaster's
department and being stationed at Nashville,
Tennessee, for two years, having taken part in
the last battle in that city, and having been hon-
orably discharged, on the ist of June, 1865, so
that he served during practically the entire per-
iod of the war. He returned home in July and
was shortly afterward married, after which he
removed to Jones county, Iowa, where he pur-
chased a large tract of land and became also in-
terested in a large grain, stock and hardware
business, with which he was identified for two
years. In the meanwhile he had continued to de-
vote much attention to a careful study of the
law, and had served six years in the office of jus-
tice of the peace. Owing to impaired health he
came to Faulk county. South Dakota, in 1882,
taking up his residence here before the county
was organized, and here he has ever since main-
tained his home, having taken a prominent part
in public affairs and in the upbuilding of the
city of Faulkton, while he was admitted to the bar
of the district court in 1888 and to the supreme
court in 1899. He was elected the first judge
of the courts of the county upon its organization,
in 1884, and was retained in the office, by suc-
cessive re-elections, for the consecutive period
of twelve years, making a most admirable rec-
ord for his fair and impartial rulings, based on
the law and the evidence in the various cases,
while it should be noted in the connection that
he never had one of his decisions reversed by the
higher tribunals. In politics the Judge is a stal-
wart Republican, and is thoroughly well fortified
in hi? convictions as to governmental policies.

and fraternally he is identified with the Grand
Army of the Rciniblic and the Masonic order, in
which latter he has attained the Knights Templar
degrees and also become a member of Ancient
Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine. He is one of the strong, true, public-
spirited men of Faulk county, and is held in the
utmost confidence and esteem in the community.
On the 23d of August, 1865, was solemnized
the marriage of Judge Derr to Miss Eliza J.
Camp, who was born and reared in Ohio, being
a daughter of Levi Camp. She was summoned
into eternal rest on the 31st of April, 1891, and is
survived by three children, namely : Kate May,
who is the wife of I. Allen Cornwell, of Faulk-
ton; C. W., who is a resident of Turton, Spink
county ; and Inez, who is the wife of J. F. Arm-
strong, of Faulkton. Ou the 21st of December,
i8g8. Judge Derr was united in marriage to j\lrs.
V. C. (Stewart) Coffee, who was born in Beaver,
Pennsylvania, being a daughter of Samuel Stew-
art and the widow of Dr. T- L. Coft'ee.

JAMES \^^ WILSON.— The State Agricul-
tural College of South Dakota, at Brookings, is
signally fortunate in having secured the subject
of this sketch as a member of its faculty, and his
efforts in the connection have not failed of due
appreciation on the part of those interested in this
valued institution. Professor Wilson was born
on a farm near Traer, Tama county, Iowa, on
the i2th of February, 1871, and his is the distinc- .
tion of being a son of the present able incumbent
of the office of secretary of the United States de-
partment of agriculture, James Wilson, while
the maiden name of his mother was Esther Wil-
bur, the ancestry in the agnatic line tracing back
to Scotch origin, while on the maternal side the
lineage is of German extraction, the Wilburs
having early become identified with the history of
the state of New York. James Wilson was num-
bered among the pioneers of Iowa, and so fa-
miliar to the public is the record of his life and
services that a recapitulation is not demanded in
this connection.

The subject of this review passed his boyhood

i628

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

days on the homestead farm, while his early edu-
cational discipline was secured in the dis-
trict schools, which he continued to at-
tend until he had attained the age of
fifteen years, when he entered the high school
at *Traer, Iowa, where he continued his studies
for two years, after which he returned to the
home farm, where he was engaged in the caring
for the live stock until he had attained his legal
majority. He then, in 1893, was matriculated in
the State Agricultural College of Iowa, at Ames,
where he completed the prescribed four-years
course in science and agriculture, being gradu-
ated with the degree of Bachelor of Science as a
member of the class of 1896, while two years
later his alma mater conferred upon him the de-
gree of Master of Science. For one year he was
assistant professor of animal husbandry in the
same institution, and he then went to the national
capital in the capacity of private secretary to his
father, who had been chosen secretary of agricul-
ture. This incumbency Professor Wilson re-
tained for three years, during the last two of
which he was a student in the law department of
Georgetown University, where he attended the
evening sessions. After leaving Washington he
passed a year in the law office of the firm of Hub-
bard, Dawley & Wheeler, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa,
and during the succeeding year he had charge of
a farm of eight hundred acres in that state. On
the 226. of May, 1902, he was chosen director of
the state experiment station established at the
State Agricultural College of South Dakota and
was simultaneously made professor of agricul-
tural and animal husbandry at the college and
placed in charge of the farm and the college
dairy. He has proved an able, discriminating
and enthusiastic worker in these important capac-
ities, and has done much to increase the prestige
of the institution, while within the year 1903 will
have been completed on the farm a fine barn for
experimental work in his line, the building repre-
senting an expenditure of twelve thousand dol-
lars. Professor Wilson will thus have excellent
facilities for carrying on his work, including orig-
inal research and experimentation, and he is cer-
tain to make his department one of great value to

not only the students of the college, but to the
farmers of the entire state. He is a close ob-
server and indefatigable student, and has had the
advantages of wide travel, having visited every
state in the Union with the exception of two or
three in New England, and having also made
trips to Cuba and Jamaica. In politics he gives
his allegiance to the Republican party ; his relig-
ious faith is that of the Presbyterian church, and
fraternally he is identified with the Masonic or-
der, being affiliated with lodge and chapter in
Washington, D. C. 'and the commandery in
Brookings, South Dakota.

JOHN W. HESTON.— The state of South
Dakota has realized a development and progress
almost unprecedented in the lines of civic and ma-
terial advancement of a comparatively new com-
monwealth, and it is gratifying to note -that a
proper estimate has been placed upon the edu-
cational facilities demanded within its borders.
As the state represents an essentially agricul-
tural section it is most consistent that we find
maintained here that most excellent institution,
the State Agricultural College, which is located
at Brookings, Brookings county, while the same
is favored in having as its executive head the
subject of this sketch, who is p; evident of the
college.

John William Heston was born in B;dle-
fonte. Center county, Pennsylvania, on the 1st of
February, 1854, being a son of Elisha B. and
Catherine (Eckel) Heston, both of whom were
likewise born in the old Keystone state. Elisha
B. Heston was a son of John W. Heston, who
was born in Hesto'nville, a suburb of the city of
Philadelphia, and the name was given to the vil-
lage in honor of the family, the name having
been prominently identified with the annals of
the history of Pennsylvania for several genera-
tions, while the lineage is traced back to Scot-
tish and English origin. The paternal grand-
father of the subject devoted his active business
life to mercantile pursuits. Elisha B. Heston,
who was a successful manufacturer of carriages
for many years, removed with his family to Kan-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1629

sas in 1879, becoming one of the honored pioneers
of Plainville, Rooks county, where he passed the
residue of his Hfe, his death resulting from an
injury received in a runaway accident. He
passed away in 1896, at the age of sixty-seven
years, his wife having died in the preceding
year, from a sunstroke, being sixty-five years of
age at the time. Both were devoted members of
the Presbyterian church, and the father was a
stanch Repubhcan in his poHtical proclivities,
Ijcing a man of highest integrity and excellent
business ability. Of the six children of this
estimable couple we enter brief record as follows :
Mary, who became the wife of William Hen-
derson, is now deceased ; John W. is the im-
mediate subject of this review ; Daniel died at
the age of seven years : Emma C. passed away
in childhood ; Robert H. is a resident of Seattle,
\\'ashington, and is interested in the gold-mining
industry; and Sallie is the wife of William L.
Clark, of Salina, Kansas.

John W. Heston, to whom this sketch is ded-
icated, passed his youthful days in Roalsburg,
Peimsylvania, where he attended the public
schools until he had attained the age of eighteen
years, when he became a student in the Center
Hall Normal School, at Center Hall, that state,
remaining two years in th^-^t institi tion, after
which he was engaged in teaching for one year,
at the expiration of which he was matriculated
in the State Agricultural College of Pennsyl-
vania, at Bellefonte, where he was graduated as
a member of the class of 1879. Shortly after-
ward he was made a member of the faculty of his
alma mater, where he continued to teach for
eleven years, having been principal of the pre-
paratory department for seven years and assist-
ant in agriculture, while for three years he was
professor of the science and art of teaching.
After leaving the college in Pennsylvania Pro-
fessor Heston, who had received from the institu-
tion the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master
of Arts, removed to the city of Seattle, Wash-
ington, where he was incumbent of the position
of principal of the high school for the ensuing
three years, resigning this incumbency to accept
the presidency of the State Agricultural College

of Washington, at Pullman, remaining in tenure
of this executive office for two years, within
which he further augmented his prestige as an
able educator and administrative factor. He
was then called to his present position at the
head of the South Dakota Agricultural College,
over whose affairs he has thus presided,
and with signal ability and discrimination,
since 1896, having done much to further the
precedence of the institution in all depart-
ments of its work and to raise the stindard of
scholarship to a point which places the college
in the front rank among similar institutions of
the sort in the Union. He has brought about a
marked amplification of the courses of study, in-
troduced the elective system of work and made
the requirements for graduation notably higher,
while during his regime the facilities and acces-
sories of the college have been materially aug-
mented. The college was established in 1883,
almost a decade before the admission of the
state to the Union, and at the time when Presi-
dent Heston assumed his present office the en-
rollment of students showed but one hundred
and thirty-five names. The appreciative esti-
mate now placed upon the college is shown in
the fact that during the year 1903 the enrollment
has reached six hundred names, while the
finances of the college have increased in like pro-
portion, so that the future of the institution is
most gratifying to contemplate, as is, indeed, its
present status.

President Heston takes the deepest interest
in his students, being thoroughly appreciative of
the value of education and sparing no pains to
aid those who are striving to broaden their
sphere of knowledge. It is not strange that his
sympathy and timely aid are thus extended, for
he gained his own education through personal
effort, having worked his way through college
and earned the funds for his maintenance during
the period of his collegiate course. He received
from his alma mater the degrees of Bachelor
and Master of Arts, while the degrees of Doctor
of Philosophy and of Laws were conferred upon
him by the University of Seattle. He was presi-
dent of the State Teachers' .Association of South

1630

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Dakota in 1902, and is a member of the Ameri-
can Association of Agricultural Colleges and Ex-
periment Stations, of which he was a vice-presi-
dent during 1902. In politics he gives his al-
legiance to the Republican party, and both he
and his wife are prominent and zealous members
of the Baptist church, while fraternally he is
identfied with the Knights of Pythias and the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Dur-
ing his college days he was affiliated with the
Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.

On the 16th of August, i88r, was solemnized
the marriage of Dr. Heston to Miss Mary E.
Calder, who was born in Harrisburg, Pennsyl-
vania, a daughter of Dr. James and Eliza D.
Calder. the former of whom was for a decade
president of the State Agricultural College of
Pennsylvania. He is now deceased, and his
widow resides in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Mrs. Heston received her education in the public
schools of Harrisburg and the State College of
Pennsylvania, being an accomplished musician
and a woman of gracious refinement. Dr. and
Mrs. Heston are the parents of two children :
Charles, who was born on the 9th of February,
1883, is a member of the junior class in the
University of Wisconsin, where he is completing
a course in electrical engineering, and Edward,
who was born on the 20th of September, 1884,
was graduated in pharmacy in the State Agri-
cultural College of South Dakota, as a member
of the class of 1903, and is now engaged in the
drug business in Aberdeen, South Dakota, hav-
ing formed a partnership with D. E. Crowley.

THOMAS OUINBY LO\-ELAND, one of
the honored pioneers of Brookings county, is a
native of the state of Ohio, having been born in
Trumbull county, on the 1.4th of January, 1829,
and being a son of Azehel and Emily (Newell)
Loveland, both of whom were born in the state
of Connecticut, their marriage being solemnized
in Ohio, where Mr. Loveland was engaged in
farming and followed the trade of carpenter until
his son Thomas, subject of this review, attained
such age as to make it possible for him to assume

the management of the farm. When the subject
was sixteen years of age his parents removed to
the northern part of Trumbull county, locating
near the town of Bristol, where the father turned
his attention to lumbering, having owned and op-
erated a sawmill, in which Thomas was actively
employed for some time. Azehel Loveland died in
the year 185 1, his death resulting from an acci-
dent,— a slight cut in the knee developing into
blood poisoning, from which he died nine days
after receiving the injury, being survived by his
wife and five children, concerning the latter of
whom we incorporate the following brief record :
Thomas 0. is the immediate subject of this re-
view ; Emily, who is deceased, was the wife of
Hiram Williams, of Trumbull county, Ohio ; Mar-
tha is the wife of Smith Travis, of Bristol, that
county ; Mary, the widow of John Russell, is a res-
ident of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania ; and Sidney A.
is a resident of Ellsworth, Minnesota. The de-
voted mother was summoned into eternal rest in
1881, her death occurring in Bristol, Qhio.

Thomas O. Loveland continued to be associ-
ated with his father in business until the death
of the latter, and continued the enterprise one
year thereafter in the interest of the family. On
the 2d of April, 1850, he was united in marriage
to Miss Roana House, a daughter of Alvin and
Sallie (Melbe) House, who came to Ohio from
Stanestead, Canada, passing the remainder of
their lives in the old Buckeye state. Our subject
and his wife walked side by side on the jour-
ney of life for more than half a century, strong
in mutual love and confidence, and the silver cord
was finally loosened when the devoted wife and
helpmeet was summoned to the land of the leal,
on the 19th of March, 1901, at the age of sixty-
nine years. She was a woman of noble and gra-
cious character and was loved by all who came
within the sphere of her influence. Of the union
of Mr. and Mrs. Loveland were born nine chil-
dren, of whom two died in infancy. Of those
who attained maturity we enter data as follows :
Rozelia, the widow of Enos M. Hunt, is a resi-
dent of Alexandria, Minnesota; Ella is the wife
of Dr. James L. Colegrove, of Brookings, South
Dakota ; Edna is the wife of Austin Maxwell, of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1631

Kanaranzi, jNlinnesota ; Emma is the wife of
George Thayer, of Brookings ; Ouinby A. resides
in Fairfield, Wisconsin; Susie is the wife of Her-
man M. Harden, editor and pubHsher of the
Huron Democrat, at Huron, South Dakota ; and
Addie is the wife of Judson R. Towne, a teacher
in the high school at Duluth, Minnesota.

After retiring from the lumbering business
the subject conducted a hotel at Bristol, Ohio,
about two years, at the expiration of which he
removed to Baraboo, Sauk county, Wisconsin, in
which locality he rented a farm, to whose culti-
vation he devoted his attention for the ensuing
year, and he thereafter was in the hotel busi-
ness in Baraboo for two years. This was about
the time of the discovery of gold at Pike's Peak,
Colorado, and Mr. Loveland was among those
who set forth to seek fortune in the new Eldo-
rado. He set forth for the gold fields and the
company proceeded as far as Fort Carney, where
they encountered persons returning from Pike's
Peak, their reports being so unfavorable as to
cause many of the outgoing party to abandon
tlie trip and return home, among the number be-
ing the subject. He was thereafter engaged in
farming in Sauk county, Wisconsin, for two
years, within which time the dark clouds of civil
war obscured the national horizon. In 1863 he
tendered his services in defense of the Union,
enlisting as a private in Company F, Third Wis-
consin Cavalry, with which he continued in active
set vice until December, 1865, when he received
Iiis honorable discharge, at Madison, Wisconsin.
Tt was his good fortune to receive no wound
while fighting for the integrity of the nation,
nor was he ill at any time during his term of
service. He was discharged as second lieutenant
and brevetted first lieutenant of his company,
having been promoted to this office within a year
after his enlistment, while he proved a valiant
and faithful soldier of the republic. In the
spring of 1866, with money which he had saved
from his pay as a soldier, he purchased sixteen
acres of land at Russell's Corners, Sauk county,
Wisconsin, and there began raising hops. He
continued this enterprise one year, disposing of
his property after gathering his first crop, for

which he secured sixty cents a pound. From
this source he realized sufficient money to pur-
chase a farm of fifty-five acres, in the same town-
ship. He remained on this farm until 1872,
when he sold the property and started for the
west, his financial resources at the time being

! represented in the sum of oiie thousand dollars.
He proceeded to Rock county, Minnesota, where

I he entered claim to a homestead, proving on the
same and there continuing to follow agricultural
pursuits until he found that his efforts were ren-
dered futile by conditions over which he had no
control. In 1878 the grasshoppers destroyed his
crops, and for five years their depredations were
such that he was not able to even raise seed for
planting, being compelled to mortgage his farm
and eventually losing the property. In 1878 he
determined to try his fortunes in South Dakota,
whither he came with a team, a small supply of
farming implements and seven or eight head of
cattle, the only vestiges of his years of toil and
endeavor. He settled near the little village of
Fountain, in Aurora township, Brookings
county, where he took up pre-emption and tree
claims, thus coming into possession of a half
section of land. His first effort was to bring
about the required improvement of his tree claim,
which he did by the setting out of ten acres of
trees, and he bent himself earnestly to the work
before him and soon a definite success attended
his efforts. In time he erected on his farm a
commodious and substantial house, good barn
and other buildings, while he brought two hun-
dred and forty acres of the tract under a high
state of cultivation, developing one of the valu-
able farms of this section of the state. In 1900

I he disposed of his farm, having become the
owner of an entire section, and from this sale he

I realized eleven thousand dollars, — a. fact which
stands in evidence of the prosperity which had
been gained through his indefatigable energy and

j his availing himself of the excellent opportuni-
ties presented. After disposing of his farm Mr.
Loveland took up his residence in the city of
Brookings, where he has since maintained his
home, being now the owner of four houses and
lots in the cit}- and having other excellent in-

1632

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

vestments. He is now living retired and is en-
joying the just rewards of his many years of
honest and earnest toil. Fraternally he is a
member of the Masonic order, but is not affili-
ated wirii any of its bodies in an active way at the
present time. He was reared in the faith of the
Democratic party, to which he gave his allegiance
until the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion,
since which time he has been a stanch advocate of
the principles of the Republican party. In 1894
he was elected a member of the board of county
commissioners of Brookings county, serving three
years, within which term the county jail and
sheriff's residence were erected.

THOMAS S\\'EE.\EY. of Rapid City. Pen-
nington county, was born at Booneville, New
York, on October 20, 1856, and received his early
education in a little log schoolhouse in the adjoin-
ing county of Lewis, about fifteen miles from his
home. When he reached the age of thirteen he
began the battle of life for himself, working on
railroads in different parts of the state. After a
few years of this sort of employment he appren-
ticed himself to a carriage trimmer and learned
the business thoroughly at Watertown, New
York. In 1878, while living at Watertown, he
hired to a stage line, engaging to come to Chey-
enne and drive stage between that town and
Deadwood. He came to Sparta, Wisconsin,
where he got an outfit together, and from there
proceeded to Napoleon's ranch, where Pierre is
now located. Learning at that place that the
stage line had changed hands, he determined to
retire from his engagement, and opened a barber
shop which he conducted for a time at Fort Pierre
and then came to Rapid City. Here he went to
work for Evans & Loveline, leading grocers, he
having met Mr. Evans at Fort Pierre. He re-
mained with this firm about si.x months, then
started in business for himself. He was success-
ful from the beginning, his line being hardware
and machinery and his place of business a little
one-.story building on Main street. The business
rapidly increased in magnitude and importance
under his vigorous and jirogrcssive management.

and from the little beginning already described,
which was born into commercial life on Novem-
ber 7, 1880, it has grown to be one of the largest
enterprises of its kind in the Black Hills, and ex-
panded from a new and second-hand hardware
store into an immense general or department
store, carrying almost every kind of commodity
needed in his community. In 1886 he built the
building he now occupies, which has more floor
space than any otlur business house in Rapid
City, and since then he has kept it filled with the
most extensive and varied stock to be fovmd in
this part of the state. In 1892 he bought the ad-
joining building. The firm, which is the Tom
Sweeney Hardware Company, is known all over
the west and is as widely esteemed as it is known.
It employs fourteen men, including plumbers, tin-
ners, saddlers, harness makers, blacksmiths and
wagon makers. One article in the stock of which
Mr. Sweeney is ju-tl\ pr.uid is a "Round-Up
Stove," which was invented and is manufactured
by him and which finds a ready and rapid sale
from Texas to the Canadian line, it being con-
sidered the most complete and convenient stove
of its kind nii the market. In addition to his mer-
cantile business, Air. Sweeney also has extensive
interests in the stock industry in this state and
Wvoming, being among the kirgest cattle men in
the Hills.

■On May 17, 1883, at Rapid City, Mr.
Sweeney was united in marriage with Miss Mary
A. Wells, a native of Alissouri and daughter of
George Wells, a pioneer of 1877 in the Black
Hills and a prominent stock man of this section.
Mr. Sweeney belongs to the Knights of Pythias
at Rapid City and the Elks at Deadwood and
takes an active interest in the proceedings of his
lodge.

ANDRE\\' P. McMillan is one of the
leading mercliaiUs nf Spink county, having a
large and well-e(|uipped general store in Conde,
and is vice-president of the State Bank of Doland
and the owner of a fine landed estate in the
county where he has maintained his home since
1887. He is a native of ^Minnesota, having been

TH( )MA8 SWEENEY.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1633

born on the homestead farm, in Harmony town-
ship, Fihmore county, on the 7th of November,
1859, and being a son of Arthur C. and Rebecca
(Cheever) McMillan, both of whom were born
in Ohio, of Scotch descent. The paternal great-
grandfather of our subject came from Scotland
to America in the latter part of the eighteenth
century, in company with his two brothers, and
their descendants are now to be found in divers
sections of the Union. The parents of the sub-
ject removed to Fillmore county, Minnesota,
where his father became a successful farmer and
stock grower. His present residence in Cresco,
Iowa, the mother having died in December, 1893.
The subject was reared to the sturdy disci-
pline of the farm, and was about ten years of age
at the time of his parents' removal to Iowa, where
he secured his early educational discipline in the
public schools of Cresco. In 1878 he secured a
]i(^^iticin as clerk in the mercantile establishment
of ^^'hite & Moon, in Cresco, Iowa, and contin-
ued to be employed as a salesman until coming
to South Dakota, having in the meanwhile given
careful attention to acquiring an intimate knowl-
edge of the various details of the business, fa-
miliarizing himself with the values of different
lines of goods and thus fortif\'ing himself for an
independent career as a merchant. In 1887 he
came to Conde, South Dakota, and opened a
general merchandise store, one of the first in the
town. He began operations upon a modest scale,
and by good management and fair dealing his
business constantly expanded in scope and im-
portance with the settlement and upbuilding of
the surrounding districts and the village, and he
now has a large and well-appointed establish-
ment. He handles dry goods, groceries, clothing,
shoes, millinery, etc., and his store is one which
would do credit to a much more populous town.
In 1887 he erected his present business block,
which is twenty-four by eighty feet in dimen-
sions and two stories in height. In 1892 Mr.
AIcMillan erected his fine modern residence, at a
cost of about three thousand five hundred dollars,
the same being one of the most attractive homes
in the county, and he is the owner of a valuable
farm of three hundred and twenty acres, eight

miles southwest of Conde, this county, the same
being under a high state of cultivation and yield-
ing good returns. He is one of the principal
stockholders in the State Bank of Doland, of
which he has been vice-president since 1895. In
politics Mr. McMillan is a stalwart Garfield and
Bryan man, and although he is essentially public-
spirited and progressive he has never sought of-
fice of any description. He and his wife are
prominent and valued members of the Baptist
church in their home town, and he has been su-
perintendent of its Sunday school from the time
of organization to the present, covering a period
of ten years, while Mrs. McMillan is a popular
teacher in the same. Fraternally Mr. McMillan
is identified with the Masonic order, in which he
has attained to the chapter degrees; with the
lodge and encampment of the Independent Order,
of Odd Fellows, as well as the Daughters of Re-
bekah : and with the Knights of Pythias and the
Ancient Order of United Workmen.

On the 22d of April, 1884, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. McMillan to Miss Stella
K. Hard, who was born and reared in Decorah,
Winneshiek county, Iowa, being a daughter of
John and Jane (Austin) Hard. Mr. and Mrs.
McMillan have the following children : Arthur
Edwin, Calla Maude, James Wesley, Leone Dun-
bar and Lloyd Fountain. Arthur finishes his
commercial course at Brookings College in June,
1904, when he will enter into business with his
father at Conde.

FULTON FRE.KSE was born in Luzerne
county, Pennsylvania, on January 2~, 1846, and
in that county was reared and educated, remain-
ing there until he was twenty years old. In 1866
he moved to Ohio, where he remained five
months, then went to work on the Northw-estern
Railroad in Iowa. After working on that enter-
prise for a period he went into the service of the
government, teaming to Fort McPherson and
Fort Sedgwick. In 1867 he accepted employment
on the Union Pacific Railroad, which was then
building through Nebraska. Two years later he
returned to Colorado and until 187^) was engaged

1 634

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

in herding and riding tlie range in the neighbor-
hood of Denver. At the end of this time he went
to southwestern Nebraska and started a cattle in-
dustry for himself, remaining there four years.
In the spring of 1880 he brought his cattle to the
Black Hills and placed them at the mouth of Elk
creek and on the Belle Fourche river, making
his home at Rapid City. In 1888 he took up the
ranch he now occupies on Box Elder creek eigh-
teen miles from Rapid, and in 1890 he moved
his family to tlie place where they have since
made their home. He has been continuously
engaged in the cattle business since his arrival in
the state and has a fine ranch which is devoted
exclusively to the use of his stock and raising hay
for their support. In political affiliation he is an
ardent Republican, and to the welfare of his
party he is zealously devoted, being county com-
missioner in 1883 and county treasurer in 1884.
For a number of years he was also a stock-
holder in the First National Bank of Rapid City.
He is a member of the Masonic order, belonging
to the lodge of the order at his home town. On
September 5, 1886, he was married at Rapid
City to Miss Hattie S. Ryan, a native of Indiana.
Thev have four children. Paul, Hazel, Kate and
Helen.

JOSEPH BEEM was born in Belmont
county, Ohio, on September 27, 1847, and was
educated there, remaining until the spring of
1865. He then, in company with his brother
Isaac, moved to Jefiferson county, Iowa, and for
a few years was engaged in farming there. From
that locality he came over the Union Pacific to
Fort Steele, Wyoming, and remained there a
year in the employ of the government as offi-
cers' cook. The story of his wanderings from
that time until 1884 is told in the sketch of his
brother Isaac, elsewhere in this volume, for they
were together during almost the whole of the
time. In the fall of 1884 they brought cattle to
the Box Elder and settled on land on that serv-
iceable and fructifying stream. He looked after
the land and stock interests and his brother en-
gaged in frcigliting for a number of years. Thev

were the first settlers on this creek, and during
the first years of his residence here Mr. Beem's
nearest neighbor was eight miles distant. He
began improving his land, devoting all his time
and energy to this and his stock industry, and as
the reward of his labors he now has the finest
cattle ranch on the creek, with natural protection
against severe weather for his cattle, and prolific
yields of botli the wild and the cultivated prod-
ucts of the soil. He and his brother were in
partnership until 1891. They then dissolved and
since that time have conducted their business
separately. Mr. Beem is one of the unyielding
Democrats of this portion of the state, and has
always been forceful and potent in behalf of
every interest of his party.

At Bismarck, on December 8, 1880, Mr. Beem
was married to Miss Sarah A. Davis, a native
of Minnesota. They have four children, flattie
E., Edwin A., Angie and Grover C.

HUGH L. BROWN, of near Vesta, is a na-
tive of Fulton county, Illinois, born on January
23, 1840, and while he was yet a child the fam-
ily moved to Bond county, the same state, where
he received his early education. Later another
move was made to the vicinity of Rockford, and
soon afterward another to Monroe, Wisconsin,
where the father engaged in farming. Here the
son completed his edtication and on leaving
school worked with his father on the farm. In
January, 1862, when the Civil war was drench-
ing our country with blood, he enlisted in the
Thirty-first Wisconsin Infantry, and in that regi-
ment he served to the close of the war. He then
returned to Wisconsin and again engaged in
farming near Monroe, continuing his operations
there until 1872, when he settled in Sac county,
Iowa, where he was occupied in farming until
the spring of 1885. At that time he came to
South Dakota and located at Pierre, then a fort
or military post. There during the summer he
conducted a feed store, handling hay and grain,
In the fall he moved to Rapid City, and the next
spring took up a pre-emption claim on Box Elder
creek. While improving his land and making it

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1635

habitable he continued to hve at Rapid City, con-
ducting a hotel there. Early in 1888 he settled
on his land on the creek, thirty-five miles from
Rapid City, and began pushing its development
with vigor, subsequently increasing his acreage
by taking up a timber and a homestead claim,
the three properties adjoining. Since then he
has continued to live on this land, and has de-
voted his energies to its cultivation and the rear-
ing of stock. In both he has been ver\- success-
ful, winning a competence by the systematic
application of intelligence and enterprise, and he
has also risen to prominence and influence among
his fellow men by his breadth of view and ar-
dent devotion to the welfare and advancement of
his community. In political faith he is an earn-
est supporter of the Republican party, but he is
not an office seeker, nor does he subordinate the
general weal to any personal or factional inter-
est.

On March 30, 1867, Mr. Brown was united
in marriage with Miss Eliza Michael, a native
of New York, who moved with her parents to
the neighborhood of Baraboo, Wisconsin, when
she was but five years old. In that region she
was reared and educated, and at Baraboo was
married. They have two children, Carrie P.,
now the wife of Joseph Waterson, and Dora E.,
who is married to Jeremiah Crowley.

:\rAHLON WELSH, of near Vesta, Pen-
nington county, was born in Franklin county,
Ohio, on December 28, 1847, and there he
reached the age of seventeen and received a dis-
trict school education. His father died when
he was ten years old and in 1864 the family
moved to Paulding county in his native state.
Mr. Welsh took charge of the homestead and
conducted its operations, continuing to be so em-
ployed until 1876. He then passed a year in
Story county, Iowa, and in 1877 came to Pierre
and soon afterward to Dead wood. He did not
linger long here, however, but went to Bismarck,
where he went to work teaming for the Beem
Brothers. He remained with them three years
working on railroad construction and freighting

into Deadwood, also going with them to Mon-
tana and wrought in their interest there. On
his return to this state he was employed, with a
team he bought, on the Union Pacific Railroad
until 1884, when he came with the Beem broth-
ers to Rapid City, and from there moved out to
Belcher creek near Bo.k Elder. Here he took up
land and put it in the way of improvement, but
kept on freighting between Pierre and Dead-
wood and Rapid City three years longer. In
1887 he bought cattle and settled on his ranch,
to the improvement of which he has since sedu-
lously devoted himself. He has four hundred
acres of fine land, wath good buildings and other
necessary appliances, and raises on it large crops
of hay with some grain and other products. The
ranch adjoins that of Isaac Beem and is thirty-
five miles from Rapid City. Mr. Welsh is a
stanch believer in the principles of the Demo-
cratic party, and ever yields to its policies and
candidates a loyal and serviceable support.

CHARLES W. BROWN, a leader of the bar
in Pennington county, was born on May 8, 1859,
at Winchester, Illinois, and there grew to man-
hood and received his scholastic training, being
graduated from Blackburn College in 1881. He
then entered the law department at Yale and in
1883 was graduated therefrom with the degree
of Bachelor of Laws. Returning to his home at
Carlinville, he. passed a year in a law office. At
the end of that time he came to South Dakota
and began the practice of his profession at Co-
lumbia, Brown county, where he remained until
July, 1885, shortly after which he moved to
Rapid City. Here he has since maintained his
home and been active in legal work, rising rap-
idly through merit to prominence and public es-
teem, and winning high commendation in every
contest in which he has engaged professionally.
His practice has grown to great magnitude and
now takes him to almost all parts of the coun-
try. He is a member of the United States su-
preme court bar and before that elevated trib-
unal has conducted a number of important
causes, managing them in a way that established

1636

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

him in the esteem of the legal profession as one
111' the brainiest men in the country. In poli-
tics he is an active and ardent Republican, and
in the fall of 1888 and again in 1890 was elected
state's attorney of Pennington county as the can-
didate of that party. He was also mayor of
Rapid City from 1900 to 1902. He has served
his party twice as chairman of its county cen-
tral committee and also as a member of its state
central committee.

On June i, 1884, Mr. Brown was married to
Miss Adella Gore, a native of Illinois and daugh-
ter of David Gore, a prominent man and once
state auditor of that state, the marriage being
solemnized at Carlinville. They have three chil-
dren, Helen G., Fanny C. and Wellington G.
Mr. Brown belongs to the Knights of Pythias
and the Odd Fellows, with membership in the
lodges of these orders at Rapid City.

JAJXIES ]\I. WOODS, of near Rapid City,
was born on April 24, 1835, in Boone county,
Missouri, the family having moved to that county
a short time previous from Madison county, Ken-
tucky. His father had a store at Columbia in
that county and one at Independence also. The
son grew to manhood in that state and received
his early education in its district schools, after-
ward entering the State University when it was
a very small college. After attending this insti-
tution two terms he moved to Colorado in 1851.
There he was engaged in mercantile business in
partnership with his brother several years, then
passed some time near Salt Lake City, after
which he began freighting between Qieyenne
and points in Montana and also conducted mer-
cantile houses at Wausage and Bear river in
.Montana. He continued these enterprises until
1870, when he went to Nebraska City where he
had a large farm, and where he remained until
1876. He then organized a train at Nebraska
City for an expedition to the Black Hills by way
of Kearney. For this enterprise he recruited
one hundred and sixty men and brought the train
through without niishai>. This was the first
train to enter the hills f(jr settlement, and ar-

rived where Custer City now stands on April
26th, and from there went on to Deadwood,
which it reached early in May. There were no
roads through this country at that time and
they were obliged to cut their way through with
great difficulty. About ^lay loth they started
from Deadwood for Rapid City, then a hainlet of
about one hundred inhabitants. Establishing
himself here, he returned to Nebraska City and
from there went to St. Louis and bought goods
which he freighted from Pierre to Deadwood,
among his purchases being the first safe brought
into the Hills. He then opened the first mone-
tary institution at Deadwood, which was known
as the Miners and Mechanics' Bank. The prop-
erties and franchises of this were afterward sold
to the First National Bank when that was or-
ganized, the safe being bought by the United
States government for use in the land ofSce at
Deadwood. Here he made his home and until
1883 freighted and carried on other business be-
tween that place and Nebraska City, having con-
tracts to furnish timber to the Hoinestake and
other mines. He was besides prominent and ac-
tive in the public life of the place and aided
largely in its development. In the spring of
1883 he came to Rapid City and bought land in
different localities, purchasing with other tracts
about five thousand acres on Elk creek. He at
once engaged in the cattle industry, bringing
large herds from Texas, often as many as
twenty thousand in one season. From that tiine
on he has been one of the most extensive cattle
growers in the state. Until 1890 his brother and
another gentleman were associated with him, the
firm name being Woods, White & Woods. Since
the year last named he has been alone in his
stock business. In 1891 he bought his present
home ranch on Rapid creek, five miles from Rapid
Citv, which is one of the finest properties in the
valley. The land is all under irrigation and much
of it is in an advanced state of tillage and pro-
ductiveness; and the improvements are in keep-
ing with its character and the enterprise of the
proprietor. Mr. Woods was one of the found-
ers of the Pennington County Bank and for a
nutnber of years was a heavy stockholder in the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1637

First National Bank of Rapid City. In political
faith he is an unwavering Democrat and for
long has been a leader of his party and a man
of great influence in local public affairs. He
was tlie first Democrat elected rpayor of Rapid
City, a position in which he served two terms.
He was at one time the nominee of his party for
the United States house of representatives, and
although there was a large majority in the dis-
trict against his side, he made a gallant race
and succeeded in cutting down the majority con-
siderably, his being the best run ever known
here. He was a member of Governor Lee's staff,
with the rank of colonel, for four years, and
was national committeeman for the territory dur-
ing Cleveland's first term as president. In this
position he served eight years with great use-
fulness and acceptability. ,In 1902 he was nom-
inated for the state senate, but declined the nom-
ination, and every state and county convention
for years has offered him some nomination, he
being the most widely known Democrat in this
pirt of the country. Mr. Woods has an elegant
city home at Rapid where he has lived for a
niunber of years, although during this time he
has passed a large portion of his time at Des
Moines, Iowa, where he has extensive land in-
terests, owning some of the finest tracts in the
vicinity of the city, with some also near Omaha,
Nebraska . He is president of the Western Da-
kota Land and Horse Company, of which he
and his family are' the principal stockholders.

In 1857, in Coone county, Missouri, Mr.
Woods was married to Miss Matilda Stone, a
native of that state. They have seven children,
Madison D., Annie E. (Mrs. Garth), Frances J.,
Edward C, Paul S., Matilda and Martha. Paul
is cashier and principal stockholder of the First
National Bank at Kingman, Kansas. Qiarles E.
is cashier and principal stockholder of the First
National Bank at Liberal, in the same state,
Frances J. is a graduate of the Pennsylvania
Female Medical College. During the Spanish-
American war she was attached to the Oregon
Corps and spent a year in the Philippines. Since
her return she has attained prominence as a lec-
turer and organizer in the interest of woman

suffrage. Matilda is a graduate of WcHesley
College and is now an instructor in the State
School of Mines, at Rai)id City.

GEORGE C. HUNT, manager of the Hunt
Abstract and Investment Company, of Rapid
City, is a native of Boston, Massachusetts, where
he was born on March 30, 1850, and is the son
of George and Charlotte (Belcher) Hunt, who
were alsp natives of Massachusetts and were
reared and educated in that state. The father
was in the grain business there until 1854, when
he moved his family to Henry county, Illinois,
and there engaged in farming three years. In
1857 the family moved to Linn county. Kansas,
where the father took up land and again passed
three years in farming. In 1859 the drought
destroyed the crops and the family returned to
Boston, going by way of St. Joseph, Missouri,
and traveling from there in the first train over
the . Hannibal & St. Joe Railroad that carried
passengers east. They remained in Massachu-
setts eighteen months, then in the spring of 1861
returned to Henry county, Illinois, where they
remained until 1868. That year they moved to
Iowa county, Iowa, and there the father bought
land and once more turned his attention to farm-
ing. Mr. Hunt received the greater part of
his education in Henry county, Illinois, being
eighteen years of age when the removal to Iowa
took place. At the age of twenty-one he quit
the farm on which he had been working with
his father, and went into the employ of a lum-
ber company, working at both Walnut and Man-
ning in Iowa. He served the company some
time as clerk and bookkeeper and later was man-
ager of one of its yards. In December, 1885,
he came to Rapid City, whither his parents had
come in 1877, the father taking up a ranch on
Rapid creek and devoting his attention to raising
stock. Prior to beginning this enterprise, how-
ever, Mr. Hunt's father and brother were en-
gaged in freighting between Pierre and Sidney
and Rapid City. Soon after his arrival at this
place he secured employment in the office of the
register of deeds for Pennington county, re-

1638

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

maining so occupied from December, 1885, to
April, 1887, when he was appointed county audi-
tor, the first the county ever had. He held this
office until 1891, at which time he opened an of-
fice for George N. Farrell, of Claremont, New
Hampshire, for conducting a general land and
loan business, which he managed until 1895.
While serving as county auditor he had made a
book of abstracts of titles to land in the county,
and when he resigned as manager of Mr. Far-
rell's business he opened an office for himself
and started an enterprise in abstracting, insur-
ance and dealing in real estate. He has the only
complete set of abstracts for the county ever
made and is therefore especially well prepared
and equipped for the business in which he is en-
gaged. In 1898 he organized the Hunt Ab-
stract and Investment Company of Rapid Cit}-,
which has been incorporated and of which he is
the general manager. The company has an ex-
tensive business, one of the largest in the city,
with real-estate interests in both Pennington and
Meade counties. Mr. Hunt is a gentleman of
great enterprise and public spirit in matters in-
volving the welfare of the community in which
he lives, and cheerfully and effectively gives his
aid to every commendable undertaking for its
promotion. He is a zealous and earnest Repub-
lican in political faith, and a prominent and active
worker for the success of his party. His home
has always been at Rapid City, where he has one
of the finest residences in the town.

On February 9, 1876. Mr. Hunt was married,
at Walnut. Iowa, to Miss Annie L. Benedict, a
native (if 1 )liio. They have one child, Qiarles
?>.. who is connected with the Pennington
County Bank of Rapid City.

CLARENCE O. McCAIN is a native of
Clarion county. Pennsylvania, where he was
born on (ktober 20, 1851. He was reared and
educated in his native county, and after leaving
school engaged in farming there, remaining
until 7874. when he moved to southwestern
Iowa, and continued his farming operations, also
<lealing in stock. In the spring of 1S80 be came

to South Dakota and took up his residence at
Rapid City, arriving in May. He soon after-
ward located a ranch on Box Elder creek, twelve
miles from the town, and began to occupy him-
self in raising cattle and horses. He makes his
home most of the time on the ranch, but he also
has a residence in Rapid City, where his family
spend their winters. He is a progressive and
energetic man in the management of his affairs,
and is a force of influence and inspiration, being
one of the leading citizens in reference to all
matters of the general welfare and public prog-
ress.

On December 29, 1880, Mr. [McCain was
married to Miss Jennie Castile, a native of Illi-
nois, the marriage occurring in Adams county,
Iowa. They have three children, Hermann L.,
William A. and Eva W.

FRED HOLCOMB was born in Jeft'erson
coiuit)-. New York, at the town of Carthage, on
July 2. 1851, and is the son of William and
Maria (F"anning) Holcomb. who were also na-
tive.s of New Y'ork. The father was a prosper-
ous and energetic farmer in Jeft'erson county,
and in 1855 the family moved to Dubuque
county, Iowa, four miles from the city of Du-
buque, where they followed dairying for a time,
then farming. In this county Mr. Holcomb grew
to manhood and was educated. In 1869 he
moved to Abilene, Kansas, where, with his
brother, he was occupied in the cattle business
until 1872. He then took a band of cattle to Des-
Moines, Iowa, and sold them, and with the pro-
ceeds paid his tuition for a term at a business
college in Dubuque. In April, 1873, he came to
South Dakota with a herd of cows' which he left
at Yankton while he went back to Dubuque and
got married. Returning to Yankton with his
bride, he settled there and started a dairy busi-
ness on a small scale, carrying the milk about
in cans on foot. A year later he had two wag-
ons and his business continued to increase. In
the spring of 1879 he came to Rapid City in
company with his father to look over the coun-
trv with a view to settling here. The father re-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1639

maiiied, but Mr. Holcomb returned to Yankton,
making the trip on the only stage that was ever
held up on the line between Rapid City and
Pierre, this event occurring before the stage
reached the Qieyenne river. In July of 1877,
he made a visit to Rapid City for his health, and,
determining to make this his future home, he
went back to Yankton and disposed of his in-
terests there, and in the spring of 1881 brought
his family and cattle to this section, settling the
family at Rapid City and placing the cattle on
the range along the Cheyenne, removing them
later to the White river. His cattle are now
mostly to the north, on Sulphur and Morrow
creeks. He has made a great success of his busi-
ness by keeping steadily at it and applying the
wisdom gained in experience and observation,
ever increasing its magnitude and conducting it
along the lines of the most wholesome progress
and development. His acreage in both ranch and
grazing lands is very large and his stock indus-
try is the leading one belonging to an individual
citizen in this part of the state. The Holcomb
home has been at Rapid City ever since the fam-
ily settled here, and is one of the most elegant
and attractive in the town. The head of the
house is an active and devoted member of the
Masonic fraternity, with membership in the lodge
at Rapid City.

O'li June 4, 1873, Mr. Holcomb was married
in Dubuque county, Iowa, to Miss Alinnie V.
Miller, a native of that county. They have one
child, May, the wife of George H. White, of
Rapid City. Mrs. Holcomb's parents came to
Rapid City in 1880 and remained there until
de^th. the father dying in 1886 and the mother in
1 89 1. The father was prominent as a stockman
and also conducted one of the first hotels at
Rapid City.

HENRY C. CORDES, of Pennington
county, was born in Germany, on February 15,
1847. After getting a good ordinary education
at the state schools and reaching maturity, he
served several years in the German army, and
went with it through the Franco-Prussian war

of 1870-71 from the opening battle at Weissen-
burg to the crowning triumph of its arms at
Sedan. Soon after the close of this momentous
contest, in 1874, he came to the United States
and located in Chicago, where he remained two
years. From there he went to Taylor county,
Iowa, and purchased land which he farmed until
1 88 1, when he came to South Dakota, arriving
at Rapid City in July. Here he went to work
on the place which he afterward bought, and was
busily employed for six months. At the end of
that period he returned to Taylor county, Iowa,
and on April 27, 1882, constimmated the pur-
pose for which he made the trip by uniting in
marriage with Miss Emma Weber, a native of
the state. Returning to this state with his bride,
he resumed his work in agricultural pursuits,
but on a different basis. Taking up a pre-emp-
tion claim two miles west of the ranch on which
he now lives, he engaged in raising stock and
fanning on his own account. In 1890 he began
buying and selling horses, and since that time
he has conducted an extensive business in this
line. The next year he moved his family to their
present home, and there they have since re-
sided. Prior to this, however, in 1892, he bought
a number of Shetland ponies and began breed-
ing them, and he now has a fine herd of this
diminutive but interesting stock. He has stead-
ily increased his operations in this line, finding a
ready sale for his product in all parts of the state
by keeping up the standard and maintaining the
stock in good condition. The American life of
Mr. Cordes has been a continuous success, and
his prosperity has increased from the beginning
with an accelerating progress. In addition to the
business which he conducts at home, he has large
interests in the cattle industry elsewhere and
owns a considerable body of ranch land besides
his home place. He is one of the progressive
and representative men of the county, active in
every good enterprise for its advancement and
giving intelligent and serviceable attention to ev-
ery phase of its public life. He is energetic in
political affairs, but has declined all overtures
to accept public office, and has had many oppor-
tunities. His business occupies his time and

1640

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

faculties, and satisfies his ambitions. His family
numbers ten health)- and promising children,
Herman, Milton, Charlie. Edna. May, Henry,
Ellsworth. Richard, Catherine and Theresa.

FRED J. RILEY, of Doland. was born on
April 28, 1S67. three miles west from Waunakee,
Dane countv. Wisconsin, and is the son of
James and Euphemia E. (Ford) Riley. The
father was a native of Runcorn, Cheshire, Eng-
land, and came to America when fourteen years'
of age in company with an uncle who settled in
Dane county, Wisconsin. He was for many
years engaged in merchandising at Kingsley's
Corners, and later at Waunakee, where he died
in 1884 at the age of fifty-four years.

The mother of the subject was a native of
Dunfirmland, Scotland, and came with her par-
ents to America when seven years of age, the
family locating at Fordville, Dane county, Wis-
consin, which locality received its name from the
family. Her death occurred May 30, 1897. The
parents were married in Dane county and to them
were born two sons and six daughters, as fol-.
lows : Mary married William Davidson, now re-
siding at Campbell, Minnesota ; Alice married
James Lester, of Dane county, Wisconsin, now re-
siding at Kendallville, Iowa ; Nettie died at the
age of eigl^teen years ; Amelia died at the age of
twenty-one years ; William T. Riley, residing at
Waunakee, Wisconsin, where he is working in
the interest of the subject; Fred J., the 'subject;
Laura married Robert Hanson, and is residing at
Doland, South Dakota ; Rosa died at the age of
fourteen years.

Fred J. Riley received his educational training-
in the public schools of his native county, fol-
lowing which he learned telegraphy. In 1889 he
came to South Dakota and took a position as
telegraph operator and agent for the Chicago &
Northwestern Railroad Company at Volin, near
Yankton. Six months later Volin was destroyed
by a prairie fire, including the railroad buildings,
Mr. Riley himself having a narrow escape from
the flames. Following this he spent nine months
at Ccntervillc, Turner county, as operator on the

same railroad, and then was stationed at Ray-
mond, Clark county, where he was agent and op-
erator for a period of three years. The great
strike of the telegraphers occurred in 1903, and
Mr. Riley went out with his fellow operators
all over the country. Previous to this, however,
he had become interested in the sheep business
in this state, but he lost all of his investments in
that line during the panic of 1893, and like many
other men, he left this state, and returned to Wis-
consin, where he engaged in the confectionary
business at Madison, but he was not contented
to remain long in that business ; in fact his mind
was on South Dakota and accordingly in 1895 he
returned to this state with the determina-
tion to make a strenuous effort to re-
gain what he had previously lost. Upon re-
turning to South Dakota Mr. Riley again entered
the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Rail-
way Company, this time as agent at \\'olsey,
Beadle count). T'l-Mm Wolsey he was sent to
various points "ii the railmad. including Brook-
ings, where he spent three months, and from that
city he was sent to Tyler. Minnesota, where he
was agent for about two years. In 1898 he was
promoted by the company and sent to Doland,
where he had charge of the station until July 8,
1901, when he resigned his position to engage in
the real-estate business at Doland, leaving the
railroad company in good standing, his services
having been highly appreciated by the company,
as was testified by their offering him a position
should he desire to re-enter their service in the
future. While Mr. Riley's railroad career was a
success, he having always attended to and dis-
charged his duties with ability, it is as a real-
estate and land dealer that he has made his mark
and demonstrated his ability as a man of af-
fairs. He began his real-estate dealings in a
modest way, opening a small office in Doland.
His capital was limited, likewise his experience
in land matters, and during the first six months,
which was the last half of his first yea*-, his
transactions were also limited, but beginning with
January, 1902, he began to do a "land-office
business" an.I during that month he sold thirteen
iiuarters of land and during the vear he sold one

FRED J. RILEY,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[641

hundred and two quarters. His business has con-
tinued to increase, and from the beginnins; of
1902 he has sold more land than any other land
dealer in this part of Spink county.

By judicious investments, progressive ideas
and methods, and untiring energy, coupled with
absolute reliability and straightforward dealings,
Mr. Riley has built up a business of large dimen-
sions and on his books can always be found most
desirable investments. He now owns twelve
quarter sections of valuable farming land in
Spink county, a fine farm of one hundred and
fifty acres in Lyon county, Iowa, also a fine mod-
ern residence and other properties in Doland.
Mr. Riley is a thorough-going business man, and
possesses all the characteristics necessary to a
successful career. He is quick to observe an op-
portunity, and just as quick to seize it, having
the happy faculty of seeming to do the right
thing at the right time. He has a pleasing per-
sonality, is courteous and affable, and his manner
is such as to gain the confidence and respect of
all with whom he comes in contact. All in all,
Mr. Riley is a typical South Dakotan, with all
that term implies.

August 24. 1896, at Alpena. Snuth Dakota,
Mr. Riley was married to Frances H., the daugh-
ter of Qiarles M. and Lydia (Stevens) Yegge,
pioneers of Jerauld county. South Dakota, they
having moved there from Iowa on the first train
to run into that country from the south on the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway. Mrs.
Riley was born in Iowa. To Mr. and Mrs. Riley
one son, Fred Burl, and one daughter, Zura
Fern, have been born.

PETER A. HAMMERQUIST, who is
pleasantly located on a fine rancW twenty miles
from Rapid City on Rapid creek, his land being
redeemed from the wilderness by his own in-
dustry and skill, was bom on March 12, 1848,
in Sweden and remained there until he was nine-
teen, receiving a good common-school education
and working in stores after leaving school. In
1867 he came to the United States, and after
passing some time at Giicago and Calumet, In-

diana, having a brother living at the latter place,
he moved to Lee county, Illinois, where for two
years he carried on barbering in small towns.
At the end of this period he moved to Boone,
Iowa, and after barbering in that town. Mar-
shalltown and State Center for some time, went
to Sioux City in the early part of 1873, and soon
afterward came to South Dakota, locating in
Clay county, where he took up land and turned
his attention to farming. The grasshoppers de-
voured his crops and he was forced to return to
Sioux City and work at his trade. He then
passed a year at Davenport in the same employ-
ment and another in the coal fields south of there.
In 1875 he returned to South Dakota, crossing
the river on ice and found that his hdmcsteail
had been jumped. He then went to \'ermillion
and opened a barber shop which he conducted
until February, 1877. At that time, in company
with three other men, he came to the Black Hills.
The party had one wagon which was heavily
laden with goods and they were obliged to walk
most of the way. Their route was by way of
Pierrre and they were compelled to cross the
Missouri on ice and had great difficulty in doing
so. The ice broke under the wagon and
it went to the bottom of the river, but
they succeeded by great effort in get-
ting it out and across without material loss
in their supplies. They joined the first train
that reached Rapid City by way of Pierre. They
had no armed guards for protection, but nearly
all the members of the party, consisting of sixty-
five men, were armed. Arriving at Rapid City
on ;\Iarch 19th, and having his barbering outfit
with him, Mr. Hammerquist determined to re-
main there and for employment opened a shop,
a much-needed enterprise in the small town as
it was then. He witnessed all the exciting events
of its early history and took his part like a man
in every movement for the general weal. In
1878 he went east for a short visit and on his
return found his town property jumped. He
recovered this, however, and in it opened a small
drug store which he profitably conducted for a
few years. In the fall of 1881 he purchased the
claim to the ranch he now occupies and moved

i642

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

his family there the next spring, this being the
second family to settle at this end of the creek.
Since tlien this has been his home and here he
has been actively engaged in the stock industry.
After moving to the ranch he went east and
bought a small herd of cattle which was the
nucleus of his present holdings in this line, and
by vigorous management of his business he has
steadily expanded it until he has become one of
the leading stock growers in this part of the
county. He has also pushed forward the im-
provement of his ranch from year to year, and
thus made it one of the most attractive rural
homes in the neighborhood. The land is nearly
all under irrigation and is very productive, yield-
ing abundant returns for his labor and a gen-
erous support to his stock. In the local affairs
of the county Mr. Hammerquist has ever been
energetic and serviceable, and having displayed
more than ordinary capacity for administrative
duties, has been chosen by his fellow citizens
to places of trust and importance in the public
service. He has been postmaster at Farming-
dale since 1890 and was county assessor from
1890 to 1894, two terms. He is an ardent worker
in the Republican party and has commanding in-
fluence in its councils. He has also been zealous
and helpful in school affairs and prominent in
every movement for the advancement of the
county. He belongs to the Masonic order, with
membership in the lodge at Rapid City.

On October 12, 1879, Mr. Hammerquist was
married at Comstad, in Qay county, to Miss
Mary E. Anderson, a native of Norway, who
came to America in childhood and to Vermillion
in 1873, when she was sixteen. They have eight
children, Ida F., Harry E., Fred A., Anton W.,
Earl N., Erma M., Charles L. and Helen C.

MAURICE KELIHER, one of the prom-
inent and enterprising stock growers and highly
esteemed residents of Pennington county, was
born on July 20, 1849, at Bangor, Maine, and
while he was yet a child the family moved to
near Harvard, Illinois, where the father took up
land and engaged in farming. The old home-

stead now belongs to Mr. Keliher and is one of
his most cherished possessions. On it he was
reared to the age of eighteen, and near it in the
little country schoolhouse he received his educa-
tion. In 1867 he left the scenes and associations
of his childhood and youth, and moved to Den-
ver, Colorado, then a small place in a new coun-
try, but with the promise of its mighty growth
and enterprise already showing plainly. After
a short residence there he went to Montana and
for a short time was engaged in freighting in
that state, after which he returned to Denver and
again followed freighting in partnership with his
brother Michael, who was afterward killed by
outlaws in Texas. They had a number of bull-
teams and carried on an extensive and profitable
business, freighting between Denver and the
Indian reservations and also between that town
and Cheyenne. In 1877 Mr. Keliher went east
to visit his parents and on his return to Chey-
enne was married. He remained in that city un-
til the fall of 1878. At that time freighting be-
came unprofitable owing to the completion of the
railroad, and Mr. Keliher detennined to come to
the Black Hills and turn his attention to raising
cattle. He brought cattle with him and, locating
on Spring creek, gave his whole time and en-
ergy to building up and expanding his business.
To this enterprise he has adhered steadfastly ever
since, and has made a decided success of it, be-
coming one of the most extensive stock growers
in this part of the country, and producing stock
of high grades. His home is at Rapid City
where he has a handsome residence of modern
style and furnished with every consideration for
the comfort and enjoyment of its inmates.

On November 24, 1877, Mr. Keliher was
married, at Qieyenne, Wyoming, to Miss Elea-
nora Walsh, a native of Ireland who came to the
United States with her parents in her child-
hood. They have five children, Frank, Eleanora,
Margaret, Morse and Miriam. Mr. Keliher be-
longs to the Masonic order and the United Work-
men, holding his membership in both at Rapid
City. In politics he is an unwavering and active
Republican, but has always declined public of-
fice.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1643

GEORGE BUCKINGHAM, of Pennington
county, one of the few remaining pioneers of the
Black Hills, whose extensive ranch of one thou-
sand acres on Rapid creek, fourteen miles from
Rapid City, is one of the valuable and attractive
country homes of this region, was born in Dev-
onshire, England, on February 27, 1856, and
began his education there. While he was yet a
youth his parents emigrated to the United States
and settled at Morristown, New Jersey, where
he attended school one term, then worked on a
farm two years. In 1873 he went to Philadel-
phia, and during the next three years was em-
ployed in railroading. In the spring of 1876
he came to the Black Hills by way of Qieyenne,
arriving at Custer City on April loth. From
there he went to Castleton, a mining camp on
Castle creek, and after prospecting there a short
time, moved to Silver City, on Rapid creek,
where he remained until 1880 prospecting and
mining. In IMarch of that year he took up a
ranch on this creek eleven miles from Rapid
City and engaged in ranching and raising stock,
following this line of industry there until 1897.
He then sold that ranch and bought the one he
now occupies, two miles farther down the creek,
on which he has since made his home. Here he
has continued his farming and stock operations
and greatly improved his land. His ranch com-
prises one thousand acres, the principal product
of which is hay, and he has extensive herds of
well-bred and high-grade cattle. With plenty of
water for irrigation, and the greater part of his
land well supplied with it, he need never fear a
shortage in his crop, and his success is well
established and of a commanding character.

On December 25, 1889, Mr. Buckingham was
married at Rapid City to Miss Emma Botney,
a native of Norway, who died on September 3,
1902. She was one of the remarkable women
of this part of the country and had a career of
inspiring interest and usefulness, here. She came
with a partv from Minnesota to Deadwood in
1878. but after a short residence there returned
to her former home. In 1883, however, she
came again to the hills, tliis time to remain. Be-
ing a woman of unusual force of character and

business capacity, she engaged in freighting with
a bull-team between Deadwood and Pierre, Sid-
ney and Qieyenne, — the onl)- woman who ever
conducted a freighting business in this section
on her own account, — and it should be said that
she was very successful in the enterprise.

HOx\'. JAMES HALLEY, president of the
First National Bank of Rapid City, is a native
of Scotland, born January 7, 1854, at the thriv-
ing little city of Sterling, Perthshire. When he
was two years old his parents brought him to
the United States and located at Washington,
D. C, where he grew to the age of sixteen and
received his education. He learned telegraphy
and then went south, where he was employed
for a year at different places. He returned to
Washington at the end of the year and soon
afterward came west to Cheyenne, Wyoming,
and there secured a position as chief operator,
which he filled for three years. At the end of
that time he made a trip to the Pacific coast, and
on his return located at Omaha for a few months,
then once more made his home at Cheyenne. In
1876, for a private company composed of Chey-
enne capitalists, he opened telegraph offices along
the line between Cheyenne and the Black Hills,
arriving at Custer in August and Deadwood a
few weeks later. He remained in the employ of
the telegraph company until 1879, when he was
appointed teller of the First National Bank of
Deadwood. This position he resigned at the
close of 1880, and then, in company with Messrs.
Lake, of Deadwood, and Patterson, of Rapid
City, he organized the banking house of Lake,
Halley & Patterson, at Rapid City. He was
prominent in the management of this institution
until September i, 1884, when it was merged
into the First National Bank of Rapid City, of
which he was appointed cashier. On January
13, 1898, he was chosen president of this bank,
and he has held this office ever since. He is also
president of a bank at Hot Springs, and one at
Keystone which was formerly the Harney-Peak
Bank of Hill City, when that town was on the
boom. He is president of the Rapid City Elec-

i644

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

trie Light Company and treasurer of the Rapid
River Milling Company. However he has not
devoted the whole of his time to fiscal matters.
He is also deeply and intelligently interested in
public affairs, and being a loyal and devoted
member of the Republican party, he has on all
occasions given the principles and candidates
of that organization an earnest and serviceable
support. He served one term in the upper
house of the territorial legislature, the last one
before South Dakota was admitted to the dig-
nity of statehood. He has also been mayor of
Rapid City two terms, and was a delegate to the
Republican national convention at Alinneapolis
in 1892. and at Philadelphia in 1900. For a
number of years he was a member of the state
central committee of his party, and has served
as chairman of its county central committee. He
is also extensively interested in real estate and
the stock industry, and is secretary of the Box
Elder Land and Live Stock Company which
owns two thousand acres of land and large num-
bers of stock. Of the numerous and admired fra-
ternal orders he has joined but one, the Knights
of Pythias, being a member of Gate City Lodge,
No. 8. of this order.

On September 13, 1878. at Qieyenne, Wy-
oming. Mr. Halley was united in marriage with
IMiss Lottie Smith, a daughter of S. L. Smith,
of that city. Their wedding trip was made by
stage from Cheyenne to Deadwood. They have
nine children, Albert, Helen, James, Frances.
Lottie, .Sarah, Samuel Russell. Walter and Don-
ald. Albert recently graduated from Stanford
L'niversity, and Helen from ^^'ellesley College.

JOSEPH JOLLY, of Pennington county, is
one of the representative and forceful men of this
portion of the state. He was born on Decem-
ber 14, 1843, i" Lafayette county, Wisconsin,
and was there reared and educated. There also
he worked at blacksmithing and followed
freighting until 1874. He then removed to
Dallas county. Iowa, and after a residence of
about eighteen months there, started in 1876 for
the P)lack Hills, making his journey by way of

O'Neill to Custer City, where he arrived in May
of that year. He then began freighting be-
tween Sidney and Pierre and Rapid City and
Deadwood, continuing this business with grat-
ifying results, although it was attended with
great danger and considerable difficulty, until
early in 1879. At that time he came to Rapid
City to locate, and in February entered the
ranch he now occupies, four miles south of the
city, on Rapid creek. Taking up his residence
on this place, he at once started an industry in
fanning and made good his hopes by vigorously
arranging for irrigating his land. For a number
of years his principal crop was oats, but after
the construction of the railroad through this sec-
tion he changed to alfalfa, and also began rais-
ing cattle and horses. He has remained on the
place continuously since first settling on it, and
and has converted it into an excellent farm and
a comfortable home. He also has much addi-
tional land on which he runs his stock. In fra-
ternal relations he is an active member of the
■Masonic lodge at Rapid City and in politics he
has been zealous and serviceable on all occa-
sions, advocating high standards in official life
and the broadest principles of civic and polit-
ical morality. In 1889 he and Richard Hughes
were the county's representatives in the state
legislature, the first session of that body, and on
its elevated forum he sustained the reputation he
had earned at home for breadth of view, strict
integritv and wise foresight in public afl^airs.

JOHN E. HUNT, one of the most enterpris-
ing and progressive farmers of Pennington
county, is a native of Lyon county, Kansas, born
on September 10, 1859, and the son of George
and Charlotte (Belcher) Hunt, natives of Mas-
sachusetts. In 1854 the parents removed from
their native state to Illinois and there lived on a
farm for two years. In 1856 they took anotlier
flight westward, settling at the place of his birth,
where they were pioneers. Tliey engaged in
farming here until the autumn of 1859, when
they went back to Massachusetts. They were
still imbued with the western spirit, however.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1645

and after remaining two years in the east, again
started in the wake of the setting sun, stopping
first in Henry county, Illinois, and carrying on
successful farming operations there for nine
years. In 1870 they moved to Iowa count}',
Iowa, and soon afterward to Guthrie county in
the same state. Here their son received the
greater part of his scholastic training, for in
1877 the family came to the Black Hills, and in
the strenuous contest with nature then before
tliem no opportunities was left for further school-
ing, except as it might be had under the stern
discipline of experience. They made the trip
by way of Yankton, and arrived at Rapid City
on June 14th. This flourishing metropolis was
then but a hamlet of a few houses, but the gold-
en music from the hills had electrified the world,
and families were pouring into the region by ev-
ery rotate and means of travel. The Hunts re-
mained at Rapid City for a year, the father and
sons engaging in freighting between that place
and Sidney and Pierre. They continued this
business for three years, but in 1878 located
the ranch on which the mother and son now live
and made it the family home. In 1880 the
freighting enterprise was abandoned, and the
whole time and energy of the family were de-
voted to the improvement of the home they had
chosen, and the development of its promising
resources. Their first eflforts were given to se-
curing sufficient water to irrigate the land as a
means of permanent improvement, although
thev raised a crop of very respectable propor-
tions in the summer of 1880. The irrigation
was pushed forward as rapidly as possible with
the facilities they had, and although their prog-
ress was slow for awhile, it was steady and the
work was conducted on a scale looking to per-
manent results, and enduring value ; now it is
complete and effective in all respects, the entire
farm of one hundred acres being fully
supplied with water for every need. The
father was in active control of the farm-
ing business until his death, February 19,
1894, and since then the son, John E. Hunt,
has had it in charge, and has conducted and de-
veloped it along the lines laid down at the be-

ginning. Mr. Hunt's mother, a most estimable
lady, who fully enters into the spirit of the busi-
ness, and is in harmony with her surroundings,
lives with him and manages the affairs of the
household with the same vigor, breadth of view
and success that he displays in the operations of
the farm.

MICHAEL OUTXX. living near Smith-
ville, Meade county, was born in Ireland, but
when he was four years old his parents moved
to England and settled in Lancashire, where he
grew to the age of eighteen and received a lim-
ited education. His life began on October 18,
1846, and in 1864 he came to the United States
and locating at Lawrence, Massachusetts,
worked in a cotton mill, rembining there two
years. In 1866 he joined the Fenian raid into
Canada, but, with the others who were con-
cerned in that movement, he was compelled by
the L^nited States government a short time af-
terward to return to this country. He then went
to St. Joseph, Missouri, where he made a con-
tract to drive an ox-team from that city to Den-
ver, Colorado. A few days after his arrival at
Denver he secured employment on the construc-
tion of the telegraph line between that city and
Salt Lake, but heavy snows made it impossible
to continue this work, and he went to Julesburg
and engaged as a freight teamster between that
place and Fort Laramie. The severity of the
weather again stopped operations, and he deter-
mined to winter on the Platte. Here he and his
comrades had an exciting time, being attacked
by Indians who took all their horses and cattle.
Mr. Quinn remained in that neighborhood and
Wyoming two years, then went to work on the
Union Pacific Railroad, which was building
through this country at that time, and contin-
ued to be so employed until the road reached
Cheyenne. He spent a short time freighting and
filling contracts to supply wood in Colorado, and
when the excitement over the discovery of gold
in the Black Hills broke out he began freight-
ing between Cheyenne and Deadwood, making
his first trip in the spring of 1877. Later he

1646

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

freighted between Rock Springs and Fort Fried-
man two seasons, then in 1878 he went to Pierre
and freighted between that city and Fort Meade,
Deadwood and Rapid City. Having teams of
his own he did a considerable business down
to 1882. In the spring of 1881, however, he
bought cattle and placed them on the Cheyenne
river, leaving a man in charge of them, and the
next year he sold out his freighting outfit and
devoted his time to raising cattle on the Qiey-
enne. When the Sioux reservation was opened
in 1892 her moved to Bad river, and later he
took up land there which is his present home
ranch. It is sixty-five miles east of Rapid City,
which he has always made his trading town,
and is a fine body of land, well located and
adapted to the stock industry. His time and
energies are devoted entirely to the cattle busi-
ness, and his interests in this and in land are
considerable. While not an active partisan in
politics, he is a man of great public spirit and
deeply interested in the enduring welfare of his
countv and state.

ALGERNON L. HOLCOMB, of Rapid
City, whose untimely and tragic death on Octo-
ber 11, 189 1, at the early age of forty-two,
shocked the entire commjunity and was univer-
sally lamented, was a native of Carthage, Jeffer-
son county. New York, where he was born on
May 27, 1849, ^"d was the son of William and
Maria (Fanning) Holcomb. They were pros-
erous farmers in his native place, but believing
the west offered better opportunities for effort
and capacity than the east, in 1855 the family
moved to Dubuque county, Iowa, and here Mr.
Holcomb was reared and educated. After com-
pleting his scholastic course he attended Bailey's
Commercial College, at Dubuque, and soon af-
ter leaving there was married. In the spring
of 1876 he and his wife started to the Black
Hills, arriving at Yankton in March and pro-
ceeding from there by boat to Pierre. Here
Mr. Holcomb was taken ill and they were
obliged to return to Iowa. In the fall of 1877
the\- again started for the hills, and this time

were successful in making the trip, arriving at
Rapid City in December. They brought cattle
with them and the first chairs seen in Rapid
City which was then a small village with no
buildings but a few rude log shanties. Their
first home in this western wilderness was a
little log house in which they were obliged to
hoist umbrellas to keep dry when it rained. x\s
soon as it was practicable they built a better
house, also of logs, and making it their home
placed their cattle on the Cheyenne river. For
a time Mr. Holcomb was in partnership with
two brothers, but later they divided their prop-
erty and each conducted his own business. He
moved his cattle to the White river, where he
kept them until his death. It was on White
river that he first bought land, and his widow
still owns large tracts there and continues the
cattle industry, employing a manager to look
after her stock. On their arrival in this section
of the country they opened a grocer)- store at
Rapid City, and with his own teams Mr. Hol-
comb freighted his goods from Pierre. Some
time afterward he took charge of the hotel which
his father opened when he came to this coun-
try, but at the time of his death his energies
were wholly given up to raising cattle and
horses. In October, 1891, he was thrown from
his horse while riding, and on the nth day of
that month he died from the effects of the ac-
cident. He was an active and zealous Republi-
can in politics, and in fraternal relations be-
longed to the Odd Fellows at Rapid City.

On March 5, 1876, Mr. Holcomb was mar-
ried to Miss Sarah E. Brown, a native of Du-
buque, Iowa, where the marriage occurred. She
is the daughter of Hiram and Eliza (Luck)
Brown, the former a native of Maryland and
the latter of Kentucky. Both settled in Du-
buque in childhood, their parents being pioneers
in that locality, and they were reared and mar-
ried there, the father being a prominent con-
tractor and builder in that city. Mrs. Holcomb
also was reared and educated there, and had
her home in the city until her marriage. Soon
after this took place she came with her husband
to South Dakota, and this has been her home

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1647

ever since. She has been prominent in the so-
cial Hfe of the city, and being a lady of great
business capacity, was of great assistance to her
husband during his life, and since his death she
has conducted the business with unusual
shrewdness and success, handling both the cat-
tle and the horses with skill and every considera-
tion for securing the best results. Two sons
blessed their union, Robert L. and Algernon A.
Robert is married and engaged in the cattle in-
dustry, while Algernon is finishing his educa-
tion in New York.

PETER DUHAT\IEL. of Rapid City, was
born December 22. 1839, near Alontreal, Canada,
and he remained there until he reached the age
of seventeen. In April, 1857, he came to the
United States, and after short stops at Chicago
and St. Louis, proceeded to the miouth of the
Sioux river, where Sioux City now hums with
its myriad enterprises and busy life. The set-
tlement at that time consisted of a store and a
few uncanny residences built in the rude man-
ner of the period and locality. He remained in
this vicinity working on a farm until the fall of
1859, when he engaged to drive an ox-team from
there to Fort Randall and on to Fort Pierre, his
compensation to be fourteen dollars per month.
He was therefore in the territor\- when almost
all its inhabitants were Indians and soldiers.
He remained at Fort Pierre until May 3, i860,
when, with two other men, he started for Pike's
Peak. Nineteen days were consumed in reach-
ing Denver on horseback, this place then con-
sisting of two shacks and a few tents in the way
of human habitations. The journey was tedious
and trying, but otherwise uneventful, not a
white man being m,et by the party in the whole
of its course. Mr. Duhamel and his compan-
ions went up the South Platte to a point about
nineteen miles north of Denver, where they took
up land and he began to raise cattle on a small
scale and gradually enlarged his operations, re-
maining there nineteen years. In July, 1879, he
left there with his family and eight hundred cat-
tle for southwestern Dakota, and arrived at

Rapid City on September 29th. The following
winter was an unusually severe one and he lost
one-half of his' stock. In the ensuing spring
everybody in the neighborhood was discouraged
and ready to sell out. But although he had lost
heavily during the winter, he still had faith in
the section and at once invested all he had in
cattle. His confidence has been fully justified
by subsequent experience, as he is now one of
the largest and wealthiest stock men in the west-
ern part of the state. He later bought land all
over the region, at one time owning extensive
tracts, but in 1900 he sold both land and stock,
not, however, intending to retire from the busi-
ness, for he went south and bought more cattle
which he placed in the northwestern corner of
the state near the North Dakota and Montana
lines, where his sons are now managing the busi-
ness. He has for a long time made his home
at Rapid City, where he has a fine residence.
Here he is living retired from active pursuits,
having turned all his business over to the man-
agement of his sons except his interest in the
First National Bank of Rapid City, in which he
is a leading stockholder and serves as vice-pres-
ident.

On October 6, 1871, at Denver, Colorado,
the subject was married to Miss Catherine Lap-
pus, a native of Germany. They have eight chil-
dren : Matilda (Mrs. Babue), Alexander, Mary
(Mrs. Waldron), Josephine (Mrs. Horgan),
Adeline (]\Irs. Fallon), Joseph, Annie and
Agnes.

HERBERT W. SOMERS is a native of
Barnet, Vermont, where he was born on May
31, 1857, and is the son of parents belonging to
families long resident in that state. In 1864
they moved to Marshall county, Iowa, where
they prospered as farmers. The son grew to
manhood in that county and received his early
education in its public schools, afterward attend-
ing Iowa College at Grinnell, from which he was
graduated in 1882. In August of the same year
he came to Rapid City to take the position of
superintendent of the public schools, which he

1648

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

filled with credit for two years. In 1885 he was
appointed bookkeeper at the First National
Bank of Rapid, and since then he has been con-
nected with that institution continuously, rising
by merit to the post of cashier in 1898 and to
that of director also in 1902. In addition to his
work at the bank he has done a great deal to
promote and build up the Rapid City Electric
and Gas Light Company, acting as its secretary
and treasurer since 1887, and as its manager
since 1892.

Mr. Somers was married at Jacksonville, Il-
linois, in June, 1888, to i\Iiss Nellie 'SI. Van
Zandt, the home over which she presides with
dignified grace being brightened by the presence
of two sons and a daughter, namely : Leslie,
Paul and Helen. The Ancient Order of United
Workmen enrolls J\Ir. Somers antong its mem-
bers, while in religious matters he is an active
member of the Congregational church, in which
he is a trustee and the superintendent of the Sun-
day school.

XO.\H NEWHANKS, city auditor of Pierre,
was born in Senecaville, Guernsey county, Ohio,
on the 25th of December. 1841, and is a son of
Strother McNeil Newbanks and Sarah Sophia
( Larrick ) Newbanks. both of whom were born
in \'irginia. The subject received his educational
training to the common schools of Ohio and Mis-
souri, to which latter state his parents removed
when he was about eight years of age. In 1859
we find him engaged in mining in Colorado,
where he remained until 1863, when he joined in
the stampede to Montana, shortly after the dis-
covery of gold in Alder gulch. He engaged in
the mercantile business at Virginia City and there
remained until the fall of 1865. having been one
of the pioneers in that historic mining camp and
having witnessed the work of the vigilantes, who
had recourse to heroic measures in ridding
the country of its outlaws and cut-throats, many
of whom were executed by summars' hanging.
From Montana he preceeded to Salt Lake City
and thence to San Francisco, making the trip
across the plains to the Golden (iate and thence

taking passage on a vessel bound for New York,
making the voyage by way of Cape Horn. From
the national metropolis Mr. Newbanks returned
to Missouri, where he was engaged in farming
until 1868, when he removed to Junction City,
Kansas, where he conducted a general store for
one year, at the expiration of which he removed
to Ellsworth, that state, where he' was engaged
in the same line of enterprise for the ensuing two
years. He then returned to Missouri and was
there identified with agricultural pursuits until
1875, when he went to Denver. Colorado, where
he remained until the following year, when he
came to the Black Hills of South Dakota, reach-
ing Custer City in April, 1876. From that point
he went to Rapid City, assisting in the locating
and staking out of the town. He also built a
stockade corral and aided in the erection of a
block house, both of these being necessary for
protection from the hostile Indians, who were at
that time constantly on the warpath, though
mostly operating in small bands. Of this period
Mr. Newbanks has written as follows : "The
only instance where the Indians did any great
damage was about August i, 1876, when they
attacked us in our stronghold, but they did not
succeed in doing us any injury other than driv-
ing our men to cover, but upon leaving the
stockade they circled around to the west of
Rapid City and killed four men who were com-
ing into town. Two of the party escaped and
came in with the news. We then went out and
recovered the four bodies, which we brought to
the town, burying them in one grave. The next
attack occurred early in September, when we
had a running fight with the savages. They
succeeded in taking our cattle, but I saved my
horses, getting them to the corral and thus pro-
tecting them."

Mr. Newbanks conducted a general store and
corral in Rapid City until 1878. when he en-
gaged in freighting from Pierre to the Black
Hills, continuing operations in this line success-
fully until 1886, when he again located in Rapid
City, and freighted between that point and Dead-
wood for one year. The following spring he
went to Whitewood and engaged in the com-

MR. AND MRS. NOAH NEWBANKS.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1649

mission business, forwarding- goods from the end
of the Elk-horn Railroad t(.i Deadwond. Lead
and other points in the Hills, and handling all
of the freight for the famous Homestake JMining
Company for one year. In the spring of 1889
he disposed of his commission business and en-
gaged in the raising of cattle upon an extensive
scale, locating in Custer county, where he re-
mained until the autumn of 1892, when he re-
moved to L\nian county, where he has since
continued in the business, having a ranch of
six hundred and forty acres. In i8i;fi he took
up his residence in Pierre, where he and his
wife have since luaintained their home.

In politics Mr. Newbanks is a stanch sup-
porter of the Democratic party, and while he
has never been ambitious for office he has been
a member of the state brand commission for
the past eight years, during four of which he
served as chairman, while he has been incumbent
<:)f the office of auditor of the city of Pierre since
ii)OJ. He is a member of the Baptist church
and Mrs. Xewbanks is an Episcopalian.

( )n the 29th of October, 1884. r\Ir. Newbanks
was tmited in marriage to Aliss Mary Josephine
Anderson, who was born in Sparta. Illinois, on
the 8th of May, 1859, being a daughter of
I'rancis 11. and Matilda T. Anderson. Air. and
Mrs. Xewbanks have no children.

GEORGE MVROX BAILEY, who is es-
tablished in the real-estate and abstract business
in Redfield, Spink county, claims the old Empire
state as the place of his nativity, having been
born in Middlebury, Wyoming county, New
York, on the 27th of X'^ovember, 1874, and being
a son of ]\[yron C. and Rosetta ]\I. Bailey, both
of whom were born in X^ew Hampshire. The
genealogy in the agnatic line is of English and
Scotch derivation, and the original ancestors
in America settled in Massachusetts in the colo-
nial epoch of our national history. Later repre-
sentatives of the name removed to X^ew Hamp-
shire, and from that state came the branch of the
family which early settled in western New York.
The parents of the subject removed to Iowa

when he was about fourteen years of age and
settled in Kossuth county, where the father
turned his attention to mercantile business, and
he and his wife are now residing in Lamberton,
Minnesota. The subject completed the curricu-
lum of the public schools, being graduated in
the high school at Algona, Kossuth county,
Iowa, and later taking a course of study in the
Northern Iowa Xormal School in that city. He
was thereafter engaged in the real-estate and
abstract business in the Hawkeye state until
early in 1901, when he came to South Dakota
and took up his residence in Redfield, w'here he
ks now in control of an excellent business in the
handling of real estate, while he also has an ex-
cellent set of abstracts of title for Spink county,
his records being in large demand by the resi-
dents and property owners of the county. He is
enterprising and straightforward in his business
methods, and is held in high esteem by all who
know him. In politics Mr. Bailey "is a stanch ad-
vocate of the principles and policies for which
the Republican party stands sponser. and frater-
nally is identified with the Masonic order, the
Knights of Pythias and the Improved Order of
Red Men.

HALVOR C. SOLBERG, one of the repre-
sentative educators of the state, being a mem-
ber of the faculty of the State Agricultural Col-
lege, at Brookings, was born in Xorwav, on the
5th of March, 1861, a son of Christian and
Anna Solberg, both of whom were born and
reared in XTorway, where the latter died when
the subject of this sketch was a child of but five
years. About the year 1867 Christian Solberg
bade adieu to the fair land of his birth and set
forth to seek his fortunes in America. He pro-
ceeded to Minnesota and settled in the town of
Spring Grove, where he followed the trade of
carpenter for some time, while he is at the- pres-
ent time a prosperous farmer in Minnesota, hav-
ing consummated a second marriage a few years
after his emigration to the United States.

After the death of his mother the subject of
this review was reared to the age of seventeen

1650

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

years' in the same home of his aunt, j\Irs. Arne
Sortaasen, who was a resident of Brottum, Nor-
way. There he received his early educational
training under excellent auspices, and at the
age noted he came to America and joined his
father in Minnesota. There he worked on the
farm during the summer months, availing him-
self of the advantages afforded by the district
schools during the winter terms, thus continu-
ing his studies for a period of three years and
sparing no effort in augmenting his fund of
knowledge. In 1881 he came westward to Far-
go, North Dakota, where he remained about two
years, devoting his attention principally to the
work of carpentry and cabinetmaking. He then
came to what is now South Dakota and entered
claim! to a half section of land in what is now
Marshall county, the tract being at the time
thirty miles distant from any settlement. He
held the land for a time, in the meanwhile find-
ing employment in a furniture store at Columbia.
At the expiration of three years Professor Sol-
berg disposed of his land and shortly afterward
was matriculated as a student in the State Agri-
cultural College, where he continued his studies
for four years, completing the prescribed course
and in the meanwhile being employed in the in-
stitution as a teacher of carpentry, wood turning,
etc., having marked skill in these lines. He was
graduated in the college as a member of the class
of 1 891, receiving the degree of Bachelor of
Science, and thereafter continued to devote his
entire attention to teaching the practical art
mentioned, while in 1892 he was chosen full
professor of the mechanical engineering depart-
ment of the college, having simultaneously been
called to a similar position in the North Dakota
Agricultural College, a preferment which he re-
signed soon after his appointment and before
assuming the duties of the office. He has since
continued at the head of the mechanical depart-
ment of his alma mater and has brought the
same up to a high standard, making it one of the
most popular and valuable departments in the
institution. Owing to the specific nature of the
course of study in the agricultural college and
the practical work exemplified, the sessions are

held during the summer months, while the stu-
dents have their longest vacation during the
winter. This fact enabled Profesor Solberg
to attend during such vacation periods Purdue
University, at Lafayette, Indiana, and he was
there graduated as a member of the class of 1895,
receiving the degree of Bachelor of Mechanical
Engineering, and the following year he received
the degree of Mechanical Engineer.

At the time when Professor Solberg entered
upon his executive duties in the agricultural col-
lege the mechanical department was maintained
on a very modest basis, its functions comprising
only an elemental form of shop work, while the
facilities were meagre. Under his enthusiastic
and able direction a steady growth* was had and
the department rapidly increased in popularity, so
that it became necessary to provide new and ad-
equate quarters and modern mechanical acces-
sories. The advance that has been made under
his direction is best indicated in the statement
that during the present year, 1903, more than
two hundred and fifty students are availing them-
selves of the advantages of the department, of
which Professor Solberg has just reason to be
proud, not alone on the score noted, but also by
reason of the fact that the equipment throughout
is one of the best to be found in any similar in-
stitution in the northwest. So far as can be
learned he was the first to introduce the short
course in practical steam engineering, and the
value of the same has been appreciated not only
by the students, but also by other institutions
which have followed his initiative, the course
having proved a distinctive drawing card for the
college.

In politics the Professor gives his support to
the Republican party and fraternally he is iden-
tified with the lodge, chapter and commandery
of the Masonic order, as well as with the auxil-
iary organization, the Order of the Eastern Star,
of which Mrs. Solberg also is a member. He is
likewise chief of engineering and ordnance of
the National Guard, holding the rank of colonel.
He is a member of the IModern Woodmen of
America and of the National Society for the Pro-
motion of Engineering Education. He and his

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1 65 1

wife are members of the Lutheran church, in
whose work they take an active interest, while
their pleasant home is a center of gracious and
refined hospitality.

On the 27th of May, 1887, was solemnized
the marriage of Professor Solberg to Miss Bol-
letta Egeberg, who was born in Norway, being
a daughter of Halvor and Olena Egeberg,
who emigrated to the United States in 1867, re-
siding for a few years in Minnesota and thence
removing to Brookings county. South Dakota,
where Mr. Egeberg took up a large tract of
land, being now one of the prominent and in-
fluential fanners of the county. His wife passed
away in 1893. Mrs. Solberg secured her early
educational training in the district schools and
then entered the State Agricultural College,
where she formed the acquaintance of her fu-
ture husband, who was a student in the institu-
tion at the time. They are the parents of three
children, Harry, Ada Elizabeth and Ruby.

SAMUEL PRENTISS WATKINS, who
stands as one of the leading members of the bar
of Spink county, comes of stanch old New Eng-
land stock, the genealogy in the paternal line
being of English and Scotch derivation and in
the maternal of English, while both families were
founded in New England in the colonial epoch.
]\[r. Watkins was born in Cambridge, Lamoille
county, Vermont, on the 22d of July, 1855. and
is a son of David H. and Harriet A. (Holmes)
Watkins. The father was born in Walpole, New
Hampshire, whither his paternal ancestors came
from Connecticut, while on his mother's side the
ancestors were from England. The mother of
the subject was born in Grafton, Massachusetts,
with the annals of which state the family name
was identified for many generations, the original
progenitors in the new world having come from
England.

The subject received his early education in
the common schools of the old Green Moun-
tain state and later continued his studies in the
public schools of Massachusetts and in Grafton
Academv, at Grafton, that state, and the Wes-

leyan Academy, at Wilbraham, prosecuting his
educational work in these two institutions in the
four years intervening between 1871 and 1876.
Thereafter he was successfully engaged in teach-
ing in Massachusetts and Vermont until 1877,
when he came west and engaged in the same vo-
cation in Minnesota, where he remained until
1879, when he came to the territory of Dakota
and located in Bigstone City, in what is now
Grant county. South Dakota. Two years later
he removed to Ashton, Spink county, being one
of the early settlers of the town and county, and
here engaged in the real-estate and loan busi-
ness, in which he met with success, since the sec-
tion soon began to feel the beneficent effects of
the strong incoming tide of immigration and ad-
vancing civilization. In the meanwhile he had
for a number of years devoted much attention to
the reading of law, and on the 14th of Decem-
ber, 1888, he was admitted to the bar of the ter-
ritory, forthwith beginning the active practice
of his profession in Ashton, where he has ever
since maintained his home, and where he has
gained distinctive precedence and success in his
profession. He at the present time maintains
an independent attitude in politics, but he was
a member of the first three Republican conven-
tions after the admission of South Dakota to the
Union. He has been called to the incumbency
of various offices of local trust and responsibil-
ity, where he gave his best efforts in the advanc-
ing of the general welfare and material prog-
ress, and for several years he was mayor of Ash-
ton, in which connection his administration met
with uniform approval and popular endorsement.
He is affiliated with Ashton Lodge, No. 33, An-
cient Free and Accepted Masons, and of Red-
field Chapter, No. 20, Royal Arch Masons, at
Redfield, while from 1888 to 1891 he was grand
chief templar of the Independent Order of Good
Templars in South Dakota. He and his wife
are zealous and valued members of the ]\Ietho-
dist Episcopal church of Ashton.

On the 17th of October, 1882, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Watkins to Miss Lilla
B. Lee, who was born in Cresco, Howard county,
Iowa, on the 2d of April, 1866, being a daughter

1652

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of Timothy W. P. and Myra N. Lee. They
have five children, Howard Lee, Myrtle May,
Samuel Prentiss, Gardner H. and Elmer Le-
land. Timothy W. P. Lee was a native of
Stanstead, Canada, and came to the territory of
Dakota in 1879. He was a lawyer by profession,
taking an active part in politics, and was a mem-
ber of the Sioux Falls constitutional conven-
tion, and was one of the framers of the present
constitution of the state of South Dakota.

JAMES CURTIN, one of the representative
citizens and leading business men of Northville,
Spink county, is a native son of the west, hav-
ing been born in Winneshiek county, Iowa, on
the 27th of November, 1856, and being a son of
James and Catherine ( Murphy) Curtin, the
former of whom was born in Ireland, of Scotch-
Irish lineage, while the latter was born in Ire-
land. The father of the subject came to Amer-
ica as a young man, and early located in Du-
buque, Iowa, later engaging in farming in Win-
neshiek county, that state, where he remained
until 1865, when he removed with his family to
Pawnee county, Nebraska, where he devoted
the remainder of his life to agricultural pursuits,
his death there occurring in 1867. His widow
still lives in Pawnee county, Nebraska. She
later married Silas Huff.

The subject of this review secured his edu-
cational training in the public schools of Iowa
and Nebraska, having attended the high school
in Pawnee City, Nebraska, in the completion of
liis scholastic work, and in the meanwhile he
had assisted in the work of the homestead farm.
At the age of twenty-one years he entered upon
an apprenticeship at the trade of harnessmaking
in Pawnee City, becoming a skilled artisan in the
line. He was for a short time a successful teach-
er in the district schools of Pawnee county, Ne-
braska, and there continued to make his home
until 1 88 1, when, as a young man of twenty-five
\ears. he came to the present state of South Da-
kota, arriving in Spink county in May of that
year, and forthwith taking up one hundred and
■sixty acres of government land, in ^ilellettc

township. While "holding down" his claim he
was employed in the James river valley at farm
work for one year, and later engaged in the work
of his trade in Fargo, North Dakota, after which
he held a clerical position in a mercantile estab-
lishment in Northville for a period of five years,
at the expiration of which, in 1888, he was
elected to the office of county recorder, being
chosen as his own successor in i8go, and thus
serving four consecutive years. Within this time
he purchased other land, in different sections of
the county, having secured a considerable
amount for speculative purposes, and after re-
tiring from office he engaged in the buying and
shipping of grain at Northville. In 1893 ]\Ir.
Curtin exchanged some of his real estate for a
stock of merchandise and two lumber yards, the
store and one lumber yard being located at Bath,
Brown county, and the other lumber yard at
Andover, Day county. He continued to suc-
cessfully conduct these enterprises for three
years, in the meanwhile maintaining his home
in Bath, and he then, in 1896, disposed of the
lumber business, as well as his store, and re-
turned to Northville, where he opened his pres-
ent establishment, in which he handles a com-
prehensive and select stock of general merchan-
dise, as well as hardware and agricultural im-
plements, and here he is also engaged in the buy-
ing and shipping of live stock, while retaining
a number of valuable farm properties. He has
a large and well-appointed store, and is popular
in the business and social circles of the town
and county, while in politics he gives an un-
swerving allegiance to the Republican party.
He was appointed postmaster at Bath, under
the administration of President Cleveland, and
continued to serve in this capacity until the time
of his removal to Northville. Religiously he is
a member of the Wesleyan Methodist church.

On the 30th of September, 1884, Mr. Curtin
was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Martin,
who was born in Michigan, being a daughter
of W. P. and E. A. (Disbro) Martin, while she
was a resident of Northville at the time of her
marriage. She is a sister of Ezra Martin, of
whom individual mention is made on another

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

165:^

page of this work. ]\Ir. and Mrs. Curtin have
three daughters, Zella, Ehna and Faye, the eld-
est daughter being a successful and popular
teacher in the public school at Clearview, this
count\-. at the time of this writing.

FRAXK C. MARINER, representative
member of the bar of Spink count}', is a native
of the state of Illinois, having been born in
Kushnell, McDonough county, on the 21st of
November, 1854, and being a son of Orrin and
Hannah (York) Mariner, the former of whom
was born in Connecticut and the latter in the
state of New York, both being representatives
of stanch old colonial stock. The progenitor of
the Mariner family in .America was William
Mariner, a Frenchman, who came to this country
with General Lafayette, as nearly as can be de-
termined from the records extant, taking ])art
in the war of the Revolution under his noble
commander and remaining to enjoy the advan-
tages of the country whose independence he had
thus aided in securing. The maternal grand-
father of the subject was an active participant
in the war of 1812. In 1840 Orrin ^lariner re-
moved to Illinois, becoming one of the sterling
pioneer settlers of that state. He first located
in Peoria county, whence he later removed to
Marshall county, while finally he took up his
residence in McDonough county, where both
he and his wife passed the remainder of their
lives, his vocation having been that of farming.
Of the six children of this union four are living,
the subject of this review having been the fifth
in order of birth.

Frank C. Mariner received his preliminary
educational training in the public schools of his
native county, and supplemented this by a
course of study in Lombard L'niversity, at Gales-
burg, Illinois. He then began reading law in
the office of the fimi of Barnes & Doughty, of
Bushnell, Illinois, thus prosecuting his teclinical
studies for some time, after which he went to
Denver, Colorado, where he remained about one
year. He then took up his residence in Shen-
andoah, Iowa, where he was admitted to the bar

of the state in 188 1. On the 6th of !\Iay of the
following year he arrived in Northville, Spink
county, Dakota, and here turned his attention
to farming, taking up government land a few
miles distant from the then embryonic village of
Northville, and improving his property. He
there continued to be actively engaged in farm-
ing until 1887, when he established his home in
Northville and entered upon the active practice
of his profession, in which he has attained pres-
tige and marked success, having a representative
clientage in the community and conducting a
prosperous general practice, while he is also en-
gaged to a very considerable extent in dealing
in real estate, being personally the owner of six-
teen hundred acres of valuable agricultural land,
the major portion of which is in Spink county.
He has ever shown a loyal interest in public af-
fairs and has served in various^ positions of lo-
cal trust and responsibility, having been a mem-
ber of the board of county commissioners in the
early days, while he is one of the leaders in the
the ranks of the Republican party in his section^
being a member of the state central committee
of the same at the time of this writing, having
been chosen for his second term at the Repub-
lican state convention in May, 1904. He is iden-
tified with the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
On the 1 8th of November, 1884, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Mariner to Miss
Merta Peterson, who was born in Nebraska,
whence she came with her parents to South Da-
kota in the territorial days. Of this union have
been born six children, namely: Leta I\I., Han-
nah G., Orrin (deceased), Guy, Claude and
Ward.

SAMUEL CROCKETT BLACK, secre-
tary of the South Dakota & Iowa Land & Loan
Company, with headquarters in Mellette, was
born on a farm in Champaign county, Ohio, on
the 23d of September, 1849, and is a scion of
one of the old and honored families of the Buck-
eye state, where his grandfather, Alexander H.
Black, who was a native of Kentucky and of

i654

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Scotch lineage, took up his residence in 1809,
taking part in the early Indian wars and serving
as captain of a company in the command of Gen-
eral Wayne, known to histor\- as "Mad Anthony
Wayne," by reason of his intrepid daring. In
this connection Captain Black accompanied his
doughty general on the march to the lakes and
saw not a little of active service in conflict with
the Indians. He became possessed of a large
tract of land in Champaign county, and there
passed the closing years of his life, while his son
Samuel C, Sr., the father of the subject, also
lived on this ancestral homestead and became
a prominent and influential farmer and stock
grower. , He likewise was a native of Kentucky
and died in Ohio, as did also his devoted wife,
whose maiden name was Mary Ann Grant.
They became the parents of nine children, while
of the number five are living at the time of this
writing.

Mr. Black was reared on the home farm and
received his early educational training in the
common schools, after which he continued his
studies in Wittemberg College, in Springfield,
Ohio. He then resumed his association with ag-
ricultural pursuits, and also took up the study
of medicine, to which he devoted his attention
for a short time. After the death of his father
he took charge of the homestead farm and in
connection with its operation also continued to
deal in live stock until 1882, when he came to
the present state of South Dakota and purchased
land in Spink county, where he became the
owner of three quarter sections of land eleven
and a half miles northeast of Mellette. He re-
moved his family to South Dakota in 1886, and
there continued to be engaged in farming and
stock growing until 1898, when he took up his
residence in Mellette and turned his attention to
the handling of grain and live stock, with which
important line of enterprise he has since been
prominently identified, controlling a large busi-
ness, while in 1902 he associated himself with the
South Dakota & Iowa Land & Loan Coinipany,
with headquarters in Mellette, and he has since
been secretary of said company, which controls
a large real-estate and loan business throughout

North and South Dakota. He served for two
terms as mayor of Mellette, giving a most sat-
isfactory administration of municipal affairs. He
has passed the commandery, Scottish-rite and
Shrine degrees in the Masonic fraternity, being
secretary of his lodge at the time of this writing.
He is also a member of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen.

On the i8th of ]March, 1884, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Black to Miss Frances Mill-
er, who was born and reared in Ohio, and they
have two daughters, Jessie, who is a graduate
of the Holy Angels Academy, in Minneapolis,
and Lola.

GEORGE J. HAMILTO'N, engaged in
the general merchandise business in the town
of Mellette, was born in Brownhelm, Lorain
county, Ohio, on the 25th of August, i860, and
is a son of Alexander Hamilton, who was born
and reared in Edinburg, Scotland, whence he
came to America in 1855, settling in Ohio, where
he was engaged as overseer in a quarry for a
number of years. In 1863 he removed with his
family to Vernon county, Wisconsin, where he
turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, re-
maining there until 1885, when he joined the
subject in South Dakota, where he afterward
maintained his home, being engaged in farming
in Spink county. He died in 1895. The sub-
ject of this review was reared on the home farm
in Vernon county, Wisconsin, where he availed
himself of the advantages of the public schools.
He continued to be there engaged in farming
until 1882, when he came to what is now the
state of South Dakota, arriving in March and
taking up his location in Spink county, where
he took up government land, thirteen miles
southeast of the village of Mellette, being there
actively engaged in farming and stock growing
until 1896, while he still retains possession of
his homestead, which he has developed into one
of the valuable ranches of this favored section
of the state. In the autumn of the year last
noted he removed to Mellette, where he was en-
gaged in the livery and draying business until

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1655

1899, when he disposed of his interests in these
lines and associated himself with his younger
brother, Walter, in the general merchandise busi-
ness here. They have since successfully contin-
ued operations, under the firm name of Hamil-
ton Brothers, and have a well-appointed store
and one in which is carried a select and compre-
hensive stock in each of the several departments,
while both of the interested principals are held
in uniform confidence and esteem in the com-
munity. The subject has been incumbent of va-
rious township offices and is at the present time
chairman of the board of education in his home
town. In politics his franchise is exercised in
support of the Populist party and fraternally he
is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of Amer-
ica.

On the 6th of November, 1889. IMr. Hamil-
ton was married to Miss Fannie Cloyd, who
was bom in Illinois, whence she came with her
parents to South Dakota in 1884. Of this union
has been born one child, Hazel.

RICHARD WILLIAMS, one of the promi-
nent business men and representative citizens of
Langford, Marshall county, was born in Cam-
bria, Columbia county, Wisconsin, on the i6th of
INIay, 1857, and is a son of William A. Williams,
who was born, reared and married in Wales. He
married ^Margaret Thomas, a native of Wales,
and they became numbered among the ver\' early
settlers of Wisconsin, where they took up their
residence about 1850. There his wife died in
1861, when the subject of this sketch was but
four years of age. and the father thereafter con-
tinued to reside in Wisconsin until 1880, when
he accompanied our subject to what is now the
state of South Dakota, first locating in Brown
county, whence both came to Langford in 1887,
and here they are still living, the father being
seventy-nine years of age at the time of this
writing, in 1904, and being well preserved in
both mind and body.

Richard Williams was educated in the com-
mon schools of his native county, and was en-
gaged in farm work in Wisconsin until coming

to South Dakota, in the fall of 1880. He settled
in Brown county, having made the trip on foot
from Milbank to Columbia, as the former place
was at the time the western terminus of the
railroad. He filed claim to a homestead near
the present town of Hath and then returned to
Wisconsin for the winter. In the following
spring he returned to his homestead and initiated
the work of developing the same. He remained
on his farm until the spring of 1886, when he
located in the village of Columbia, Brown county,
where he engaged in the implement business, in
which line he continued operations there until
1887, when he sold out and removed to Lang-
ford, Marshall county, and there became associ-
ated with his brother Rowland in the hardware
business, under the firm name of Williams
Brothers. They conducted the largest business
of the sort in the county until 1892, when the
subject sold his interest to his brother, the latter
continuing the enterprise until his death. After
retiring from the hardware business Mr. Wil-
liams was engaged in the farming implement
business until 1900, since which time he has de-
voted his attention to the real-estate business and
to farming, being the owner of extensive inter-
ests in the latter line, while his real-estate oper-
ations are of very considerable scope and impor-
tance. He is the owner of valuable farming
lands in both Marshall and Day counties.

Concerning his public career we are able to
quote from an appreciative article published in
a local newspaper: "Mr. Williams has been
more or less prominent in public afifairs ever
since coming to the state. In 1882 he was deputy
assessor of Brown county and personally assessed
most all the land in Brown county lying east of
the Jim river, also a portion lying west of the
river, including the city of Aberdeen. That same
fall he was in charge of the Chicago, Milwaukee
& St. Paul Railroad Company's exhibit of South
Dakota agricultural products at the Milwaukee
exposition, which did much to attract the atten-
tion of homeseekers toward the new state. In
1887 he was elected president of the first board
of trustees of the town of Langford, and has often
been re-elected to the same office. In the fall of

1656

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1892 he was unanimously nominated by the Re-
publicans of Alarshall county for the office of
county treasurer, but owing to the pressure of a
personal business resulting from the death of his
brother he withdrew from the race, though there
is no doubt but that he would have been success-
ful at the polls. He has been for the past nine
years a member of the board of trustees of the
grand lodge of the Ancient Order of United
Workmen of South Dakota, and was for eight
years chairman of that board, being held in high
esteem in the councils of the organization. In
1889 Mr. Williams was elected a member of the
first senate of the new state, from Marshall
county, and in 1898 he was re-elected to the sen-
ate as representative of the thirty-second dis-
trict, comprising the counties of Day and Mar-
shall. This district had been overwhelmingly
Populist for two preceding elections, but owing
to the strong hold Mr. Williams had on the
friendship and confidence of the people he de-
feated the fusion nominee and served his con-
stituents so faithfully and satisfactorily that he
was unanimously renominated by the Republican
senatorial convention of his district in 1900, and
was again triumphantly elected to the responsible
office in which he had rendered so effective serv-
ice."

Mr. Williams has been an enthusiastic worker
in the cause of the Republican party and is an
able advocate of its principles and policies. In
addition to holding membership in the Ancient
Order of United Workmen, as already noted, he
is also identified with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows. He and his wife are valued mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church in Lang-
ford, and he is also a member of its board of
trustees.

On the 27th of January, 1887, at Columbia,
Brown county, was solemnized the marriage of
Mr. Williams to Miss Ida H. Reynolds, who was
born in the city of Chicago, Illinois, on the 8th
of April, 1861, being a daughter of Elihu G. and
Ruth Reynolds, both of whom are now deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Williams have three children, Ar-
thur, aged seventeen, Richard Glen, aged fifteen,
and Gladys, aged nine, in 1904.

JOHN R. THOMPSON, M. D., one of the
leading members of his profession in Spink
county, was born in Burlington, Kane county,
Illinois, on the 13th of September, 1858, and is
a son of Thomas J. and Hannah A. (Tucker)
Thompson, who were numbered among the pio-
neers of that state, whither they removed from
their native state of West Virginia. In 1880 the
father, accompanied by the subject, came to
Spink county, South Dakota, and took up land.
He then returned to Kane county, Illinois, and
the following year moved the family out. He
is now living in Northville. The mother died
April 8, 1904, aged sixty-five years.

After completing the curriculum of the pub-
lic schools the Doctor took a two-years academic
course in the academy at Elgin, Illinois, and
thereafter was engaged in fanning in that state
until 1880, when he came, as a young man of
twenty-one years, to the present state of South
Dakota and cast in his lot with its pioneers. He
arrived in Spink county in May of that year, and
took up government land, whose improvement
he at once instituted, continuing to be engaged
in farming on this property until September,
1882, when, in harmony with plans previously
conceived, he went to the city of Chicago, where
he was matriculated in the Bennett Medical Col-
lege, in which he was graduated in March of
the following year, having previously devoted
much personal study and investigation to the
science of medicine. He then entered the Col-
lege of Physicians and Surgeons, in the same city
and was graduated in the same in March, 1885,
thus receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine
from each of these well-known institutions. In
April, 1885, he began the active practice of his
profession in Northville, Spink county, where he
has ever since maintained his home and where
he has built up a large and representative busi-
ness as a physician and surgeon, his success hav-
ing been most gratifying from the start. He
still retains his original ranch and has been con-
secutively identified with farming and real-estate
interests since coming to the state, while he is
now the owner of two entire sections of valuable
land in this countv. He is a member of the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1657

American Medical Association, the Aberdeen
District Aledical Society, and is identified with
the fraternal insurance societies known as the
Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Mod-
ern Woodmen of America and the Modern
Brotherhood of America. In politics he is a
stalwart Republican, but has never manifested
aught of predilection for public office of a polit-
ical nature.

On the 29th of May, 1887, Dr. Thompson
was united in marriage to Miss Etta M. Greg-
ory, who was born in Waybridge, \'crmont, on
the 3d of August, 1846, being a daughter of Le-
ander A. and Eliza A. Gregory, who removed
from the old Green Mountain state to Beloit,
Wisconsin, where she was reared and educated.
Dr. and Mrs. Thompson have one daughter,
Ketha A., who was born on the 28th of October,

EZRA MARTIN, of Northville, Spink
county, was bom in Martinsville, Wayne county,
jNIichigan, on the 30th of September, i860, be-
ing a son of Winslow P. and Emeretta Alida
(Disbro) Martin, the former born in the state
of Massachusetts and the latter in that of New
York. The paternal grandfather of the subject
was Joel Martin, who likewise was a native of
Massachusetts and a scion of stanch old Puritan
stock, the family tradition being that among
those vho came to America on the historic
Alayflrwer, probably on the occasion of its sec-
ond vc yage, was one Christopher Martin, who
figured as the original progenitor of the family
in the new world. Winslow P. Martin was
reared and educated in the state of New York,
whither his father had removed from ■Massachu-
setts, and there he continued to reside until
about 1852, when he removed to Michigan, be-
con-jing one of the early settlers of Wayne
county, in which is located the city of Detroit,
the beautiful metropolis of the state. He pur-
chased a tract of wild land, heavily timbered,
and set to himself the task of reclaiming the
same to cultivation. He wielded much influence
in the section where he thus established his

home, having been called upon to serve in va-
rious important township and county offices, in-
cluding that of superintendent of schools, in
which connection it may be inferred that he
placed that appreciative estim;ite' u|Min the char-
acter of one fair school-teacher in his jurisdic-
tion which led to his marriage to Miss Disbro,
who proved to him a devoted wife and helpmeet.
The last twenty-five or thirty years of his life
were devoted to ministerial work in the Wesleyan
Methodist denomination. He came to North-
ville, South Dakota, in 1882, and became pastor
of the Wesle\an Methodist church here, con-
tinuing to hold that position until his death,
which occurred in 1885. His widow survives.
Ezra Martin, the immediate subject of this
sketch, entered the schools of Martinsville as a
child of five years and there learned the myster-
ies of "Webb's Word IMethod" and other rudi-
mentary text-books, and when he had attained
the age of eleven years his parents removed to
Pittsford, Hillsdale county, Michigan, where he
completed the course in the graded schools, be-
ing graduated in the high school as a member
of the class of 1877. ^'^^ '•^ time he was a suc-
cessful teacher in the district schools of that
locality, and also assisted in the work of the
home farm which his father had there purchased.
Just a few days before he had attained his le-
gal majority he started for the west, passing
about six months in Nebraska and thence coming
to South Dakota, having made his advent in
what is now the village of Northville on the 22d
of Januan,-, 1882. The town was then repre-
sented by a depot and section house, and he pur-
chased the first lot sold by the Western Town
Lot Company in Northville, while he also took
up a pre-emption claim adjoining the present
corporate limits of the village. The tide of im-
migration began to flow in and the early settlers
in this locality needed a place to secure provis-
ions. Our subject accordingly associated himself
with his brother Edwin and erected a store on
the lot which he had purchased, and there es-
tablished a general-merchandise business, the
first in the town. The fimi commenced opera-
tions upon capital furnished by their father, and

1658

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

though they secured a good support and were
popular with the people of the community they
were seriously handicapped by inexperience and
lack of capital of their own, and after conducting
the enterprise about two years they abandoned
the same, our subject turning his attention to
agricultural pursuits, while his brother later be-
came a clergyman of the Wesleyan Methodist
church.

Mr. Alartin has been signally prospered in
temporal affairs during the intervening years and
has erected substantial and attractive buildings
on the place, including a commodious residence,
while all other improvements indicate the pro-
gressive spirit and good judgment of the owner.
Mr. Martin is now the owner of twenty-three
hundred acres of valuable land in this vicinity,
and has also accumulated a considerable amount
of real estate in Northville, while in addition to
all this and his large amount of personal prop-
erty he also owns property in Wisconsin, Michi-
gan and Cuba. For the past decade he has
given his personal attention largely to the grain
business, buying and shipping large quantities
each year.

Mr. Martin is a man of distinctive public
spirit, is a stanch advocate of the principles of
the Republican party, and while he has taken a
lively interest in its cause he has never been per-
sonally ambitious for office. He and his wife
are prominent and valued members of the Wes-
leyan Methodist church in Northville, the re-
spective families having been among the charter
members of the same and having contributed in
a large measure to the erection of the chapel in
Northville, and in the same the marriage of
Mr. and Mrs. Martin was solemnized on the
same day which marked the dedication of the
building. They have been specially active in the
work of the church, and the subject served as
superintendent of its Sunday school about fifteen
years.

On the 1 2th of October, 1882, was solem-
nized, under the circumstances just noted, the
marriage of Mr. Martin to Miss Mary J. Thomp-
son, who was born near the city of Elgin, Illi-
nois, on the 31st of January, 1864, being a

daughter of Thomas J. and Hannah A. (Tucker)
Thompson, who came to Spink county. South
Dakota, in 1881, where the father still resides,
the mother having died in April, 1904. Mr.
and Mrs. Martin have six children, whose names,
in order of birth, are as follows : Earl Levant,
Fern Hannah, Glenn Richards. Frank Thomp-
son, Flovd Winslow and Alida Pearl.

RICHARD B. HUGHES, of Spearfish, was
born April 14. 1856, in Somerset county, Penn-
sylvania, and is the son of Michael J. and Mary
L. (Haight) Hughes, the former a native of Ire-
land and the latter of Bedford, Pennsylvania.
His mother's ancestors emigrated to this country
in colonial times, her grandfather being a gal-
lant soldier in the war of the Revolution and
fighting in that memorable contest under Wash-
ington. During the Civil war the family lived
at Cumberland, Maryland, where they kept a
hotel until 1864. In that year they moved to
Illinois, and after living a short time at Dixon,
moved to Peoria. In 1867 they changed their
residence to Nebraska, the year that state was
admitted to the Union, locating at West Point
in the Elkhorn valley, where the father took up a
homestead and engaged in farming. Owing to
the migratory life of the family the son Richard
had but broken and irregular opportunities for
securing an education, but in 1869 he was sent
to Qiicago, where he attended a business college
for two years. Returning to West Point at the
end of that period, he went into the office of the
West Point Republican where he served his ap-
prenticeship to the printer's trade, remaining
four years. In the spring of 1876 he came to the
Black Hills, arriving at Custer on May 7th and
at Deadwood gulch five days later. He then
engaged in prospecting, alternating his work in
this line with service on the newspaper of
Deadwood, the Pioneer and the Times. During
a portion of 1880 he edited and managed the
News, an evening paper at Deadwood. and in
December of that year he moved to Rapid City
and took editorial charge of the Journal, then a
weekly and later a daily paper, which lie con-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

'659

ducted nine years, in 1883 and 1884 serving as
county treasurer. Rapid City was then in a vig-
orous boom and he was president of the board of
trade and also city treasurer. In the fall of
18S9 he was elected to the first state legislature
as a Democrat and was one of the eighteen
members of his party in a house of one hundred
and twenty-five. Prior to this he had been in the
real-estate business, and after leaving the Jour-
nal he devoted his attention to that until 1892,
when he was appointed United States surveyor
general for the district of South Dakota, an ofiice
he held four years, during which he made his
home at Huron. He has always been more or
less interested in mining and since leaving the
office of surveyor general has devoted his whole
time to that industry. Coming to the Hills with
a number of capitalists from the eastern part of
the state, he organized the Cleopatra Gold Min-
ing Company, whose property is located in the
carbonate district on Squaw creek, eleven miles
northwest of Deadwood. From the organization
of this company he has been its manager, and in
]\Iarch, 1902, he also became manager of the
Holy Terror Mining Company, succeeding John
S. George in this position, which he still holds.
Since 1899 Mr. Hughes has made his home at
Spearfish, where he has an elegant residence.
He has other mining interests in stocks and
claims in addition to those mentioned, and is also
engaged in the cattle business, principally in the
northern part of the state. He was one of the
founders and is a charter member of the Pio-
neers' Association of the Black Hills, and takes
a leading and serviceable part in its proceedings.
On March 19, 1884, Mr. Hughes was mar-
ried, at Rapid City, to Miss Mattie E. Lewis, a
native of Illinois. They have two sons, Richard
L. and Clarence W.

DAMD ROBERTSON, an able member of
the bar of the state, who has served several terms
as a representative of Spink county in the state
legislature, comes of stanch Scottish lineage and
inherits the sterling characteristics of the canny
Scotchman — ^sterling integrity, marked prag-

matic ability and tenacity of purpose, with strong-
mentality and mature judgment. He is a na-
tive of the state of Wisconsin, having been born
in Rock county, on the 21st of August, 1855,
and being a son of Peter and Helen Robertson,
both of whom were born and reared in Scotland,
the father having been a native of Glasgow and
the mother of Edinburgh. They were married
in their native land and shortly afterward, in
1854, immigrated to the United States and set-
tled on a farm in Rock county, Wisconsin, where
they remained until 1863, when they removed
to Freeborn county, [Minnesota, becoming pio-
neers of that section, where the father improved
a good farm, and there both passed the re-
mainder of their lives, secure in the respect and
esteem of all who knew them. Of their five
children all are yet living. They were consistent
members of the Baptist church, and in politics
Mr. Robertson espoused the cause of the R.epub-
lican party.

David Robertson, the immediate subject of
this sketch, completed the curriculum of the
public schools at Mitchell, Iowa, and was reared
to the sturdy discipline of the home farm. In
1 88 1 he was matriculated in Carleton College,
in Northfield, Minnesota, where he completed
the scientific course and was graduated as a
member of the class of 1885, with the degree of
Bachelor of Science. He had in the meanwhile
been reading law, and after his graduation con-
tinued his technical studies in the office of Hon.
Calvin L. Brown, of Morris, Minnesota, this
able preceptor being now one of the associate
justices of the supreme court of that state. Mr.
Robertson read law under the direction of Judge
Brown for one year, and was then admitted to
the bar of Minnesota, in July, 1886. In January
of the following year he came to South Dakota
and took up his residence in Conde, where he
engaged in the practice of his profession, and
in the real-estate business, in which he has since
continued. In politics he is a stanch advocate
of the principles and policies of the Republican
party, in whose ranks he has been an active and
valued worker. In 1890 he was elected to the
legislature, making an excellent record. I\Ir.

i66o

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Robertson also takes an active interest in school
work and is president of the board of education
of Conde. He is an appreciative and popular
member of the Masonic fraternity, being affiliated
with the following named bodies of the same :
Conde Lodge, No. 134. Ancient Free and Ac-
cepted Masons; and South Dakota Consistory,
No. 4, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, at Aber-
deen, having attained to fourteen degrees in
this branch of the order at the time of
this writing.

On the 2ist of February. 1887. :Mr. Robert-
son was united in marriage to ^liss Priscilla \'.
Herman, who was born in Glenville, Freeborn
county, Minnesota, on the 3d of Novemlber,
1857, being a daughter of Philip and Augusta
Herman, who are now living at Glenville, Min-
nesota, her father having been a farmer by vo-
cation. Mr. and Mrs. Robertson have three
children living, namely : Len D., who was born
on the 17th of December, 1887; George V., who
was born on the 14th of February, 1893 ; and
Erskine H., who was born on the 14th of July,
1894. Their only daughter, Vida P., was born
October 24, 1890, and died of scarlet fever at
the age of fifteen months. Mrs. Robertson is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church and
takes special interest in Sunday school work.

EDWARD O. HANSCHK.A., of Deadwood,
was born on March 7, 1863, in Germany, and is
the son of Frederick and Caroline Hanschka,
also natives of the fatherland, where the father
was an industrious and well-to-do blacksmith.
Edward remained at home until he reached the
age of seventeen, receiving a common-school ed-
ucation and serving an apprenticeship at the
trade of his father. In 1880 he came to the
United States and, passing by the allurements of
the cultivated east, made his way direct to the
Black Hills, locating at Central City, where he
secured employment from the Homestake Min-
ing Company at its Terry mine near that town,
he to do blacksmithing there for the company.
.Vfter five years' service to this company he
bf)ught a shop of his own at Central City and

began business for himself. The shop he pur-
chased had an interesting history. It was orig-
inally owned by John Belt, one of the pioneers
of the Hills, and many important events in the
early history of this section were started, dis-
cussed and planned under its rude / roof. He
was in business at this stand two years, then
when the town of Carbonate was located he
moved the shop to that point, being one of the
founders and locators of the town. There he
remained two years, and during this time was
busily employed running his shop, supplying tim-
ber and limestone for the Iron Hill Mining Com-
pany, and hauling its ore from the mines to the
smelter by contract. In the spring of 1888 he
moved to Deadwood and went into the employ
of the Golden Reward Mining Company as mas-
ter mechanic, especially for the purpose of erect-
ing for that company the first mill put up in the
Hills except the Homestake stamp mills. He
remained with this company a year, the mill be-
ing destroyed by fire at the end of that time ; and
as it was impossible for the company to rebuild it
until the next year, he again accepted a berth in
the blacksmithing department of the Terry mines
of the Homestake Company, at Deadwood. As
soon as the Golden Reward Company was ready
to rebuild its mill he returned to its aid and con-
structed the plant, after which he worked for
the company until 1892. He then took an en-
gagement to build the Little B smelter for the
Deadwood & Delaware Smelting & Refining
Company, and when this was finished, he built
for the same company its Big B smelter, being
master mechanic in the erection of both. After
the completion of the Big B he took charge of
its blacksmithing department, of which he had
the management two years. In 1895 he entered
into a contract with the company to supply it
with limestone and do all its hauling. Since
then he has continued to furnish the limestpne
needed in the operations of the company, which
has averaged nine thousand tons a month. In
1900 he first became interested in mining for
himself, and the next year, he bought one thou-
sand acres of mining land. That same year he
organized the Standard Mining Company of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

i66i

Deadwood, of which he is the principal stock-
holder aiul the vice-president and mana,£^er: The
compan\- at once erected a mill on its property,
which is located in the Ragged Top district, and
its operations have been active and eminently
successful, it being beyond doubt one of the best
mining properties in the Hills at this time. In
1903 Mr. Hanschka bought other large tracts of
mining land on Elk creek seven miles south of
the Homestake properties. These were known
as the Hogan & Anderson and the Scandinavian
properties, but he has rechristened them, calling
them together the New Bonanza, and it is his in-
tention to work them separately from his other
enterprises. In the same summer he built a
mill on them, and the results so far obtained jus-
tify him in the belief that they will be as rich
in yield as the Standard. He has in addition
several small mining interests and is a stock-
holder in some of the larger companies. In 1898
he started an industry in raising and handling
cattle, running his stock on the Grand river north
of this locality where he bought ranch land. In
this venture he has been successful and is con-
tinually enlarging his business.

On January i, i88g, Mr. Hanschka was ma,r-
ried. at Deadwood, to Miss Minnie Walking, a
native of Germany. They have one daughter,
Emma C. Since his marriage the subject has
made his home at Deadwood, where he has a fine
residence. He belongs to the Modern Wood-
men of America here, and also to the Masonic
order, having solved the mysteries of the York
Rite through the conimandery and those of the
Scottish Rite to and through the thirty-second
degree.

JOHN BELL, postmaster of Spearfish, and
one of the old and worthy citizens of Lawrence
county. South Dakota, is a native of England,
born in Yorkshire on the 13th day of December,
1849. Deprived of a father's guidance and lov-
ing care at the early age of three years, the
chilflhood and youth of young Bell was beset
with many vicissitudes and not a few hardships,
bv reason of which his educational advantages

were exceedingly limited. While still a mere
lad he was apprenticed to the blacksmith trade
and after serving his time and becoming an ef-
ficient workman he followed his calling at dififer-
ent places in Lancashire, where he was reared
until his twentieth year. In 1870 Mr. Bell came to
the United States and after working at his trade
in various towns and cities, finally located in
Pittsburg. Pennsylvania, where he operated a
shop utitil 1876, when, by reason of the excite-
ment caused by gold in the Black Hills, he joined
the tide of fortune hunters and made his way
to Dakota, reaching the mining district in the
spring of the year noted. Immediately after his
arrival in the Black Hills he started a blacksmith
shop, the first one in the place, his only shelter be-
ing a large tree on the bank of White Wood
creek. There was much more work than he
could do and frequently he would be kept busy
far into the night attending to the needs of his
numerous customers. Later in the summer of
1876 ht pushed on to Central City, where he
started a shop and worked at his trade continu-
ally until 1883, when he closed his establishmient
and, removing to Spearfish, engaged in the live-
stock business. He moved his family to the lat-
ter place in 1886 and has since made it his home,
the- meantime continuing to raise, buy and sell
cattle, until 1902. when he sold out his live-stock
interests, the better to attend to his duties as
postmaster, to which office he was appointed by
President McKinley in ■ 1898. He was reap-
pointed in 1902 by President Roosevelt and still
holds the position, proving a most capable, pains-
taking and obliging official.

Mr. Bell is a Republican in politics and a zeal-
ous party worker. Fraternally he is a member of
the Masonic order, belonging to Blue Lodge, No.
18, and Lookout Qiapter, No. 36, Royal Arch
Masons. 'at Spearfish. He was married, Janu-
ary 20, 1872, at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to Miss
Mary A. Perrett, a native of England, who has
borne him nine children, of whom the following
are living: Maggie E., Lula M., Rosa, Maud S.
and Thomas A. ; the deceased are Bertha, Kate
and two that died in infancy.

'Sir. Bell has been quite successful in the

1 662

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

raising and handling of live stock, from which
and his trade he realized sufficient means to re-
tire in comfort, being now the possessor of an
ample competence for his declining years. Be-
ing still in the prime of life, however, with a lib-
eral income from the postoffice, he keeps abreast
of the times in all matters pertaining to the ma-
terial welfare of the cit)' of his residence, being
interested in its various enterprises, and co-oper-
ating with every laudable undertaking for the
social and moral good of the community.

JOHN HENRY RUSSELL, a representa-
tive citizen of Lawrence county, South Dakota,
was born in Fremont, Sandusky county, Ohio,
December lo, 1853. His father, Solomon Nor-
ton Russell, a contractor and builder, and his
mother, Sarah (Brown) Russell, were both na-
tives of the Buckeye state and for many years
residents of the city of Fremont. Of the early
life and youthful experiences of John H. Rus-
sell little need be said, as they were without
event of striking note, being confined to labor
in the summer time as soon as he was old
enough to be of practical service and to attending
the public schools of his native town during the
winter seasons. After acquiring a fair education
young Russell apprenticed himself to a carpen-
ter to learn the art of building, becoming an effi-
cient workman. He followed his chosen calling
in Ohio until 1877, the mteantime taking a num-
ber of important contracts in his native city and
county and earning the reputation of a capable
and reliable mechanic. Leaving Fremont the
above year, he came to South Dakota and since
that time has made his home in the Black Hills
country. Mr. Russell has been an honored resi-
dent of Lawrence county since April, 1877, and
in addition to carpentry has followed various
other pursuits, meeting with financial success at
his difTerent undertakings.

Tn 1893 Mr. Russell was elected a member of
the Spearfish city council, in which body he
served one term, and from 1897 to 1899 inclusive
he was a member of the board of county commis-
sioners. He also served during the years 1895

and 1896 on the city school board, and in 1903
was elected, on the Republican ticket, representa-
tive from Lawrence county to the lower house
of the state legislature.- Mr. Russell is one of the
standard bearers of the Republican party in Law-
rence county, and as such has been a potential
factor in local and state politics.

Mr. Russell joined the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows in 1881, and has been a member
in good standing ever since, besides holding
nearly every office within the power of the local
lodge to bestow. He has also been prominent in
the affairs of the grand lodge and at one time
served as grand master. Since 1894 he has been
identified with the Modern Woodmen of Amer-
ica, in which he has also been honored with im-
portant official station.

On the I2th day of April, 1879, i" the city of
Deadwood, Dakota territory, was solemnized the
ceremony which united Mr. Russell and Miss
Emma Sayre in the bonds of holy wedlock, a
marriage blessed with five children, whose names
and dates of birth are as follows : Lillian Y.,
January 29, 1880; Howard, October 6, 1881 ;
Una, July 24, 1884; Ruby C, August 9, 1887,
and John C, who was born September 11, 1891.

GEORGE F. JOHNSON is a prominent
business man of Redfield, Spink county, and is
now serving as register of deeds of said county.
The original progenitor of the Johnson family
in America immigrated hither in the early co-
lonial period and located in New England, rep-
resentatives of the name being found in various
sections thereof at the present time. Franklin
Johnson, the father of the subject, was a native
of the state of Vermont, where he was reared to
maturity. As a young man he removed thence
to New Jersey, and there he married Miss Rispah
Compton, who was born and reared in that state,
and they became the parents of five children, of
whom three are now living, the subject of this
review having been the second in order of birth.
He was born in this historic old town of Perth
Amboy, Middlesex county, New Jersey, on the
5th of June, 1843, his father having been there

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1663

engaged in the manufacturing of locks for a
number of years. George F. received his early
educational training in the schools of his native
town and was about fifteen years of age when, in
1S58, his parents removed to the west and set-
tled in Waseca, Minnesota, 'as pioneers of the
state. There the father engaged in the milling
business, in which he continued during the re-
mainder of his active career, and there his death
occurred in 1893, at the venerable age of eighty-
seven years, while his devoted wife died at the
age of sixty-seven years.

The subject was associated with his father
in the work of the mill at the time of the out-
break of the Civil war, and in March, 1863, at the
age of twenty years, he enlisted as a private in
Company A, First Minnesota A'olunteer In-
fantry, which was commanded by Colonel Sully,
who later became a general and distinguished
himself in the Indian warfare of the west and
northwest. The regiment proceeded to the na-
tional capital and shortly afterward Colonel Col-
vin assumed command. The regiment was as-
signed to the Army of the Potomac, and there-
after took part in every engagement in which
this notable division of the Union forces was
concerned until the close of the war, Mr. John-
son having received his honorable discharge, at
St. Paul, Minnesota, in July, 1865, while the his-
tory of his regiment is the history of his record
as a leal and loyal soldier of the republic.

After the close of the war Mr. Johnson re-
turned to Minnesota, and in 1871 he engaged in
the hotel business at Janesville, that state, con-
tinuing to be identified with this enterprise until
1881, when he came to Redfield, South Dakota,
and became the pioneer hardware merchant of
the town. He has ever since continued to be
identified with this important branch of trade,
has built up a large and profitable enterprise and
is one of the influential and honored business
men of the county. The business is now con-
ducted under the firm name of G. F. Johnson
& Son, his only son having been admitted to
partnership in 1890. In politics Mr. Johnson is
a stalwart Republican, taking a lively interest in
the party cause. He served as the first city re-

corder and treasurer of Redfield, and is incum-
bent of these positions at the present time, while
in November, 1902, he was elected register of
deeds of the county, in which office he is giving
a most systematic and able administration of the
important affairs entrusted to his charge. He is
a member of George PI. Thomas Post, No. 5,
Grand Army of the Republic, and also of the
Masonic fraternity, in which he is affiliated with
Redfield Lodge, No. 34, Ancient Free and Ac-
cepted Masons, and Redfield Chapter, No. 20,
Royal Arch Masons.

On the 19th of May, 1869, Mr. Johnson was
united in marriage to Miss Laura E. Storrs,
who was born in Maples, New York, being a
daughter of John and Sarah Storrs. The sub-
ject and his estimable wife are the parents of
two children, Grace F., who is now the wife of
Hubert W. Bartlett, of Lead, Lawrence county,
this state, and Harry E., who is now associated
with his father in the hardware business.

SAMUEL A. HOY, superintendent of
schools of Spink county, retaining his residence
in Redfield, was born in Pickaway county, Ohio,
on the 30th of October, 1866, being a son of Rev.
Samuel and Melinda (Imler) Hoy, both of whom
were likewise native of the old Buckeye state and
representatives of pioneer families of that great
commonwealth, while both were of German line-
age. Samuel Hoy was a minister of the Evan-
gelical Association, and for sixteen years — four
terms — was presiding elder in the Ohio confer-
ence. In 1883 he removed with his family to
South Dakota and took up his residence in
Spink county, where he continued his ministerial
work, being one of the pioneers of that section,
where he developed a good farm. He died Feb-
ruary 17, 1901, and his widow died January i,
1904, leaving eleven children, eight sons and
three daughters, not a death having occurred
among the children.

The subject received his early educational
discipline in the public schools of Ohio, and was
seventeen years of age at the time of his parents'
removal to South Dakota, where he continued his

1 664

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

studies in the schools of Spink county. In 1887,
at the age of twenty-one years, he began his ca-
reer as a teacher in the pubHc schools of Spink
county, proving successful from the start and
continuing to thus follow the pedagogic profes-
sion for thirteen years, at the expiration of
which, in 1900, he was elected to his present of-
fice as superintendent of schools of Spink county,
and was re-elected in 1902, in which capacity he
has accomplished an admirable work, gaining
the confidence and hearty co-operation of the
teachers in his jurisdiction and the unqualified
approval of the people of the county. In poli-
tics he is a stanch adherent of the Republican
l^arty, and fraternally is identified with La Delle
Lodge, No. 133, Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows.

On the 26th of November, 1902, Mr. Hoy was
united in marriage to Miss Blanche Cadwell. who
was born in Illinois, on the 13th of October,
1873. being a daughter of Simon and Rosa
(Bell) Cadwell, who are now residing in Ells-
worth county. Kansas, where they removed in
about 1877.

OTTO HE.XRY OERDES, M. D.. an able
representative of the medical profession in
Eureka. McPherson county, is a native of Han-
over. Germany, where he was born on the 25th
of January, 1868. coming of sterling old German
lineage and being a son of Henry and ]\Iargaret
(Heiken) Gerdes. who were likewise born in
Hanover, in which province the former was
identified with agricultural jnirsuits until his
death, which occurred in 1S73. In the family
were five cliildrLii, and in 1885 the widowed
nidtluM- with twd of lu-r sons came to America
and located in Maiison, Iowa, where another of
tin- Mins ]ku1 tnkiii up his residence two years
I>rrviously. Mrs. Gerdes returned to Germany
in i8<^5, and still remains there, while the three
sons continue to reside in .A.merica. Dr. Gerdes
secured his early educational discipline in the
excellent national schools of the fatherland, com-
pleting a course in the gymnasium, which is
analogous in its provisions and functions to the

high school of the LTnited States. A few months
after coining to America with his inother, being
seventeen years of age at the time, he secured
a position in the drug store of Foley Brothers,
at Manson, Calhoun county, Iowa, and was thus
employed until 1888, when he began reading
medicine under the efficient direction of Dr. D.
T. Martin, of the town mentioned, continuing his
technical studies under this preceptor until the
autumn of 1889, when he was matriculated in the
celebrated Rush Medical College, in the city of
Chicago, Illinois, where he completed the pre-
scribed course and was gradi^ated as a member
of the class of 1892, receiving his coveted degree
on the 29th of ^larch of that year. A few
months later he came to Hutchinson county,
South Dakota, and in March, 1893. established
himself in the practice of his profession in
Eureka, McPherson county, where he has since
remained and where he has been most successful
in the work of his profession, having gained dis-
tinctive prestige as a physician and surgeon and
being known as a close student and one who
keeps in close touch with the advances made in
both sciences involved, while his personality is
such that he has gained the high esteem of the
people of the community. He is a member of the
American Medical Association and the South
Dakota State Medical Society. The Doctor is
a member of the Ancient Order of L^'nited Work-
men, and is local medical examiner for the same,
as well as for several of the leading life
insurance companies having agencies here, not-
ably the New York Mutual Life. He is also a
thirty-second-degree Mason. Religiously he is a
Lutheran and politically a Republican.

On the 22(1 of October, 1894. the Doctor was
united in marriage to Miss Bertha Bryan, who
was born and reared in Woodstock, Illinois, being
a daughter of Thomas and Susan- Bryan. Dr.
and Mrs. Gerdes have three daughters, — Irene,
Lillian and Maude.

In a supplemental way it may be stated that
the Doctor's grandfather, Henry H. Gerdes. was
the owner of three excellent farms in Hanover.
Germany, where he died in 1888, at the venerable
age of ninety-three years. He left a large and

DR. O. H. GERDES.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

valuable estate, and the properties mentioned
still remain in the possession of his descendants.
He was a soldier under the renowned General
Blucher, and was in that officer's command at
the niemoraljle battle of W'atcrlon.

TAMES A. KISER, a member of the well-
known real-estate firm) of Kiser Brothers, of
Redfield, Spink county, was born on a farm near
Madison, Dane county, Wisconsin, on the 24th
of February, 1865, and is a son of William C.
and Lucy A. (Black) Kiser, the former of whom
was born in Virginia and the latter in Ohio,
where her father was a pioneer, the Black fam-
ily having been founded in America in the co-
lonial (lays. The father of the subject passed
his early childhood in the Old Dominion state
and was about two years of age at the time of
his father's death. His mother later removed
with her children to Ohio and located in Mont-
gomery county, on the site of the present Na-
tional Soldiers' Home, near the city of Dayton.
While he was still a boy the family removed to
Logan county, Ohio, where he remained until
1862, when he located in Dane county, Wiscon-
sin, where he was engaged in farming until 1881,
when he came as a pioneer to what is now the
state of South Dakota, taking up government
land ten miles east of the present village of Mel-
lette, Spink county, where he developed a valu-
able ranch, upon which he still resides. In 1888
he was elected county treasurer of Spink county,
of which office he was incumbent two years.

James Kiser, the immediate subject of this
sketch, passed his youth in Dane county, Wis-
consin, and received his educational training in
the public schools of the city of Madison. He
was sixteen years of age at the time of the fam-
ily removal to Spink county, and here he assisted
in the work and management of the home ranch
until his father was elected county treasurer,
when he served as a clerk in the office for two
years. At the expiration of this period, in 1891,
he purchased an interest in an abstract and real-
estate business in Redfield, being identified with
this enterprise until 1894, when he disposed of

his interests and went to California, where he re-
mained until 1899, wIku he returned to Redfield
and became associated with his brother, William
C, Jr., in the real-estate business, the enterprise
liaving been establi-shed .some time previously by
his brother, and they have since continued the
business muler the firm name of Kiser Brothers.
They have finely appointed offices in Redfield,
and courteous attention is given to all who seek
their aid or advice in connection with the sale or
purchase of property. The subject of this sketch
is a .stanch Democrat in politics, and fraternally
he is a member of the order of Freemiasons, be-
ing identified with Redfield Lodge, No. 34 ; Red-
field Chapter, No. 20, Royal Arch Masons;
Huron Commandery, Knights Templar, and El
Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the No-
bles of the Mystic Shrine, at Sioux Falls.

On the 20th of March, 1889, Mr. Kiser was
united in marriage to Miss Lydia A. Markham,
a daughter of Giles Markham, a prominent citi-
zen of Markesan, Wisconsin, in which state she
was born and reared.

BURNHAM W. COLE, one of the pioneer
business men and representative citizens of Mel-
lette, Spink county, is a native of Stanstead,
province of Quebec, Canada, where he was born
on the 22d of May, 1855, being a son of Philo
B. Cole, who was born and reared in the same
town, where he continued his residence until
the autumn of I855, when he removed with his
family to the northwestern part of the state of
Illinois, where he still maintains his home, be-
ing a carriage manufacturer by vocation.

The subject of this sketch was reared to man-
hood in Illinois, in whose public schools he re-
ceived his educational discipline. In 1881 he
came to the territory of Dakota and in spring of
the following year took up his abode in Mel-
lette, where he engaged in the farming-imple-
ment, coal and lumber business, beginning opera-
tions upon a modest scale and having built up a
large and prosperous enterprise in the line, his
trade at the present ramifying throughout the
wide radius of territorv normallv tributary to the

1 666

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

town. He is the owner of town property and
also of valuable farming land in the county and
is one of the substantial men of this section. In
politics he gives his allegiance to the Republican
party and fraternally is affiliated with the local
organization of the Ancient Order of United
Workmen.

In the year 1887 was solemnized the marriage
of Mr. Cole to Miss Kate B. Gagen, who died
January i, 1895, leaving one child, Helen E. In
1899 Mr. Cole consummated a second marriage,
being then united to Miss Eva L. Lee, and they
have two sons, Carroll 'L. and Harold.

CHARLES M. HARRISON, a leading
member of the Spink county bar and practicing
his profession at Redfield as senior member of
the well-known firm of Harrison & Everitt, was
born June 22, 185 1, at Springfield, Ohio. He is
the son of the Rev. Thomas Harrison, D. D., of
the Methodist Episcopal church, who was a na-
tive of Yorkshire, England. Rev. Harrison
came to the United States when a young man,
and located at Springfield, Ohio. When sixteen
years of age he was ordained to the ministry.
For a period of eight years he occupied the edi-
tor's chair of the Western Christian Advocate,
published at Cincinnati, and subsequently he be-
came president of Moore's Jiill College, a church
institution located at Moore's Hill, Dearborn
county, Indiana. He was a man of high schol-
arship and fine executive ability and he accom-
plished much in his field of endeavor.

Charfcs M. Harrison was educated in the
public schools and at Moore's Hill College, tak-
ing a six-years course at the latter. After leav-
ing college he taught school in Indiana, and was
in turn principal of the high schools of Conners-
ville, Lafayette and Kokomo. He read law and
was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1876, and
was actively engaged in the practice of his pro-
fession in that state until 1883, when he came
to what was the territory of Dakota, locating at
Huron. There he engaged in the practice of
law. and was appointed agent and attorne\- for
the Milwaukee Loan Company, with which he

continued until 1893. In that year he removed
to Sioux Falls to take the financial management
of the Connecticut General Life Insurance Com-
pany for its loan business in South Dakota, a po-
sition he held for eight years. In 1902 I\Ir. Har-
rison removed to Redfield to enter into a part-
nership with the Hon. T. A. Everitt in the prac-
tice of law, negotiating of mortgage loans and
j the buying and selling of real estate.

Mr. Harrison is a Reptiblican in politics, and
in 1891 was elected to the second general assem-
bly of South Dakota from Beadle county. He is
a Mason of the Knights Templar degree, and is
also a member of the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks.

Oil January 20, 1880, Mr. Harrison was
married to Anna R. Shirk, of New Castle. Indi-
ana, the daughter of the Hon. Benjamin Shirk.
He was a prominent citizen of Indiana, and
served in both the house and senate of the Indi-
ana legislature. Mr. and Mrs. Harrison are the
parents of three children : Ruth, Ben-Tom and
Florence.

ANDREW H. OLESON, promoter, prac-
tical miner and prominent citizen of Deadwood,
hails from far-off Norway, where his birth oc-
curred on July 15, 1861. His father was a well-
to-do fanner and amid the romantic rural scenes
of his native land young Andrew spent his child-
hood and youth. . He attended for some years
the public schools, and until reaching the years
of young manhood remained with his parents,
assisting in the cultivation of the farm and con-
tributing to the maintenance of the family. Leav-
ing home, Mr. Oleson engaged in railroad con-
struction, to which line of work he devoted him-
self until 1879, when he came to America, and
for some years thereafter lived in Wisconsin,
where he was variously employed. From that
state he went to Michigan and engaged in the
manufacture of lumber, later returning to Wis-
consin, where he also operated a sawmill, after-
wards following mining for some years in both

1 states.

j In 1883 Mr. Oleson came to the Black Hills,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1667

where he put in a number of 3'ears at mining,
being empIo\^ed a part of the time by the Home-
stake Company at Lead, and devoting the rest
to prospecting, later to the promoting of various
mining enterprises. He has located a number
of valuable mines that promise liberal returns,
when properly developed, in addition to which
he also owns rich mineral properties adjoining
the Homestake ledges, from which in due time
he will no doubt realize an independent fortune.
At the present time he is engaged in promoting
a business he has prosecuted with encouraging
financial results, and at intervals he mines for
himself and for others, realizing from both lines
of work a handsome income. Since becoming a
citizen of South Dakota j\lr. Oleson has been
active in the public and political affairs of his
city, county and state, having been elected in
1890 a member of the general assembly as repre-
sentative from Lawrence county. He served
with credit during the session of that year, and
subsequently, 1896, was re-elected to the same
body. He also served as a in/ember of the city
council, in which capacity his record was above
criticism. Mr. Oleson is a Democrat in politics,
and is a worthy citizen of his adopted country,
an admirer of its institutions, a loyal supporter
of its laws, and to all intents and purposes as
genuine an American citizen as if he had been'
born and bred under the protecting folds of the
Stars and Stripes.

Mr. Oleson was married, December 22, 1892,
to ?\Iiss Minnie Gies, a native of Dayton, Ohio,
and of German descent, who came to the Black
Hills with her parents in 1879, when a child.
The result of his union is one child, a daughter
bv the name of Florence.

JERRY T. HARRINGTON, one of the
prominent mining men of the Black Hills, who
retains his residence in the city of Dead wood,
is a native of County Kerry, Ireland, and exem-
plifies the sterling characteristics of his sturdy
race. He was born on the 7th of April, 1847,
being a son of John and Mary (Twohey) Har-
rington, both of whom were likewise born in

County Kerry, where the respective families had
been established for many generations, the pater-
nal grandfather of the subject having borne the
name of Patrick Harrington, while the maternal
grandfather was Patrick Twohey, both having
been sturdy and honest tillers of the soil in the
fair but oppressed Emerald Isle, as was also the
father of the subject. In the great famine of
1848 he nfet with the great misfortune which at-
tended the many other farmers of Ireland, and
died there in 1850. Soon afterward his wife and
her three sons emigrated to America, settling in
Dutchess county, N.ew York, where they re-
mained until 1856, when they removed to Michi-
gan and located in Copper Harbor, while later
they took up their abode in the great copper dis-
trict in the upper peninsula of that state, where
the mother passed the remainder of her life.
The eldest son, Philip, removed to Colorado in
1878, and has there been very successful, being a
resident of the city of Boulder at the present
time. The third of the sons is deceased.

The subject of this sketch received his edu-
cational training in the schools of Michigan and
early began to depend largely upon his own re-
sources, doing various kinds of work about the
copper mines. He continued to reside in the
vicinity of Calumet, that state, until 1879, when
he came to Deadwood, arriving on the 24th of
October. Here he first engaged in prospecting,
but met with indifferent success, so that he then
turned his attention to contracting, principally for
the Homestake Mining Company, while in the
connection he constructed the greater portion of
the narrow-gauge railroad lines between Dead-
wood and Nemo and Deadwood and Piedmont,
while later he met with considerable success in
timber contracting and in the general merchandise
business, in which latter he was engaged in Rou-
baix. Within this time he also began investing
in mining properties, and in 1886 he gave up all
other interests to devote his entire time and at-
tention to his mining properties. He is associ-
ated with John F. Sawyer in the ownership of
the Tomahawk mine, having six hundred and
forty acres in the property, while two hundred
acres are patented. The mine is located at

i668

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Xemo, just beyond the terminus of the branch
of the narrow-gauge railroad, and more than
forty thousand dollars have been expended in the
improvement and developinent of the property,
which is considered a most valuable one. One
shaft has reached a depth of one hundred feet
and the ledge is easily traced for one mile, men
being constantly employed in preparing for
further extension of the work of development.
Messrs. Harrington and Sawyer also own the
Transvaal and Idlewild mines, located at Suster
Peak, where they have one hundred and seventy
acres patented. Here they have an eighty-five-
I'oot cage shaft of two compartments, while there
are also a number of other shafts, together with
cross-cuts, drifts, etc., ore showing on this prop-
erty for thirty-six hundred feet on the strike of
the ledge. This is also a valuable property,
showing a decomposed ore seventy feet down
and being easily worked, as large quantities of
wood and water are available. Mr. Harrington
is also associated with Harry Graig in
the ownership of the Inca , mine, formerly
known as the Fairview, this having been one of
the first discoveries in the Black Hills. On this
mine a depth of two hundred and fifty feet has
been reached, while they have a tunnel of three
hundred feet, at a depth of one hundred and
seventy feet from the apex of the shaft. This
property is a producer, and the firm have a large
quantity of ore staked — eighty acres, of which
twenty are under patent. The subject is also in-
terested in other promising properties and is
known as one of the progressive and discrimi-
nating mining men of the Hills. He is a Demo-
crat in his political proclivities, and fraternally is
identified with the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, while he also holds membership
in the Business Men's Club of Deadwood and
Mining Men's Association of the United States.

GEORGE S. JACKSON, a prominent and
honored citizen of Deadwood, comes of stanch
old New England stock, and is himself a native
of \"erni(int, having- ])ecn born in Bartonsville,
thai state, nn the 2(1 of August. 1X50, and being a

son of Samuel and Harriet (Brought Billings)
Jackson, both of whom were born and reared in
Bellows Falls, Vermont. In 1861 the subject
accompanied his parents on their removal to the
city of Chicago, Illinois, where his father contin-
ued to be engaged in the wholesale coiTee and
spice business until his death, which occurred in
1864, while the devoted wife and mother was
summoned into eternal rest in 1902. Thev be-
came the parents of four children, of whom the
subject of this review was the second in order of
birth, while all are living.

Mr. Jackson received his early educational
training in the public schools of the western
metropolis and later completed a course of study
in the Goddard Seminary, at Barre, \'ermont.
He then returned to Chicago, where he held a
clerical position in the wholesale furniture house
of C. C. Holton & Company until 1877, when, at
the age of eighteen years, he came west to Lead-
ville, Colorado, arriving on the 26th of Febru-
ary, a number of years prior to the great stam-
pede of mining prospectors to that section. At
the time of his arrival the town had a popula-
tion of about two thousand persons, and he there
engaged in mining enterprises and also in the
mercantile business, meeting with excellent suc-
cess. In 1884 he left Leadville and came to
Deadwood, South Dakota, where he forthwith
became identified with mining, his prime oljject
in coming here having been to give his attention
to the mining of tin ore and shipping the same to
Europe, for the purpose of enlightening the per-
sons there interested as to the possibilities of-
fered in connection with the development of this
industry in America. He successfully proved
that his position was well taken, and at the pres-
ent time he is personally interested in fully thir-
teen hundred acres patented tin-mining ground
in this district, while he was also the promoter
of the Victoria Gold Mining and Milling Com-
pany, which is to be listed as the third largest
producer of the Ragged Top district. He is the
principal stockholder of the company and its
general manager. Mr. Jackson is also extensivelv
interested in real estate in this locality, owning
about four hundred acres of land adjacent to the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1669

city of Deadwood, while he devotes no little at-
tention to the raising of cattle, givino; preference
to the thoroughbred Hereford type. In addi-
tion to the mining properties mentioned it should
be noted that he is also a member of the director-
ate of the Pluma Gold Mining and Milling Com-
pany and the Golden Empire ^Mining Company,
both representing important enterprises. He
was the originator and promoter of the Black
Hills Mining Men's Association, which has ac-
complished much in connection with the mining
interests of this section and which is mentiorted
in detail in the general historical division of this
publication. He is also a valued member of the
Deadwood Business Men's Club, the American
Mining Congress and the Olympic Association,
while he has attained the thirty-second degree
in the Masonic fraternity, being identified with
the consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite,
at Deadwood, as well as with Naja Temple,
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the
Mystic Shrine, at Deadwood. In politics he gives
a stanch allegiance to the Republican party, but
has never sought the honors or emoiuments of
public office, though he takes a deep interest in
all that tends to conserve the best interests of
his home city and state.

( in the loth of October. 1888, Mr. Jackson
was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Power,
who was born and reared in the city of Qiicago.
Illinois, and who is a daughter of Thomas
Power, now a member of the Fish-Hunter Com-
pany, of Deadwood and Lead, South Dakota.
.Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have one son, George L.,
who was born on the 5th of October, 1889.

JACOB TSCHETTER hails from far-away
Russia, in the southern part of which country-
his birth occurred on October 27, 1857. His
parents were Joseph and Mary (Wipf) Tschel-
ter, both natives of Russia, the father for a num-
ber of vears a farmer of considerable means and
a man of uuich more than ordinary influence and
social standing. In 1875 he immigrated to the
Cnited States and settled at Elkhart. Indiana,
but after living there until the spring of the fol-

lowing year, moved his family to South Dakota,
locating in Iltilchinson ronnty. where he took up
a homestead and pre-em[)ted a claim. 1 oth of
which he at once proceeded to improve. He
was an industrious man, developed a good farm
and spent the remainder of his life on the sime.

Wu

1881

wh

ing.

lutchiiisn

Jacob Tsclietler sprnl his childhood and
youth in the land of his nativity, and at the age
of eighteen acconipaiiiid the family to the Cnited
States, receiving his first knowledge of the
English language and of .American manners and
customs at Elkhart, Indiana. He attended
school there a part of one year, and in 1876 re-
moved with his parents to South Dakota, where
he assisted his father in improving the farm, re-
maining at home until 1877, in the fall of which
year he entered the marriage relation with Miss
.\nna ^lendel, a native of Russia, and purchas-
ing land near the family homestead engaged in
the pursuit of agriculture. Meeting with en-
couraging success as a farmer, he subsequently
purchased other lands, until in due time he
found himself the owner of five hundred and
twentv acres, the greater part of which he re-
duced to cultivation and otherwise improved and
upon which he continued to live and prosper un-
til 1884. In that year he abandoned agriculture
and, moving to the town of Bridgewater, en-
gaged in merchandising, in connection with
which he also did a thriving business for some
time buying and shipping cattle. Mr. Tschetter
embarked in the latter line of trade with a part-
ner in whom he reposed great confidence, but
the latter, becoming financially eml)arrassed, so
involved the entire business that at the end of
two years the firm was obliged to close its doors
and go to the wall. During the two years fol-
lowing this disaster the subject was variously
employed, working for some time in "a machine
shop until elected city marshal, the duties of
which position he discharged in an eminently sat-
isfactory manner for several years. At the ex-
piration of his official term he was appointed
deputy sheriff of ]\IcCook county, and after leav-

1670

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ing that office served as deputy United States
marshal for six years, during which time he be-
came widely known as a faithful and efficient
public servant. In the course of his business
career, especially in that part immediately fol-
lowing his financial reverses, Mr, Tschetter be-
came involved in a number of law suits, growing
out of the collecting of outstanding accounts,
several of which he carried to the circuit court,
thence to the supreme court, where verdicts were
rendered in his favor. Considering his limited
experience in litigation in this country and his
indifferent knowledge of the English language,
having attended school no more than six weks
in America, his success in pushing his cases to
final issue and winning verdicts was little less
than remarkable, as nearly everybody acquainted
with the matter predicted his certain defeat.
Realizing the justice of his cause, however, he
refused to abide by the adverse decisions of lower
courts and, appealing from the same to higher
tribunals, obtained the victory to which in law
as well as equity he was so clearly entitled.

For some >-ears past Mr. Tschetter has been
dealing in real estate, and his reputation as a
clear-headed, far-seeing man has won him a
large and lucrative patronage. He has made a
number of important sales in different parts of
the state, one of which, including the transfer
of farm property in Beadle county, amounting
to ninety-six thousand dollars, being the largest
landed deal effected in .South Dakota during the
year 1902,

Mr. and Mrs. Tschetter are the parents of six
children, namely: Jacob, a clothing merchant at
Bridgewater; Joseph, a teacher in the public
schools ; Susan and Anna are also engaged in
educational work, while David and Mary are still
at home. Susan, the older daughter, was the
first young lady of Russian parentage to teach in
the schools of Hutchinson county, and one of the
first of her nationality to engage in educational
work in the state. She and her sister Anna are
fine vocalists and leading members of the choir
of the Mennonite church, to which the family
belong. Joseph is also an accomplished musi-
cian ; he organized the Lutheran College Band of

Sioux Falls, was a member of the First Regi-
mental Band for some years, and at this time is
leader and instructor of the Goodrich Band, one
of the finest organizations of the kind in South
Dakota.

In politics Mr. Tschetter was a Democrat un-
til 1896, since which time he has become an
ardent supporter of the Republican party, his
change of views being caused by the free silver
fallacy, which he could in no wise endorse, hav-
ing always been an advocate of a sound and
stable currency based upon the gold standard.
For a number of years prior to 1896 he served
on the Democratic state central committee, and
since abandoning his former position he has been
equally as active in his efforts to advance the in-
terests of the party with which he is now identi-
fied, being one of the Republican leaders in Mc-
Cook county, and an influential factor in district
and state, as well as in local politics. Frater-
nally he is a Mason, belonging to Sioux Falls
Lodge, Xo. 262, and he is also an active worker
in the Ancient Order of United Workmen and
the Modern Woodmen of America, holding im-
portant official positions in both. Religiously
he was born and reared in the Mennonite faith,
and is still a loyal member of the church of that
time, as are also his wife and the other mem-
bers of the family, being among the leaders and
liberal supporters of the congregation worship-
ing in Bridgewater. Mr. Tschetter is a man of
strong intellectuality, great personal force, and
occupies a conspicuous position among the repre-
sentative citizens of McCook countv.

WILLIAAI G. RICE, who is presiding on
the bench of the circuit court for the district
comprising Lawrence, Bi;tte and Meade counties,
and who has been established in the active prac-
tice of law in Deadwood for nearly twenty years,
was born in JNIemphis, Scotland county, Missouri,
on the 1st of February, 1858, and is a son of
Hudson and Frances C. (Oliver) Rice, the
former of whom was born in Kentucky and the
latter in Mrginia. Tlie paternal grandfather
of (lur sulijcct likewise bore the name of Hudson

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1671

and was born in Kentucky, whither his father,
John Rice, removed from \'irginia in an early
day, both the Rice and Ohver famiHes having
been established in the Old Dominion state
prior to the war of the Revolution, in which
representatives of both participated, while further
evidence of loyalty was given in succeeding gen-
erations of both families, for those of the two
names were found enlisted for service during
the war of 1812, the paternal grandfather of the
Judge having been a participant in the battle of
Fort Meigs, Ohio, in that conflict with the
mother country. The maternal grandfather be-
came one of the pioneers of Missouri, where he
became extensively engaged in farming and
stock raising, being one of the influential men
of his section. The father of the subject was
reared to maturity in Kentucky, where he re-
ceived a liberal education for the locality and
period, and as a young man he removed thence
to Missouri, locating in Scotland county, where
he became a prominent and successful farmer
and stock grower. They Ijccame the parents of
six children, of whom five are living, the Judge
being the eldest.

Judge Rice was reared on the homestead
farm and received his early education in the
public schools of his native county. At the age
of eighteen years he put his scholastic acquire-
ments to practical test and use by engaging in
teaching in the district schools, and he followed
this profession successfully for several years.
At the age of twenty-three he began reading law
in the office of the firm of McKee & Jayne, whose
principals were leading members of the bar of
Memphis, Missouri, and under their efl^ective di-
rection he continued his technical studies until
1884, in May of which year he was duly admitted
to the bar of Missouri, being pronounced spe-
cially well equipped. Shortly afterward he started
for the west, and in July of the same year located
in Deadwood, where he has been identified with
a large percentage of the more important cases
litigated in the courts of this and adjoining
counties, and has retained a representative clien-
tage, gaining popular favor at the very inception
of his professional career. In i888 he was

elected to the office of district attorney, serving
six consecutive years in this important and ex-
acting position, which fact indicates that he was
twice chosen as his own successor. He served
the three terms and could not become again a
canilidate, this being the limitation prescribed by
the constitution of the state. In 1894 he was
elected to represent his district in the state sen-
ate, serving during the fifth general assembly
and making a most excellent record as a discrim-
inating, loyal and public-spirited meiuber of the
deliberative body of the legislature. He intro-
duced and ably advocated the bill providing for
the better protection of the state funds, and it
was largely due to his earnest and unceasing
effort that this wise measure was enacted. In
i8g6 the Judge was again the choice of his party
for the state senate, and while he made a vigor-
ous canvass and secured a gratifying support he
was not able to overcome the Populistic landslide
which swept the state in that year. From Ma}-,
1896, until May, 1902, the Judge served as city
attorney of Deadwood, and on the nth of June
of the latter year he was appointed to his present
office as circuit judge, to fill out the unexpired
tern) of Judge Frank J. Washabaugh, whose
death caused the vacancy. In politics the Judge
has ever been an uncompromising Republican,
and has been an able advocate of the principles
and policies of the party. He and his wife are
prominent meiribers of the Methodist Episcopal
church. The Judge is an enthusiastic devotee of
sports and afield and afloat, and his vacations
are largely given to recreation with rod and gun.
On the 2 1st of October. 1885, Judge Rice
was united in marriage to Miss Minerva Smoot,
who was born and reared in Memphis, Missouri,
being a daughter of H. E. Smoot, a prominent
citizen of that place and a native of \'irginia.

IRA C. KIXGSBERY, cashier of the Bank
of Hartford, Minnehaha county, is a native of
the state of Indiana, having been born in Monti-
cello, White county, on the 14th of September,
1 85 1, a son of Albert and Maria (Adams)
Kingsbery, the former of whom died in 1864,

1672

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

while the mother still lives at Monticello. Indiana.
The subject secured his educational discipline
in the public schools of his native county, hav-
ing also attended the high school at Crawfords-
vilie, Indiana, for one year. In 1869 he initiated
his independent business career by establishing
himself in the grocery trade in Monticello, con-
tinuing this enterprise for three years and being
successful in his .efforts. In 1873 he purchased
an interest in the Monticello woolen mills, which
had been operated by his father up to the time
of his death, in l?,f^. With this industrial un-
dertaking the subject continued to be identified
until 1876, when he disposed of his interest in
the same and removed to ' Remington, Indiana,
where he was engaged in the general-merchan-
dise business for the ensuing six years, at the
expi'-ation of which, in 1882, he came to South
Dakota, and located in St. Lawrence, Hand
county, where he became the pioneer merchant
of the town, there continuing operations for the
ensuing three years and then removing to High-
more, Hyde county, where he became associated
with his brothers in the hardware and implement
business, in which he there continued until 1888.
when he came to Hartford and established the
Bank of Hartford, forthwith assuming the of-
fice of cashier of the institution, of whi:h the
president, William H. Wells, owns the remain-
ing half interest, he having never taken up his
abode in South Dakota, so that the entire
executive charge of the business has been in the
hands of the subject from the time of establishing
the bank. In addition to his banking interests
Mr. Kingsbery is the owner of a fine farm of
two hundred acres adjoining the village, while
he owns other lands in the county to an aggre-
gate area of thirteen hundred and eighty acres,
being prominently identified with the raising of
the highest grade of Aberdeen Angus cattle.
Fraternally he is affiliated with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, while both he and his
wife are prominent and valued members of the
Methodi.st Episcopal church.

On the 3d of June, 1874. was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Kings))ery to ;\liss Lu A.
Curtis, of Monticello, Indiana, and thev are the

parents of three children, namely : Lois K., who
is the wife of Frank L. Mays, editor and pro-
prietor of the Daily Journal at Pensacola, Mor-
ida : Albert C. who is a graduate of the L'ni-
versity of Colorado, at Boulder, Colorado; How-
ard L., who is a member of the class of 1903 in
the L'niversitv of South Dakota, at Mitchell.

JOHN L. PYLE.— :Many strong and noble
men have lent honor and dignity to the state of
South Dakota by distinguished public service,
and among them stands the subject of this sketch,
who was the first South Dakotan to die while in
a state office. He was attorney general 'of the
state at the time of his death.

John Levis Pyle came of sturdy stock. His
mother was born near London. England, and
came to America with her parents while still a
child. On his , father's, side his ancestors were
identified with American progress from the
earliest times, the founder of the family havin,g
been one of Penn's colonists in the seventeenth
century. The P'yles were early noted for their
fearlessness and sturdy independence. They
were steady, temperate men, of strong character,
indomitable energy and magnificent physical de-
velopment. Early settlers in Pennsylvania, they
were also pioneers in pushing westward along
the frontier. They were famous as fighters and
many stories are told of their deeds of physical
prowess. John Pyle presented in his own person,
the full development of this splendid ancestry,
being a man of great mental and physical power,
noted for his honesty, courage and progressive
energy.

The future attorney general was Ijorn at
Coal Run, Ohio, May 5, i860. His mother,
!\Iary Dean Pyle, was a woman of remarkably
sweet and gentle disposition. The influence of
her self-control and kindly ways were very great
upon her son. It remained with him through
life and made him in his private walks one of
the most lovable of men. His father. Dr. Levis
Pyle, was a man of restless and progressive
spirit — energetic, public-spirited and absolutely
fearless. During- the strife and turmoil of the

JOHNL.PYLE.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1673

ante-bellum days in Ohio he took a prominent
part in the agitation for the abolition of slavery
and more than once was in peril for his life
on account of his activity. Shortly after the
war he removed to Raritan, Illinois, where he
resided until 1882, when he came to the territory
of Dakota and settled in Miller. Here he con-
tinned to reside, engaged in the active practice of
his profession, until he was called away by death,
at the ripe old age of seventy-five.

The early schooling of the suljject of this
sketch was obtained in the public schools at
Raritan and was later supplemented by a course
o.f study in the college at \\^estfield. Illinois. He
early went to work for himself, earning his own
living from the age of thirteen. In 1879 he
went to Montana and engaged in mining until
1882, when he came with the early settlers to
Dakota and took up land near Miller. He then
began the study of law. was admitted to the bar
and elected state's attorney for Hand county in
1886. In 1889 he removed to Huron, where he
was residing at the time of his death. The best
of his life work was done at Huron. He rose
rapidly in his profession, commanded the un-
equivocal confidence and love of the entire com-
munity, and was finally elected attorney general
in 1898. He was the first state officer ever se-
lected from Beadle county and at the time of his
election attracted attention by the unusual degree
to which he received the support of his home
county. In politics he was a stanch Republican
and an influential party worker. As attorney
general he gave a most able and satisfactory ad-
ministration of the exacting duties of his office.
The fever which brought about his death was
contracted while in the discharge of his official
duties, in Helena, Montana, whither he had gone
to attend the conference of governors and at-
torneys general relative to the prosecution of the
famous merger suit against the Northern Se-
curities Company.

Mr. Pyle was a man who often attracted at-
tention on account of his magnificent physique,
and his untimely death was a great surprise to
all. He was buried with the honors of state.

In his special proclamation touching the death
of the attorney general. Governor Herreid said :
"Mr. Pyle was an efficient public officer ; an able,
conscientious lawyer and an honorable Christian
gentleman, who was respected by all classes and
loved and admired by all who had the privilege
of his personal acquaintance. In bis untimely
death his family, the legal profession, the public
service and all the people of the state have suf-
fered an unmcasuralile loss. '

Mr. Pyle was a ]M-oniinent and active member
of the Presbyterian church and president of the
board of trustees of the Presbyterian College
of South Dakota : fraternally he was identified
with the Ancient Order of I'nited Workmen,
with the Modern Woodmen of America and
with James River Lodge, No. 32, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. The bar of Beadle
county adopted resolutions of respect and esteem
at the time of his death, from which the following
is an extract : "Our deceased brother was a
man of high character and worth : as a public
officer, he served the people of his state with
fidelity : as a private citizen, he was zealous in
the discharge of every civic duty ; as a husband,
he was faithful and kind ; as a father, he was
patient, gentle and indulgent ; as a lawyer, he was
able and conscientious, steadfast in his relation
with his clients and earnest and careful in the
protection of their interests; as a man. he was
mild and sincere, true in his friendships, dignified
in his bearing, and in all his conduct governed
by a lofty sense of duty."

Mr. Pyle was married at Miller, on the 26th
of May, 1886, to Mary I. Shields, who survives
him and still lives at their beautiful home in
Huron. Of this union four children were born,
all of whom survive.

In conclusion, the whole matter of Mr. Pyle's
standing in the community and his relation to
his fellow men may well be summed up in the
declaration of a former state official who had
kmown him closely for nearly a score of years.
Said this gentleman to the writer, "Physically,
mentally and morally. John Pyle was one of the
most perfect men I ever knew."

i674

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

WASHINGTON J. HUNT, who holds the
responsible executive office of manager of the
Farmers' Elevator Company, at Hartford, Min-
nehaha county, claims the Empire state as the
place of his nativity, having been born in North
New Berlin, New York, on the 22d of February,
1856, and the fact of his having thus been
ushered into the world on the birthday anni-
versary of the immortal Washington led to his
being given the name of the "father of his
country." He is a son of Reuben and Elizabeth
(Wrench) Hunt, the father born in England
and the mother in New York state. The father
was engaged as a stone-mason until 1857, when
he removed to Fayette county, Iowa, becoming
one of the pioneers of that section, where he fol-
lowed his trade, in connection with farming, for
many years. He maintains his name at Fayette,
Iowa, while his wife died April 4. 1901.

The subject of this review was not yet one
year of age when his parents removed to Iowa,
and • thus he is a typical western man in spirit
and training.. After availing himself of the ad-
vantages of the public schools he continued his
studies for a time in the Upper Iowa University,
at Fayette. As a youth he learned the trade of
stone-mason under the eflfective direction of
his father, and to the same he continued to de-
vote his attention in Iowa until 1878, when, at
the age of twenty-two years, he came to Sioux
Falls, South Dakota, thus gaining title to consid-
eration as one of the pioneers of this common-
wealth. Here he was engaged in teaching in
the public schools for the first two years, and
the ensuing seven years he devoted to agri-
cultural pursuits in Minnehaha county. In 1892
he was elected superintendent of schools of the
county, retaining this incumbency for a term of
two years, during which he resided in East
Sioux Falls, while later he devoted his attention
to teaching and to the work of his trade, residing
in X'allry Springs. He returned to Iowa in 1900
and during that and the succeeding year was
principal of the school at Larchwood, that state.
He then returned to South Dakota and took up
his abode in the thriving town of Hartford,
where he was engaged in the work of his trade

until August, 1902, when he was chosen to his
present position of business manager of the
Farmers' Elevator Company, in which capacity
he has since continued to serve, manifesting that
administrative ability and good business judg-
ment which ever make for the success of any
enterprise, and so materially has he advanced
the interests of the company as to gain the un-
qualified approval and endorsement of its board
of directors, who voluntarily increased his sal-
ary- at the opening of the year 1903, thus tan-
gibly showing their appreciation of his eft'orts. In
politics Mr. Hunt is a stanch advocate of the
principles of the Prohibition party and signified
the same by supporting its cause. He and his
wife are zealous members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and fraternally he is identified
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

On the 7th of May, 1880, Mr. Hunt was
united in marriage to Miss Louise C. Vander-
mark, of Sioux Falls, and they are the parents of
three children, May E., who is the wife of
Grant H. Stone, of Sioux Falls; Roy A., who
assists his father in the work of the elevator
business ; and Faith A., who is attending the
public schools of Hartford.

FRANK E. ^^\x De ?^IARK, who is the
owner of a fine landed estate of six hundred and
forts' arcres, in Hartford and Grand IMeadow
townships, Minnehaha county, was born in Lake
county, Illinois, on the 8th of October, 185 1, be-
ing a son of Henry A. and Mary (Adams) Van
De Mark, who came to the territory of Dakota
in 1877, the father dying here in 1887, at the
age of sixty-six years, while his wife passed
away in 1902, at the venerable age of ninety
years. The subject of this sketch secured his
early education in the public schools of Illinois
and Iowa, to which latter state his parents re-
moved when he was twelve years old, and after
coming to South Dakota he supplemented the
discipline by a course of study in a business col-
lege in Sioux Falls. In 1872, when twenty-one
years of age. he left his home in Iowa and started
for Dakota, making the trip ]irincipally on foot

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

167=

and driving a yoke of oxen, which represented
his worldly possessions, since he did not have
even a wagon. He took up the southeast quar-
ter of section 29, Grand Meadow township, as a
pre-emption, proving up on it and developing
the property into a good farm, of which he dis-
posed in 1876. He is thus one of the pioneers of
Minnehaha count}-. Part of his present fine
estate lies in sections 3, 4 and 10, Hart-
ford township, and comprises six hundred and
forty acres, as before noted, while it is one of
the best stock farms in this section. The place
on which he resides comprises seventy-three
and a half acres and lies in section 22, Hart-
ford township, just east of the city limits,
and contains his fine home and buildings. He
also plotted and owns the Van De Mark addition
to Hartford. In addition to raising the various
cereals best adapted to the soil and climate, he
gives special attention to the raising of the finest
grade of live stock, including registered short-
horn cattle, Poland-China swine and Shropshire
sheep, and at the present time he is devoting
practically his entire attention to the fancy stock
business, of which he has developed more than
any other breeder- in the state. Of his place and
its attractions a leading stock journal has spoken
as follows :

We feel compelled, thi-ougli the merits of tbe
case, to direct the attention of our stockmen to what
is being done in their line by F. E. Van De Mark,
of Hartford. South Dakota. Located in the imme-
diate vicinity of a town, -with splendid natural con-
ditions and excellent accommodations for all kinds
of stock, his farm furnishes most that could be de-
sired for the successful breeding of pure-bred
stock. While short-horn cattle, Shropshire sheep
and Barred Plymouth Rock chickens are respectively
represented by a number of the very best specimens,
we wish to make particular mention of thf' Poland-
China herd, having at its head Van Dee 69449, sired
by the sweepstakes hog at the state fair of 1902.
Viola Over 1607S0, who won sweepstakes at Yank-
ton, is a sow of splendid proportions and
her points of excellence are away in the majority.
Paulina 174762. bred by Rockwell Brothers, of Iowa.
is also a nicely turned and vigorous-looking animal.
Other young sows, as Dakota and Iowa, show clearly
that Mr. Van De .Mark is on the right track and is
more than an amateur in the business. The close

proximity to the depot and town and the quality and
variety of stock kept, should induce any lover of
good stock to stop off at Hartl'oid and give Mr. Van
De Mark a call.

In politics Mr. Van De Mark is a stanch Re-
publican, and he is now serving as justice of the
peace and also as treasurei of the Hartford
school fimd, while in 1898 he received the nomi-
nation for representative in the state legislature,
but met defeat with the rest of the party ticket
in the state. He and his wife are prominent and
valued members of the Methodist Episcopal
church in Plartford, and fraternally he is identi-
fied with the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

On the 1st of March, 1878, in Fayette county,
Iowa, Mr. Van De Mark was united in marriage
to Miss Amelia E. Hunt, who was born in Eng-
land, whence she came with her parents to
America in her childhood. The subject and his
wife are the parents of seven children, namely :
Guy E., who is attending the Northwestern Med-
ical College, in Chicago; Walter E., who is a
graduate of the university at Mitchell and who
was principal of the East Sioux Falls public
schools in 1902 ; and Blanch E., Frank E., Jr.,
Henry E., Martin E., and Ruth E., who remain
at the parental hoiue.

JOHN A. PHELPS, one of the interested
principals in the Plartford Alilling Company, at
Hartford, Minnehaha county, is a native of the
state of Minnesota, having been born in Shelton,
Houston county, on the 1st of February, 1863. a
son of John and 'Julia (Lyon) Phelps. The
father died in 1899, and the mother is living at
Richville. Washington. The subject attended
the public schools of his native town until he
had completed a course in the high school, and
at the age of eighteen years he identified himself
with the milling business there, working in va-
rious mills in Minnesota and gaining a thorough
knowledge of the business in all its details. In
1886 he came to Madison, South Dakota, and
there held the position of head miller in the
Madison roller mills until April, 1902, when he
came to Hartford and associated himself with

1676

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Duncan A. jMcGillidray in the erection of the
finely equipped roller-process mill which is now
operated by them under the title of the Hartford
Milling Company, our subject having the sup-
ervision of the operation of the mill, which is
one of the best in this section, having a capacity
for the output of one hundred barrels of flour
per day. while the various brands manufactured,
have gained a high reputation, so that the busi-
ness of the company is constantly increasing in
scope and importance. Air. Phelps is a stanch
advocate of the principles and policies of the Re-
publican party, in whose cause he takes an active
interest, though he has never desired the honors
or emoluments of public office. Fraternally he
he is affiliated with Hartford Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons, at Hartford, and with the
chapter, Royal Arch Masons, at Madison, South
Dakota.

On the 25th of August, 1887, was solem-
nized tjbe marriage of ]\Ir. Phelps to Miss Elva
I'.erry, of Money Creek, ^Minnesota, and she was
summoned into eternal rest on the 25th of Oc-
tober, 1892, being survived by her only child.
Hazel ^lay, who was born on the i6th of Alarch,
1891. ,

LUCIUS A. PEASE, who is now living
retired in the pleasant village of Hartford, Min-
nehaha county, was born in the village of Hills-
boro, Louisa county, Iowa, on the i8th of March,
1849, being a son of Allen W. and Esther N.
(Blivens) Pease, his father having been a school-
teacher by vocation and a man of much ability
and sterling character. He died in 1877 and his
devoted wife is still living at the age of seventy-
five years. The subject secured his early edu-
cation in the public schools of Muscatine, Iowa,
and when he was ten years of age his parents
removed to Kenosha county. Wisconsin, where
he continued to attend school until the time of
the Civil war, when his youthful patriotism led
him to tender his services in defense of the
I'nioq. At the age of fifteen years Mr. Pease en-
listed as a member nf Companv C. Thirtv-ninth
Wisconsin \'nlunleer Infantrv, with which he

continued in service during his term of one hun-
dred days. In 1865 he re-enlisted, at this time be-
coming a private in Company D, Sixty-fifth Illi-
nois Volunteer Infantry, but as the war closed
soon afterward he did not see much active service
with this command. He received his discharge
after his first term in the city of Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, while the final discharge was re-
ceived in the city of Chicago, After the close
of the war he rejoined his parents, who were
then residing on their farm in Kenosha county,
Wisconsin, and there he remained, assisting his
father in his labors, until 1873, when he came
to the territory of Dakota, taking up a home-
stead claim of one hundred and sixty acres in
Minnehaha county, and also a pre-emption
claiin adjoining, and to this landed estate he
later added until he is at the present time the
owner of a valuable farming property of four
hundred and twenty acres, the same being
equipped with excellent improvements of a
permanent nattu'e and maintained under a high
state of cultivation. On this farm he continued
to be successfully engaged in diversified agri-
culture and stock growing until the spring of
1903, when he rented the place, by reason of im-
paired health, and took up his residence in Hart-
ford, where he is now living practically retired,
though he still maintains a general supervision
of his farm property. In politics Mr. Pease gave
his allegiance to the Republican party until the
organization of the Populist party, when he
joined its ranks, having since been a stanch ad-
vocate of its principles and policies. Mr. Pease
served for twenty years as postmaster at Lyons,
this county, said postoffice being located on his
farm, and there he was also incumbent of the of-
fice of justice of the peace for a number of years.
On the 31st of December, 1873, Mr. Pease
was united in marriage to Miss Josephine A.
VanWie, of Salem, Wisconsin, and they are the
parents of three children, — Luella E., who is the
wife of David M. Crooks, of Lyons, this state ;
]\Iaud iMay, who is the wife of George Lett, a
successful farmer of Grand Meadow township,
this county ; and Walter L., who resides in Hart-
ford, where he is engaged in farming.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1(3/7

DUNCAN A. McGILLR'RAY, one of the
representative business men and influential citi-
zens of Hartford, JMinnehaha county, comes of
stanch Scotch extraction and was born in Glen-
garry count}-, province of Ontario, Canada, on
the 4th of May, 1859. a son of John and Mary
(McGillivray) McGillivray, the fornier of whom
died in Lake county, South Dakota, in 1894.
The subject received such educational advantages
as were afforded in the excellent public schools
of his native province, and was there identified
with farming until 1878, when he removed to
Wisconsin, where he remained about a year, be-
ing employed in connection with the lumbering
industry. In Alay. 1879, he arrived in Lake
count}'. South Dakota, where he took up a home-
stead claim and also a tree claim, developing and
improving a good farm and being there engaged
in agricultural pursuits and stock raising un-
til the spring of 1902, when he came to Hartford
and associated himself with John A. Phelps in
the formation of the Hartford Milling Com-
pany. The finely equipped mill was erected by
them in the same year, while they have built up
an excellent business in the manufacturing of
high-grade flour from selected spring wheat, the
other products of the mill also being of marked
superiority. The mill represents an investment
of about fifteen thousand dollars, and has a ca-
pacity of one hundred and fifty barrels a day,
the major portion of the output being sold in
the local markets, while shipnunts are made at
intervals to Illinois.

Mr. McGillivray has been a stanch supporter
of the Republican .party since attaining the right
of franchise and has shown a proper interest in
public aiTairs of a local nature. While a resident
of Lake county he served four years as sheriff,
giving a most able and satisfactory administra-
tion. Fraternally he is identified with Hartford
Lodge, v. D., Free and Accepted Masons, and
the Knights of Pythias.

On the 31st of March, 1885, IMr. McGillivray
was married to Miss Delphemia Seaton, of Lake
county, and she entered into eternal rest on the
31st of IMay, 1893, being survived by one son
and three daughters, namely: Jessie, John. Delia

and May. On the Stli of October, 1894, was
solemnized the marriage of Mr. McGillivrav to
Miss Mabel Phelps, a sister of his partner, John
A. Phelps, and of this union has been born one
son, Murdock J.

-MYROX H. (^XLDWELL. owner of the
Spring Creek farm, near Hartford, Alinnehaha
county, was born in Baraboo, Sauk county, Wis-
consin, on the 19th of December, 1853, being a
son of Hiram P.. and Pamelia (Allen) Caldwell,
who were sterling pioneers of the Piadger state.
The father is now dead, while the mother makes
her home with the subject. Mr. Caldwell se-
cured his early education in the public schools
and in the institute of Baraboo, continuing to
abide beneath the parental roof until he had at-
tained the .age of sixteen years, when he came
to what is now the state of South Dakota, arriv-
ing in June, 1870, and entering pre-emption and
homestead claims near the present city of Sioux
Falls. There he devoted his attention to the im-
provement and cultivation of his farm until 1879.
when he disposed of the property and moved to
Hartford township, this county, where he eventu-
ally became the owner of this present attractive
and valuable farmstead of three hundred and
twenty acres. There he was engaged in diversi-
fied farming and stock raising until February
15, 1903, when he rented his farm and took up
his residence, in Hartford, establishing himself
in business here, as previously noted. Mr. Cald-
well has been an uncompromising Republican
from the time of attaining his legal majority, and
the esteem in which he is held in this community
is shown in the fact that he has been called upon
to serve in every township office in Hartford
township with the exception of those of assessor
and treasurer, while he has always manifested a
distinctive public spirit and an abiding loyalty
to the .state in which he has gained a position of
independence through well-directed effort. Fra-
ternally he is affiliated with the Ancient Order of
United Workmen.

On the loth of October, 1870, :\Ir. Cald-
well was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

A. Delaney, daughter of Sylvanus and Margaret
( Scott) Delaney, of Sioux Falls, where they lo-
cated in 1866, being numbered among the hon-
ored pioneers of that place, whither they came
from Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell are
the parents of six children, namely: Orrin S.,
Alice M.. Rav H., Rov M.. James G. and John R.

NELS HAUGEN, postmaster of Hartford;
Minnehaha county, was born in Valders, Nor-
way, on the 29th of June, 1852, being a son of
Nels and Christina (Anderson) Haugen, both
of whom passed their entire lives in the fair land
of their nativity. The subject received his edu-
cation in the schools of his native place, where
he was reared to maturity. In 1874, at the age
of twenty-one years, he severed the home ties
and set, forth to seek his fortunes in America.
He embarked at Bergen, Xorway, in 1874 of that
year and arrived in New York city in April.
Thence he came westward to Iowa, where he re-
mained about one year. In June, 1875, he took
up his residence in Minnehaha county, South
Dakota, where he entered a homestead claim
three years later, and lie worked previously at
farming in different parts of the state, and also
in steamboating on the Missouri river. He then
turned his attention to the improvement and
cultivation of his farm, where he continued to
reside until 1887, when he came to Hartford.
where he did effective work as a buyer of grain
for different elevators, continuing to be thus em-
])loyed until 1902, when he received his appoint-
ment as postmaster, of which office he is now in-
cumbent, having given a satisfactory and able
administration of its affairs. He has been a
stanch advocate of the principles of the Republi-
can party from the time of attaining the right of
franchise, and he has taken an active interest in
public affairs. He was for eight years township
clerk of Grand Meadow township, and for six
years held the same office in Hartford township.
The village of Hartford was incorporated in
1896 and he was chosen as first village clerk, an
office of which he continued in tenure for eight
vcars. Fraternally he is identified with the local

lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
and he and his wife are members of the Luth-
eran church.

On the 31st of March, 1885, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Haugen to Miss Annie L.
Tvedt, of Hartford, who has proved a devoted
wife and helpmeet, and of this union liave been
born seven children, namely: Louis N., Cark A.,
William E., Thomas O., ]\Iartin B., Clarence R.
and Rov O.

A. H. HENNEOUS is one of the honored
and represetative business men of White Lake,
while he has also served as state's attorney of
Aurora county and as county judge, being held
in the highest esteem in the community, in which
he has maintained his home for more than a
score of years, while he is now engaged success-
fully in the lumber business here. Mr. Hen-
neons is a native of Erie county, Pennsylvania,
where he was born on the 13th of November,
1859, being a son of Frederick and Carrie
(Sanders) Henneous. the former of whom has
long been one of the prominent farmers and
honored citizens of Erie county, where he still
resides, being eighty-three years of age. His de-
voted wife passed away in 1900, at the age of
seventy years, having been a zealous member of
the Presbyterian church, with which he also has
been prominently identified for many years,
while he is a stanch Republican in politics.

Judge A. H. Henneous was reared on the
homestead farm and after completing the curric-
ulum of the public schools became a student in
Allegheny College, where he remained five years,
thereafter taking a course in the Pennsylvania
State Normal School, at Edinboro, Pennsylvania.
He thereafter devoted his attention for a full
decade to teaching in the public schools of Penn-
sylvania and Iowa, to which latter state he re-
moved in 1880. In the spring of 1882 he came
to White Lake, where he has ever since resided.
For a short time after his arrival he was en-
gaged in the sale of agricultural implements.
In 1890 he was elected state's attorney for this
county, and after the expiration of his term

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1679

served three successive terms as county judge.
He was not then permitted to retire from public
office, since he was again elected to the position
of state's attorney, in which he served one term.
He had given considerable attention to the study
of law and was eminently qualified for the duties
devolving upon him in each of these responsible
offices. He was admitted to the bar January 5,
1891. In 1898 Judge Henneous opened a lum-
ber yard in White Lake, and in this line of enter-
prise he has built up a large and successful busi-
ness. He' has ever given a stanch allegiance to
the Republican party and has wielded no little
influence in promoting its cause. He is a mem-
ber of White Lake Lodge, No. 85, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons, and both he and his wife are val-
ued members of the Presbyterian church in
White Lake, our subject being a member of its
board of trustees.

On the 27th of August. 1S87, Judge Hen-
neous was united in marriage to Aliss Minnie M.
Ponto, of Floyd covmtv, Iowa, and thev have
three children, Agnes. Ralph and Fern.

W. B. WOLCOTT. who is one of the lead-
mg merchants and honored citizens of White
Lake, Aurora county, is a native of the Empire
state of the Union, having been born in Batavia,
Orleans county. New York, on the 28th of Jan-
uary, 1863, and being a son of J. Warren and
Susan (Hay ward) Wolcott, of whose six chil-
dren four are living, namely: Kate M., wife of
E. M. Chamberlain, of Findlay, Ohio : Nellie A.,
wife of E. F. Janes, of Erie count}', P'ennsj'l-
vania : Alargaret H., a resident of Alden, New
York : and W. B., the subject of this sketch. J.
Warren \\'olcott was born in Orleans county.
New York, in 1828, his parents having emigrated
thither from Connecticut, where the family was
founded in the colonial epoch, the ancestry being
of French Pluguenot derivation. Oliver Wol-
cott, Jr., a great-uncle of the subject, was the
first comptroller of the L'nited States treasury
and upon the death of Alexander Hamilton was
appointed secretary of the treasury. The father
of our subject devoted his active life to agri-

cultural pursuits in western New York and is
now living retired in the town of Alden, that
state. He is a Democrat in politics and while
never an office seeker he served for one or more
terms as sheriff of Orleans county. His wife,
who was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, in
1830, of English ancestry, died in 1871, at the
age of forty-one years, having been a devoted
member of the Presbyterian church, with which
her husband likewise has been identified for
many years.

W. B. Wolcott was reared on the home farm
and his early educational advantages were those
afforded by the public schools of the city of Buf-
falo, New York. At the early age of fifteen
years he secured employment as clerk in a gro-
cery in that city, and to this line of effort he
there continued to devote his attention until 1883,
when he came to the territory of Dakota, work-
ing on a farm in Aurora county for the first two
years and then securing a position in the lum-
ber yarfl of Warren Dye, of White Lake, with
whom lie remained two years. He then returned
to the state of New York, where he remained
about seventeen months, at the expiration of
which, in February, 1888, he again took up his
residence in White Lake, securing a clerkship in
the general store of H. Hofmeister, in whose
employ he continued about eleven years. In the
spring of 1900 Mr. Wolcott engaged in the same
line of enterprise on his own responsibility, and
he has now a well-equipped store and controls a
large business, the same being the result of his
correct methods and marked personal popularity
in the community. He is a stanch adherent of
the Republican party, and fraternally is prom-
inently identified with the Masonic order, being
a member of White Lake Lodge, No. 85. Free
and Accepted Masons ; Pilgrim Chapter, No. 32,
Royal Arch Masons ; St. Bernard Commandery,
No. II, Knights Templar, at Mitchell; Oriental
Consistory. No. i. .\ncient Accepted Scottish
Rite, at Yankton : and El Riad Temple of the
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mys-
tic Shrine, in Sioux Falls, while he also holds
membership in White Lake Lodge, No. 84, In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows.

i68o

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

On the 25th of August, 1898, Mr. Wolcott
was united in marriage to ^Miss Ida Ponto, of
Charles City, Iowa, she being a daughter of the
late Martin Ponto, a prominent farmer of that
local itv.

GEORGE M. TRIM:MER.— Among the
men who have been active in promoting the
various interests of South Dakota. George M.
Trimmer, of Hot Springs, is deserving of especial
mention. Honored and respected by the peo-
ple of his community, he enjoys a large measure
of public esteem, not alone on account of his
activity in business circles, but also by reason of
the creditable course he has ever pursued and the
worthy standing attained in the domain of citi-
zenship. A native of ]\IcLean county, Illinois,
where his birth occurred on the 8th of Novem-
ber. 1844. he spent his childhood and youth on
a farm, grew up to habits of industry and en-
joyed the advantages of a common-school edu-
cation. He remained in his native state until
reaching the years of manhood, and then started
out to make his own way, going in 1865 to Fort
Sullv, on the upper Missouri, where he engaged
in the wood business. During the ensuing ten
years he handled a great deal of wood at various
places along the river, shipping to different points,
and met with encouraging success in the business.
In 1876, when the country became excited by
reason of the discoverv of gold in the Black
TTills, he wound up his affairs on the Missouri
and, organizing a part}- of friends and furnish-
ing an outfit for the same, started for the Hills,
leaving the river a little below Fort Thompson,
and .going through Dakota via Pierre to Bear
Butte, thence up Elk creek along the Custer trail
to Box Elder, where the party spent about one
month prospecting. From that localifrv- they pro-
ceeded to Rapid creek, but after prospecting for
two months at the latter place with indifferent
.success, the jjart}- finally disbanded. When Rapid
City sprang into existence Mr. Trimmer went
there and engaged in freighting, driving from
t'-iat place to Pierre and other points and devot-
irg about one and a half vcars to this kind of

work. Later he became interested in the mines
at Hill City, and .going there to live made the
place his home until 1879, the meanwhile suffer-
ing severe reverses as a miner, the result being
the loss of nearly all 'his earthly possessions.

After this discouraging experience Mr. Trim-
mer decided to abandon mining and turn his at-
tention to a more certain means of obtaining a
livelihood ; accordingly with two friends, L. B.
Reno and Frank Holton, he came to what is now
Hot Springs, where the three took up adjoining
homesteads, the subject locating on the place
which has since been his place of residence. This
being done, the parties returned to Hill City, but
in the spring of t88o Mr. Turner moved his
family to his claim, and at once began improving
the same, also engaging in the cattle business,
which he carried on quite successfully during the
first few years, and then turned his attention to
horticulture, finding his land particularly adapted
to fruit growing. While improving his ranch, he
also traded considerably with the Indian tribes
in the vicinity, but this was of short duration and
only reasonably profitable. In 1884 Mr. Trim-
mer set out his first orchard, and since that time
has gradually increased the area of the same,
until he is now the largest and most successful
fruit grower in his section of the state. He has
selected his trees with the greatest care and from
the choicest varieties, and by judicious culture
has so developed them that they seldom fail to
return him large profits every year, a shortage
in his crop being a rare occurrence. During the
early settlement of Hot Springs he did quite an
extensive business in gardening and dairying:
having supplied the town for a number of years
with butter, milk and all kinds of vegetables and
small fruits, but as population increased he found
horticulture more remunerative and, as already
indicated, gradually worked into the latter and
now follows it with success, such as few men in
this part of the state have achieved.

■Mr. Trimmer owns a beautiful home adjoin-
ing the town and is well situated to enjoy the
many comforts and conveniences of life which
he has accumulated. His residence, situated in
! a fine grove of maples and cottonwoods. with

.zr

>>'>;20<?o^'b€^^l^

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1681

orchards in close proximity, also attractive shrub-
bery, tastefully arranged flower beds and well-
kept lawns on every hand, is an almost ideal
dwelling place and he spares no pains nor ex-
pense in adding to its attractiveness, being a man
of refined tastes and progressive ideas. Politically
]\Ir. Trimmer is a staunch and unswerving
Democrat. While zealous in maintaining his
principles, he has persistently declined office at
the hands of his fellow citizens, manifesting little
interest in active party work and none for public
position. Mr. Trimmer has met with much more
than ordinary success financially, which fact
speaks well for his ability to recover from busi-
ness reverses, such as would have discouraged a
man of less tact and determination. The ample
competence in his possession is the result of his
own industry and excellent management, and the
enviable position which he occupies in business
and social circles has been honorably earned by
a course of conduct singularly free from adverse
criticism.

^Ir. Trimmer was married in June. 1 87 1, to
Miss ]Mary Byua, and to this union were born
three children, as follows: Maggie, the wife of
Elwood Williams; Fannie, the wife of J. W.
Finnegan, a conductor on the Qiicago & North-
western Railway, and Elizabeth. The subject's
second marriage occurred February 16, 1891, to
]\Irs. Mary A. (Wood) Roberts, a native of
"Louisville. Kentuckv. who came to the Black
Hills in 1877.

REV. FRANZ JOSEPH FEIXLER, pns-
for of St. Peter's church, at White Lake, Aurora
county, was born in Gissigheim, Granduchy of
Baden, Germany, on the 28th of March, 1871, be-
ing a son of Franz Carl and Maria Magdalena
(Schmitt) Feinler, who were likewise born and
reared in that section of the great German em-
pire, where they remained until 1900, when they
came with their son John A. to America, joining
the subject in Parker, this state, and remaining
as inmates of his home until 1903, since which
time they have made their home with the son
previously mentioned, on his farm, which is lo-

cated one and one-half miles distant from White
Lake. The son John A. was united in marriage,
on the 19th of May, 1903. to Miss ;\Iary Ma-
jerus, of Robey, this county. The parents have
ever been devoted communicants of the Catholic
church and are folk of sterling character, while
they are passing the evening of their lives far
from the scenes of their loved fatherland Init
sustained and made content through the filial de-
votion of their children.

Father Feinler secured his early educational
discipline in the admirable schools of his native
land, and in 1892 was graduated in the gym-
nasium at Tauberbischofsheim, T'.aden. He then
began the work of preparing himself for the
priesthood, studying theology for two semesters
at Freiburg, Baden, after which he continued for
four years his ecclesiastical and jihilosophical
studies in the Collegio Urbano di Propaganda
Fide, in Rome, being ordained to the priesthood
in St, John's Lateran, on the 12th of June, 1897.
In the same year he came to America and began
his pastoral duties in the diocese of South Da-
kota, having been for a time secretary to Bishop
O'Gorman, in Sioux Falls, after which he was
assigned to the pastorate of tlie church at Parker.
Turner county, where he remained until No-
vember, 1 901, when he entered upon his present
pastorate, having here accomplished a most suc-
cessful W'Ork and having infused vitality into
the spiritual and temporal life of the parish. He
is a man of high intellectuality, a forceful and
convincing speaker, sincere and earnest in his
devotion to his noble calling, and has gained the
affectionate regard of those among wdio he is
laboring for the establishment of a kingdom of
Christ on earth.

E\'ERETT H. DAY. the treasurer of Day
township. Clark county, is a native of the old
Pine Tree state, having been born in Lovel.
Maine, on the 17th of January, 1850. and being
a son of Thomas and Abigail A. (Phipps) Day.
the former of who was a shoemaker by trade,
while he was also identified with the lumbering
industry in ?ilaine. In 1833 he removed with his

i682

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

family to Berlin, Wisconsin, and there He fol-
lowed his trade during the winter months, while
in the intervening summer seasons he was en-
gaged in the manufacturing of brick. In 1862
he removed to Mankato, Minnesota, becoming
one of the early settlers of that now attractive
city. He was there residing during the disas-
trous outbreak of the Sioux Indians, and assisted
in the building of the stockade in Winnebago
City, while he remained on the frontier until the
Indian troubles had subsided. In the following
autumn he returned to Wisconsin for his family,
who accompanied him on his return to Mankato,
where they were residing at the time of the exe-
cution of thirty-eight Sioux Indian prisoners. On
the 26th of December, 1862. In the summer of
the following year they took up their residence
on a homestead near Winnebago City, where
they remained until 1876, when they removed
to Nemaha county, Kansas. The father died in
1898 at Seneca, Kansas, aged eighty-four years,
while the mother died in 1871 on the farm near
Winnebago City, Minnesota.

The subject of this review secured his rudi-
mentary educational discipline in Berlin, Wiscon-
sin, and thereafter continued his educational
work in the common schools of the various points
which constituted the famil_\- home for certain
intervals. When he left school, in 1873, he was
well advanced in the high school at Winnebago
City, but was not graduated. He engaged in
teaching school during the winter of 1873-4, but
his natural tastes and inclinations led him to
adopt farming and stock growing as a permanent
vocation. Upon his removal to Kansas, as stated,
he opened up a new farm on the prairies of Ne-
maha county, and was there engaged in farming
and stock raising until 1884, when he disposed of
his stock and came to what is now the state of
South Dakota. His brother Edward W., who
was born in Berlin. Wisconsin, in 1857, was the
first treasurer of Clark county. South Dakota,
and here his death occurred in 1883, which cir-
cumstance was the cause of our subject's com-
ing to the state, and he settled on one of the
tracts of land owned by the brother at the time
of his death. He at nncc initiated the work of

improving the property and has resided on this
farm ever since, while he has since added to his
landed estate until he now has a well-improved
and valuable farm of four hundred and eighty
acres, and is here successfully engaged in di-
versified agriculture and stock growing, while
he is also giving special attention to the dairy-
ing business, which he finds a profitable adjunct
to his farming enterprise.

Mr. Day has held public ofiice of some de-
scription almost continuously since taking up his
residence in the county, the township of which
he is a resident having been named' in honor of
his brother, previously mentioned, who was one
of its first settlers. In 1886, the subject was
elected township clerk and justice of the peace,
serving in these offices consecutively thereafter
until 1900, while for about a decade he was in-
cumbent of the offices of school clerk, treasurer
and director. He is at the present time township
treasurer and also treasurer of his school dis-
trict, while he has ever stood prominently for-
ward as a progressive and public-spirited cit-
izeri and able business man. The most important
semi-public enterprise which has secured his
valued support and co-operation is that of the
Clark Co-operative Creamery Association, of
which he was one of the organizers, in 1896.
The disbursements of the corporation in 1897
aggregated two thousand and seven dollars and
eighty-seven cents, and the business has steadily
and gradually increased in scope and importance
until its disbursements in 1903 reached the not-
able aggregate of forty-seven thousand, three
hundred and fifty-seven dollars and fifty-two
cents. At the first meeting of the stockliolders of
the association Mr. Day was elected its president,
and has ever since remained its chief executive,
through annual re-election, while he has been
designated as the father of the association, whose
plant is now the largest in the state exclusive of
three which operate skimming stations. In 1904
Mr. Day took an active part in organizing the
Clark County Farmers' Electric Company, incor-
porated with a capital of twenty thousand dollars
and at its first meeting of the board of directors
he was elected president of the company. In

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1683

politics he has ever given an uncompromising
allegiance to the Republican party, and he was a
delegate to its first state convention in South
Dakota, the same having lieen held in Chamber-
Iain, while he is usually active in the various
local campaigns, while for the past ten years he
has held the position of superintendent, judge,
and clerk of elections in the county, and he was a
delegate to the state convention of his party, in
Sioux Falls, in 1900. For several years he was
a member of the secret society known as the
Brotherhood of Purpose, and was a member of
the directorate of the order. In March, 1900, he
became affiliated with the Modern Brotherhood
of America, a fraternal insurance order. In
1887 he became a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church in Seneca, Kansas, and has
ever since been a zealous and valued member of
this denomination, being at the present time a
member of the board of directors of the church
at Clark.

On the 5th of September, 1885, at Nashville,
[Minnesota, Mr. Day was united in marriage to
]\Iiss Mary Bottomley, a daughter of James and
Mary Bottomley, both of whom were born and
reared in England, while they were numbered
among the pioneers of Minnesota, where Mr.
Bottomley served in various positions of public
trust, including that of probate judge of Martin
county, yir. and Mrs. Day have two children,
Lula C, who was born June 22, 1886, and Mark
M.. who was born January 9. i803-

WILLIAM A. SHARP, successfully estab-
lished in the real-estate business, in the city of
Clark, Clark county, was born on the home farm
in Oldtown township, McLean county, Illinois,
on the 2ist of November, 1858, and, is the son
of Theodore and Ophelia M. (Watson) Sharp.
Theodore Sharp was born in New Jersey on the
8th of October, 1820, and when eighteen years of
age went to Chatam, that state, where he en-
gaged with A. & W. C. Wheeler to learn the
machinist's trade, becoming a skilled artisan in
the line and also a successful inventor. He may
be said to have inherited much mechanical abil-

ity, for as far back as records are in evidence the
family have been allied with the machinist's
trade and business. Christian Sharp, an uncle
of Theodore, was the inventor ol the Sharp
rifle and was a manufacturer of firearms. John
H. Sharp, an uncle of our subject, was likewise
a machinist by vocation, and the same is true of
Jacob Sharp, his son. Ancestors of Mr. Sharp
were participants in the war of the Revolution
and also in that with Mexico, but as the family
records were unfortunately destroyed by fire no
definite data is accessible at this time. Ophelia
M. Sharp, the mother of the subject, was born
in Glencoe, Columbia county. New York, on the
20th of April, 1832, and her marriage to Theo-
dore Sharp was solemnized, in the city of Al-
bany, that state, on the 31st of December, 1849.
They became the parents of one son and three
daughters, one of the latter being now deceased.

In the spring of 1858 Theodore Sharp re-
moved with his family to McLean county, Illi-
nois, where he remained until a short time before
the outbreak of the Civil war, when he removed
with his family to Louisville, Kentucky, where
he had charge of the machine shops of the firm
of Miller & Moore during the progress of the
war, said shops being engaged principally in gov-
ernment work at the time. In the spring of 1866
he again located on a farm near Benjaminville,
McLean county, Illinois, where he continued to
be actively engaged in agricultural pursuits un-
til the fall of 1882, when he came to South Da-
kota, accompanied by his only son, the subject
of this review, and on the 6th of September of
that year each of them filed on a homestead and
a tree claim in Clark county. Theodore Sharp
here continued to be engaged in farming and
stock growing until his death, which occurred
very suddenly, in the city of Clark, on the 2d of
March, 1886.

William A. Sharp passed his boyhood da3's
on the old homestead farm in McLean county,
Illinois, and after completing the curriculum of
the public schools in that locality continued his
studies in the Wesleyan University, at Bloom-
ington, and the State Normal School, at Normal,
Illinois. After coming to South Dakota he

1684

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

taught during several winter terms in the dis-
trict schools, and in the meanwhile continued to
be actively engaged in the improving and culti-
vating of his farming prooerties until 1890, hav-
ing been elected to the office of register of deeds
of Clark county, on an independent ticket, in the
autumn of that year, and having removed with
his mother from the farm to the county seat on
the 1 2th of the following December. Here they
have ever since continued to reside. Mr. Sharp
was clerk of Garfield township in 1885-6-7, and
held the office of register of deeds for a term of
two years, while in 1897-8 he served as county
treasurer, having shown much fidelity and dis-
crimination in every official capacity in which he
has labored. In 1893 he purchased the only set
of abstracts of titles for Clark county, and there-
after conducted an abstract business until March
I, 1-903, when he disposed of his books and has
since continued in the real-estate business. He
is interested in several valuable farming proper-
ties and also controls a considerable amount of
town realty, while he is also a stockholder in the
Vienna Roller Mill Company, at Menna.
this count}', where the company has a
well-equipped flouring mill and grain elevator.
In politics Mr. Sharp was aligned with the Re-
publican party until 1890, since which time he
has maintained an independent attitude. Fra-
ternally he is a valued member of the local or-
ganizations of the Woodmen and the Knights of
the Maccabees, in the latter of whicli he has
served as commander.

r)n the nth of July, T901, 3ilr. Sharp was
united in marriage to Miss Grace C. Latimer, of
Seneca. Kansas. She was born near Winne-
bago, Minnesota, on the 12th of October, 1872.
and is a daughter of Pleasant H. and Lucy E.
(Day) Latimer, whose marriage was solemnized
in Minnesota, on the 6th of January, 1869. Mr.
Latimer was born in Knox county, Illinois, on
the 2d of May, 1844, and removed to Minnesota
in i860, and he served eighteen months in the
Xintli Aliniicsota Vohmteer Infantry, during
the Civil war, and thirty days during the Indian
war in Minnesota in 1862. He removed with
his family from Minnesda to Kansas in 1876.

His wife was born in ]\Iaine, whence she ac-
companied her parents to Wisconsin and later
to ^linnesota. Mrs. Sharp was a child of about
four years at the time of her parents' removal
to Nemaha county, Kansas, and there she was
reared and educated, having attended the high
school in Seneca and later having been for a
time a student in Campbell LTniversity, at
Holton, Kansas. For a number of years prior
to her marriage she was a successful and popular
teacher in the public schools of Nemaha county.
Kansas, where her parents still reside, ilr. and
Mrs. Sharp have one child, Carol O.. who was
born August 11, 1902.

FREDERIC ALAN MIX. publisher and
editor of the Fairplay, at Fort Pierre, Stanley
county, was born on a farm in Hall county, Ne-
braska, on the 8th of November, 1875, being a
son of Eugene Jesse and Caroline O'. (Mann)
Mix, both families having been early established
in the state of New York, while the parents of
the subject were numbered among the pio;ieers
of Nebraska. In 1881 they removed to Smith
Center, Kansas, where the father was engaged
in mercantile pursuits until his death, which
occurred in 1894. His widow and her two chil-
dren then returned to Nebraska, and she now
resides at Cairo, Hall county, that state, with
her daughter, [Miss Sadie J. The subject se-
cured his early educational training in the pub-
lic schools of Smith Center, Kansas, and after
the death of his father accompanied his mother
on her return to Nebraska, where he was for
a time employed on the Burlington & Missouri
River Railroad and also identified with farm-
ing operations. In 1896 he entered the Grand
Island Business College, at Grand Island, Ne-
braska, where he was graduated as a member of
the class of 1897. Shortly afterward, in
August of that year, he went to the city of
Omaha, where he was engaged in stenographic
work and job printing until 1901, when he came
to South Dakota, arriving in Fort Pierre. Stan-
ley county, on the 20th of January of that year.
Here he effected the purchase of the Fairplay,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1685

which he has made an exponent of the principles
of the Republican party, while through his ener-
getic and capable management the paper has
gained a high standing and its business has been
increased fourfold in the short intervening
period, while the cumulative tendency in the en-
terprise is still to be marked in a significant and
gratifying way. Mr. Mix was reared in the
Republican party and has ever given the
same his allegiance since attaining his majority,
while both he and his wife are communicants
of the Catholic church. Fraternally he is
identified with the Modern Brotherhood of
America and the Ancient Order of United
\\'orkmen.

On the 30th of May, 1900, in St. Philo-
niena's church in the city of Omaha, Nebraska,
was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Mix to
I\Iiss Marguerite W. Weinrich, who was born
m Saxony, Germany, and w-ho is associated with
him in the newspaper business, while he at-
tributes to her co-operation and influence much
of the success which has attended his efforts.

LEWIS L. FL.EEGER. an able and repre-
sentative member of the legal profession in
Turner county, is a native of the old Keystone
state, having been born in Butler county, Penn-
sylvania, on the 1 2th of December, 1864, and
being a son of Samuel L. and Mary A. (Pierce)
Fleeger. \\'hen he was but two years of age
his parents removed to Missouri and located in
Cooper county, where his father engaged in
farming, and in that county the subject secured
his early educational discipline in the public
schools, while he was reared to the sturdy life of
the homestead farm. He continued his studies
for some time in Clarksburg College, at Qarks-
burg, Missouri, and then entered Waynesburg
College, at Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, where
he was graduated as a member of the class of
1889, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts.
After his graduation he took up the reading
of law in the office of his cousin. George Fleeger,
of Butler, Pennsylvania, one of the representative
members of the bar of that section, and under

this preceptorship continued his technical studies
for two years, at the expiration of which, in the
autumn of 1891, he returned to Missouri, and
for the following years was engaged as instructor
in mathematics in Clarksburg College, in which
institution he had previously been a student,
as has been noted in this context. In the au-
tunm of 1892 he came to South Dakota and lo-
cated in the city of Yankton, where he was
sliortly afterward admitted tn the b:ir of the
state, and there he was for a short interval en-
gaged in the practice of his profession. In the
spring of 1893 he came to Turner county and
located in the village of Centerville, where he
was engaged in practice about eighteen months,
at the expiration of which he took up his resi-
dence in Parker, the judicial center of the couiity,
where he has since been successfully established
in practice, controlling a large and represent-
ative clientage. In politics Mr. Fleeger is a
stalwart advocate of the principles and policies
of the Republican party and he is one of its
wheelhorses in Turner count)', having served
for the past four years as chairman of the Re-
publican central committee of the' county and
having handled his forces with marked skill and
discrimination in the furtherance of the inter-
ests of his party. In the autumn of 1893 he
was elected state's attorney of the county and
served in this capacity for two terms, or four
consecutive years, making an admirable record
as prosecutor. Fraternally he is affiliated with
Parker Lodge, Xo. 30, Ancient Free and Ac-
cepted Masons.

On the 5th of November, 1899, Mr. Fleeger
was united in marriage to Miss Cliffie M. Elliott,
daughter of Judge W. Elliott, of Parker, and
of this union has been born one son, Samuel
Boyd.

.\LFRED H. STILL, of Parker, Turner
county, is a native of Clinton county, Iowa,
where he was born on the 29th of September,
1862, being a son of Orange and Ruth (Bovard)
Still. When he was a lad of six years his par-
ents removed to Scranton, Greene count v, Iowa,

i686

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

where he secured his early educational dis-
cipline, and in 1873, when he was eleven years of
age, he came with his parents to what is now
the state of South Dakota. His father took
up a homestead claim of government land in
Turner county, being one of the earliest of the
permanent settlers in this section of the state,
and here developing a good farm. The subject
remained on this homestead until he had attained
the age of seventeen years, in the meanwhile
having availed himself of the advantages of the
pioneer schools of the locality, and he then came
with his parents to Parker, where his father built
a portion of the hotel of which he is now the
proprietor, this being the first hotel in the town.
Alfred continued to be associated with his
father in the conducting of the hotel for the en-
suing two years, at the expiration of which he
went to Sioux Falls, where he was employed in
connection with the hotel and liver)' business for
five years. He then removed to Boyd county,
Nebraska, where he took up a homestead claim,
perfecting his title to the same in due course of
time and making good improvements on the
place, which he still owns. Later he returned to
Turner county. South Dakota, and purchased
a quarter section of land three miles north of
Parker, the county seat, and there he was actively
engaged in farming and stock raising for about
seven years, also operating a threshing outfit in
season durir.g the major portion of this period.
Tn Jul}', 1003, he disposed of his farm here and
purchased the Parker House, which had been
enlarged and modernized, while he has refitted
the same and made it one of the most attractive
stopping places in this section of the state, his
intimate knowledge of the business and his
constant care for the comfort and convenience
of his guests making his house a most popular
one, while its cuisine has at all times the best
the market affords, and the service accorded is
adniirahlc in all respects. In politics Mr. Still
is a stanch Rpublican and takes a zealous in-
terest in the furtlicrance of the party cause. He
has served as delegate to various state conven-
tions of his party as well as to the minor con-
ventions, and is ever rcadv to do active work

for his party. Fraternally he is identified with
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,
holding membership in the lodge at Sioux Falls,
and also with the Ancient Order of United
Workmen.

On the 3d of June, 1883, Mr. Still was united
in marriage to Miss Theresa Wagner, a daugh-
ter of Simon Wagner, one of the pioneers of
Turner county, and they have seven children,
namely: Plubert J., Howard L., Ida, Ruth, Alice
C, Alfred H. and Theodore.

OLAF GILBERTSON, one of the success-
ful farmers and stock growers of Lincoln
county, was born in Christiania, Norway, on the
29th of June, 1865, being a son of John H. and
Sophia Gilbertson, the former of whom immi-
grated to the United States in the spring of
1869, being joined by his family in the fall of
the next year. The father of the subject had
followed the trade of blacksmith in his native
land, but upon coming to the new world he
decided to turn his attention to farming. He
came to Lincoln county. South Dakota, and took
up a quarter section of government land, in Can-
ton township, there being but few settlers in
the county at the time. He built a log house
and then set to work to reclaim his wild land and
aid in developing the resources of this section.
He continued to live on the old homestead until
his death, which occurred in 1899, his wife hav-
ing passed away in 1885. They became the
parents of four children, namely : Eliza, who
is the wife of Andrew Lunn, of this county ;
Susanna, who is visiting in Norway at the time
of this writing, in 1903 ; Olaf, who is the sub-
ject of this sketch, and John H., who died at
the age of twenty-seven years.

The subject was reared on the homestead,
where he has continuously resided, and he se-
cured his education in the common schools. At
the age of twenty-one years he rented the home
farm, and he now has one hundred and ninety
acres, well-improved and imder effective culti-
vation, the land lying partly in Lincoln cnuntv
and partly in Lyon county, Iowa. In addition

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1687

to diversified farming he also raises good live
stock, including- Durham cattle and Poland-
China hogs. He is a Republican in politics, is
a member of the Lutheran church and is af-
filiated with the Ancient Order of ITnited Work-
men at Canton, his postoffice address.

HIRAM HUMPHREY CURTIS, cashier
of the First National Bank at Castlewood,
Hamlin county, was born in Geneva, now
known as Lake Geneva, Walworth county, Wis-
consin, on the 6th of December, 1844, being a
son of Lewis and Mary Elizabeth (Humphrey)
Curtis. The former was born at Plymouth,
Chenango county. New ^'ork, on the 8th of No-
vember, 1813, and is still living and in fair
health, though more than ninety years of age at
the time of this writing, in 1904. He engaged
in the mercantile business at Manhattan, near the
city of Toledo, Ohio, but in 1839 removed to
Wisconsin, locating at Geneva, that state, in
January of the following year, and there con-
tinuing in mercantile pursuits for nearly half a
century. He still maintains his home there, hon-
ored as one of the oldest living pioneers of that
section and as one of the noble patriarchs of
the state. His wife was born at Middlebury,
Ohio, on the 25th of May, 1822, and her death
occurred on the 21st of March, 1868. The
father became a prosperous business man and
one who wielded much influence. He served
for ten years as postmaster of Geneva, under
the administrations of Presidents Lincoln, John-
son and Grant, and during the climacteric period
leading up to the war of the Rebellion he was
a stanch Abolitionist and his home was a station
on the famous "underground railway." He be-
came somewhat extensively interested in farm-
ing and timber lands in Wisconsin in the. early
days, and has ever commanded high esteem.
His devoted wife was a woman of gracious re-
finement, a lover of good books and good
music, and both became members of the Pres-
byterian church in early life and ever exempli-
fied their faith in their daily walk and conver-
sation. It mav be further stated that the an-

cestry of the subject in both the paternal and ma-
ternal lines became identified with the settle-
ment of New England in the early colonial
epoch, and the maternal grandparents of the
subject each lived to attain the \-enerable age of
eighty-nine years.

Hiram H. Curtis received his early educa-
tional training in public and private schools in
his native town, and then entered Bcloit College,
I at Beloit, Wisconsin, where he took up the
work of the classical course, but on account of
ill health was compelled to abandon his studies
in the sophomore year, having been a member
of the class of 1870, He entered college with
the intention of preparing himself for the min-
istry of the Presbyterian church and it was a
matter of grievous disappointment to him that
he was obliged to change his plans and enter
upon other work. He was fond of good books
and of working with tools, particularly in wood,
and also enjoyed writing and bookkeeping. This
last proclivity caused his father to make a place
for him in his store and office, and at the age
of sixteen years he became bookkeeper for the
store and also assistant postmaster. In 1862,
when so many of his schoolmates were enlisting
in defense of the Lfnion, he was most anxious
also to tender his services, but his parents de-
cided that it was unwise to permit him to do
so. In his eighteenth year he left home for col-
lege, going first to the \Msconsin University in
the spring of 1863, and in the autumn of the
same year to Beloit College, where he passed
four years, in the preparatory and collegiate de-
partments, but was unable to complete his course.
He returned to his home in Geneva, and in the
spring of 1868, through the assistance of his
father, there engaged in the mercantile business,
opening a stock of drugs, books, etc. He was
associated in this enterprise with Pardon Mc-
Donald, now of Cl)'de, Kansas, about one year,
and thereafter individually continued the busi-
ness for ten years, and with fair success until
he became interested in the erection of a large
business block, which undertaking compassed
his financial failure. For about five years there-
after he was employed in his father's store. In

1 688

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

August, 1882, he visited the territory of Dakota
and was very favorably impressed. In the fol-
lowing October he came here again, in company
with a party of friends, among whom was his
brother-in-law, Joseph P. Cheever, and after a
trip through what is now the central part of
what is now South Dakota, along the line of the
Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, they pro-
ceeded up the James river valley to Columbia
and Aberdeen, returning to Wisconsin without
locating land or really deciding what action to
take. During the winter of 1882-3 Dakota was
thought about and discussed, and finally, in
March, 1883, Messrs. Cheever and Curtis came
again to Dakota, visiting Brookings, DeSmet,
Huron, Miller, Redfield. Aberdeen, Columbia,
Clark, Watertown and some other towns. The
immigration was immense in that year, and it
almost seemed to Messrs. Cheever and Curtis
that there was really no place in which they
could begin business with any prospect of suc-
cess. Finally Thomas H. Ruth, of DeSmet, sug-
gested that they visit Hamlin county. They
followed this suggestion and arrived in Castle-
wood on the 28th of March, 1883, looked about
the embryonic frontier town, learned what they
could concerning the surrounding country and
finally decided to remain. They at once erected
a building to include office and dwelling and
in the same opened a bank, law. insurance and
real-estate office, Mr. Cheever being a lawyer
by profession. They had business from the start,
but years of drought and short crops came, en-
tailing much discouragement. There were
several years of struggle and little or no profit.
Mr. Curtis' wife and children did not come to
the new home until about fifteen months after
he had here located, arriving in June, 1884.
During the interim he states that he had learned
to appreciate home and family as never before,
and when his family finally joined him they
found their abiding place on a government
homestead about three miles from Castlewood.
He made proof on this claim in December, 1884,
and they then removed into Castlewood, where
they now have a very pleasant and comfortable

home. He still owns the homestead farm, to
which he. has made some addition, and with his
family is the owner of other lands in the county,
so that as a family they are interested in farm-
ing upon a somewhat extensive scale.

In 1 891 the banking business established by
Messrs. Cheever and Curtis was incorporated
under the state law, prosperous years came to
the surrounding country, and the enterprise be-
came correspondingly successful. In 1894 Mr.
Cheever removed to Brookings to engage in the
practice of law, and this left the subject individu-
ally to superintend the affairs of the bank,
though Mr. Cheever continued to retain his in-'
terest in the business. In 1901 the enterprise
was reorganized and incorporated as the First
National Bank, succeeding the Hamlin County
Bank, under which title the enterprise had pre-
viously been conducted. The bank is capitalized
for twenty-five thousand dollars and is one of
the solid and prosperous financial institutions of
the state.

As before stated, Mr. Curtis was very de-
sirous of tendering his services in defense of
the Union in the early period of the Civil war,
but deferred to the wishes of his parents. In
1864, when the call came for seventy-five thou-
sand more men. he was in college at Beloit.
Enlistments were called for, and students and
other young men waxed enthusiastic, and thus,
without consulting his parents, Mr. Curtis en-
tered the one-hundred-days service, enlisting on
the 1 2th of May, of that year. The company
was assigned to the Fortieth Regiment of Wis-
consin Volunteer Infantry, which was largely
made up of students from Wisconsin University
and other colleges in the state, and the command
was sent to Memphis, Tennessee, and assigned
to picket duty, and there remained during its
terra of enlistment, when, with the .others of
the command, the subject received his honorable
discharge.

Mr. Curtis was always an tarnest Republican
until 1896, when he became a party Prohibition-
ist, because he believed that there was and is
no question before the nation of so great im-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

portance as the destruction of the American
saloon and liquor traffic. In 1902 he was the
nominee of the Prohibition party in the state for
the office of governor. The state committee's
management of the campaign was admirable and
brought a largely increased vote over that ac-
corded in any previous campaign. Mr. Curtis
is now a member of the national Prohibition
committee from his state. In early years of his
residence in South Dakota Mr. Curtis served
as township clerk and township treasurer, but
has never been ambitious for office of bcal order.
He is now considerably interested in and con-
nected with town and rural telephone con:.trLic-
tion in Castlewood and vicinity. He and his
wife are prominent and valued members of the
I'resbyterian church in their home town, and
he is an elder in the san-.e and for the past
eighteen vears has been superintendent of and
a teacher in its Sunday school.

On the 6th of December, 1870. was soUm-
nized the marriage of Air. Curtis to Miss Mary
Annette Allen, the ceremony being performed at
the home of her parents, in Linn, Walworth
county, Wisconsin. She is a daughter of
George and Harriet Amelia (Buell) Allen, her
father having been a prominent and wealthy
farmer and a citizen influential in political and
business affairs in his home town, county and
state. Airs. Curtis completed, her education in
the Wisconsin State University, at Madison, be-
ing graduated as a member of the first class
in the normal department, in 1865. Of the chil-
dren of Air. and Airs. Curtis we incorparate
the following brief data : Allen Lewis, who was
horn June 26, 1874, was graduated in Beloit
College, his father's alma mater, as a member of
the class of 1901 ; Kate Lilly, who was born
December 12, 1875, was a member of the class
of iqo2, in the same institution, but was com-
pelled to withdraw on account of impaired
health; Amelia Buell, who was born August
2, 1879, was graduated in Beloit College as a
member of the class of 1902, and died March
21;, 1904, and Annie Mary, who was born on
the 7th of February, 1883, expects' to enter the
same institution in the autumn oi the present

year, 1904. All of the children were born at
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, their father's native
place.

CHRISTOPHER SNYDI>:R VTXCEXT,
AL D., successfully engaged in the practice of
his profession at W'agner, Charles Alix county,
was born on a farm in Coeymans township, near
Indian Fields, .Albany county. New York, on
the i8th of Alarch, 1845, <i"fl is -'i so" of .\s-i S.
and Hannah Maria (McClure) A^incent, both of
whom were likewise born in Albany county, the
lineage on the paternal side being of English
origin and on the maternal of Scotch. The ma-
ternal great-grandfather of the Doctor was a
clergyman of the Scotch Presbyterian church,
and his son Daniel W., grandfather of our sub-
ject, was a local minister in the Methodist
Episcopal church. Leonard A'incent, great-
great-grandfather in the agnatic line, was an
Englishman of means and immigrated to the
state of. New York while it was still an English
colony. His eldest son, Leve, was born in that
state, on the ist of June, 1736, and the latter's
eldest son, Amos, grandfather of the Doctor,
was born about 1760. Asa S. Vincent, father
of our subject, was born near Indian Fields, Al-
bany county. New York, on the 14th of April,
1808, and it is interesting to note that the Doc-
tor is the descendant of the oldest child and
son in the line of five successive generations.

Dr. Vincent prepared for college in the
Greenville Academy, New York, and was gradu-
ated in Hamilton College, at Clinton, that state,
in 1873, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts,
while in 1876 he received from his alma mater
the degree of Master of Arts. In the meanwhile,
at Turin, Lewis county, New York, on the
1st of April, 1874. he was ordained to the min-
istry of the Presbyterian church, being stated
supply for the first six months thereafter and
being then installed as pastor, retaining the in-
cumbency two and one-half years. During his
active labors in the ministry the Doctor held
pastoral charges in Norwalk, Ohio ; Baltimore,
Maryland: Springfield, Ohio: Turner's Falls,

1690

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Massachusetts ; Williamstown, New York ; Au-
Ijurn, Nebraska ; Joplin, Missouri ; Oakes, North
Dakota, and Tyndall, South Dakota. He finally
took up the study of medicine, and on the 2d
of June, 1885, was graduated in the Eclectic
Medical College, in Cincinnati, Ohio, receiving
his degree of Doctor of ]\Icdicine from this well-
known institution. He was engaged in the prac-
tice of his profession for a time in Springfield,
Ohio, and later at Dormansville, New York,
while in 1897 he established himself in practice
at Tyndall, Bon Homme county, South Da-
kota, where he remained for a period of six
years, at the expiration of which he came to
Wagner, Charles Mix county, where he has built
up a large and representative practice. While 1
he has always been successful in general prac- ;
tice and surgery he considers that his best work
has been accomplished in connection with the
treatment of chronic diseases, to which he has
devoted special attention and study.

In politics the Doctor is a stanch Republican,
and of his religious faith we can give no more
consistent statement than to quote his own
words: "I have been an ordained minister of
the Presbyterian church since September, 1874,
honoring alike all denominations as so many
schools in the one universal church of Jesus
Christ, and cherishing the hope that God in his
wisdom will ultimately realize the universal sal-
vation of all men and angels." In a fraternal
way the Doctor is identified with Lodge No.
212 of the Ancient Order of United Workmen
at Auburn, Nebraska, and in 1868 he became
a member of Jefferson Lodge, No. 554, Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons, in New York, being
at the present time affiliated with Bon Homme
Lodge, No. loi, at Tyndall, South Dakota.

(hi the 23d of April, 1874, was solemnized
tln' marriage f)f Dr. N'incent to Miss Ella Ham-
mond, who was born in Auburn, New York,
on the 3d of December, 1854, being a daughter
of Colonel George Edmond and Hannah Maria
(Harris) Hammond, and of the children of this
union we enter the following brief record, the
respective dates of birth being given in each
connection: Wright A.. March i, 1875: Whel-

don Jones, July 31, 1876; Maybelle. May 14,
1878; Edmond Hammond, June 28, 1881 ; Paul.
August 31, 1884, and Faith, September 30, 1892.

ORMLLE S. BASFORD is a native of
the old Green Mountain state, having been born
in Shelburne, \"ermont, on the 29th of August,
1848, and being a son of Samuel and Henrietta
(Kingsbury) Basford, the former of whom was
a mechanic by vocation, while both passed their
entire lives in New England. In the agnatic
line the genealog}^ is traced back to four brothers
who came to America from England in the latter
part of the eighteenth century, having been
originally from Wales, and their des;endant? in
the new world are now numerous and found in
the most diverse sections of the Union, while
the orthography of the name has become varied,
— Basford, Bassford, Bashford, etc. The sub-
ject received his early education in the common
schools and then completed a four-years classical
course in the University of Vermont, as a mem-
ber of the class of 1876. Prior to his gradu-
ation he was regularly stationed as a licenciate
of the Vermont conference of the ^Methodist
Episcopal church, and later was duly ordained to
elder's orders. After five years of successful work
in the ministry of his church in A'ermont, at ^lil-
ton, Hvde Park and Essex, he came to the terri-
tory of Dakota, in 1880, his prime object being to
induce his brothers, who were merchants, to avail
themselves of advantages offered in the securing
of government lands. He was given a Methodist
circuit embracing the south half of Spink county,
and within the three years following he or-
ganized four societies and erected three churches,
—at Hitchcock, Crandon and Redfield. He then
became concerned in political affairs and with-
drew from the active work of the ministry. In
1894 he was chosen chairman of the Republican
state central committee, manoeuvred his forces
with much ability during the campaign of that
year, and in the spring of the following year
resumed ministerial functions, removing to Alis-
souri, where he was for four years pastor of a
clun-ch at Wcll--vi!le, ?vlontgomerv county, and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1691

for three and one-half years incumbent of a
charge at Linnens, Linn county. His heaUh be-
came impaired and he accordingly returned to
South Dakota, where the invigorating climate
soon enabled him to recuperate his energies. He
is now associated with his two sons. Frank and
Harry, and is manager and editor of the Red-
field Press, which is published by the firm of
liasford Brothers & Basford. He was post-
master of Redfield from 1890 to 1804. inclusive,
and in 1887-8 was editor and publisher of the
Dakota Methodist. He has been an active
worker in the cause of the Republican party, as
has already been noted in this context, and fra-
ternally he is identified with the AlasiMiic order,
the Knights of Pythias, the :Mndern Woodmen
of America, the Good Templars and the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of which last
he was elected grand master of the grand lodge
of the state, at Deadwood. in 1890. while in
the following year he was elected grand repre-
sentative at Yankton.

Mention should be made of the fact that
Mr. Basford enlisted, in 1S64, as a member of
the Seventeenth Vermont A'olvntecr Infantry,
but was rejected by reason of his youth and was
thus unable to assist in the defense of the Union
during the Civil war. He was a member of the
board of commissioners of Spink county from
1884 to 1886, inclusive, and was a member ci
the board of regents of the iMitchell I'niversity
in 1887-8-9.

On the 22(1 of August, 1871. at ("leo-gia.
\'ermont. ;\lr. Basford was united in marriage
to Miss Arminda M. Blake, and they are the
parents of six children, namely : William B.,
Caroline A., Delta C, Frank \\'., Orville K.
and Harrison D.

AMUXD ( ). RIXGSRUD. a successful
business man of Elk Point, Union county, is a
native of Norway, where he was born Septem-
ber 13, 1854, being a son of Ole O. and Carrie
Ringsrud, who emigrated thence to the United
States in 1867. when he was a lad of thirteen
vear5, locatina: in Union countv. Sorth Dakota.

the father engaging in agricultural pursuits and
bein^ known as an honest, industrious and
worthy citizen of his adopted country. Our sub-
ject secured his rudimentary education in his na-
tive land and after coming to America he con-
tinued his .studies in the public schools. He gave
his attention to farm work in Union county until
the year 1870, when, at the age of sixteen years,
he came to Elk Point and being there employed
as clerk in a general store imtil 1879. In 1878
Air. Ringsrud was elected to the office of register
of deeds of Union county, in which capacity he
served six consecutive years, while in 1885 he
was elected county treasurer, being chosen as hi-;
own successor in 1887 and thu'^ ably administer-
ing the fiscal affairs of the count)- for four
years. Still further honors were in store for him
through the appreciative recognition of the peo-
ple of the state, for in 1889 he was elected to
the office of secretary of state, of which he con-
tinued incumbent four years, proving himself a
capable and discriminating official and by his
course fully justifying the popular choice. In
1885 he engaged in the mercantile business
here on his own responsibility, beginning opera-
tions on a ipodest scale, and from this nucleus
he has built up a most excellent trade, having
now one of the largest general stores in this
section of the state and being known as a re-
liable and honorable business man. whose word
is as good as his bond. The subject was a
member of the state constitutional convention
of 1889, and proved anew his loyal interest in
the welfare of the new commonwealth. In
politics he accords an uncompromising support
to the Republican party, in whose cause he has
been a most active and efficient worker, and in
1896 he was the candidate of his party for the
office of governor of the state, being defeated
bv onlv a few hundred votes and running ahead
of his ticket. Fraternally Mr. Ringsrud is a
Mason, belonging to the commandery and con-
sistory, and also belongs to the Ancient Order
of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen
of America.

On the 23d of A larch. 1876. was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Ringsrud to Miss Emma F.

1692

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Snyder, of Lawler, Iowa, and they are the par-
ents of three children, Grace E., now Mrs. F: W.
Ford, of Elk Point ; Stella May, at home, and
Alfred, at St. John's Military Academy, Dela-
field. Wisconsin.

JAMES L. BULLOCK, of I'ierpont. Day
county, was born in Tonica, LaSalle county,
Illinois, on the 20th of December, 1861, and is
a son of James T. and Ann Frances' (Cross-
man) Bullock, both of whom were born and
reared in Massachusetts, being representatives of
stanch old colonial ancestry. As a young man
James Tisdale Bullock removed from New
England to Illinois, locating in LaSalle county,
where he engaged in farming. A number of
years later he removed to ^Michigan, where his
death occurred, his family thereafter returning
to Illinois, his wife dying later, in Michigan.
The subject of this review was the eighth in or-
der of birth of the eight children, of whom
two are living, and he passed his schooldays
in Michigan and Illinois, availing himself of the
advantages of the public schools and growing
up under the sturdy and invigorating influences
of the farm. He was identified with agricultural
pursuits in Illinois until 18S7, when he came to
what is now the state of South Dakota and pur-
chased two hundred and forty acres of land
five miles northeast of Pierpont, Day county,
where he engaged in farming and stock raising,
with which important lines of industrial enter-
prise he has ever since been identified. To the
area of his original purchase he has added
until he now has a finely improved ranch
of aliout four hundred acres, the same being de-
voted to diversified agriculture and to the rais-
ing of high-grade live stock. He is recognized
as an energetic, far-sighted and progressive
farmer and business man and is one of the hon-
ored citizens of the county, commanding uni-
form confidence 'and esteem. From the time of
taking up his residence in the county to the
jiresent he has manifested a commendable in-
terest in public afl^airs, and is one of the stalwart
supporters of the ivcpubliean partv in this sec-

tion of the state. In 1899 he was elected to
represent his district in the state legislature, and
was chosen as his own successor in 1901, prov-
ing a valuable working member in the house
and having been assigned to various important
committees. He is affiliated with the Ancient
Order of United Workmen and its auxiliary or-
ganization, the Degree of Honor.

On the 23d of August, 1885, Mr. Bullock
was joined in wedlock to Miss Ella Remsburg,
who was born in Illinois, being a daughter of
Perry Remsburg, who removed from his na-
tive state of Maryland to that of Ohio and later
to Illinois, where he made his home for a num-
ber of years, both he and his wife, whose maiden
name was Mary Brown, passing the closing
years of their lives in Kansas. Mr. and Airs.
Bullock have four children, namely : James
Shelljy, Llarr}' Romaine. Emmet MelkttL/. anil
Mvrtle Tanette.

GEORGE A. WOOD, one of the repn_scnt-
ative and highly esteemed business men of Adil-
bank. Grant county, has heie in co.inection with
his brother, built up a successful hardware, lum-
ber and farm machinery business. He is a na-
tive of the province of Quebec, Canada, having
been born in Brome Corner, a village which was
settled by people from New England, and situ-
ated near the Vermont line. Walter Wood,
father of the subject, was born and reared in
the state of \'ermont, and moved across the b3r-
der into Canada, wdiere he became identified with
the lumbering industry in that section. His wife,
whose name was Alartha P. Jacobs, was a na-
tive of Coimecticut.

The subject of this sketch was born on the
23d of June, 185 1. His early education was
received in the old stone school house in his na-
tive village and continued in the academy of that
place. ^^dK■n he was twelve years of age his
parents removed with their family to Wisconsin,
and a few years later took up their residence
in EUiota, Minnesota, where his father was en-
gaged in farming. George A. entered the pre-
paratory department of the State University of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1693

Minnesota in 1872. where he was graduated as
a member of the class of 1878, receiving the de-
gree of Bachelor of Literature. In the same
}ear he engaged in the hardware, lumber and
machinery business with his brother, John C.
under the firm name of Wood Brothers, in the
village of Ortonville, Big Stone count}^ Min-
nesota. When the Chicago. Milwaukee & St.
Paul Railroad was extended westward into
South Dakota in 1880 the firm removed to Alil-
bank. Grant county, and established an excellent
business, being one of the leading retail concerns
in the state. They are progressive and energetic
and have so conducted their business as to win
and retain the confidence of all with whom they
have dealings. They have large and well-equip-
ped warehouses and general salesrooms, and
handle all kinds of heavy and shelf hardware,
lumber and builders' materials, agricultural im-
plements and machinery. The firm also have
milling and agricultural interests.

In politics the subject is an independent Re-
publican ; fraternally he is identified with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen, and is a
member of the Congregational church.

On the. 9th of June, 1879, Mr. Wood was
married to Miss Caroline Rollit, daughter of
Rev. Charles Rollit, at that time a resident of
the city of Minneapolis. She is a graduate of
the I'niversity of Minncfota of the class of 1879.

DARWTX M. IXMAX, president of the
First National Bank of Vermillion, Clay county,
is a native of the old Empire state and a scion
of old colonial stock in New England. He was
born in Chrcndon, Orleans county, New York,
and is a son of" Philip and Anna (Thompson)
Inman, the former of whom was born in Con-
necticut and the latter in Vermont, both being
of English lineage.

Mr. Inman was reared in his native county,
and after duly availing himself of the advantages
of the public schools he continued his studies in
Holley and Albion Academies, locating in that
county, and there preparing for college. He
was matriculated in Rochester University, where

he completed the classical course and was gradu-
ated, receiving his degree. Mr. Inman is to be
noted as one of the pioneer bankers of South
Dakota, where he has maintained his home since
the territorial era, when the present state was on
ihe very frontier. In the spring of 1875 he "in-
gaged in the banking business in Vermillion
being associated in the enterprise with nis
brothers-in-law, Messrs. Myron D. Thompson
and Martin J. Lewis. They also became promi-
nently concerned in the grain business, owning
and operating a large elevator in Vermillion, and
also conducting an extensive business in the
handling of agricultural implements, machinery
and lumber, while they are associated in the
live-stock business in the county. Mr. Inman
was successfully engaged in teaching in the pub-
lic schools of New York state for several terms
prior to coming as a pioneer to the great ter-
ritory of Dakota, and he has ever retained a deep
interest in educational afifairs. He was president
of the board of trustees of the village of Ver-
million in 1876, and in 1876-7 was a prominent
member of the territorial legislature, in which he
later served two more terms, while he was a
member of the first general assembly after the
state was admitted to the Union. He served for
several terms as a trustee and director of the
State LTniversity, in Vermillion, being one of its
trustees at the time when the first building was
erected.

In politics ^Ir. Inman is a stalwart advocate
of the principles of the Democratic party, and
he has been a prominent figure in its ranks in
South Dakota, serving as chairman of the Demo-
cratic state central committee for six years, both
during the territorial and state regimes. He
served two terms as supervisor of the town of
Clarendon, New York, prior to coming to the
west, while mention has already been made of
the official positions he has retained in South
Dakota. Fraternally he has attained the chival-
ric degrees in the Masonic order, being identified
with Vermillion Commandery, No. 16, Knights
Templar, in Vermillion, and with El Riad Tem-
ple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the
Mvstic Shrine, at Sioux Falls.

i694

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

On the 28th of December. 1874, Mr. Inman
was united in marriage to Miss Adele Lewis, of
Columbus, Columbia county, Wisconsin, who
was born in Clarendon, Orleans county. New
York, being a daughter of William L. and
Eliza Ann Lewis. No children have been born
of this union. Mrs. Inman takes a deep interest
in the Baptist church to which [Mr. Inman gives
a liberal support.

ANTON V. \'ETTER, a member of the
well-known firm of Vetter, Stoller & Hepperle,
of Artas, Campbell county, and also president
of the Artas State Bank, was born near the city
of Odessa, Russia, on the 19th of January, 1868,
and is a son of \alentine and Franciska \'etter,
both of whom were born and reared in that same
locality, being of German lineage. The subject
received superior educational advantages in the
excellent national schools of his native land, and
was there engaged in teaching for several years
prior to coming to America, in 1892. His par-
ents had immigrated to the L^nited States in
1888 and located in Emmons county. North Da-
kota, where they still reside, the father being a
prosperous farmer and stock grower and a man
of irtfluence in his community. Upon coming to
South Dakota the subject of this sketch located in
Eureka. McPherson county, where he secured
a clerical position in the general store of John
Pietz. in whose employ he continued four years,
at the expiration of which he removed across the
line into North Dakota and engaged in the
mercantile business at Selz, North Dakota,
where he remained six years, meeting with ex-
cellent success and laying the foundations for his
present exceptional prestige as a business man.
In 1 901, upon the completion of the Missouri
River branch of the "Soo" Railroad through
Altas, he removed to this village and here as-
sociated himself with Messrs. John Stoller and
Fred Hepperle, in the establishing of the firm
mentioned in the opening paragraph of this
article, and they have built up a large and pros-
perous general merchandise business, having a
wcll-e(|uipped store, forty-six by one hundred

and twelve feet in dimensions, besides an annex,
twenty-six by eighty feet, in which is carried
their stock of furniture and stoves, while in ad-
dition they have a large warehouse for general
storage purposes. They carry a complete stock
of all kinds of merchandise and have a first-
class store and one which has gained popularity
and a large supporting patronage from a wide
radius of country normally tributary to the town.
In 1903 Mr. Vetter entered into partnership with
Ludwig Schmalz and opened a general store at
Hague, North Dakota, under the firm name of
Schmalz & A'etter. and this establishment also
is doing a prosperous business. (Jn the ist of
August, 1903, Mr. Vetter was elected president
of the Artas State Bank, in which connection he
is proving a most capable executive officer. In
politics he gives his support to the Democratic
party, and he is a thoroughly loyal, progressive
and public-spirited citizen.

On the 6th of August, 1889, ^Ir. Vetter was
united in marriage to Miss Barbara Wingerter,
of Odessa, Russia, and they have five children,
Martin. Frances. Elizabeth, Peter and Marv.

JAAIES HALL, the popular proprietor of
Hotel Hall at Ft. Pierre, Stanley county, is a
native of the old Green Mountain state, having
been born in Hardwick, Caledonia county, Ver-
mont, on the loth of May, 1841. and being a son
of Don C. and :\Iary L. (Bell) Hall, both of
whom were likewise born in A'ermont, the
former being of Spanish descent in the paternal
line and Scotch in the maternal, while the latter
was of Irish and English genealogy. The pa-
ternal grandfather of our subject was Don
Carlos Barrett, and the name Hall was taken by
his son and namesake, who was reared in the
home of his maternal relatives, who bore that
name. Don Carlos Barrett was a sea captain
and as nearly as can be ascertained he lost his
life on a voyage made in 1818. Don Carlos Hall,
father of the subject of this review, was taken
by his mother's people when he was but four
years of age. the Hall family being of Scotch ex-
traction and having long been identified with the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1695

ship-chandlery business in New England. James
D. Bell, the maternal grandfather of our subject,
was brought from Ireland to America when a
child, his father having been compelled to leave
the Emerald Isle by reason of his prominence
in connection with political disturbances, as he
was an Orangeman. This exiled patriot became
an eminent criminal lawyer in Vermont and was
a man of exalted character and distinguished
ability. James D. Bell married' Lucy Dean, who
was a direct descendant of Governor Thomas
Dudley, who landed in .America in 1630, and of
\^'alter Dean, who arrived in the new world in
1638.

James Hall, the immediate subject of this
article, was a child of fourteen years at the time
of his parents' removal from Vermont to the
wilds of Wisconsin, and they became pioneers
of Portage county, that state. He was reared
in the midst of the great forests of northern Wis-
consin, and his educational advantages were such
as were afforded in the common schools of the
locality and period, while he early became in-
ured to the strenuous and somewhat venture-
some labors connected with the great lumbering
industry. He was engaged in the lumber busi-
ness in that state for some time, as was he later
in Illinois, Ali.ssouri and Iowa, and in 1883 he
came to South Dakota and located in Blunt,
Hughes county, where he continued in the same
line of enterprise until iSgo, when he engaged
in the hotel business, with which he has ever
since been identified. In politics Mr. Hall is
stanchly arrayed as a supporter of the principles
and policies of the Democratic party.

On the 3d of July, 1868, at Hanover, Jo
Daviess county. Illinois, Mr. Hall was united in
marriage to Miss Eliza Truax, who was born in
Rome, New York, on the 20th of October. 1854,
being a daughter of Isaac and Sarah (Ford)
Truax, who were numbered among the pioneers
of Illinois. Mr. and Airs. Hall became the par-
ents of five children, namely : Alice, Robert I.,
Harry, Bella and Norma, and all are living with
the exception of Bella, who died at the age of
six years.

Robert I. Hall, the elder son, was born in

Stevens Toint, Wisconsin, on the 9th of June,
1871, and he is one of the popular young men
of South Dakota, where the major portion of his
life has been passed. On the 26th of .\pril.

1898. at the time of the outbreak of the Spanish-
American war, he enlisted as a member of Com-
pany A, First South Dakota Volunteer Infantry,
and he proceeded with his command to San
Francisco, whence they embarked on the trans-
port "Morgan City" and sailed for the Philip-
pines, where he took part in ten engagements
with the insurgents. He arrived in San Fran-
cisco one month earlier than his regiment, hav-
ing been sent home on account of physical dis-
ability entailed by severe illness, and he received
his honorable discharge on the 3rst of August,

1899, while in the city hospital of San I'ran-
cisco. He is now engaged in the real-estate busi-
ness at Evarts, South Dakota.

REV. C. E. OTLAHERTY, of Kimball,
Brule county, is one of the able and well-known
young priests of the Catholic church in this dio-
cese and is doing an admirable work in his holy
calling as a missionary in a wide territory. He
was born on the 24th of April, 1878, in the city
of Galway, Ireland, where his parents still re-
side. His earlier studies were made at Wilton
College, Cork, and his theological education was
begun at the Seminary of Foreign Missions,
Lyons, France, and later completed in this
country. He was ordained a priest by Bishop
O'Gorman at Sioux Falls on the 15th of Sep-
tember, 1901, and was assigned to his present
charge on September 22. 1901, the same extend-
ing over the greater part of Brule' and Lyman
counties. His ambition to advance the work and
influence of his church in these frontier counties
has brought him prominently before the public
in his locality. Within his two years' in-
cumbency of this position a beautiful rectory has
been erected in Kimball, a church edifice com-
pleted in Pukwana, and the St. James church in
Chamberlain erected at a cost of five thousand
dollars, the same being the most beautiful public
building in that thriving town. In addition tJ

1696

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

this a little church has been built at lona, in
Lyman county, and two more are soon to be
built in the same count\- and under the direction
of leather ( VMaherty, who, as may readily be un-
understood, has few idle moments.

ALBERT W. WIL?^L\RTH. who is actively
engag-ed in the practice of his profession in
Huron, the official center of Beadle county, is
one of the able and influential members of the
bar of the commonwealth, has served as a mem-
ber of the state legislature and as a citizen com-
mands unequivocal confidence and regard.

Mr. Wilmarth is a native of the old Key-
stone state, having been born in Harford, Sus-
quehanna county, Pennsylvania, on the 15th of
February, 1856, and being a son of George P.
and Martha (Payne) Wilmarth, who were like-
wise born and reared in that county, the latter
being a daughter of Oliver Payne, who was born
in Massachusetts, while Walter Wilmarth, the
paternal grandfather, was born in Connecticut,
both families having been identified with the j
annals of our national history from the early
colonial epoch. Grandfather Wilmarth was num-
bered among the pioneers of Susquehanna
county, Penns}-lvania, where he engaged in
farming, which vocation was also followed by
the father of the subject, who became an in-
fluential citizen of that locality.

Albert W. Wilmarth secured his earlv edu-
cation in the town of Harford, where he com-
pleted a course in the high school, and after leav- j
ing school he entered the ofifice of Judge J. [
Brewster McCollum. of Montrose, Pennsylvania,
who was afterward chief justice of the supreme
court of that state, and under the able direction
of this honored preceptor carried forward his
study of the law for several years, being admitted
to the bar of his native state in 1879. He was
thereafter engaged in the active work of his pro-
fession in Montrose. Pennsylvania, until 1883,
when he came to South Dakota and located in
Huron, where he established himself in practice
and where he lias gained high prestige and '
marked precedence as a skilled trial lawyer and

discriminating counsel, being especially well read
in the learning of the law and having a judicial
and analytical mind which enables him to grasp
the cases presented to him for consideration and
to readily apply the legal principles relevant
thereto. In 1892 he was elected to the office of
city attorne}-, in which he served six consecutive
year, retiring in 1898. In the following year he
was chosen to represent his county in the state
legislature, where he made a most enviable record
as an active and able working member of the
house, being assigned to various important com-
mittees and championing many measures which
have proved of inestimable benefit to the state
since enactment. He was re-elected in 1901 and
during the next general assembly was equally
prominent in the legislative body. He was the
chief promoter of the referendum bill, which was
presented by him and ably upheld on the floor of
the house, being finally enacted as a law of the
state and standing in evidence of the progressive
policy of the members of the assembly. In
politics Mr. Wilmarth is a stanch adherent of the
Republican party, having been an active worker
in its cause and being prominent in its councils
in the state. He is identified with various fra-
ternal organizations and is distinctively popular
in professional, business and social circles. Dur-
ing Mr. Wilmarth's first term in the legislature
he entered into a wise coalition with John Pusey,
of Hand county, and Wilbur S. Glass, of Cod-
ington county, and they efifectively combined
their efforts in the support of worthy measures,
being thus practically invincible in securing the
passage of bills which they undertook to put
through in the house. During both terms Mr.
Wilmarth was a recognized leader in the house,
and during the second term he had the distinc-
tion of being chairman of the judiciary com-
mittee, one of the most important of all com-
mittees, as is well known. In the Republican
state convention of 1904 Mr. Wilmarth was
chosen to make the speech nominating Coe I.
Crawford for the governorship, and made an
eloquent appeal for his candidate, winning for
himself additional laurels as a public speaker.
The press reported the incident as follows :

ALBERT W. WILMARTH.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1697

The chairman called for nominations for gover-
nor.

A. W. Wilmarth, of Huron, and Carl Sherwood,
of Clark, were on their feet instantly. The chair rec-
ognized Sherwood who in a flowery speech placed in
nomination the name of his favorite, Sam Elrod.
A number of chairmen of delegations seconded the
nomination, several of them raising a hubbub and
calling for "question" in a vain attempt to bluff Wil-
marth. That gentleman quietly waited till they were
all done and then in a voice penetrating every corner
of the convention hall and the ringing eloquence of
which held every ear in that vast turbulent audience
attentive and seemingly spellbound, placed in nom-
ination the name of Coe I. Crawford, whom he
termed "the plumed knight" of South Dakota poli-
tics and coupled his name with that of Theodore
Roosevelt in a striking comparison. After paying
a high tribute to Crawford, characterizing him as one
of the ablest, cleanest and most courageous of all
South Dakota Republicans, he said:

"He takes his platform. He has unfurled his ban-
ner like the 'plumed knight' that he is and he will j
carry it through the camps of enemies until in tri-
iimph he places it upon the platform of a Republican
convention hall. Triumph he must and shall. He has
added to the Republican platform the primary elec-
tion plank which guarantees the right of every man
— he of the rank and file — to express his will. The
demand is almost universal for Coe I. Crawford."
Several times he was interrupted by applause and at
the close the whole convention hall thundered forth
its cheers from friend and foe alike until the great
auditorium rang with round after round of admiring
approbation.

WILLIAM! H. EVERHARD. AI. D., one
of the representative members of the medical
fraternity in Volf^a, Brookings county, was born
in Ripon. Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, on
the 4th of ATay, 1857, and is a son of Dr. Aaron
and .\nn V. (X^cnett) Everhard, the former of
whom was born in Doylestown, Wayne county.
Ohio, and the latter in the state of Massachusetts.
The father of our subject was graduated in
the medical department of the Western Reserve
University, one of the oldest educational institu-
tions in the Buckeye state, and was a thoroughly
skilled physician and surgeon, having been en-
gaged in the active practice of his profession for
full half a century. He located in Ripon, Wis-
consin, in 1856, Ijeing one of the pioneer physi-

cians of that section, and there continued in
practice until his death, in 1892, at which time
he was sixty-nine years of age. His widow is
still living and makes her home with her chil-
dren, who accord her the utmost filial care and
solicitude. The father of our subject was mayor
of Ripon for fourteen years and was one of the
most honored citizens of the community in which
he so long lived and labored. Of bis seven chil-
dren six are living, namely : Andrew T.. who
is a resident of Bryant, South D^iknta : Keudrick
M., who is engaged in Bryant, Hamlin county.
South Dakota; Frank A., who is a practicing
]5hysician in Ripon, Wisconsin ; Ella S., who is
likewise a medical practitioner, engaged in the
work of her profession in Dayton, Ohio ; Mary,
who is a resident of the city of Boston, and \M1-
liam H., who is the innuediale si'bject of this
review.

Dr. \\'illiam H. Everhard was reared to ma-
turity in his native town, and after completing
the curriculum of the public schools be entered
Ripon College for two years, being twenty-one
years of age at the time. He was matriculated
in Rush Medical College, in the city of Chicago,
in 1878, and there completed the prescribed
course, being graduated in this celebrated in-
stitution in February, 1880. and receiving his de-
gree of Doctor of Medicine. It should be stated
that he had previously taken up the study of
medicine under the effective direction of his
honored father. Almost immediately after his
graduation the Doctor started for South Da-
kota, having determined to follow the advice of
Horace Greeley by coming west and growing
up with the country. He arrived in Volga on
the 9th of April, 1880, the line of the Chicago &
Northwestern Railroad having been completed
to this point only a few months previously. The
Doctor at once displayed his professional
"shingle" in the new town, and that it was es-
sential for him to find someone to "practice"
upon may be well understood when we state that
his cash capital was reduced to the sum of fifty
cents the day succeediijg his arrival. It was his
good fortune, however, to find his services in
demand that same morning, twenty-one patients

1698

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

coming to him for treatment. He is distinctively
the pioneer physician of the town, and for many
years labored with unabating zeal and self-
abnegation in the relieving of suffering and dis-
tress in the community, driving to great dis-
tances, often through blinding snowstorms over
the trackless prairies, and ever responding to
the call of duty, no matter how great the per-
sonal discomfort or even hazard. He was very
successful in his professional work and con-
tinued in active practice until 1901, when he
sold out his professional business to Dr. D. L.
Scanlan, in order that he might have more time
to devote to his various capitalistic interests,
while he gives special attention to dealing in
real estate, being the owner of much valuable
property in the county and elsewhere in the state.
He is a member of the National Association of
Railroad Surgeons.

Dr. Everhard is the owner of two thousand
acres of land in the state, and the greater por-
tion of this is in Brookings county, and he has
shown marked discrimination in the handling of
realty since coming here. He is associated with
^Messrs. John L. Hall and Robert Henry in the
ownership of the First State Bank of Volga,
which was organized and incorporated in 1900.
He was the first single individual to raise a
carload of hogs west of the Sioux river in
Brookings county, and since 1893 he has had
under effective cultivation in the county about
fifteen hundred acres of land. He has paid out
more than' any other one man in the section of
the county west of the Sioux river in the way of
farm improvements, including labor, and has
thus materially aided in the development of the
resources of this section.

Dr. Everhard was aligned with the Demo-
cratic party until 1896, when he felt convinced
that the platform of the party did not represent
the organic principles which the name should im-
ply, and he therefore transferred his allegiance
to the Re])ublican party, to which he has since
given his support, having been a delegate to one
of its state conventions. He was the first treas-
urer of the village of Volga, was countv coroner
for a number of vears and also a valued mem-

ber of the board of health. He served as sur-
geon for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad
Company from the time of coming here until he
retired from practice, and he is now frequently
called in consultation and emergency work. Fra-
ternally the Doctor is identified with the lodge,
chapter and council of the Masonic order, hav-
ing passed the official chairs in the lodge, and is
also affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, the Modern Woodmen of
America and the Ancient Order of United Work-
men.

On the 19th of March, 1882, Dr. Everhard
was united in marriage to Miss T. Ella Tag-
gart, who was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania,
being a daughter of George and Elizabeth Tag-
gart, who settled in Brookings, in 1881, being
numbered among the pioneers of this section of
the state. Mr. Taggart served with distinction
during the war of the Rebellion and he and his
wife are now dead. Dr. and Mrs. Everhard
have three children, namely: Frnnl; T,, who was
graduated in Ripon high school, Wisconsin, in
1 901, and who thereafter continued his studies
for one year in the Wisconsin State University,
at Madison, and is now in the University of Min-
nesota : Bertha jM., who completed the course in
the Volga graded school, later attended the col-
lege at Yankton for two years, and is now at the
parental home; and Ra^'mond is a student in the
East high school at ?\Iinneapolis, Alinnesota.

THOMAS H. NULL, who is actively en-
gaged in the practice of law in Huron, Beadle
county, is a native of the Buckeye state, having
been born in Warren county, Ohio, on the loth
of February, 1862, and being a son of Benjamin
and Mary (Stevens) Null, both of whom were
likewise born and reared in that state, where
their respective parents were nrmbered among
the early pioneers. Henry Null, the grandfather
of the subject, was born in Rockingham county,
Virginia, and the great-grandfather, Charles
Null, was likewise born in that state. His
father, Christopher Null, was born in Germany,
whence he came to America prior to the war of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1699

the Revolution, taking- up his abode in the Old
Dominion. He came to the new world about
1750 and continued to reside in \'irginia until
1796, when, after the Wayne treaty with the
Indians, he removed with his family to a point
about thirty miles north of the Ohio river, in
what is now the state of Ohio, taking up land on
a trail which had been established by "Mad
.\nthony" Wayne's army, in what is now War-
ren county, so that the Null family became
represented among the earliest settlers within the
confines of the present Buckeye state. Christo-
pher Null died yeoman service in the cause of
independence, having served as a colonel in the
Continental line during the war of the Revolu-
tion and having previously been an active figure
in various wars and conflicts with the Indians.
In Warren county he and his sons took up large
tracts of land and reclaimed farms in the midst
I if the primeval forests, while their products were
shipped down die Ohio and Mississippi rivers,
on flatboats, to New Orleans. Christopher Null
lived to attain a venerable age. and his death oc-
curred in Warren county, as did also that of his
son Charles, who there devoted the m.ajor portion
of his life to agricultural pursuits, while in the
eirly days he also owned and operated a distil-
cry, the output of which was shipped to New Or-
leans. He also took part in the early Indian
wars in Ohio and was of the advance guard of
civilization in that great commonwealth. Henry
Null, the grandfather, was four years of age at
the time of the family removal to the wilds of
what was then t-he Northwest Territory, and he
passed the remainder of his life on a portion of
the ancestral homestead in Warren county. He
passed to his reward in 1880. in the fullness of
years and well-earned honors. His fourth son
was Benjamin Null, the father of our subject.
Benjamin w'as reared on the old homestead and
received a common-school education. At the age
of twenty-one years he was united in marriage to
Miss Mary Stevens, who died a few years later,
leaving three children, of whom Thomas H. was
the second in order of birth.

Thomas H. Null secured his earl)- educa-
tional training in the district schools. At the age

of fifteen years he entered upon an apprentice-
ship to the trade of carriage making, and during
the four years he was thus engaged he was a dil-
igent student, passing all his leisure moments in
close application Ut his siudies and early show-
ing a predilectitm fnr the law, so that he finally
began the technical study- of the same under an
able preceptor, George W. Mover, in Farmers-
ville. At the age of eighteen the subject entered
the office of the firm of Bolton & Shanck, prom-
inent members of the bar, engaged in active
practice at Dayton, Ohio, and under their ef-
fective direction carefully continued his study of
the science of jurisprudence until he had attained
his legal majority. Immediately afterward Mr.
Null came to -what is now the state of South Da-
kota, and in his profession and as a citizen he
has thus literally "grown up with the country."
He located in Jerauld county and was admitted
to the bar of the territory at the first term of
court held in Aurora county by Judge Edgerton,
who was one of the prominent members of the
early bar of the territory. In April, 1883. Mr.
Null took up one hundred and sixty acres of gov-
ernn-ient land in Jerauld county and opened a law
office in Waterbury, that county, where he
entered upon the active practice of his profes-
sion. In the fall of 1886 he was elected state's
attorney of the county, and in the following
spring located in Wessington Springs, the
county seat. He resigned his office and removed
to Huron, Beadle county, in January. 1889, be-
lieving this a wider and more attractive field
for professional labor, and here he has built up a
large and representative practice. Mr. Null was
candidate on the People's ticket for the office of
attorney general of the state, but was defeated
with the balance of the. party ticket. While a
resident of Jerauld county he was retained in
the defense of B. L. Solomon, charged with mur-
der. Solomon and the deceased w-ere alone on
the ranch of their en-iployer and during a quarrel
Solomon shot his companion, resulting in the
death of the latter. The case came to trial be-
fore Judge Tripp, the district judge, and the
jury disagreed, a change of venue being then
taken to Sanborn county. The suljject made an

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

able defense for his client and Solomon was con-
victed of manslaughter only, and received a
sentence of but two years in the penitentiary.
Solomon was a son of a prominent lawyer in
Council Bluffs, Iowa, and the case attracted wide
attention, while in this connection the service
rendered by Mr. Null gained him a reputation
throughout the state. In 1897 ]\Ir. Null repre-
sented the railroad commissioners of the state in
the litigation in the United States courts as to the
rights invested in the railroad commission to
fix the maximum rates for transportation of
freight and passengers on the lines traversing
South Dakota. The case was strenuously fought
through the circuit courts of the United States
and then carried to the federal supreme court,
and after a period of four years of conflict a com-
promise was effected, just as the matter was to be
taken into the United States supreme court a
second time. The railway companies submitted
to the jurisdiction and control of the state rail-
road commissioners, and while th.e expense of
the litigation to the state had been more than
forty thousand dollars the benefits received were
twofold, in that the railways had incidentally
placed a high valuation on their properties, thus
enabling the assessment to be materially in-
creased by the state assessors, while a reduction
for passengers was secured from four to three
cents a mile. As indicating the increase in the
amount derived by the state from the tax placed
in the roads it may be noted that the assessed val-
uation of the rolling stock on one system alone
was raised from two hundred and fifty thousand
to one million two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars. A reduction in freight rates of about ten
per cent, was also secured. The subject was
most conspicuously identified with this prolonged
and important litigation. Fraternally he has at-
tained the thirty-second degree in Scottish-rite
Masonry, being identified with the consistory, at
Yankton, South Dakota, while he is also affil-
iated with El Riad Temple of the Ancient Arabic
Order of the Nobles of the Alystic Shrine, at
Sioux Falls, and with Huron Lodge, No. 444,
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in his
home city.

On the 25th of May, 1887, Air. Null was
unitedd in marriage to Aliss Innis Burton, of Jef-
ferson, Iowa. She was born in Indiana and is a
daughter of J. O. Burton. Mr. and Mrs. Null
have three (laughters, (^lertrude, \'eda and Ftrn.

ROBERT O. ROBINSON, superintcndtnt
of the timber, sawmilling and other similar in-
terests of the Homestake Mining Company, with
headquarters in Nemo, Lawrence county, is a
native of the Dominion of Canada, having been
born in Omemee, province of Ontario, on the
10th of October, 1851, and being a son of Robert
and Elizabeth (Humphreys) Robinson, the
former of whom was born in Ireland and lb.-
latter in England. The father of the sub j eel
came to America as a young man and first lo-
cated in New York city, where he became the
owner of two lots, at 63 and 65 Pearl street.
These he exchanged for fifty acres of land which
is now within the city limits of Toronto, Canada.
He shortly afterward disposed of this property
and removed to Omemee, eighty miles northeast
of Toronto, on the Midland division of the
Grand Trunk Railroad, where he engaged in
farming and stock raising and became one of
the honored and influential citizens of that lo-
cality, where he passed the remainder of his life,
his death there occurring in 1892, while his wife
died July 31, 1894. They became the parents of
three sons and four daughters, of whom two of
the sons and four of the daughters are living.

The subject was reared to the sturdy dis-
cipline of the home farm and secured his edu-
cational training in the excellent schools of his
native province. At the age of twenty-one years
he engaged in farming on his own responsibility,
on a place not far distant from the homestead,
and thus continued operations until the fall of
1876. In the following spring he started for the
Black Hills, coming to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and
thence with mule-team to the Hills. He devoted
the first two years to placer mining, meeting
with varying success, and then entered the em-
ploy of the Homestake Mining Company, in con-
nection with the lumbering department of their

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1 701

enterprise. Shortly afterward he buih for the
company a sawmill on Elk creek, and after its
completion was employed in the mill about a
_vear. In 1882 JMr. Robinson purchased teams
and engaged in the wood and lumber business on
his own responsibility, continuing operations in
this line about nine years, within which period all
of his Contracts were with the Homestake Com-
pany, which he supplied with timber of all kinds.
In 1892 he entered into a specific contract with
the company to assume charge of all their wood,
timber, lumber, sawmills, timber lands, etc., and
has since been incumbent of this important pn-
sition, having control of the operation of two
sawmills and utilizing- at times as many as forty
teams and three hundred men. He makes his
home in Nemo, one of the most picturesque
spots, and the headquarters of the timber inter-
ests of the company. In politics Mr. Robinson
is a stanch Republican.

On the 26th of March, 1874, Mr. Robinson
was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Lamb,
who was born in Ontario, Canada, and whose
death occurred in 1876. The only child, Janet,
is now ]\Irs. A. C. McCready, of Hanna, South
Dakota. On the 1 6th of March, 1892, Mr. Rob-
inson wedded Miss Irene Karr. who was born
and reared in Iowa, and they have two children,
llelen and James.

JAY RUSSELL HICKOX, of Deadwood, is
a scion of stanch old colonial stock, and is him-
self a native of New England, where was cradled
so much of our national history. He was born in
South Britain, New Haven county, Connecticut,
on the 3d of April, 1865, and is a son of Henry
P. and Julia E. (Bradley) Hickox, both of whom
were likewise born and reared in that state, be-
ing of English linenge, and there they still re-
tain their residence, the father being a farmer
bv vocation. The subject secured his prelimi-
nary educational discipline in the public schools
and then entered Yale College, where he was
graduated in 1886, with the degree of Ph.
B. Thoroughly equipped in scientific knowl-
edge of a general order and with practical

skill in a technical way, in the year of his grad-
uation Mr. Hickox became identified with the
engineering department of the Burlington & Mis-
souri River Railroad, and first came to the Black
Hills in 1889, to take charge of the construction
of the northern end of the Deadwood branch of
the line of that road, from Edgemont to Dead-
wood. After the completion of this work he was
prominently identified with extensive operations
in connection with the development of the irri-
gation systems of the state as well as of Ne-
braska, until 1899, when he took up his residence
in Deadwood and opened a general engineering
office. His services have been in requisition in
connection with much important work in the line
of his profession, while from the titne of lo-
cating in Deadwood he has held the office of
United States deputy mineral surveyor, and has
done all of the engineering- work for the city. In
politics Mr. Hickox is a stanch supporter of the
principles and policies of the Republican party,
and fraternally is identified with Deadwood
Lodge, No. 7, Ancient Free and Accepted Mas-
ons, of which he served as worshipful master in
1902.

On the 28th of November, 1805, Mr. Hickox
w-as united in marriage to Miss Minnie Harding,
who was born in Diamond City, [Montana, on the
i6th of November, i86g, being a daughter of
John .\. and r\Iatilda (Kline) Harding.

ORMLLE U. PRYCE. of Deadwood, where
he holds the position of manager of the Dead-
wood-Colorado Investment Company, is a native
of the Badger state, having been born in Albany,
Occn county, Wisconsin, on the 9th of January,
1867, and being a son of Evan and Sarah Pryce,
both of whom were born in Newtown, Wales, be-
ing representatives of old and honored families.
They are now residing at Boulder, Colorado.
The subject received his preliminary educa-
tional training in the public schools and there-
after continued his studies in the seminary at
Evansville, Wisconsin, and the Northwestern
Business College, in Madison, that state, in
which institution he completed a thorough

1702

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

commercial course. In 1890 he came to
South Dakota and secured a position as
bookkeeper and stenographer in the Citizens'
National Bank at Madison, Lake county, re-
taining this incumbency until 1901. In 1895
he went to Cripple Creek, Colorado, and re-
mained about three years in that state, where he
devoted his attention to mining, becoming inter-
ested in the development of good properties. He
then returned to South Dakota and resumed his
residence in the Black Hills district, where he
had been located for some time prior to going to
Colorado, and here he is now one of the suc-
cessful and representative mining brokers and
operators of the district. In politics he gives his
allegiance to the Republican party, and frater-
nally is affiliated with Deadwood Lodge, Xo. 7,
.Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and Dead-
wood Lodge. Xo. 51, Ancient Order of L'nited
Workmen.

On the 19th of June, 1902, Mr. Pryce was
united in marriage to Miss Maryella Ellis, who
was born in the city of Utica, New York, mi the
1 8th of September, 1870, being a daughter of
David and Elizabeth Ellis.

GEORGE STEPHEX HOPKIXS was born
in the city of Lockport, Xiagara county. New
York, on the 28th of August, 1852, and is a son
of Stephen Hopkins, a great-grandson of
Stephen Hopkins, one of the signers of that im-
mortal document, the Declaration of Independ-
ence, and a lineal descendant of Stephen Hop-
kins, one of the Puritans who came over in the
"Mayflower" in 1620 and landed on Plymouth
Rock. The family name was long and conspicu-
ously identified with the annals of Xew Eng-
land history, whence representatives finally went
into the state of Xew York, as pioneers, while
scions of the sturdy stock are now to be found in
the most diverse sections of the Union. The sub-
ject was reared in his native state and after com-
pleting the curriculum of the common schools
took a thorougli course in surveying and engi-
neering in the city of Brooklyn, while he has at-
tained a high nput-'.tii n in the northwest as a

civil and mining engineer. He followed his pro-
fession in the east and in the western states until
1875, when, as a young man of twenty-three
years, he came to what is now South Dakota and
became one of the pioneers of the Black Hills,
having arrived in this district in July of the year
mentioned and having ever since followed his
profession as a surveyor and civil and mining
engineer, while he has also been interested in
the development of a number of important min-
ing properties. He holds high prestige in his
chosen vocation and has been identified with
much important work in the line, while he is at
the present time serving as United States deputy
mineral surveyor. He is one of the popular and
highly esteemed residents of Deadwood, having
the confidence and regard of all who know him
and being prominent in l;oth business and social
circles. He is one of the most prominent and
valued members of the Black Hills Pioneer As-
.'ociation, of which he is historian, having been
elected to this office for life. In politics he ac-
cords a stanch allegiance to the Republicin party,
and fraternally he is identified with the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, being past grand
of his lodge and also past district deputy grand
master, while he has attained the thirty-second
degree in Scottish-rite Masonry, and is affiliated
with Xaja Temple of the Ancient Arabi: Order
of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

On the 1 6th of September, 1888, 3,Ir. Hop-
kins was united in marriage, at Spearfish, this
state, to Miss Jessie O. Robinson, and they have
three children, namely: Georgiana C, who was
born in Spearfish, on the i8th of September,
i88(r, William Stephen, who was born in Dead-
wood, on the 31st of 'May. 1S91 : and Florence
Ruth, who was born in Spearfish on the 26th of
(October, 1892.

RE\'. JOHN POAGE WILLIAMSON, one
of the able and honored members of the clergy of
the Presbyterian church in the state, and the
pioneer missionary among the Indians in Da-
kota, was born in Lac qui Parle, in the county
of the same name, Atinnescta, on the 27th of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

October, 1835, being a son of Rev. Thomas S.
and Margaret (Poage) Williamson, the former
of whom was born in South Carolina and the
latter in Ohio, while they were numbered among
the earliest settlers in Minnesota, the lineage of
each being of Scotch-Irish derivation. Rev.
Thomas S. Williamson. M. D., was a man of dis-
tinguished attainments and was for forty-five
years a missionary of the Presbyterian church
among the Sioux Indians in Minnesota, contin-
uing his earnest and self-abnegating labors there
until his death, in 1879. He was a son of Rev.
William Williamson, a soldier in the Continental
line during the war of the Revolution, who re-
moved from South Carolina to Ohio in 1803, in
order that he might manumit his slaves. Mar-
garet (Poage) Williamson, the mother of our
subject, was the daughter of Colonel James
Poage, who became general surveyor of gov-
ernment lands west of the Alleghany mounains
at the close of the Revolutionary war, and for
his bounty he received forty thousand acres of
government land. He settled in Kentucky,
where he v.-as a member of the legislature in
1 7<,6, and he afterward founded the town of
Ripley, Ohio, whither he brought his twenty-
four slaves and set them free. His father was
Robert Poage, who was a colonial soldier under
Washington at the time of Braddock's defeat.
Margaret (Poage) Williamson was summoned
into eternal rest in 1872.

John P. Williamson passed the first twelve
years of his life on the frontier in Minnesota, be-
fore there was a public school established in the
state. However, his paternal aunt. Miss Jane Wil-
liamson, a mission teacher to the Sioux Indians,
gave him much faithful instruction. In 1847 he
was sent east, and he studied two years in South
Salem Academy, Ohio; one year at Harmar
Academy, in Marietta, Ohio ; one year at Mount
Palatine Academy, LaSalle, Illinois ; two years
in Knox College, at Galesburg, Illinois, under
Jonathan Blanchard, the noted abolitionist ; and
two years in Alarietta College, Ohio, where he
was graduated as a member of the class of 1857.
He then entered Lane Seminarv, in Cincinnati,

Ohio, where he completed his theological course
and was graduated in i860. He was licensed to
preach by the Presbyterian church in Minnesota
in 1859, and in the year following liis gradua-
tion he held pastoral charges at Allensville and
Zoar, in Switzerland county, Indiana. He was
appointed a missionary to the Indians and com-
nienced mission work in the autumn of i860 at
Redwood agency, Minnesota, and has ever since
continued his work among the Indians. By the
massacre of 1862 the white persons at Redwood,
Minnesota, were all killed or driven away, and
the Indians were exiled. Air. Williamson's scalp
was providentially spared and he decided to fol-
low the exiles with the gospel. He arrived at
Crow Creek. South Dakota, on the 31st of May,
1863, with thirteen hundred Indians, in charge
of Colonel Clark W. Thompson. This officer im-
mediately built the cedar stockade called Fort
Thompson, on the site of the present Crow Creek
Agency. The Indians were removed from this
point in 1866 and Mr. Williamson followed them
to Niobrara, Nebraska, where he labored among
them until March, 1869, when he located at
Yankton Agency, South Dakota, where he has
resided during the long intervening years. For
the past twenty years he has been general mis-
sionary, having the supervision of all the Pres-
byterian missionary work among the Sioux In-
dians, and having visited practically all of the
Sioux agencies at varied intervals. He was the
first missionary of any denomination among the
Indians of South Dakota, and when he came
there were less than half a dozen clergymen of
all denominations in what is now the state of
South Dakota.

Mr. Williamson cast his first vote for General
John C. Fremont, the first presidential candi-
date of the Republican party, of whose princi-
ples and policies he has remained a stanch advo-
cate from the time of its organization to the pres-
ent. He was elected to the legislature in 1896.
serving during the fifth general assembly, and
looks back with particular satisfaction upon the
course of the Republican minority in re-electing
Senator Kyle in that session. He was appointed

1704

HISTOR\' Ol- SOUTH DAKOTA.

United States special agent for the Flandreau
Indians in 1873. and remained in tenure of this
cfiice for a period of five years.

On the 27th of April, 1866, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Williamson to Miss Sarah
A. Vannice, of Winnebago City, Minnesota She
was born in Iowa, in 1843, and is a daughter of
Cornelius C. and Susan L. (Dickerson) X'annice.
Mr. and Mrs. Williamson have seven children,
namely: Winifred Lee, Guy W., Thomas C,
Jesse P.. John B., Laura L., and Helen V. Mr.
Williamson is the author of a number of publi-
cations in the Dakota Indian language. He
originated and published for many years the lapi
Oaye, a monthly Indian paper. His English-
Dakota Dictionary will preserve his memory as
long as the Dakota language is spoken.

LOUIS LaPLANTE.— A consistent and
valuable prerogative is exercised by a compilation
of this nature when it enters a resume of the life
historv of so honored and prominent a pioneer
as he whose name initiates this paragraph. What-
ever there is represented ■ in the perilous and
stirring- life which marked the life on the frontier
is known to the subject by personal experience in
the days long since past, and then, as in the later
era of development and civic and industrial pro-
gress, he played well his part, proving himself
a man of courage, self-reliance and utmost in-
tegrity of purpose.

Mr. LaPlante comes of sterling French
lineage, as the name implies, and is a native of
the province of Quebec, Canada, where he was
born on the nth of November, 1835, being a
son of Louis and Sophia (Morran) LaPlante,
both of whom were likewise born and reared in
that province, the paternal grandfather, wdio also
bore the patronymic of Louis, having been a sea-
faring man. as was also the father of the sub-
ject. He who was later to become a pioneer of
South Dakota received somewhat limited edu-
cational advantages in his boyhood, and early be-
came dependent upon his own resources. At the
early age of ten years he became identified with
the vocation followed bv his father and grand-

father, going to sea and continuing as a sailor
before the mast for the ensuing seven years,
within which time he visited the principal mari-
time ports in England, France, Germany, Wales
and America. In 1852 he arrived in the city of
New Orleans, Louisiana, where he secured em-
ployment in connection with steamboat naviga-
tion on the Mississippi river, being thus engaged
for two years, after which he turned his atten-
tion to coal mining on the Ohio river. In a short
time he found himself afflicted with the all-pre-
vailing ague, and consequently returned to St.
Louis, and after a trip to New Orleans, came
back to the former city and there shipped on the
steamer "St. Mary," plying the upper Missouri
river. On this little vessel he came up the river
as far as the mouth of the White river, in what
is now South Dakota, this being then the head
of navigation, and thence the government sup-
plies with which the boat was laden were
freighted through with teams to old Fort Pierre,
where Mr. LaPlante put in his first appearance
on the nth of November, 1855, his twentieth
birthday anniversary. He passed the winter at
Camp Pierre, on the opposite side of the river.
Major Galpin being in charge of the camp, and
in the following spring, in company with seven
other men, started down the river with supplies,
the same being transiJorted with mule-teams.
The party became disaffected because the supply
train had been placed in charge of an unpopular
man. instead of Charles Picotte, who had been
the choice of the men. and they accordingly left
the supply train at the mouth of White river,
their principal objection to service in the connec-
tion being that they were reluctant to work under
military rules and supervision. The eight men
took a small supply of necessary provisions and
made their way back to Fort Pierre on foot,
where they were taken prisoners and court-
martialed, all being ordered out of the country.
On their way up the river they found a soldier
who had deserted from Fort Pierre with two
others. The three deserters had lost their way
and two of them died from lack of food and from
exposure, while the survivor was found in a fear-
fullv demented condition, having entirely eaten

LOUIS La PLANTE.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1705

the body of one of his companions, and partially
consumed the other. He was taken back to the
fort and placed in cliarge of the authorities, and
in the following sumn^er was sent down the
river to St. Louis. When ordered to leave the
country each of the eight men agreed to do so
with the exception of a half-breed Indian, who
told Colonel Harney, commanding the post, that
he had a natural right to the country and would
remain. He brought into play a knife, with
which he attempted an attack on the colonel, but
was disarmed. He was permitted to remain, this
provision being a part of the treaty made by the
Indians with Colonel (later General) Harney, in
1856. Seven of the men then proceeded down
the river, but the adventurous spirit of Mr. La-
riante led him to escape surveillance and make
his way up the river to Fort Clark, where he
entered the employ of the American Fur Com-
pany, with which he remained engaged until it
disposed of its business about 1859. He then
became an employe of the company's successors,
the firm of Frost, Tudd & Atkins, and was in
their service until 1861, when Mr. LaPlante en-
gaged in trapping on his own account. In the
summer of 1863 he entered the employ of the
government at Fort Randall, which was then in
command of General Cook, who had relieved
General Sully, and passed the sumtner in carr\'-
ing dispatches between that post and Fort Sully.
In the summer of 1864 he was engaged in scout-
ing duty for General Sully, having become by
this time familiar with the country and with the
habits and maneuvers of the crafty Indians, while
his daring and courage led him to risk the many
dangers involved in the service in which he was
engaged. He followed scouting during that sum-
m'er and then engaged in business on his own
account, trading with the Indians and raising
horses and cattle. His ranch was located in
Bon Homme county and there he continued to
reside until 1875, when he removed to Fort
Pierre, where he established his home, while he
has ever since been engaged in stock raising,
his ranch being located on the Cheyenne river,
sixty-five miles west of Fort Pierre, and com-
prising one thousand eight hundred acres, in

Stanley county, while he also uses the open
range and conducts his operations on an ex-
tensive scale. When the Black Hills district
was opened to settlement he engaged in freight-
ing between Fort Pierre and Deadwood, in
which enterprise he sucessfully continued until
the year 1883. He gives special atten-
tion to the raising of Hereford and shorthorn
cattle and Percheron and French coach horses.
Mr. LaPlante is a man of broad and varied ex-
perience and strong mentality, well informied and
genial and courteous in his relations with his
fellow men. Though he has nearly attained the
age of three score years and ten he enjoys per-
fect physical health and is a worthy type of the
sturdy and valorous frontiermen who aided in
ushering in the era of civilization and progress,
while his integrity has ever commanded to him
the respect and confidence of those with whom
he has come in contact. He is a pioneer of
pioneers, and it is most consonant that he be ac-
corded marked precedence in this publication.
His elder sons, two of whom are individually
mentioned on other pages of this work, are also
numbered among the progressive and successful
stock growers of the state, being likewise located
on a reservation, while all of his children have
been accorded excellent educational advantages
and have honored the name which they bear and
the state in which their entire lives have been
passed. The two eldest sons have attained the
thirty-second degree in Scottish-rite Masonry,
and the subject himself is a Royal Arch Mason,
while he is also affiliated with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. He is a stanch Democrat
in politics, and upon the organization of Stanley
county was elected a member of its first board
of commissioners, serving one term, while for two
years he was a member of the village council
of Fort Pierre.

In March, i860, Mr. LaPlante was united
in marriage to Miss Julia Abbott, who was born
and reared in Fort George, South Dakota, being
a daughter of Mr. Abbott, of the firmi of Abbott
& Cotton, who were engaged in the fur business
in this section in the early days, having their
headquarters in the city of New York, while

[706

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

their trading post was at the mouth of the Yellow
Medicine river, in Pratt county, South Dakota.
Mr. and Mrs. LaPlante have six sons, namely :
Frederick, George. Alexander, Charles, Louis,
Jr., and Ovila.

ALBERT AL\SON, of Fairfax. Gregory
county, is a native of the state of Iowa, having
been born on the homestead farm, in Cedar
county, on the 7th of January, 1867, and being a
son of James and A. E. (Monroe) Mason. The
father of the subject was born in the vicinity of
Meadville, Pennsylvania, and there continued
to be identified with agricultural pursuits until
1850, when he started for the west and became
a pioneer settler in Cedar county, Iowa, where he
became the owner of a valuable landed estate
of two hundred and forty acres, upon which he
made the best of improvements. He continued to
reside on the old homestead until his death, in
1883. at the age of fifty-seven years. His widow
is still living, being seventy years of age at the
time of this writing, and she resides in Fairfax,
South Dakota. She was born and reared in In-
diana. Of her twelve children only three are
living. The father of the subject was a stanch
Republican, having identified himself with the
partv at the time of its organization, and his re-
ligious faith was that of the Baptist church, of
which his widow also has long been a devoted
member.

The subject of this review was reared to man-
hood on the homestead farm and his educational
advantages were such as were afforded in the
public schools of the state of Iowa. Mr. Mason
continued to be associated in the work and man-
agement of the home farm until he had attained
the age of seventeen years, having been about
sixteen years old at the time of his father's death.
In 1884 he came to Holt county, Nebraska, and,
with his mother and sisters, resided on a home-
stead until 1891, and then came to Gregory
county. South Dakota, and here took up a home-
stead claim of government land, while he was
one of the first to settle in the embryonic village
of Fairfax, of which he is one of the founders

and builders. In 1895 h^ hs''^ established him-
self in the general merchandise business, in
which he has ever since continued, having at the
present time a well-equipped store, and being
recognized as one of the leading merchants of
the town. In politics he maintains an independ-
ent attitude, using his franchise in support of
the man and measures approved by his judgment.
He has been a member of the village council
from the time of the incorporation of the town,
and is at the present time president of the same
and is giving a most progressive and able admin-
istration as the executive head of the municipal
government. Mr. Mason was the first post-
master of the town, having received the ap-
pointment during the administration of President
Harrison and having continued in tenure of the
office for eight successive years. He is a mem-
ber of the board of education and took an active
part in the establishing of the public-school sys-
tem in the village and county, and has done most
of the local surveying throughout the county, and
in this capacity has laid out all of its towns. He
was prominently concerned in the organization
of the county, having charge of the official cor-
respondence and making two trips to interview
the Governor in furtherance of the work, while
he personally secured many of the signatures to
the petition for the organization of the new
county. Fraternally he is identified with the
local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and the Ancient Order of I'nited \\'ork-
men, having been a charter member of the lat-
ter. He and his wife are prominent and valued
members of the JMethodist Episcopal church.

On the 6th of September, 1888, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Mason to Miss Bertha
Batesole, who was born in Sandusky county,
Ohio, being a daughter of William H. and Nancy
J. Batesole, both of whom were born and reared
in Ohio, where the father was engaged in farm-
ing until his removal to the estate of Michigan,
where he continued to follow the same vocation
until 1885, when he removed to Holt county,
Nebraska, where he remained until 1891. since
which year he has been successfully engaged in
farming in Marshall county, Iowa.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

THOMAS FULLERTOX. president of the
Fullerton Lumber Company, of Alitchell. was
born in County Antrim, Ireland. Jul\ 14. 1853. a
son of Samuel and Anna (Holmes) b'ullerton, of
whose fourteen children eleven are still living.
The parents of our subject were likewise born in
County Antrim, of Scotch-Irish parents, and
there both were reared and eilucated, the father
having been a seafaring man from his youth up,
while for about twenty years he was a sea cap-
tain and ship owner. At the age of nineteen
years he was a passenger on a sailing vessel
bound for the United States, and after the boat
was but a few days out the captain died, where-
upon the first mate urged upon the passengers
the expediency of making their peace with their
Maker, since there was no one on board
who knew aught about navigation. Mr. Fuller-
ton, though but a boy at the time, had studied
navigation and had considerable practical ex-
perience, and he forthwith took charge of the
vessel, which he brought in safety to its port in
New York city. For his services at this time
he was tendered and accepted the position of
first mate, and thereafter continued to follow the
sea for a score of years, while he continued to
own vessels for several years after his retire-
ment. In 1884 or 1885 he became a resident of
the United States, locating in Beloit, Kansas,
where he has since lived a retired life, in the
company of his devoted and cherished wife.
They are menrbers of the Presbyterian church,
and he is a Republican in his political views.

The subject of this sketch was reared in his
native county, where he received the advantages
of the common schools. At the age of nineteen
years he went to England and entered the gov-
ernment secret service, having relatives who held
high office in said department. At the expira-
tion of three and one-half vears he resigned his
position and came to the United States, locating
in Clay Center, Kansas, in the spring of 1876.
There he secured employment in the lumber yard,
receiving thirty dollars a month for his services.
The yard was owned and operated by the Chi-
cago Lumber Company, and after serving one
year our subject was made manager of the

business, retaining this incumbency until the ist
of January, 1881. In the following month he
went to Niobrara, Nebraska, where he engaged
in the same line of business on his own responsi-
bility. In 1882 he sold the yard and came to
Mitchell, South Dakota, where he has since been
established in the lumlier business, this city be-
ing the headquarters of the enterprise, in which
JMr. Fullerton is associated with his brothers,
James G. and George J. In the spring of 1903
the company was incorporated inider the title of
the Fullerton Lumber Company, and with official
corps as follows: Thomas Indlerlon. ])resident ;
George J. Fullerton, vice-president ; and James
G. Fullerton, treasurer. This is one of the large
lumber concerns of the northwest, owning yards
in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and South Da-
kota, the entire number of \-ards being about
forty and the same being located at various eligi-
ble places. The family name is most conspicu-
ously identified with the great lumbering indus-
try. Samuel H. Fullerton, a brother of our sub-
ject, is president of a lumber company which is
capitalized for two and one-half million dollars,
with headquarters in the city of St. Louis, and
Robert, another brother, is vice-president of the
corporation, which dates its foundation back to
the year 1866, and which is known as the Chi-
cago Lumber & Coal Company. The company of
which the subject is president is incorporated
with a capital of one million dollars, having un-
rivaled facilities for the transaction of its enor-
mous business.

Mr. Fullerton is known as a stanch advocate
of the principles and policies of the Republican
party, and in 1896 he was the nominee of his
party for state senator, but he was defeated by
the small majority of but twenty-one votes, the
usual Democratic majority in the district being
fully three hundred. In 1893, when there was so
lamentable a failure of crops throughout this
section, he donated ten carloads of coal for the
relief of the poor, and his benefactions in other
ways have been wide but signally unostentatious.
In 1895 1''^ was elected mayor of Mitchell, serv-
ing two successive terms of two years each and
giving a clean and Inisiness-like administration

i7o8

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of the municipal government. He was a mem-
ber of the first council of Mitchell after its in-
corporation as a city and served as mayor from
1896 to 1900. He is president oJ the Mitchell
Club, whose personnel comprises the leading
business men of the city and whose object is
primarily to advance the best interests of the
place. In 1901 Mr. Fullerton was appointed, un-
der Governor Herreid, a member of the state
board of agriculture, in which capacity he served
two years, and in 1902 he was elected a member
of the capital committee, his colleagues on the
board being Harry L. Bross and U. L. Davidson.
Mr. Fullerton is not formally identified with any
religious body, but attends and contributes to the
support of the Presbyterian church, of which
]\Irs. Fullerton is a zealous member.

In the year 1880 ]\Ir. Fullerton was united in
marriage to Miss Jennie Reed, of Clay Center,
Kansas, and their only child, Robert, met his
death at the untimely age of five years, having
been accidentally shot and surviving his injuries
but a few hours.

REV. JAMES J. HEIDEGGER, who has
pastoral charge of the Church of Epiphany, at
Epiphany, Harrison county, was born in the
Tyrolian district of Austria, on the i8th of
]\Iarch, 1846, and after securing a proper pre-
liminary education began preparing himself for
the priesthood in 1859, in which year he entered
the Jesuit college at Feldkirch, Austria, where
he completed his course, having graduated in
1867. In the same year he came to the United
States, proceeding to the city of Cleveland, Ohio,
where he completed his theological studies in St.
IMary's Seminary, under Bishop Rapp, being
ordained to the priesthood July 5, 1870. He
was then given a charge at Avon, Lorain county,
Ohio, where he remained until 1878, having
erected a church edifice, a parish house and a
parish convent. In 1878 Father Heidegger was
transferred to Fort Jennings, Putnam county,
Ohio, where his initiative and executive ability
again came into mark-ed evidence, since he
erected a church huililiiig and also established

several auxiliary missions. He held this pastor-
ate until 1885, when he was assigned to the im-
portant charge of St. Mary's parish, in San-
dusky, Ohio, where he had a congregation of
more than eleven hundred families, and there
he labored zealously until the spring of 1893,
when he returned to Europe, remaining until
June of the following year, both of his parents
having entered the life eternal during this inter-
val. He then came again to the United States,
and after passing a short time in St. Cloud, Min-
nesota, he came to Yankton, South Dakota,
where he held the office of convent chaplain un-
til 1899, having in the meanwhile remodeled a
building and converted the same into the present
Sacred Heart Hospital. In 1896 he effected the
purchase of the building of the Episcopalian col-
lege in Vermillion, and forthwith converted the
same into the convent of St. Joseph. In Septem-
ber, 1899, Father Heidegger assumed his pres-
ent charge, and among the tangible results of his
zeal and devotion is the present handsome and
consistent church edifice, which was completed
in 1 90 1. He has the afifectionate regard of his
people, who have given him a full measure of
sympathy and co-operation, and he has the un-
qualified esteem of all who know him, being a
man of high intellectuality, broad and tolerant
views and most gracious personality.

FRANK F. APLIN, general merchant at
Britton, Marshall county, was born February 2,
1852, at Kendall, Orleans county. New York, the
son of Rev. N. J. and Chalnissa A. (Sherman)
Aplin. The father was born at Kendall, New
York, on May 31, 1821, the mother at Rochester,
New York, September 18, 1828. Rev. Aplin was
for many years a minister of the Methodist
Episcopal church. He removed his family from
New York state to Wisconsin in 1853, and to
Britton, South Dakota, in 1894.

The subject was educated in the summer
schools of Wisconsin, attending at the different
points his father was stationed. In 1879 he went
on the road as a traveling salesman, continuing
for fifteen years. In 1894 he located in Britton.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

South Dakota, and established himself in busi-
ness by opening a large general store. Air. Aplin
is a Republican and belongs to the Masonic fra-
ternity, Ancient Order of United Workmen and
Eastern Star. He has twice been married. His
first wife was Susan Alice Woodworth, daughter
of E. G. Woodworth, of Berlin, Wisconsin. She
died in 1894, leaving one son, Harry Grant. His
second marriage was to Mattie A. Smith, daugh-
ter of H. A. Perkins, of X'illard. Alinncsota.

GAYLORD E. SUAIXER. cashier and one
of the principal stockholders of the Stockgrow-
ers' Bank, of Fort Pierre, is a native of the old
Empire state and is in direct line of descent fr<:)m
the well-known Sumner family, of Boston, the
distmgnished statesman, Charles Sumner, being
of the same line.

The subject was born in Belfast, Allegany
county. New York, on the 2d of November, 1870,
and is a son of Newton and Eliza A. (Swift>
Sumner, both of whom were Hkewise born and
reared in New York state, while the former is
one of the prominent and influential farmers of
Allegany county, where his entire life has been
passed. He has been continuously incumbent of
some public office in the township of Belfast
from the attaining of his legal majority to the
present, and is sixty-three years of age at the
time of this writing, in 1904. The great-great-
grandfather of the subject in the agnatic line re-
moved from Massachusetts into northern New
York as early as 1759, crossing Lake Champ-
Iain on the ice and losing a large amount of his
household goods through the breaking of the
ice. He lived in sound of the guns of Fort
Ticonderoga. and also the sounds of the battles
of Lakes Champlain and George, during the war
of the Revolution. Hiram Sumner, grandfather
of the subject of this review, was reared on the
old ancestral homestead in northern New York,
and later became the first settler in Allegany
county, that state, cutting his way through the
dense forests to the site of the present town of
Angelica, that county, the same being the oldest
town in said countv. The maternal grandfather

of the subject was Cullen Dean Swift, of English
descent and direct from the renowned Dean
Swift, of the Qiurch of England, in whose
honor he was named. He was one of the old-
time circuit riders of the Methodist Episcopal
church in New York, riding on horseback
through the woods from church to church and
being absent several weeks on his rounds as a
clergyman of his church in the pioneer section
in which he so zealously labored.

Gaylord E. Sumner attended the district
school in the neighborhood of his home until he
had attained the age of fourteen years and in the
meanwhile lent his quota of boyish aid in the
work of the home farm. He entered Houghton
Seminary, at Houghton, New York, where he
completed a commercial course and was gradu-
ated in the high school of his home town of Bel-
fast. In the same year, 1892, he came to Fort
Pierre, South Dakota, to accept the position of
bookkeeper in the Stockgrowers' Bank, wliile in
1893 he was made assistant cashier and in 1895
elected cashier of the institution, which in-
cumbency he has ever since retained. L'p to
1897 he gave his undivided attention to the af-
fairs of the bank, and in 1898 he became one of
the incorporators of the Empire State Cattle
Company, which now has a capital of thirty
thousand dollars, while it holds by lease one hun-
dred and sixty-five thousand acres of govern-
ment land on the Cheyenne reservation, having
fenced this large tract in one enclosure for pas-
turage purposes. He is still one of the stockhold-
ers in the company, whose operations are con-
ducted upon an extensive scale. In 1900 Mr.
Sunnier made a trip to Texas and assisted James
Philip, of- Fort Pierre, in shipping nine thousand
head of cattle from that state to Pierre, and in
the summer of 1902 he went up into the moun-
tains of Idaho, and, with a partner, purchased
five hundred head of horses, which they shipped
by rail to Cheyenne, Wyoming, from which point
they drove them through over the trail of Fort
Pierre. He now owns ten thousand dollars'
worth of cattle on the range, and with Mr. Mil-
lett owns a controlling interest in the bank,
whose business has been built up to its present

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

admirable condition principally through their
well-directed efforts, the institution being capi-
talized for twenty-five thousand dollars and hav-
ing a surplus of fifteen thousand dollars. In pol-
itics Mr. Sumner gives an unqualified allegiance
to the Republican party, and in May, 1902, he
was elected mayor of Fort Pierre, serving until
1904 and giving a most business-like and pro-
gressive administration. Both he and his wife
are prominent and valued members of the Con-
gregational church in Fort Pierre, and also iden-
tified with the Christian Endeavor Society of the
same. Fraternally he holds affiliation with the
Modern Woodmen of America and the Ancient
Order of United Workmen.

In Fort Pierre, on the 17th of June, 1896, Mr.
Sumner was united in marriage to Miss Ida May
Ricketts, who was born in Charlestown, Illinois,
being a daughter of Joshua and Louise Ricketts,
the former of whom died when she was a child,
as the result of injuries received in battle during
the Civil war. The family came to South Da-
kota in 1882.

FRANK LeCOCO, Jr., of Harrison, Doug-
las county, was born in Marion county, Iowa,
on the 19th of June, 1858. being a son of Frank
and Alary (Van Gorkum) Le Cocq, both of
whom were born and reared in Holland, where
their marriage was solemnized. There they con-
tinued to reside until 1847, when they bade adieu
to their fatherland and set forth for America,
in whose early history their sturdy countrymen
had played so important a part centuries before.
They located in Marion county, Iowa, where Mr.
Le Cocq took up goverment land, which he re-
claimed and developed, being there identified with
agricultural pursuits for a long term of years,
though he gave his personal attention more par-
ticularly to mercantile business, having con-
ducted a general store in Pella, that county. For
two terms he served as county recorder, being a
Republican in politics, while both he and his wife
were firm in the faith of the Dutch Reform
church. Roth are now residents of Harrison,
Douglas omnty, South Dakota.

Frank Le Cocq, the immediate subject of this
review, and at the present time incumbent of the
office of railroad commissioner of the state, re-
ceived his early educational training in the pub-
lic schools of his native state, while he was sig-
nally favored in becoming also well educated in
the Holland language, which he acquired in his
home, where the vernacular of their native
country was commonly utilized by his parents.
After leaving school the subject engaged in the
real-estate business in Sioux county, Iowa, hav-
ing his headquarters in Orange City, where he
remained until 1882, when he came to South Da-
kota and took up his permanent abode in Doug-
las county, whose organization was efifected
within that year. He was the projector and or-
ganizer of the colonization movement which
culminated in the settlement of the western part
of this county, including six townships, by Hol-
landers and descendants of Holland stock. Upon
the organization of the county Mr. Le Cocq was
appointed to the office of county surveyor, and
in the same year he was elected a member of
the board of county commissioners, in which ca-
pacity he continued to serve consecutively until
1890, in which year he was further honored by
the people of the county by being elected to rep-
resent them in the legislature of the state. At
the expiration of his term, in 1892, he was again
called to the office of county commissioner, and
he was incumbent of the same continuously un-
til he was again called to a higher preferment,
having been elected a member of the state board
of railroad commissioners in 1900, for a term of
six years, in which office he is giving a most
discriminating and able administration. He is a
stalwart advocate of the principles and policies
of the Republican party and has been a delegate
to every convention of the same since the or-
ganization of Douglas county, both under the
territorial and state regimes. He and his wife
are members of the Dutch Reform church in
Harrison, in which attractive village they main-
tain their home.

On the 4th of August, 1884. Air. Le Cocq
was united in marriage to Miss Rhoda Brinks,
who was hnrn in [Michigan, and they are the
parents of eight sons.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1711

ORLIX A. ABEEL, cashier of the Alcester
State Bank, in Alcester, Union county, is a na-
tive of the city of Albany, New York, where he
was born on the 17th of August, 1849, being a
son of Waldo and Maria Abeel, who were Hke-
wise born in that state. The Abeel family is one
of the old and honored ones in the Empire state,
and the records extant show that John Abeel,
of whom the subject is a direct descendant, was
mayor of Albany in 1694, and that he signed the
charter for historic old Trinity church in New
York city. Henry V. S. Abeel, grandfather of
our subject, was a valiant soldier in the war of
1812. Orlin A. Abeel received an excellent
common-school education, but his training has
been most efifectually rounded out under the dis-
cipline of that wise headmaster, experience.
When he was three years of age his parents re-
moved to Wisconsin, locating in Madison, and
his father became superintendent of the Madison
division of the Chicago & Northwestern Rail-
road, retaining the incumbency until his death.
In 1865, at the age of sixteen years, our subject
inaugurated his independent career, securing a
position as clerk in the office of the Chicago &
Northwestern Railroad at Madison, and later
being promoted to the office of cashier for the
same company in its office at Missouri Valley,
Iowa. Later he was for three years in charge
iif the country department of the Bradstreet
Mercantile Agency, in its Chicago office, and
then became pool clerk for the Chicago & North-
western Railroad, in the same city. In 1884 he
became private secretary to Charles M. Hays,
at St. Louis, jNIissouri, in the general manager's
office of the Gould system, retaining this in-
cumbency until 1884, in December of which year
he came to what is now the state of .South Da-
kota and located on a farm in Union county. In
1888 Mr. Abeel was elected cashier of the Bank
of Ccnterville, Turner county, and was elected
county treasurer in 1890. In 1896 he took up his
residence in Alcester and here was publisher and
editor of the Alcester Union from 1896 until
lanuarv I, 1903, when he was elected to his
present position as cashier of the .\lcester State
Bank. He is a fine accountant anrl endowed

with excellent executive ability, and the affairs
of the institution arc most consistently placed in
his charge. He has disposed of his newspaper
plant and business, having made the Union a
true exponent of local affairs and interests and
an able advocate of the principles of the Re-
publican party, to which he has ever given an
uncompromising allegiance. He is identified
with the Masonic fraternity, and was master of
the lodge at Parker, South Dakota, for three
years, while he served for three years in the same
capacity in Alcester Lodge, No. 115, .Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons. He and his wife
are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
On the 14th of December, 1888, Mr. Abeel
was united in marriage to Miss Edith L. Hall, of
Union cmmty, Dakota territory, daughter of
Samuel \\'. Hall, who served with distinction in
the Civil war, as a member of a Missouri cav-
alry regiment. Mr. anil Mrs. Abeel have five
sons, whose names are here entered, with re-
spective ages at time of this writing, in Decem-
ber, 1903: Charles Wallace, fourteen; Verne
Waldo, twelve; P'aul Jordan, six; Clyde .Am-
brose, four ; and (jrlev, one.

JOHN W. SEDGWICK, of Alcester,
Union county, is a native of Wisconsin, born
near the town of New Diggings, that state, on the
28th of January, 1853. His father was Joseph
Sedgwick, a well-to-do farmer of Wisconsin,
and his mother, whose maiden name was Hannah
Peacock, also spent the greater part of her life
in that state, both being of English descent.
John W. was reared on a farm, early became
familiar with its rugged, toilsome duties, and
while still a mere youth was obliged to take his
place in the fields and contribute to the support
of the family. By reason .of his services be-
ing required at home, his educational advan-
tages were somewhat meager, being confined to
a few months" attendance of winter seasons at the
country schools of his neighborhood. He re-
mained with his parents, cultivating the farm
and otherwise looking after their interests, until
twenty-four years old, at which time. 1877. h-

I7I2

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

left home and went to Portlandville, now Akron,
Iowa, where he engaged with his brother in
buying and shipping grain and Hve stock, which
hne of business occupied his attention during
the greater part of the ensuing ten years. In
1883 Mr. Sedgwick came to South Dakota and
on March 19th of that same year was united in
marriage, at Elk Point, with Miss Minnie
Trader, after which he moved to a farm near
Alcestef, Union county, and engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits and stock raising. After
spending ten years on his farm, and bringing it
to a high state of cultivation, also greatly enlarg-
ing its area, he built a fine residence in Alcester
and moved to the same, in order to give his
children better educational advantages than were
afforded by the country schools. Since coming
to South Dakota Mr. Sedgwick's business afifairs
have continually prospered, and he is now num-
bered with the energetic and well-to-do men of
Union county, owning in addition to his fine and
highly improved farm of four hundred acres
near the county seat, worth at a conservative
estimate sixty dollars per acre, an eight-hundred-
acre tract in the count)' of Buffalo, also fifteen
lots and three valuable residence properties in
Alcester, his belongings at this time represent-
ing a capital of fifty thousand dollars, every dol-
lar of which is the result of his own labor and
unaided endeavor. Mr. Sedgwick's early home
training, under the direction of plain, industri-
ous, pious parents, was all that any one could de-
sire, and it had great influence in forming his
character and shaping his destiny. He was
reared according to the rather strict dis-
cipline of the Methodist church and still adheres
to that faith, belonging with his family to the
congregation worshiping in Alcester, to which
he is a constant and liberal contributor. He
served as school clerk for a period of nine
years, and for the last four years has held the
office of city trustee, a part of which time he was
chairman of the board.

Mr. and Mrs. Sedgwick's beautiful and at-
tractive home in Alcester is noted for the spirit
of generous hospitality that reigns therein, and
i; is a popular resort for the best social circles

of the city. In addition to the father and mother,
its happy domestic circle at this time includes
three children, whose names are Lillian. Levi S.
and Walter W.

SAMUEL M. HOWARD.— The honored
subject of this sketch, who is now nearing the
psalmist's span of three score years and ten, is
one of the honored citizens and able and promi-
nent lawyers of Potter county, retaining his
residence in Gettysburg and being at the time of
this writing incumbent of the office of state's
attorney of the county. He is a scion of a fam-
ily whose name has been long and conspicuously
identified with the annals of American history,
while the same has ever stood for exalted in-
tegrity and lofty patriotism. He is a direct
descendant of General Howard, who renders so
brilliant service in the Continental army during
the war of the Revolution, and the General was
descended from one. of the name who laid out the
city of Baltimore, Maryland, the original Amleri-
can ancestors having settled in the patrician old
dominion state, Virginia, in the early colonial
epoch. Charles Howard, an uncle of the subject,
served with distinction in the war of 1812, and
died in Fulton county, Illinois, of which state
he was a pioneer, as was also the father of the
subject, who was numbered among the earliest
settlers in Fulton county, Illinois.

Samtiel M. Howard was born in Fulton
county, Illinois, on the 2d of July, 1838, being a
son of Samuel and Anna (Alderman) Howard.
The former was born in the state of Virginia,
and the latter in New York. In 1831 the father
and mother removed from Ohio to Fulton county,
Illinois, and there remained until his death, hav-
ing been a farmer by vocation. He upheld the
military prestige of the name by taking an active
part in the Black Hawk war. and he died in
1840. at which time the subject was a child of
about three years, while the devoted wife and
mother passed away in 1882. At the age of three
years the orphan boy was bound out to a farmer
named Lorenzo Hitchcock, of Peoria county,
Illinois, and in his home was reared with kind-

SAMUEL M. HOWARD.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ness and consideration, being afforded the ad-
vantages of the common schools and an excellent
academy in Cuba, Fulton county, that state.
Shortly after leaving school Mr. Howard, at the
advice of Hon. William P. Kellogg, who was
afterward governor of Louisiana, as well as
United States senator from that state, and who
is now a venerable resident of the city of Wash-
ington, and a millionaire, decided to take up the
study of law and prepare himself for the active
work of the profession. He had as preceptor E.
G. Johnston, of Peoria, one of the leading mem-
bers of the Illinois bar at the time, and under
his able direction made rapid progress, being
admiitted to the bar of the state in 1859, upon
examination before the supreme court, but not
received his certifying papers until it had been
his portion to render valiant and protracted
service in defense of the integrity of the nation.

Mr. Howard was among the first to respond
to President Lincoln's call for volunteers after
the thundering of rebel guns against the ram-
parts of old Fort Sumter had voiced the tocsin
of civil war. On the 14th of August, 1861, the
subject enlisted as a private in Company H,
Twenty-eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, com-
manded by Colonel Amary K. Johnston, and
after the expiration of his term he re-enlisted in
the same company and regiment, serving in all
four years and nine months, covering somewhat
more than the entire period of the war, as will
appear in following statements. His command
was first assigned to the Army of the Tennessee
and took part in all the operations under General
Grant in the Mississippi valley, from Cairo to
Mobile. Among the engagements in which Mr.
Howard participated may be mentioned the fol-
lowing : Belmont, which was General Grant's
first battle ; capture of Forts Herman, Henry and
Donelson ; battles of Pittsburg Landing, or
Shiloh : the engagement at Davis Crossing
of the Hatchie river, being a part of the battle of
Corinth ; and the siege and capture of Vicksburg,
Spanish Fort, Fort Blakely and the city of Mo-
bile. After the surrender of General Lee, Mr.
Howard accompanied his regiment to Texas, to
assist in driving Maximilian out of Mexico,

and the command encamped at Brownsville, that
state, until March i^i, 1S66, when its members
were mustered out and finally disbanded at
Springfield, Illinois, May 14, 1866. Mr. Howard
then returned to Illinois, and, at Springfield, re-
ceived his honorable discharge on the 6th of
April, 1866. The following day he made req-
uisition for and secured his certificate of ad-
mission to the bar, and shortly afterward located
in Knoxville, Illinois, where he was actively en-
gaged in the practice of his profession for the
ensuing twelve years, gaining success and pres-
tige. He then removed to the city of Chicago,
where he accepted a position on the editorial
staflf of the old Chicago Times, whose founder,
the late Wilbur F. Story, was at the time_ in
control, being one of the strongest, though most
eccentric, figures in the newspaper history of the
great western metropolis. Mr. Howard retired
from his editorial position two years later and
shortly afterward came to what is now the state
of South Dakota, arriving in Redfield, Spink
county, in March, 1882. and there remaining until
May of the following year, when he came to
Potter county and here took up one hundred and
sixtv acres of government land, to whose im-
provement he at once directed his attention, being
there engaged in farming and stock raising until
1892, when he located in the county seat, Gettys-
burg, where he has since been established in the
practice of his profession, being a man of broad
and exact knowledge of the law and having long
held a place of honor and priority, being prac-
tically the Nestor of the bar of the county. He
is now serving his third term as state's attorney,
and has proved a most discriminating and suc-
cessful public prosecutor. He is held in high
esteem in the community and his genial per-
sonalitv has gained to him a host of friends in
the state of his adoption. In politics Mr. How-
ard is an uncompromising advocate of the prin-
ciples of the Republican party, while fraternally
he manifests his abiding interest in his old com-
rades in arms by retaining membership in IMeade
Post, No. 32, Grand Army of the Republic, of
which he is a prominent and honored comrade.
He has attended the national encampments of

I7I4

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

this noble organization in Cliicago, Washington
City and San Francisco, and on each occasion has
met with most grateful reunions and fraternal ex-
periences. Mr. Howard has never been married,
and has never belonged to any other fraternal
organization.

JOHX G. HOARD, an honored representa-
tive of one of the early pioneer families of i'nion
county, is a native of the state of New York,
having been born in St. Lawrence county, on the
31st of December, 1855, and being a son of
Alonzo and Keym (Small) Hoard, the former
of whom was born in Vermont and the latter in
New York state. The paternal grandfather of
the subject came to America from England, set-
tling in Vermont. The original orthography of
the name was Hoar, and he changed the same to
its present form. In 1856 when the subject of
this review was an infant of six months, his
parents removed to the west and located in
Richland county, Wisconsin, his father becom-
ing one of the pioneer farmers of that locality.
Mr. Hoard early became inured to hard work,
being reared on the pioneer farm, and his early
educational advantages were limited, owing to
the exigencies of time and place. He conned his
studies in a log schoolhouse of the primitive
type, and finished his specific schooling in an
old sod house in I'nion county. South Dakota,
stating to the writer that this rude "temple of
learning" bore the name of Antioch. In 1874, at
the age of nineteen years, he accompanied his
parents to the present state of South Dakota, the
family locating in Union county, where his father
became one of the pioneer farmers, as had he
previously in Wisconsin. He died here in 1890.
and his wife is yet living, while of their eight
children seven are living. When the subject ar-
rived in this country his cash capital was repre-
sented in the sum of twenty dollars, which he
soon gave to his father, to aid in the support of
the family, while his first two years' labor after
coming here was similarly applied, so that he
started out in life empty-handed upon attaining
his legal majority. In 1874 he had entered claim

to a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres,
in Prairie township. By industry, energy and
good management he made every efifort count,
and soon the star of prosperity shone upon him,
and he has now a fine landed estate of five hun-
dred and sixty acres, and a conservative estimate
of the value of his various holdings would approx-
imate forty-five thousand dollars. In 1886 he
left the farm and took up his residence in the
village of Alcester, where he engaged in the buy-
ing and shipping of live stock and grain, while
for four years he also conducted a general store
in the village. Mr. Hoard is a stanch advocate
of the principles and policies of the Republican
party, but has never sought the honors or emolu-
ments of public office. He and his wife are val-
ued members of the Congregational church in
their home town.

On the loth day of March, 1879, was
solemnized the marriage of John G. Hoard to
Miss Adaline Disbrow, who was born in Rosen-
dale, Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, on the
19th of January, 1862. being a daughter of M.
L. and Hannah (Scofield) Disbrow, who were
mmibered among the pioneers of Union county.
South Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Floard have six
children, all of whom remain at the parental
home except the eldest, j\Iarjory E., who is now
the wife of T. T. Sullivan, of Chicago, Illinois.
The others are John S., Edna L., Ethel A.,
Gladys A. and Ralph D.

JOHN L. HARRIS, M. D., well-known phy-
sician and surgeon, of Webster, Day county.
South Dakota, was born at Battle Creek, Cal-
houn county, ^Michigan, on January 3, 1849, the
son of James ]\I. and Eliza (Cosad) Harris, both
natives of New York state. Both families were
founded in America in colonial times, and one of
the Doctor's ancestors served as a soldier in the
Continental army. Three of his uncles served in
the war of 1812. The father of the subject first
removed from New York to ]\Iichigan in 1841,
and was a pioneer of Calhoun county. He came
to South Dakota in 1880, but in 1898 returned
east to Chicago, in which city he died in 1903.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1715

in his eightieth year. The mother died in 1849.
Doctor Harris passed through the common
schools of Battle Creek, and then attended
Ohvet College, at Olivet, Michigan. He began
reading medicine in 1870, and subsequently he
took a course of lectures at Chicago. In 1873 he
began the practice at Eastport, Michigan. In
1874 he entered Hahnemann Homeopathic Medi-
cal College, Chicago, where he was graduated
in the class of 1875. The Doctor then resunud
his practice at Eastport, but after a year's time-
he located at Ovid, Michigan, where he practiced
until 1877, and then removed to Roanoke, Indi-
ana. In the spring of 1880 he came to South
Dakota (then a territory) and began practicing
in Brown's Valley, Minnesota, but having his
residence in Roberts county. South Dakota. In
June, 1881, the Doctor located at Webster, where
he was the pioneer physician. Dr. Harris be-
came a member of the state board of health
in 1886, and was chosen secretary of the board
in 1887, and president in 1888. In the fall of
1890 Dr. Harris took his family to Chicago and
spent the winter in that city, during which time
he attended the College of Physicians and Sur-
geons, receiving his degree from the same. The
Doctor is a graduate of both schools of medi-
cine, but has not practiced homeopathy since
1877.

In March, 1875, Dr. Harris married Miss
Sarah J. Buckle}', who was horn in Xew Bruns-
wick, Canada, and to their union a son and
daughter have been born as follows : Lyle, who
married Rev. Donald McLean, and Rex W., a
law student in the University of Minnesota.

FRED J. CROSS is a native of the state of
Xew York, born at Cape \"incent, Jefferson
county, on August 30, 1835. His father was
a merchant at Cape \'incent, and during his
childhood the family mo\ed to the wilds of
Ohio, locating about thirty-five miles south of
Cle\eland. The whole surrounding country
was then a dense forest, and life in its midst
entailed all the privations, hardships and dan-
gers of the frontier. It was in the scents and

experiences of such a life that the son grew to
manhood and received the only schooling avail-
able under the primitive conditions of the time
and locality. In 1853, at the age of eighteen,
he left the paternal rooftree and moved west-
ward to Stephenson county, Illinois, where he
learned his trade as a tinner and worked at it
until 1868, Then with two other men he came
to the territory of Dakota, making the journey
with ox-teams. They settled in Clay county,
and taking up land engaged in farming. There
were but few settlers in that part of the country
then, and the experiences of his childhood and
youth in Ohio were repeated in this western
world in his young manhood. The towns of
Yankton and Vermillion were merely outfitting
points, and without any of the advantages of
advanced civilization. He contimied farming in
Clay county until 1872, then went to Sioux Falls
and opened a hardware store in partnership with
N. E. Riillips. which he conducted successfully
until 1874. His health then failing, he was
obliged to sell his business and for a time
measurably relinquished all active pursuits. In
1868 he was elected to the territorial legislature,
but as there was no session owing to a mis-
interpretation of the law, he was re-elected in
1870. In the ensuing session the first memorial
to congress to divide the territory into North
and South Dakota was framed and signed by
the members. In 1874 he was elected emigra-
tion commissioner and superintendent of the ter-
ritory, and in 1876 he was again chosen to this
important office. He served until the following
spring, when he came to Custer as register of
deeds for the county by appointment of the gov-
ernor. Soon after his arrival in April the county
scat was changed to Hayward and he removed to
that town. He accepted the office of register
because it was impossible at the time to get
another suitable man who had been a resident
of the state a year. \Mieu he wished to resign
the county refused to let him, but he forced it
to before the county seat was changed back to
Custer. While making Hayward his home he
came into the neighborhood of Keystone and
located mining property on which he is now

i7i6

I-n STORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

living. In those days Harney was a thriving
mining camp and drew all comers to its promis-
ing fields. Air. Cross was among the first pros-
pectors to come into the Keystone region and
take up claims, and is therefore the pioneer of
this section. In 1878 he settled on his claim
and here he has since made his home. In 1880
he was elected to the legislature from Penning-
ton county on the Republican ticket, and in the
session which followed he was prominent and
useful in securing the passage of serviceable
legislation, especially in reference to the stock
industry. He was elected county commissioner
in 1886 and served one term. In 1897 he was
again elected to this office and he has held it
continuously since that time. He is a firm and
faithful Republican in politics, and to the aid
of his party he has on all occasions brought wise
counsel and efficient service. He owns many
valuable mining properties and others of con-
siderable worth here and elsewhere, and no
citizen of the state has a higher or more firmly
fixed place in the public regard and good will.

LOUIS E\'ERLY, of Keystone, is a native
of Indiana, born in Vermilion county on May
I, 1845. His father was a farmer and in 1852
the family moved to Cass county, Iowa, which
was a new and almost wholly undeveloped
country, and they found themselves in the midst
of the hard conditions incident to the most ultra
pioneer life. The son grew to the age of seven-
teen there, and in 1862 moved with his parents
to Boulder, Colorado, where the father ac-
quired mines in which he and Louis worked.
In the spring of 1876 the young man came to the
Black Hills, from Franklin county, Nebraska, ar-
riving at Custer in April. From there as cap-
tain he led a company of seventy-two men to
Bear gulch, traveling by way of Cold Springs.
On the trip two of the men strolled away from
the train and were killed by Indians. Mr. Ev-
erly remained in Bear gulch about six weeks
prospecting, then went to what is now Dead-
wood, although at that time there was no such
place. Going into the gulch he located what is

known as the Everly Addition to the town of
Elizabeth, all being now a part of Deadwood.
He plotted his land and sold it in town lots in
the fall of 1876, and soon afterward returned to
Nebraska for his family and in the spring of
1877 brought them to this state and settled them
at Harney, where he occupied himself in pros-
pecting and mining. He has sold many claims
tliere for both gold and tin mines, and has also
worked some from which he has taken thousands
of dollars ; and he still owns a number which
show great promise. He is still living on the
land on which he settled in June, 1877, which in
the intervening years he has greatly improved
and brought to a high state of cultivation, irri-
gating it at considerable expense and devoting a
large part of it to the production of small
fruits, of which he produces the largest volume
and finest varieties in the Hills. One of the
oldest prospectors left in this section, he is also
one of the few who have in their declining years
tJie means to make the residue of life easy, and
what he has is the result of his own industry and
thrift. In politics he has always been an unwav-
ering and active Democrat, and in public and
local affairs has never failed to do his part cheer-
fully toward the promotion of the best interests
of the community.

On August 22, 1864, Mr. Everly was mar-
ried at Boulder, Colorado, to Miss Jennie Dow-
nen, a native of Illinois. They have had five chil-
dren, Edna, Milton, Joseph D. (who was killed in
the Holy Terror mine on November 6, 1899, at
the age of twent)^-six years), Catherine and Effie.

THOMAS C. BLAIR, of Keystone, is a na-
tive of Nova Scotia, bom on June 5, 1854, and
the son of Duncan B. and Mary (McLean)
Blair, who were born and reared in Scotland.
The father was a Presbyterian clergyman at Pic-
tou. Nova Scotia, and there the son grew to
manhood and received his education. When he
was sixteen years of age he went into a mercan-
tile house as a salesman and bookkeeper, con-
tinuing so employed until the spring of 1879,
when he started for the Black Hills. After a'

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1717

long drawn-out and tedious journey he reached
Deadwood in July of that year and soon after-
ward removed to Terry, where he worked in the
mines until the spring of 1880. He then located
at Rockerville and engaged in placer mining for
a year, after which he took up his residence at
Keystone as it is now, and helped to construct
the Harney hydraulic flume, which was then
building. Since then he has been continuously
occupied in prospecting and mining in this sec-
tion, and has discovered several famous mines.
He was one of the locators of the old Keystone
mine, his partners in this being William B.
Franklin and Jacob S. Reed. They located the
mine in 1890 and sold it to the Keystone Mining
Company in 1892. That same year the town of
Keystone was started, Mr. Blair being one of
its founders, owning a considerable portion of
the land on which it is built. He is also one of
the original locators of the Holy Terror mine,
^^■illiam Franklin. J. A. Fayel and A. L. Aus-
bury being associated with him in this. They lo-
cated this property in 1894 and before the end
of the year they built a five-stamp mill on it,
which they operated until May, 1895, when they
sold the whole property to eastern capitalists
who formed and incorporated the Holy Terror
Mining Company, which has since then absorbed
all the Keystone properties. From that time to
the present Mr. Blair has been prospecting most
of the time and has located several good claims.
He is a zealous Freemason, being one of the
founders and a charter member of the lodge at
Keystone.

On January 30, 1884, at Rapid City, Mr.
Blair was united in marriage with i\Iiss Anna L.
Reed, a native of Pennsylvania, who died on
May 17, 1896, leaving four children, Etta B.,
Alice, Grace and Marv S.

CARL BRAATZ was born in Prussia March
23. 1 85 1, and is the third of a family of seven
children born to Carl and Minnie (Cols) Braatz.
These parents were also natives of Prussia and
never left the fatherland, both having died near
the place where they were born and reared. The

following are the names of their children, in or-
der of birth : William, a farmer of Winona
county, Minnesota; Amelia, deceased; Carl, the
subject of this sketch; August, a resident of Min-
nesota; Robert, Fred and Bertha, who remain in
Germany.

Carl Braatz was reared in his native land and
grew to maturity on his father's farm, receiving
a good education in the public schools. He early
became inured to honest toil and while still a
mere youth could perform a man's duty at al-
most any kind of manual labor, in consequence
of which he was able to care for himself when
thrown upon his own resources. Thinking to
better his condition in America, whither so many
of his countrymen had preceded him, Mr. Braatz,
in 1867, came to the United States and spent
the ensuing three years in Winona county, Min-
nesota, where he turned his hands to various em-
ployments, devoting especial attention to agri-
cultural pursuits. At the expiration of that time
he engaged in steamboating, in which capacity
he plied various rivers in the west and south,
and to this line of work and to railroading he
devoted the greater part of six years. Severing
his connection with his employers in 1878, he
went to Hutchinson, South Dakota, where he
took up a quarter section of land which he at
once proceeded to improve and on which he lived
for a period of sixteen years. Disposing of his
original homestead in 1894, he purchased his
present place and at this time he owns a fine
farm, the greater part of which has been im-
proved by his own labor and from which he real-
izes every year a liberal income. Like all pro-
gressive tillers of the soil in this state, he gives
considerable attention to live stock, raising fine
cattle, horses and hogs, and from this source no
little of his prosperity has been derived. Mr.
Braatz is in independent circumstances and has
succeeded in accumulating a sufficiency of this
world's goods to render useless every anxiety
for the future. He has held various local offices,
though by no means an aspirant for public hon-
ors, and in politics votes the Democratic ticket.

The domestic life of Mr. Braatz dates from
September 13, 1879. at which time he contracted

t7i8

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

a matrimonial alliance with Miss Sarah M.
Stonebrake, who was born January 19, i860.
The result of this union has been the birth of
the following children: Millie, bom May 24,
1880; George, July 30, 1881 ; Ferd, October 11,
1882; Hattie, February 9, 1884; Seymour, July
15, 1885: Eliza. December 22, 1887; Isaac, July
25, 1890: Bertha, January 9, 1897: John, June
14, 1900.

HENRY C. ASH, of Meade county, is a na-
tive of Allegany county, Maryland, and was
born on Christmas day, 1827. He remained un-
der the paternal rooftree in his native state until
he reached the age of eleven, then moved with
his parents to Tippecanoe county, Indiana,
where the family engaged in farming in which
he assisted, attending a little country school near
the homestead in the winter months, thus sup-
plementing in a small way the slender educa-
tional facilities he had enjoyed in his former
home. In a short time he entered actively on
farm work in connection with his father, re-
maining so occupied until the death of the latter,
when the son was but sixteen years old. 'Mr.
Ash and his brother conducted the farm for a
number of years under the supervision of their
step-mother, then divided their interests and he
went to White county and began farming on his
own account, uniting stock raising to his other
work. He developed a fine farm and built him-
self a comfortable residence, making his prop-
erty one of the most desirable rural homes of
the section in which it was located. In 1856. '
believing there were better opportunities for
thrift and enterprise in the fardier west, he
sold his Indiana home and came to Sioux City,
arriving at diat place on May 26th. The town
then consisted of a few tents and shacks and 1
contained only one house with a shingk- roof.
On July 4th he opened the first hotel ever con-
ducted in the town and continued to conduct it
until the fall of 185Q. the building being built
of logs. At the time last mentioned he moved
his family to Dakirta, arriving at Yankton on !
Cln-istmas eve. There he built the fimrth house '

in the town, a log structure with a dirt roof and
no floor but the earth, and here he again engaged
in the hotel business, this being the second fron-
tier town in wdiich he ministered to the wants
of the traveling public, and this enterprise being
practically the first hotel within the present limits
of the state. He continued in active control of
it until 1876, when he sold it and went to the
Black Hills, whither he had been ordered as
I'nited States deputy marshal, an office he had
held continuously since 1862. His outfit was the
first to cross the Missouri on the way to the
Hills, and the party was obliged to make its
own trail through the wilderness from the Mis-
souri to Deadwood. They arrived at what is
now Rapid City on ]\Iarch 25th and then pushed
on to Deadwood. Mr. Ash made a number of
trips back and forth over this route in his official
capacity, taking away the first prisoner ever
taken out of Custer county, a man whom he had
arrested for selling whiskey without a license.
In 1877 he moved his family to Deadw'ood, and
wdiile on the passage up the Missouri the boat
on which Jhey were traveling caught fire and
they lost all their possessions aboard of her. The
climate at their new home not agreeing with
Airs. Ash. she returned to Yankton, but he re-
mained in the territory and in August settled
at Sturgis. The town was staked out on
August /th, and the next day he located on his
present site, having taken up one hundred and
sixtv acres of land. Of this he still owns forty
acres, but has sold the rest in town lots, the
depot and St. Martin's .Academy having been
built on land which was originally in his farm.
He Iniilt a log house on his tract and in the
fall of 1878 his family joined him there. He
engaged in the real-estate business and found
it profitable. Sturgis was a thriving town in
those days and there was ready sale for land in
the vicinity. He resigned as deputy marshal in
the fall of 1878 and the next fall was elected
justice of the peace, an office to which he was
continuously re-elected for a period of seven
years. While living at Yankton Mr. Ash repre-
sented Yankton county in the territorial legis-
lature, serving two terms in that capacity. In

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1894 his residence was destroyed by fire and he
at once began the erection of a fine stone
dwelling. The facilities for building were not
first class and a long time was consumed in
building this house, but when it was completed
it rewarded his patience and efforts, being the
best residence in the town and beautifully lo-
cated on the brow of a small hill about half a
mile from the center of the place commanding
a view of a wide extent of the surrounding
country. It is in colonial style with a wide
veranda around it, and is in the midst of a fruit-
ful orchard and garden. The house is elegantly
finished and furnished throughout, and the place
is one of the finest homes in the west. Air. Ash
belongs to the Masonic order, with membership
in the lodge at Sturgis. In 1863, as a charter
member, he helped to organize St. John's Lodge,
Xo. I, at Yankton, the first Masonic bodv in the
state, and he is one of its two surviving charter
members.

On March 22, 1851, at Mount Jackson, White
county, Indiana, Mr. Ash was married to Miss
Mary Reynolds, a native of Ohio. They have
five children, Ben C, Julia (Mrs. Bates), Harry
C, William B. and Elizabeth (Mrs. Eccles).

HOX. THOAIAS M. GODDARD, com-
mandant of the Soldiers" Home at Hot Springs,
also attorney-at-law and ex-county judge, was
I)orn on a farm near Troy, Iowa, November 24,
1846, and received his preliminary education in
the schools of his native place. He was reared
to agricultural pursuits and at the breaking out
of the great Civil war, when a youth of sixteen,
enlisted in Company E, Third Iowa Cavalry,
with which he served until the close of the strug-
gle, taking part in a number of campaigns and
noted battles and earning an honorable record
as a brave and gallant soldier. Returning to
Iowa after his discharge, Mr. Goddard entered
the Troy Academy and after completing the pre-
scribed course of that institution took up the
study of law in the State University, supporting
himself while in attendance by devoting his va-
cations to teaching and various kinds of manual

labor. In due time he received his diploma from
the university and immediately thereafter opened
a law office in Centerville, Iowa, where he prac-
ticed from 1874 until 1883. In the latter year
he came to South Dakota, and took up a tract of
land near Shiloh, on which he has since made his
home, the meanwhile attending to his law prac-
tice in the courts of Sully county, also devoting
considerable attention to stock raising.

In 1887 Mr. (ioddard was elected, on the
Republican ticket, district attorney, which posi-
tion he held for three years, when he resigned
to accept the county judgeship, having been
chosen to the latter office in 1889. His career
on the bench, which included three consecutive
terms, was eniinentl\- creditable both to himself
and to the county, and he retired from this with
the commendation and good will of the people,
irrespective of party affiliation. In the fall of
1896 Mr. Goddard was further honored by being
elected to represent Sully and Hyde counties in
the legislature, in which body he served by suc-
cessive re-elections from the new district com-
prfsing Sully. Hyde and Hughes counties four
terms, and in the deliberations of which he took
an active and influential part, being recognized
as one of the Republican leaders of the house.

Mr. Goddard was chairman of the first ju-
dicial convention of the sixth judicial circuit, and
as such wielded a decided influence in shaping
the policy and controlling the action of the as-
semblage. He has long enjoyed distinctive
precedence as a leader of the Republican party
in his county and district, but few conventions
have been held in which he has not appeared as
a potent factor and he has also been active in
state and national politics, being not only a
skillful organizer, but a most effective and suc-
cessful campaigner.

In the month of April, 1003, Mr. Goddard
was appointed commandant of the Soldiers'
Home at Hot Springs, the duties of which re-
sponsible and exacting position he is now dis-
charging in an able and satisfactory manner.
As a lawyer, Mr. Goddard is easily the peer of
any of his professional associates in the central
part of the state, and his official career dem-

1720

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

onstrates his ability to fill worthily positions of
honor and trust.

Mr. Goddard has a family of children whose
names are as follows: lo, Goddard, Sim, Jim,
Dick, Guy and Ray. His family was represented
in the late Spanish-American war by two of his
sons, who were about the first to respond to
their country's call in this part of the state. One
of these sons, Sim, was a member of Company
E, Grigsby's famous rough riders. This regi-
ment only got to Chattanooga, Georgia. Jim,
who joined Company A, of the First South Da-
kota Infantry, accompanied his command to
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he died.

ELI B. WIXSON.— Among those sterling
citizens of South Dakota who have lived up to
the full tension of the strenuous life on the
frontier and who have likewise contributed in a
significant degree to the development and up-
building of the great and prosperous common-
wealth, stands the subject of this memoir, than
whom there are few to be found who have been
longer resident of what is now the state of South
Dakota, since he took up his abode here forty-five
years ago. Mr. Wixson may be said with all con-
sistency to be the founder of the town of Elk
Point, the official center of Union county. He
still resides in Elk Point and no citizen of the
county is held in higher estimation than is this
sturdy pioneer of pioneers.

Eli B. Wixson was bom in Wayne, Steuben
county. New York, on the 6th of May, 1833, a
son of Daniel and Deborah (Conklin) Wixson,
the former of whom was of English lineage and
the latter of German, both families having been
early established in America. The subject was
reared to manhood on the homestead farm, se-
curing his early educational training in the com-
mon schools of the locality and remaining on the
parental home until he had attained his legal
majority. He thereafter attended for a time the
academy at Dundee, New York, and shortly after
leaving this institution he started for what was
then considered the far west, this action being
born of a spirit of adventure and a desire to dis-
cover what fortune had in store for him. He ar-

rived in Sioux City, Iowa, in the month of May,
1856, the place being at that time a mere village
of straggling order, and in 1859 he came into
Dakota territor}^ and pre-empted land in Union
county, the southern portion of the town of Elk
Point being located on this tract. He built the
first house in the town, laying the foundation on
the 22d of July, 1859. The domicile was of most
primitive description, being constructed of logs
and equipped with a dirt roof. Mr. Wixson lo-
cated on his claim and devoted his attention to
farming for several years, being one of the very
first settlers in what is now a well-populated and
prosperous section of the state. He was pro-
prietor of the first hotel in Elk Point, conducting
the same for a number of years, while he later
erected and conducted what is now known as the
Tremont House.

In 1861 Mr. Wixson enlisted in Company B,
First Dakota Cavalry, being mustered in at Sioux
City, Iowa, and he was in active service on the
frontier in various Indian campaigns, having
been for some time under command of General
Sully and continuing in the service until 1865,
when his company was mustered out, at Sioux
City. He held the office of commissary sergeant
during the entire period of his service and was
a participant in many exciting and hazardous
engagements with the hostile savages.

In politics the subject gives an unqualified
support to the Democratic party, and he has been
prominently concerned in public affairs of a local
nature. He served for one term as mayor of Elk
Point and was for many }-ears a member of the
town council and the school board. In 1871-72
he was elected register of deeds of Union county,
being the fourth incumbent of this office, and he
also held the position of county commissioner for
several years, ever manifesting a lively interest
in the welfare and development of his home town,
countv and state and evincing this interest in a
practical and tangible way. In 1866 he was
elected to and served with honor in the territorial
legislature as a member from Union county. He
is the owner of valuable realty in Elk Point, being
one of its most substantial and prosperous
citizens. At the time when preparation was being
made for the erection of the new court house

ELI B. WIXSUN.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Mr. Wixson gave to the count\- the land on
which the present fine building is located, the
same having been erected in 1898, and the con-
dition on which he donated the land was that the
county seat remain perpetually in Elk Point and
that the land in question should be utilized for
the purpose designated. To these grounds he
has since given a warranty deed to the county.
He also donated the land on which the Elk Point
high-school building was erected, the latter being
a fine structure, containing eight rooms and
basement. Mr. Wixson was a charter member
of the first Masonic lodge organized in Sioux
City, Iowa, and is now affiliated with Elk Point
Lodge, No. 3. Free and Accepted Masons, in Elk
Point. He is without doubt the oldest Mason
in the county at the present time. He also holds
membership in Stephen A. Hurbert Post, No. 9,
Grand Army of the Repubjic, in his home town.
He was one of the organizers of the Old Settlers'
Association of Union county and has been its
president from the beginning.

In Elk Point, on the 30th of November, 1865,
was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wixson to
Mrs. Clara E. Christy (nee Cook), who was born
in Onondago county. New York, on August 7,
1840. They have three sons and three daughters,
concerning whom we incorporate a brief record,
as follows : William M. is now engaged in a flour-
ing mill at Hawarden, Iowa ; Mary D. is the
wife of George Walker, of Avon, South Dakota :
Franklin B. is engaged in the elevator business
in Elk Point; Eli B., Jr.. is engaged in the barber
business in Avon, this state ; Alice May is the
wife of Ren Wheeler, of Aberdeen, South Da-
kota; and Clara, who was the wife of William
Davis, died in 1894, ^t the age of twenty-four
vears. Bv her former marriage Mrs. Wixson
had a daughter, Lottie, who is now the wife of
J. W. Steckman, of Avon, this state.

DENIS CARRIGAN, president of the First
National Bank, Custer City, is a native of
Canada, born in the city of Montreal, on the
31st of October. 1845. Mr. Carrigan spent his
childhood and youth in his native place, receiv-

ing a good education in the schools of Alontreal,
and remaining there until iwenty years of age.
when he left home to ,u-hirve his fortune and
carve out his own destiny. In 1866 he went
to Omaha, Nebraska, and entered the employ of
the Union Pacific Railway Company, remaining
with the same until the line was constructed as
far west as Sidney, Xebraska. which point was
fixed upon as. a terminal of a division of the
road. Believing that in due lime a thrifty town
would spring up at this place, and .seeing as he
thought exceptional opportunities for business
advancement, he severed his connection with the
company and erected a store building on the
present site of Sidney, which aside from the
railroad was the first improvement in the town.
Baying a stock of general merchandise, he was
soon in the enjoyment of a profitable business,
which continued to grow in magnitude as the
population of the town increased, and in the
course of a few years he found himself on the
high road to prosperity.

In the spring of 1876, when the Black Hills
were opened for settlement and Custer City
sprang into existence, Mr. Carrigan started a
branch store at the latter place, under the man-
agement of S. M. Booth, the venture proving
remarkably successful. After running the latter
store until 1879 he exchanged it for valuable
real estate in Custer City, he meanwhile con-
tinuing his business at Sidney, which by the time
indicated had grown largelx- in volume and
earned him a fortune of no small proportions.
In addition to the local trade it supplied various
points in the Black Hills with inerchandise, thus
doing an extensive wholesale as well as a large
retail business and proving profitable far beyond
the original expectations of the proprietor. In
connection with his mercantile interests, Mr. Car-
rigan also devoted considerable attention to live
stock, having come into possession of a fine
ranch about thitry-two miles west of Sidney,
where he kept large herds of cattle, from the
sale of which he realized liberal returns.

In the fall of 1880 Mr.. Carrigan disposed of
his mercantile and real-estate interests in Sidney
and the following spring moved to Custer City,,

1722

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOIA.

where in November of the same year he estab-
lished a private bank, of which he was sole pro-
prietor and business manager, this being the
first financial institution not only in Custer City,
but in the southern part of the Black Hills coun-
try. Mr. Carrigan managed the institution
under the name of the Bank of Custer until
1890, in October of which year it was reorgan-
ized as the First National Bank, of Custer City,
he being elected president, which relation he
still sustains. In addition to his position as
executive head of the bank, Mr. Carrigan is also
the principal stockholder and the institution
under his able management has been successful
from the beginning, the business at this time
being large and far-reaching and second to that
of few banks in the state.

Mr. Carrigan is a safe and conservative
financier, familiar with every branch of the busi-
ness in which he is engaged, and is well in-
formed upon monetary questions in their rela-
tions to the varied interests of the country. In
addition to banking he has done considerable in
the line of real estate, owning at this time a large
amount of city property, besides his ranch, in
which he still has valuable live-stock interests.
A stanch supporter of the Democratic party and
an untiring worker for its success, he has stead-
ily and persistently avoided partisan politics and
refused to accept office, although he at one time
consented to serve as county commissioner, and
also acted for a number of years as school
treasurer.

Mr. Carrigan is a thirty-sccond-degree Scot-
tish-rite Mason, also a Knight Templar, and
for a number of years has. been a zealous mem-
ber of this ancient and honorable fraternity.
Mr. Carrigan owns a beautiful home in Custer
City, the presiding genius therein being a lady
of beautiful character and varied culture, to
whom he was united in the bonds of holy wed-
lock on May 24. 1871, the ceremony having been
solemnized in the city of Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Mrs. Carrigan. who before her marriage bore the
maiden name of Louisa McWhinnie, is a native
of Illinois, but has spent the greater part of
luT lite in the west.

JOHN N. BEACH, farmer and stock raiser,
was born in Lesueur county, Minnesota, June 10,
1857. He was reared and educated in his na-
tive state, grew to the years of manhood on a
farm, and on attaining his majority left home
for the Black Hills, coming via Pierre to Boul-
der Park. He came empty-handed, and for two
years worked on a milk ranch for wages, then he
rented the place and conducted it during the
winter of 1881. In the following spring he re-
turned to JMinnesota where he purchased a large
number of cattle which he drove to the Black
Hills, selling them at good prices in Sturgis,
Deadwood and Rapid City.

Mr. Beach continued these trips between
Minnesota and .South Dakota for two years, and
did a thriving business, buying and selling cat-
tle, but in 1884 he turned his attention to min-
ing in the tin district near Hill City, following
the same until the spring of the succeeding year.
On June 7, 1885, h^ was united in marriage to
Miss Ettie JM. Robinson, of Minnesota, and im-
mediately thereafter moved to his wife's ranch
on Squaw creek, four miles south of Hermosa,
where he engaged in the live-stock business, rais-
ing cattle and horses, in addition to which he also
bought a large number of these animals, becom-
ing in due time one of the most extensive live-
stock dealers in Custer county. Mr. Beach re-
sided on Squaw creek until July, 1902, when
he moved to his homestead on Spring creek,
purchasing the same year a large tract of land
adjoining, on which he has since pastured his
cattle and horses, his business the meanwhile
continuing to grow in magnitude, until he now
ranks with the leading live-stock men of west-
ern Dakota. His ranch contains seven hundred
and twenty acres of land, under irrigation, and
the improvements on the same are among the
best in the country, consisting of a comfortable
and attractive residence and substantial out-
buildings, which with the fine condition of the
place in general indicate the home of a man of
progress and thrift, as well as of public spirit
and good taste. It is worthy of note that at one
time Mr. Beach could have traded a single cow
for one hundred and sixty acres of the- land on

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1723

which Pierre now stands. His fraternal rela-
tions are represented by the iMasonic brother-
hood, and the Knights of the Maccabees, be-
loni^ini;- to the lodges at Hcrninsa and Bla:k
Hills t'hapter. Xo. 25, Royal Arch .Masons, at
Rapid City.

Mr. and Mrs. Reach move in the best social
circles of the conmumity and are active in pro-
moting every good work, being interested in
l)tiblic and private charities, and their influence
has always been exercised on the right side of
every moral issue. They have a famih- of two
children whose names are Trov C. and \\'il-
liam \V.

I'HILLIP :\I. BONNIWELL. civil engineer
and merchant, also engaged in the live-stock
business, was born in McCloiid county, Min-
nesota, July 14, i860. After obtaining a good
education in the schools of his native state Mr.
P)0nniwell took up the study of civil engi-
neering, in which he soon acquired a high
degree of efficiency and skill, following which
he was engaged in professional work in
Miimesota, until the spring of 1878, when
I'.e came to South Dakota, reaching the Black
Hills on June 22d of that year. Locating
at Deadwond, he at once began working at his
jirofession in the city and vicinity, and was
thus engaged until 1883, when he embarked in
the live-stock business on Willow creek, about
twenty-five miles north of Whitewood, raising
cattle in that locality during the five succeeding
years. .\t the expiration of that time Mr.
Bomiiwell moved his live stock to Harding
countv, where he owns a large and finely situ-
ated ranch which he still manages, his success
as a cattle raiser being attested by the p-ominent
position he occupies among the leading stock-
men of his part of the state.

In the fall of 1897 Mr. Bonniwell purchased
eif J. S. Denman the latter's la'-ge hardware sto-e
at Whitewood, and to this line of business he
has since devoted much of his attention, the
meanwhile looki»ig a^fter his cattle interests, as
ini'.icated ab<ive. In addition to a full line of

hardware, he handles all kinds of agricultural
implements, •machinery and harness, in all of
which h.e has an e.\tensi\e and lucrative patron-
age, his establishment being the largest of the
kind in Whitewood. Mr. Bonniwell is an ex-
perienced business man, and his career since com-
ing west presents a series of advancements,
which show him the possessor of ripe judgment
and keen discrimination. Personally he enjoys a
high degree of popularity, and in social as well
as business circles is one of the leading men of
the community. Mr. P.onniwell belongs to the
Odd Fellows order and the .\ncier.t Order of
United Workmen, and in jjolitics supports the
Republican party. He was married at Hutchin-
son, Minnesota, November 26, 1877. to ^liss
Lura Rice, a native nf Ohio, wlvi ba^ bjrnc
him one child, a daughter by the name of Reva.

JOSEPH KUBLER is a native of the prov-
ince of Alsace, Germany, where his birth oc-
curred on August 23, 1854. He attended tlie
schools of that country until his seventeenth year,
after the Franco- Prussian war, when he left home
and came to the United States, landing in New
Orleans, thence after a short time went to Jack-
son, Mississippi, where he remained about two
years, during which he was variously employed.
From the latter place he went to St. Loujs, Mis-
souri, later to Kansas City, thence to Omaha,
Nebraska, and finally, in 1873, made his way as
far west as Denver, Colorado.

Shortly after reaching his objective point, he-
entered a newspaper office, to serve an appren-
ticeship at the printing business. It was while
thus engaged that the Black Hills country was
opened, and in the spring of 1876 he engaged
with Mervick & Laughlin, who took a newspaper
outfit to Custer City, to work in their office.
Reaching their destination, these gentlemen
while waiting for part of the material and stock
of paper, issued a circular announcing to the peo-
ple that their publication would appear in due
time, but before the supplies arrived the gold ex-
citement at Deadwood broke out, the effect of
which was to cause a rush from Custer City,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

until the latter place was almost depopulated.
Moving their plant to Deadwood, Messrs. Mer-
rick & Laughlin, assisted by Mr. Kubler, issued,
on June 8th of the above year, the first number
of die Black Hills Pioneer, a sprightly, well-
edited local sheet, devoted to the mining and i
other interests of the town and surrounding
country, and which under the original manage-
ment was regularly issued for some years there-
after. Mr. Kubler severed his connection with
the paper and returning to Custer City, pur- ,
chased, in partnership with A. D. Clark, a news-
paper plant, that had been brought to the place
some time previously, and on September 4th of
the same year the first number of the Custer
Chronicle was issued under the new management.
After publishing the paper jointly for a period
of five years, Mr. Kubler purchased his partner's
share, since which time he has been sole propri-
etor, the Chronicle under his able editorial and
business management growing steadily in public
favor the meanwhile, until it is now not only one
of the oldest newspapers in the Black Hills, but
also one of the most successful, as well as one
of the ablest and most influential local sheets in
the state. Mr. Kubler has a well-equipped of-
fice, supplied with all the latest and most ap-
proved machinery and appliances, and the
Chronicle is not onlv well edited, but is neat in its
mechanical makeup and a model of typographical
art, ranking in every respect with larger and
much more pretentious metropolitan papers.
Strongly Republican in politics and a zealous
partisan, Air. Kubler has never sought office or
public position of any kind, believing that he
can better promote the interests of his party
through the medium of his paper than in any
other way. He has attended many of the county,
district and state conventions siiKe locating in
Custer City, and has wielded a strong influence
in these bodies, being recognized as a safe and
judicious counsellor. In May, 1900, he was ap-
pointed postmaster of Custer City, and was re-
appointed in May, 1904, and has since dis-
charged the duties oL the position in a creditable
and business-like manner.

Mr. Kubler is a thirty-second-degree Scot-

tish-rite Mason, also belongs to the Mystic
Shrine, and for a number of years has been a
member of the blue lodge at Custer City, having
served several terms as master of the same, be-
sides holding various official positions in the
other branches of the order with which he is
identified ; he also holds membership with the
Pythian brotherhood, being one of the active
workers in the lodge, which meets in the city of
his residence. Mr. Kubler is one of the most
enterprising men in the Black Hills, has always
stood for progress and improvement and, al-
though of foreign birth, he is intensely American
in his inclination and tendencies, being a loyal
supporter of the government under which he has
achieved such marked prestige and success.

Mr. Kubler, in July, 1883, was united in mar-
riage with Miss Louisa Katsch, of Germany, but
at the date noted a resident of Custer City, the
following children being the fruit of llie unio.i :
Joseph \\^, W'illiam L., Carl H., Eva, Frank,
Grace and Louisa.

CHARLES C. CRARY, liveryman. Custer
City, was born in Lake county, ( )hio, on the
6th day of August, 1845. He was reared and
educated in his native state and remained at
home until 1863, when he joined Battery" C,
First Ohio Light Artillery, with which he served
until the close of the rebellion, experiencing
many of the vicissitudes and fortunes of war
during his period of enlistment. He was honor-
ably discharged in June, 1865, and. returning
to Ohio immediately thereafter, nniainrd with
his parents until 1867, when he went to Marshall
county, Iowa, and engaged in farming. After
spending the ensuing ten years in that state as
a fairly prosperous tiller of the soil, I\Ir. Crary.
in the spring of 1877, started for South Dakota,
his objective point being the Black Hills, which
region he reached the following June, stopping
for a time at Deadwood, where he earned his
livelihood by hauling logs. Later he worked for
a while in the mines near that town, and then,
with a ])arty of prospectors, .started for Lost
Caliin, narrowly escaping from the hostile In-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

dians on tlie way. .\fter traversing a consider-
able part of the country and meeting with but
inditTcrcnt success in his search for gold. Mr.
Crary finally arrived at Bozeman, where he pur-
cliased a couple of ponies and a little later re-
turned to the Black Hills. Reaching Cattle
creek, he again began prospecting, but after
spending a year and a half in that locality, part
of which time was devoted to locating mining
claims at Grand Junction, he went to Custer City,
which place he has since made his home.

In 1884 Mr. Crary engaged in the livery busi-
ness at Custer City, to which line of activity he
has devoted his attention from that time to the
present, meeting with flattering success in the
nmlertp.king. his barn being the largest and most
oumplcte establishment of the kind in the place.
Meanwhile he was identified with another en-
terprise of no little moment, having, in 1890,
with a friend by the name of James Clark, taken
up mining claims on the present site of Sylvan j
Lake, and the year following a movement was j
set on foot by them and another party to dam
a stream so as to fill a natural depression with I
water, thus creating one of the most beautiful |
little lakes to be found in any part of Dakota.
This lake, which embraces an area of fifty-five j
acres, lies about six thousand one hundred feet
above the level of the sea, and the situation is '
noted far and wide for beauty and romantic ,
scenery, as well as for its pure air, equitable
temperature and the remarkable healthfulness of
the climate. The creating of this artificial body
of water and establishing a health and pleasure
resort was undertaken by Messrs. Crary, Clark
and Spencer and shortly after locating their re-
spective claims these gentlemen set about to carry
their intention into effect. In due time the work
of damming the water was successfully ac-
complished, after which the advanta.ges of the
place were extensively advertised with the re-
sult that within a comparatively brief period
people from all over the country were attracted
to the spot and it soon gained the reputation it
has since sustained, as one of the most attractive
resorts in the state. ]\Ir. Crary erected a small
cottage in 1890, which he continued to occupy of

summer seasons for several years thereafter,
and in 1896 he and Mr. Spencer became sole
owners of the place. Two years later, however,
he disposed of his interest to his partner, who is
now owner and proprietor, and the resort has
continued to grow in jniblic f.avor until the large
hotel and other ])laces of entertainment are now
taxed to their utmost capacity to accommodate
the visitors that annually flock there to spend the
sumnk-r seasons. Mr. Crary has made a success
of all of his luulertakings. has done much to
jiromote the material welfare of Custer City, and
takes an active part in municipal affairs and
enjoys worthy prestige as a wide-awake business
man and public-spirited citizen. He owns con-
siderable city property, besides having vd/ablc
mining interests in the vicinity and in other
parts of the Black Hills. In ])olitics he is un-
swerving in his allegiance to the Re])ublican
party, being one of its staiidird hiarers in Cus-
ter county, and he has also .-erved the people in
public capacity, having for several years held the
responsible office of county commissioner.

Mr. Crary, in 1886, contracted a matrimonial
alliance with Mrs. Alice (Weisncr) Crary, a na-
tive of Ohio, the ceremony being solemnized in
Custer Citv.

SEYMOUR X. FITCH, the leadin- dry-
goods merchant of Custer City, is a native of
New York, born in Rome, that state, on Decem-
ber 24, 1863. He was educated in the schools of
the above city and there remained until his nine-
teenth year, when he left hcjme to achieve his own
fortune, going first to Des Moines, Iowa, where
he held, during the two years following, a clerk-
ship in a wholesale confectionery and cigar store.
Resigning his position at the expiration of that
time, Mr. Fitch, in the spring of 1882, came to
South Dakota and after working on a ranch near
Custer City about one year, became identified
with the mercantile interests of the town by pur-
chasing an interest in the dry-go;xls and clothing
house of Bartell & Smith, succeeding the former
partner in the business. I'r.der the name of
Smith & Fitch, the new firm grew rapidly in

1726

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

public favor and soon commanded the bulk of
the trade in the lines of goods handled. The
original building was a small structure, the ca-
pacity of which was in due time found entirely
inadequate, accordingly a large addition was sub-
sequently made and from the beginning a series
of continued successes attended the enterprise.
His partner dying in 1889, Mr. Fitch purchased
the entire interest and became sole proprietor and
"as such enjoyed uninterrupted prosperity until
October, 1901, when his establishment was al-
most destroyed by fire, entailing a loss conserv-
atively estimated at twenty thousand dollars.
This disaster, which would have been discour-
aging to the majority of men, served to stimu-
late the enterprising spirit of Mr. Fitch, as he
immediately began rebuilding and within a com-
paratively short time recovered from his loss and
was again on the high road to prosperity. The
new building, in every respect larger and super-
ior to the former structure, is one of the finest
business houses in Custer City. It is now stocked
with full lines of dry goods, clothing, gents fur-
nishing, etc., and the business conducted within
its walls exceeds in magnitude that of any simi-
lar establishment in the southwestern part of the
state.

In addition to his commercial interests Mr.
Fitch is also engaged quite extensively in the
live-stock business, owning, in partnership with
his cousin, Newton S. Tubbs, a large ranch near
Edgemont, which is being devoted to sheep rais-
ing. The latter enterprise, under the efficient
management of Mr. Tubbs, is successfully con-
ducted and has proved the source of a very liberal
income to both proprietors. While first of all a
business man, Mr. Fitch is by no means indififer-
cnt to other matters in which his fellow citizens
are interested, being a zealous Republican poli-
tician and an enthusiastic worker in local, dis-
trict and state affairs. In recognition of his valu-
able services to his party, also by reason of his
peculiar fitness for the position, he was elected
some years ago treasurer of Custer county, dis-
charging the duties of the office with credit to
himself and to the satisfaction of the people. He
also served on the board of countv commissioners

and in that capacity was untiring in his efforts
to inaugurate various public improvements. Fra-
ternally Mr. Fitch is identified with the Knights
of Pythias, belonging to the lodge in Custer City.
On January 9, 1890, in Custer City, was sol-
emnized the marriage of Mr. Fitch and Miss
Helen Willis, of Springwater, New York, the
fruit of the union being one daughter, Gladys ]\I.

EDWARD STENGER was born June 5,
158, in Douglas county, Oregon, and there
spent his childhood and early youth, beginning

[ life for himself when but sixteen years of age.
Leaving the parental roof in the spring of 1874,
he began trailing cattle through eastern Oregon,
and after two years at that kind of work settled
in Grant county, where he engaged in stock
raising upon his own responsibility, in addition
to which he also bought and shipped cattle and
in due time built up a large and flourishing busi-
ness. In 18S2 he disposed of his interests i:i
Oregon and trailed horses into Montana, going
as far as Bozeman, where he located, later turn-
ing his attention to horses and sheep, in the
raising of which his efforts were crowned with

[ a large measure of success.

]\Ir. Stenger, in the early part of 1884, started
for the Black Hills, arriving at Spearfish on
the 3d day of July following, but not being able
to find a favorable location" on Battle Creek, he
took up a pre-emption about eighteen miles from
Rapid City, to which he brought a large num-
ber of horses the same year. The following
spring he bought a ranch on Battle creek and
for two years thereafter raised horses on quite
an extensive scale, adding cattle in 1886, both of
which lines of industry he still pursues. In
1887 he began sheep raising in connection with
his other business and with characteristic energy
has gradually extended the scope of his oper-
ations until he is now regarded the leading live-
stock man in his part of the country. He pur-
chased from time to time extensive tracts of
land adjoining his ranch, and at this writing
owns on Battle creek about seven thousand acres,

two thousand of which are irrigated, a large part

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of the latter being in cultivation. In addition to
his live-stock interests, -he devotes considerable
attention to farming, raising large crops of grain
and hay which he feeds to his cattle, besides
marketing each year the vegetable crops which
his land produces in abundance. JMr. Stenger's
ranch is not only the largest on Battle creek, but
is also one of the best improved and most valu-
able ; he spends the summer months on the place,
giving personal attention to its management, but
of winter seasons lives in Hermosa, where he
owns a beautiful and well-appointed residence,
one of the finest homes in the city.

In 1886 Mr. Stenger, at the urgent solicita-
tion of many of his friends, erected a hotel in
Hermosa, which he ran for some time, under
the name of the Battle River House, but which
is now known as the Glendale Hotel. After
acting for some time in the capacity of "mine
host," he retired from the hotel business and
rented the property, later disposing of it at a
liberal margin on the investment. Since then
he has given all of his time and attention to
his live-stock business. In matters of business,
Mr. Stenger is energetic, wide-awake and pro-
gressive, and he occupies no small place in public
esteem. He holds membership with the Masonic
fraternity. Modern Woodmen of America and
Ancient Order of United Workmen, and in
politics supports the Democratic party.

Mr. Stenger, on April 17, 1887, contracted a
matrimonial alliance with Miss Amanda Thomas,
of Missouri, the marriage being blessed with
two daughters. Eva and Edna.

JOSEPH E. PILCHER, proprietor of the
largest drug house in Custer, was born in Ra-
cine, Ohio, on August 18, 185 1. He attended the
public schools of his native county until about
sixteen years of age, when he went to Indiana,
and for some time thereafter worked on a farm
in Jefiferson county, that state, later taking a com--
mercial course in an Indianapolis business col-
lege. In 1878 r^Ir. Pilcher went to Colorado,
where he entered the employ of the Santa Fe
Railroad Company, which was then construct-

ing one of its lines through that country, and
after working there for some time he assisted
in building branches of the same system in New
Mexico and Arizona, remaining with the com-
pany in different capacities until 1880. In the
latter year he made a business trip to Europe,
returning in the fall of 1881, and immediately
thereafter came to the Black Hills, locating at
Deadwood, where he engaged in the hotel busi-
ness, conducting the same until the spring of
1883, when he disposed of his interests in that
place and changed his abode to Custer City.
After devoting his attention for the greater part
of a year to mica and gold mining, Mr. Pilcher,
in the spring of 1884, accepted a position with the
Adams Express Company, being appointed to a
local agency in Nebraska, but later he was pro-
moted traveling auditor of the company, and in
that capacity visited various parts of New Mex-
ico, and other western states and territories, dis-
charging his duties in an able and business-like
manner until his resignation, in August, 1886.
After severing his connection with the above
company, Mr. Pilcher returned to Cu.ster City
and, entering politics, was elected the same year
register of deeds for Custer county, which posi-
tion he held until 1891, proving an exceedingly
efficient and popular official; meanwhile, in the
fall of 1890, he was appointed assistant secre-
tary of the state senate, in which capacity he
served two terms, and in 1893 was sent to Chi-
cago in charge of the Black Hills mineral ex-
hibit at the World's Fair. Returning to Custer
City, he resumed mining in various parts of the
Hills, but not meeting with the results antici-
pated, he discontinued that line of work three
years later and purchased a drug store, to which
business he has since devoted his attention, build-
ing up a large and lucrative patronage.

Mr. Pilcher is still interested in mining and
owns considerable mineral property in the Black
Hills, some of which is quite valuable and from
which he reasonably hopes to realize a fortune.
As an authority in all matters relating to the min-
ing industry, he is frequently consulted by ex-
perts and others, and in 1898 he had charge of
the large mineral exhibit of the Black Hills at

1728

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Omaha. He has devoted much study to mining |
in all of its phases, has made many valuable re-
searches and original investigations, being a sci-
entific assayer, as well as a graduate of the
School of Mines at Rapid City, one of the most
thorough institutions of the kind in the world.
Mr. Pilcher is a Republican in politics, and for
a number of years has been an active party
worker and an influential factor in the public af-
fairs of his city and county. He is now second
vice-president of the Black Hills Mining Men's
Association, and he is also interested in various
other local enterprises for the promotion of the |
material welfare of his adopted state. Frater- ;
nally he is a Mason, in which order he has held t
various ofiScial positions, and he also holds mem-
bership with the Modern Brotherhood of Amer-
ica and the Knights of Pythias.

Mr. Pilcher, on April lo. 1886, entered the
marriage, relation with Miss Jennie Thornby, of
New York, and is now the father of two sons,
Rufns T- and ^Varren T. Pilcher.

DANIEL NE\VCO:\lB HUNT, one of the
earliest settlers in Spink county, and the first
mavor of the present attractive little city of Red-
field, was born in Mansfield, Tioga county, Penn-
sylvania, on the 28th of January, 1843, ^^"d is a
son of Dr. Daniel Newcomb Hunt and Miranda
B. (Allen) Hunt, the fonner of whom was born
in Rutland, Vermont, and the latter in Massa-
chusetts. From a carefully compiled record of 1
the genealogy- of the Newcomb family the fol-
lowing data is obtained: Captain Qiarles Hunt,
grandfather of the subject, married, in 1788,
Jerusha Newcomb, a daughter of Lieutenant
Daniel Newcomb, who was in the sixth gener-
ation in descent from Andrew Newcomb, who
came from England to the New England colonies
about 1650. Family tradition farther states, in
connection with the maternal ancestry of the sub-
ject, that his grandfather Allen was a relative of
Ethan Allen, of Ticonderoga fame, and also a j
descendant of Priscilla Alden, whose gentle I
virtues are so pleasingly recorded in the poem of t
"Miles Standish." by Longfellow. Both grand-

fathers were valiant soldiers of the Continental
line during the war of the Revolution.

In 1853 Dr. Daniel N. Hunt, father of the
subject, removed with his family from Pennsyl-
vania to Reedsburg, Sauk county, Wisconsin,
where he was engaged in the practice of his pro-
fession about five years, at the expiration of
which time he removed to Granger, Fillmore
county, Minnesota, where the mother died in
1864, at the age of fifty-five years. The father
was born in 1799. He lived through every ad-
ministration of the United States government
until his death. In 1880 he came to Spink county.
South Dakota, where he died in 1884. The sub-
ject was jilioni ten years of age at the time of the
family's remo\al to Wisconsin, and from 1853 *^°
1858 he was a student in the public schools of
Reedsburg, and from 1859 to 1861 he continued
his educational work in the schools at Decorah,
Iowa. After the close of his service in the Civil
war he entered the Eastman Business College, in
the city of Chicago, where he was graduated in
the spring of 1866.

On the 15th of Alarch, 1862. Mr. Hunt en-
listed as a private in Company C, Fifth Min-
nesota Volunteer Infantry, and re-enlistcd as a
veteran in the same company and regiment in
1864, with which he served until the close of the
war, having been mustered out on the 6th of
September, 1865. He was with his regiment in
thirteen campaigns, five sieges and thirty-four
battles and minor engagements, among which
was the siege of Fort Ridgely, during the Indian
massacre in Minnesota, in 1862. Mr. Hunt's
name appears upon a monument erected by the
state of Minnesota in commemoration of this
massacre. He also holds a medal presented to
him by the same state, one of which was given to
each soldier present at the memorable tragedy.
After receiving his honorable discharge Mr.
Hunt returned to Granger, ^Minnesota, and there-
after was engaged in farming and teaching school
in that state until April. 1879, when he came to
what is now .Spink county. South Dakota, being
one of the first citizens of the city of Redfield,
he being here when the town was founded and
surveved. Here he established himself in the

DANIEL N. HUNT.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

real-estate business, in which line he has ever
since continued operations, being one of the lead-
ing dealers in this section of the state. He was
register of deeds of the county, by appointment,
from 1880 to January I, 1881, and was secretary
of the first Republican convention called in the
county to elect delegates to the territorial con-
vention. He was a member of the first consti-
tutional convention of the territory, at Sioux
h'alls, in 1884. I11 May, 1883, he was elected the
first mayor of Redfield, receiving a silver dollar
as his salary, the facts in the case having been
engraved on the coin by Order of the council, and
it is needless to say that Mr. Hunt places a high
valuation on this unique and historic souvenir.
Ht; has been four times re-elected to the office of
mayor, having been re-elected the last time on
^lay 1. 1904. He called and was chairman of
the first school meeting held in the county, and
from the early days to the present he has always
hctn found at the front in lending his aid and
influence in support of measures and enterprises
tcr.ding to promote the general welfare and
pnigress. He has given his efforts in further-
ance nf the cause of the Republican party, of i
\\hi),sc ])rinciples he is a stanch advocate. He
was initiHted in the Masonic fraternity in 1865
and is still actively affiliated with the same. He
Ins been identified with the Grand Army of the
Republic from the time of its organization in the
territory of Dakota, having held office in his j
post and being at the present writing quarter-
master of George H. Thomas Post, No. 5, in his ;
home city.

On the 15th of February, 1873, Mr. Hunt
was married to }iliss Adalynn J. Ellis, who was
born in the state of Vermont, on the 2d of Oc-
tober, 1849, and is a descendant of the Chase
family who came from England to the Massachu-
setts colony in the early colonial epoch. Mr. and
]\[rs. Hunt have three children, Arlington Qiase,
who was born on the 2d of January, 1877;
Georgie Mae, born August 15, 1881, and Ray
Xelson, born February 8, 1887.

The following story of an early trip made by [
IMr. Hunt is of special interest :

About the middle of March, 1881, I hired William
West, uow of Clifton township, and Ira Bowman,
brother of the present chairman of the county board,
to attempt a trip to Huron tor provisions. There had
been nothing received from outside since the first of
January, except one small load of tiour brought in
February from Huron by F. H. Craig. A heavy storm
followed and to get that flour from his p'Bce to Old
Ashton — about eight miles — required two teams and
three men three days. The flour had to bo conveyed
by the men from Craig's place to Belcher's ford, a
distance of two miles. This flour bad been largely
distributed and consumed, and I engaged the two
men. West and Bowman, to attempt another trip to
Huron.

When knowledge that the trip was to be attempted
had spread, our party was joined by the mail carrier,
who had been snowed in for a month at Old Ashton,
and by Cal Spencer, who afterward built the Clyde
mill in 1881. I accompanied the party, which con-
sisted of five men with four horses and one covered
wagon.

The first day out from Old Ashton we made Red-
field, a distance of five miles, and stopped with Mrs.
Welker. The second day we made an early start
and took a straight line south to the grade of the
Chicago and Northwestern road, which had been
thrown up in the summer of 1S80. but had not been
ironed, and from there followed the grade, and by
night had reached the high grade just north of
Hitchcock. The most difficult points were where the
culverts now cross sloughs and through the cuts.
These were filled level with the prairie with snow,
and to cross we men would shovel and tread the snow
and then give the lead team about thirty feet of
chain, and when they were through to solid footing
they helped drag through the other team and wagon.
The second night we wintered in a snow house, dug
in about ten feet of snow, over which was spread a
tent cover. The night was severely cold and none
were allowed to sleep in the snow house more than
two hours at a time, but were made to get out and
walk on the grade to keep up circulation. By the
second night all but two of the party had gone snow
blind so that they had to be piloted. The third day
we made Huron. The Pierre branch had been ironed,
and when we reached James Valley junction we took
to the track and bumped over the ties, to the amuse-
ment of the few residents of Huron who had lieen
warned of our coming by the rattle of the wagon, and
who were curious to know who and what were com-
ing and where from.

I bought all the flour I could secure in Huron,
about three thousand pounds, upon which some of
the citizens were disposed to put an embargo, lest

I730

;ilSTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

they also should get short. The fourth day we spent
in building a couple of snow boats, convinced by our
trip down that we never could get the load back by
wheels. They were made of boards about ten feet
long, turned up a little at the front and bolted to a
scantling frame by which to haul it, the boards serv-
ing as runners. The flour, with some other provisions
and feed for the teams, made for each boat a load of
about one thousand eight hundred pounds.

The fifth day we started on the return trip by way
of the VanDusen ranch, which lies nearly due north
from Huron. We had a compass with which to keep
our direction. For the first few hours, owing to a
thaw and freeze, the snow crust carried both the horses
and sleds and we made good tinie. The snow at this
time stood at least three feet deep on the level prairie.
When the crust softened so that the team would
break through the progress was a slow wallowing,
and by night we had made the twelve miles to the
ranch. Here we struck quite comfortable quarters
for both men and teams.

From the ranch to Old Ashton was a distance of
twenty-flve miles, and for the first eighteen miles
there was no trail and no shanty of any kind. Thi5
we knew to be the most critical day of the whole trip,
and possibly we tried to crowd too rapidly. I had
set the compass direct for OM Ashton and we began
the slow wallowing, but before night it became evi-
dent that we could not make Holcomb's during day-
light and so I pushed on ahead and had a light hung
out on a pole at Holcomb's to guide the other boys.
The horses played out so thoroughly that the boys
left the loads in the big slough near Will Bingham's
present residence and came in to Holcomb's for the
night. On the seventh day we returned for our loads,
and by noon had gotten as far as Warden's. Here I
engaged Jimmie Warden, who had six yoke of cattle,
to yoke up and drive them from there to the river,
thus breaking a road through which our teams made
fair progress. From the river we knew we had a
track, and at sundown of the seventh day, which wa-,
Sunday, we reached home.

The frozen snow cut the legs of both the men ana
horses so severely that protection was provided for by
wrapping our legs and the legs of the horses with
grain sacks, and not less than one hundred grain
sack? were worn to rags in the trip.

JAMES A. STEWART, postmaster of
Edgcmont and president of the Citizens' Bank,
at the same place, is a native of Newton county,
Indiana, born May i8, 1863. His father was a
tiller of the soil, and to this kind of labor young
Stewart was ri'ared, his early experience on the

farm being instrumental in forming industrious
habits and teaching him the important lessons of
independence and self-reliance. At the proper
age he entered the district school and attended
the same of winter seasons until the age of sev-
enteen. While still a youth he left home and
went with a brother to Furnas county, Ne-
braska, where the two took up land, and later he
spent two years teaching in the public schools of
that state. Discontinuing educational work, he
served a two-years apprenticeship at the printer's
trade in Arrapahoe, and after becoming an effi-
cient workman followed his chosen calling in va-
rious parts of the west, traveling over a num-
ber of states and territories and finding employ-
ment in Denver, San Francisco and other cities
and towns.

In the spring of 1895 ^Ir. Stewart came to
South Dakota and, in partnership with Harvey
Goddard, purchased the Edgemont Express, a
weekly paper which had been established a num-
ber of years before under the name of the Dud-
ley Reporter. This paper was originally started
in a settlement across the river, known as Dud-
ley, but later was moved to Edgemont, where it
has since been published, being the oldest papsr
in the town, abo one of the best edited and most
influential local sheets in the county of Fall
River. Mr. Stewart was identified with this pub-
lication until October, 1897, when he disposed
of his interests in the office to i\Ir. Goddard and
the same month was appointed postntaster of
Edgemont, which position he still holds. In 1899
he embarked in the sheep business on the Qiey-
enne river, and is now regarded as one of the
leaders of this important industry in western Da-
kota. He keeps a number of men employed to
look after his extensive live-stock interests, owns
large tracts of fine grazing land in various parts
of the country and from this business alone de-
rives a liberal income. In June, 1903, Mr. Stew-
art and George Forbes organized the Citizens'
Bank, of Edgemont, the former being made pres-
ident and the latter cashier. The enterprise thus
far has more than realized the high expecta-
tions of the proprietors, the bank being one of
the solid and popular monetary institutions of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the state, and the business already is rapidly in-
creasing. Mr. Stewart is careful and conserva-
tive as a financier and possesses executive ability
of a high order. The confidence reposed in him
by business men and the people in general is at-
tested by the steady growth of the bank in pub-
lic favor and although of brief duration his ex-
perience in monetary aiifairs has already won him
an enviable reputation in financial circles. In
politics he has always been an ardent Republi-
can, and an influential member of the party.
Since becoming a resident of Fall River county
he has taken a prominent part in politics, serving
as a delegate to nearly every county, district and
state convention during the interim, and in April,
1902, he was honored by being elected mayor of
Edgemont. which office he has since held : he also
served several years as a member of the local
school board.

Mr. Stewart has filled worthily important jnib-
lic trusts, and in every relation of life has been
true and faithful in the discharge of his duties.
He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, has held
various official positions in the order and en-
deavors to exemplify the precepts and teachings
of the same in his various relations with his fel-
low men.

Mr. Stewart's domestic life began in 1888, on
June 19th of which year was solemnized his mar-
riage with Miss Ada N. Witherow, of Illinois,
the ceremony taking place in Afton, Iowa. Mr.
and ^Irs. Stewart are the parents of four chil-
dren, viz: Llovd. Fern, Albert and Ada.

IS.A.\C BEEM, of near \"esta, Pennington
county, is a native of Belmont county, Ohio,
where he was born on September 2-j, 1849, ^"^
where he grew to the age of sixteen and was
educated. In the spring of 1865, in company
with his brother Joseph, a sketch of whom will
lie found elsewhere in this work, he moved to
Jefferson county, Iowa, where he remained four
ytars engaged in farming. In 1869 the brothers
went over the Union Pacific to Fort Steele,
Wyoming, and a short time afterward proceeded
to Eagan Uano:!. Xeva<la, where they followed

mining and teaming during the winter of 1870.
The next spring they drove stock to Salt l^U<e
city, and from there went to Corinne, Utah, and
engaged in freighting between that place and
Helena, Montana. During the summer they
worked on the telegrai)h line between Helena
and Deer Lodge, and later wore rniploycd in
ranching and mining in the vicinity of Helena.
They returned to Corinne and soon after to
Iowa, where they wintered. In the spring they
came to Fargo, which had just been laid out and
had but a few rude houses. Mr. Beem worked
on the construction of the Union Pacific Rail-
road, then building to Bismarck. In August he
went to Bismarck, and in the ensuing January
bought a pony and cutter and drove down the
government trail to Yankton. Disposing of the
team, he joined his brother again in Iowa. In
the spring they crossed the country to Bismarck,
and after working a few months at the Standing
Rock agency, passed the fall at Bismarck, having
settled on land near the town. In 1874 they went
into Canada and worked until fall on the Can i-
dian Pacific Ra«road, then in course of construc-
tion, and the winter was again spent in Iiwa.
Returning to Canada in the spring with a num-
ber of teams, they continued to work on the rail-
road until fall, when he returned to Bismarck
for the winter and his brother did freighting to
Miles City for the government. In the' summer
following Mr. Beem freighted between Bismarck
and Deadwood, and the next spring returned to
Iowa to buy more mules for his business, leaving
a man in charge of his freighting while his
brother looked after his interests at Bismarck.
In the spring the brothers took a contract from
the government to supply wood for Fort Assin-
iboine, Montana. From then until 1884 he was
engaged in various occupations, freighting and.
grading along the line of the Northern Pacific
under contract, and doing other things as oppor-
ttmity oftered. In 1884 he brought his brother
and family with him by teams to Rapid City, and
the brothers took up land on Box Elder creek,
four miles apart. The brother conducted both
ranches and Mr. Beem continued freighting un-
til 1887. when he settled on his ranch and began

1732

I STORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

devoting his whole time to raising stock, in
which he has since been engaged. He has ac-
(|uirL-(l a considerable body of land in this section
antl has a large acreage leased in addition. He
is an uncompromising Democrat in politics and
energetic in the support of his party, having in-
fluence in its councils and high standing in the
coninnniit\- sjeneralh'.

SAMUEL GRANT DE^^■ELL, editor and
puljlisher of the Free Press, at Pierre, was born
in Shelby county, Iowa, on the 17th of April,
1864, being a sou of Samuel and Harriet (Spicer)
Dewell, the former of whom was a native of Ohio
and the latter of the state of New York. In the
agnatic line the genealogy is traced back to John
Dewell. who was one of the valiant soldiers of
General Lafayette, whom he accomoinied from
France to America at the time of the war of the
Revolution. After the close of the great con-
flict which determined American independence
he located near the city of Annapolis, Maryland,
and later his descendants settled in the states of
New Y''ork and Virginia, the branch of which the
subject is a scion having been that which traces
back to the Old Dominion. The mother of the
subject was descended from Obediah Gore, who,
with his brother John, was numbered among the
Pilgrim fathers of New England. Sanr.'el
Dewell took up his residence in Shelby cojnty,
Iowa, in the year 1859, and there passed the resi-
due of his life, engaged in surveying, his death
occurring in 1889, while his devoted wife was
summoned into eternal rest in 1897. They be-
came the parents of eight children, of whom
fiva are living.

Samuel G. Dewell was reared on the home-
stead farm in Iowa, and received his early edu-
cational training in the public schools, while at
the age of twelve years he entered upon an ap-
prenticeship at the printer's trade, in the office of
the Sun. at .M-ignoli;i. Iow;i. lie conlinued to be
identified with newspaper work in Iowa until
1883, when, at the age of nineteen years, he came
to South Dakota, and located in Norfolk, Sullv

luntv. where he bee;

ml)

tor of the Norfolk Spy, in 1884. In 1887 he be-
came the publisher of the Nonpareil, at Blunt,
Hughes county, where he remained until 1887,
when he came to Pierre, where he has ever since
maintained his home, having been for a time an
employe in the office of the Signal, and later the
Free Press, of which he is now proprietor and
publisher, having secured control of the prop-
erty in 1890. This is one of the leading papers
of the state and exercises much influence in pub-
1 lie affairs, its political policy being uncompromis-
ingly Republican. The statement just entered
indicates, as a matter of course, the political pred-
ilectirins of Air. r^cwell. who is one of the active
and \ahu(l wdikcr^ in the ranks of the "grand
old |iart\" in the state. On the 2d of March,
1898, he entered upon the discharge of his duties
as postmaster of Pierre, having received the ap-
pointment under the administration of the la-
mented President McKinky. while at the expira-
tion of his term, in kjoj, he was re-:ippointed un-
der President Roosevelt, so that he is in tenure
of the office at the time of this writing.

Mr; Dewell has been identified with tlie South
Dakota National Guard since 1897, having orig-
inally been a member of Company A. First In-
fantry, with which he started for the Philippines
in 1898, but was rejected at the time the regiment
was mustered into the United States service. He
is at the present time quartermaster of the Sec-
ond Regiment, South Dakota National Guard.
Fraternally he is affiliated with Pierre Lodge, No.
27, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; Pierre
Chapter, No. 22, Ro3-aI Arch Masons ; Capital
City Chapter, No. 39, Order of the Eastern Star ;
and also with several mutual benefit associations.

On the 3d of A.ugust, 1890, Mr. Dewell was
united in marriage to Miss Alice Geltz, who was
born in Port Hope, Huron county, Michigan, on
the 14th of March, 1871, being a daughter of
John and Jrlia (Moran) Gekz, who a:e nn.v
residents of Pierre. C)f the three sons of Mr.
and Mrs. Dewell we enter the following record :
Perley Geltz, who was born July 11. i8gi, di.d
on the 14th of January, 1903; Paul Samuel was
born December 14, 1893 : and Julian, Ajiril 3,
1900.

[I STORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1733

GEORGE W. KRU:\I, a representative citi-
zen and successful business man of Claremont,
Brown county, is a native of the \\'olverine state,
having been born in Kent county, Michigan, on
the 2d of August, 1844, and being a son of Abra-
ham and Theresa (Hohnes) Krum, both of whom j
were born in Xew York state, the former lacing
of Holland Dutch extraction and the latter of
English. Abraham Krum was born in Ulster
county, New Y'ork, and removed to Kent county,
Alichigan, in 1837, being one of the very early
settlers in that now populous and opulent section
of the state. Grand Rapids, the second city of the
commonwealth, being located in the county men-
tioned. In 1838 he returned to New York,
where he married Miss Theresa Holmes, who re-
turned with him to the pioneer farm in the midst
of the primeval forests of Michigan, where they
passed the remainder of their long and useful
lives, retaining the uniform esteem of all who
knew them. The subject was reared to the sturdy
discipline of the homestead farm, in \'ergennes
township, and early began to aid in its work,
while his educational advantages as a boy were
those afforded in the common schools, while la-
ter he attended the high school in the city of
Grand Rapids. He' continuecT to reside on the
old homestead until 1874, when he went to the
couth, where he remained six years, passing the
major portion of this time in Texas and the
Indian territory. He then, in 1881, came to
what is now Brown county. South Dakota, and
settled on a homestead claim three miles west of
Groton, where he developed a good farm and
continued to be engaged in farming and stock
growing until the autumn of 1886, when he lo-
cated in Claremont and opened a real-estate and
loan office. He has built up a most prosperous
enterprise, is recognized as an able and straight-
forward business man, and through hi§ well-di-
rected operations has done mvich to forward the
development of the section of the state in which
lie conducts his enterprise, while he commands
the unequivocal confidence and esteem of all who
know bim. He still owns his original homestead,
besides other valuable properties in the county.
In politics he gives his allegiance to the Prohi-

bition party and fraternally he is a member of
Cement Lodge, No.- 103, Ancient b'ree and Ac-
cepted Masons, in Claremont, and of Aberdeen
Chapter, No. 12, Royal Arch Masons, in Aber-
deen.

PHILIP H. HPRTHl'-.R. ul Ikcla, r.r«wn
county, where he is now living practically re-
tired, is a native of Germany, having been born
in Rheinbauer, in the year 1835, and being a son
of Philip Herther, Sr., who came with his fam-
ily to America when the subject was about two
years of age, settling about twenty-five miles
west of the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and
became one of the pioneers of the Badger state,
where he cleared and improved a farm and be-
came a substantial citizen. The subject of this
review purchased a farm adjacent to that of his
father, and after a few years on this farm Mr.
Herther disposed of the property and purchased
a farm near Lomira, Dodge county, a few miles
distant from the town of Fond du Lac, and there
he continued to be actively engaged in agricul-
tural pursuits for nearly a score of years. In
1885 he sold his farm and came to South Da-
kota, at the time when the line of railroad was
being completeel from Aberdeen to ( )akes. He
passed two months on a farm twelve miles west
of Hecla, and then came to this village as one
of its first settlers, where he ran a restaurant for
about six months and shortly after that opened
a hardware store, thus becoming one of the first
merchants in the town, and with the passing of
the years he built up an excellent trade, his in-
tegrity and fair dealing gaining him the confi-
dence and respect of the community. He contin-
ued to be actively identified with this enterprise
until 1903, when he sold the business to his sons,.
Fred W. and Philip, Jr., the former of whonr
had been previously associated with him in the
enterprise. They have since continued the busi-
ness under the firm name of the Hecla Mer-
cantile Company and are maintaining the high
standard set by their honored father. The sub-
ject and his wife are members of the Lutheran
church.

1734

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

On the I2th of December, 1859, Mr. Herther
was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Spietz,
who was born in Germany and whose parents
were numbered among the pioneers of Wiscon-
sin. Mr. and Mrs. Herther have ten children,
namely Andrew, Henry, Peter, John, George,
Philiii, Fred, Tacob. Conv and Kate.

ISAAC S. CRAMER has been a resident of I
South Dakota since the spring of 1881, and dur- \
ing all but a few months of the time has lived
on the ranch which is now his home. He was
born on April 19, 1858, in Indiana county, Penn-
sylvania, where he remained until he reached the
age of twenty and received a district education.
In the spring of 1878 he moved to Cowley
county, Kansas, and occupied himself in farming,
remaining there until the spring of 188 1. He ;
then came to Rapid City, arriving there in April |
of that year, and soon afterward took up the ranch j
on which he now resides and which has ever
.since been his home. It is pleasar.tly located on
Rapid creek, ten miles from Rapid City, and
through extensive and judicious irrigation and
careful husbandry has been made one of the
most desirable properties on the creek. Here he
has been profitably engaged in the stock indus- 1
try and farming his land which yields large crops
of hay and other products. He also has a fine |
orchard of choice fruit which is very produc-
tive and profitable. He has been successful and
prosperous in his business and is one of the lead-
ing men engaged in it in this part of the state. 1
He is a progressive and public-spirited man in
refc'ence to the general welfare of the conniu-
nity. always at the front in every commendable
undertaking involving this, and in politics is an
ardent and active Republican, but he has never
accepted public office of any kind.

On January 24, 1889, Mr. Cramer was mar-
ried, at Rapid City, to Miss Ora L. Barnes, a [
native of Iowa. They have four children, Flor-
ence, William L.. Francis E. and James A. Mr.
Cramer belongs to the order of IModern Wood-
men of America, with membership in thccamp-at
Rapid City. 1

MAJ. IRA A. HATCH, at the present time
incumbent of the office of United States Indian
agent at the Cheyenne River agency. South Da-
kota, was born near Fort Atkinson, Jefferson
county, Wisconsin, on the 20th of May, 1855,
and is a son of Colum¥us Hatch, who was one
of the pioneers of that state, having removed
thither from Pennsylvania in 1848 and having
been one of the successful and influential farm-
ers of the county mentioned. He was for many
years judge of the Campbell county court, at
Mound City, this state. In 1861 he enlisted as a
member of Company K, Thirty-third Wisconsin
Volunteer Infantry, with which he proceeded to
the front, seeing much active service, as he re-
mained with this regiment until the close of the
war. He was with General Sherman in the mem-
orable march from Atlanta to the sea and took
part in many of the more important battles of the
great civil conflict. After the close of his mili-
tary career he located in Crawford county, Penn-
sylvania, where he was engaged in farming until
1886, when he came to South Dakota and located
in Campbell county. Of the six children in the
family, the subject of this review was the second
in order of birth. Judge Hatch died May 12,
1904, at his home' in Camjibell county, having en-
joyed his seventy-eighth birthday.

Major Hatch secured his early educational
discipline in the com;non schools of Pennsyl-
vania, later continued his studies in the normal
school at Edinboro, that state, and supplemented
this by a course in Allegheny College, at Mead-
ville. Thereafter he was for two years employed
in the office of the chief . engineer of the Erie
Railroad, and in 1879 joined in the stampede to
the mining district near Leadville, Colorado, re-
maining for six years in the Gunnison district of
that state, where he gave his attention to lumber-
ing and mining. He was one of the promoters
and founders of the town, of Grand Junction, in
that section, which has turned out to be one of
the best in the state for the raising of fruit and
other products. He served as deputy sherifiE in
the Gunnison district during the pioneer days
when lawlessness was rife, and in the connection
it may be noted that he arrested George How-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1/35

ard, one of the most notorious desperadoes and
cutthroats of the west at that time. The Major
was leading his posse and had secured the drop
on Howard, who fired two shots at him ere he
finally secured him, the United States marshal
having been in pursuit of the outlaw for some
time. Howard was killed, the day after his cap-
ture, by a deputy United States marshal who
rode up and, not knowing that Howard was un-
der arrest, shot him dead.

In 1885 Major Hatch came to Mound City,
Campbell county. South Dakota, where he has
since maintained his legal residence. In 1888
he was elected superintendent of schools of that
county, retaining the incumbency until 1892,
when he was elected to represent his district in
the state senate, serving through the fifth gen-
eral assembly. In 1897 he was appointed dep-
uty collector of internal revenue for the northern
district of the state, serving until November,
1899, when he resigned to accept his present of-
fice as United States Indian agent at the Chey-
enne agency, where he has given a most able
and discriminating administration of the affairs
assigned to his control. In his political adher-
(n?y the Major is a stalwart Republicm, and fra-
ternally is affiliated with the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks and the Modern l^>rother-
hood of America.

On the 3d of June, 1883, was celebrated the
marriage of Major Hatch and Miss Emma E.
Smith, the ceremony being performed in Colo-
rado, whither the bride's parents had removed
from her native state of Illinois. Major and
?»lrs. Hatch have eight children, Clyde, Agnes,
Arthur, Cora, Scott. Dewev, Grace and Marion.

CHARLES E. LENNAN. one of the suc-
cessful and highly esteemed real-estate dealers of
Bowdle, Edmunds county, is a scion of stanch
old colonial stock, of Scotch-Irish origin, and is
himself a native of the old Pine Tree state, hav-
ing been born in Belfast, Waldo county, Maine,
on the 14th of December, 1848, and being a son
of Ansel and iMary fMaxey) Lennan, both of
w Iiiim were likewise born and reared in that noble

old New England commonwealth. David- Len-
nan, grandfather of the subject, was one of the
largest owners of timber lands in Maine, where
he met with heavy financial losses at the time of
the Moosehead lake speculation, his loss having
footed up to fully fifty thousand dollars in the
connection through his endorsing security pa-
pers. The father of the subject was for many
years deputy collector of customs at Belfast,
Maine, was for several years a pension agent,
and also devoted no little attention to the buying
of raw furs, passing the last twenty years of his
life in the city of Bangor, where his wife also
died. The father, an old-line Democrat, wielded
no little influence in political affairs in -his native
state and was a man of the highest integrity and
honor in all the relations of life. Of his two
children the subject of this review is the younger.
Charles E. Lennan secured his early educa-
tional discipline in the public schools of Maine,
which he attended until he had attained the age
of nineteen years. He then engaged in the ship
brokerage and commission business, and later as
shipper and dealer in baled hay and farm prod-
uce, at Bangor, Maine, also operating c,ui;e
heavily in the same lines in New Brunswick,
building up a most successful business, in which
he continued for sonie time. Froom 1880 he was
engaged in the wholesale and produce business
in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. In the
spring of 1883 he came to what is now the state
of South Dakota and took up government land
twelve miles northwest of the present town of
Blunt, in Hughes county, returning to Boston
in the autumn of 1884. There he established
himself as selling agent in the wholesale hay busi-
ness, with the firm of Scott & Bridge, extensive
operators in the line. In the autumn of 1885 he
located at Crown Point, Indiana, with the
intention of shipping hay from that point
to eastern markets, but one month later
decided to again come to South Dakota.
He invested in land at Scranton, Wal-
worth county, and found the investment entailed
a total loss. He then came to the present site
of Bowdle, where he in a sense brought in the
first building in the cmlirxonic village, having

■736

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

originally erected said building at a point one
and one-half miles southwest, and having hauled
the same to the new site. In this building he es-
tablished himself in the real-estate business. The
years 1886 and 1887 proved hard ones in the
.state, and all of the real-estate dealers located on
the railroad at points west of Ipswich were prac-
tically starved out by reason of lack of patron-
age and general business stagnation, but Mr.
Lennan weathered tlie storm and finally found
his anchorage secure. He has succeeded in
building up a very prosperous business and is
known as one of the leading real-estate men of
this section of the state. He also makes a spe-
cialty of the extension of financial loans upon
real-estate security. In politics he gives his al-
legiance to the Republican party and fraternally
is identified \tith the Masonic order, in which he
has received the degrees of the lodge and chap-
ter.

On the 26th of December, 1896, Mr. Lennan
was united in marriage to Miss Hortense B.
Kennedy, who was born in Illinois, and reared in
Kansas, of which state her foster-brother is gov-
triior at the time of this writing.

DA\'ID L. FAIRISANKS. one of the ex-
tensive stock growers and land owners of South
Dakota, whose finely improved home ranch is lo-
cated in Sully county, about twenty miles south-
west of the city of Gettysburg, in Potter county,
was born in Dodge Center, Minnesota, on the
nth of November, 1868, and is a son of Henry
C. and Harriet Allen Fairbanks, both of whom
were born in the state of New York. The Fair-
banks family was established in America more
than two centuries ago, and the name has been
prominently identified with the annals of our na-
tional history, both in New England and divers
other sections of the Union. A complete gen-
ealogical record has been compiled, touching also
the allied families, and a copy of this valuable
work is in possession of our subject, the data of
course being too comprehensive to admit of con-
sideration in so necessarily circumscribed a pub-
lication as this hislorv of South Dakota. When

Henry C. Fairbanks was a child of four years
his parents removed to Wisconsin in the year
1834, becoming numbered among the pioneers
of that state. In 1854 he removed to Dodge
county, Minnesota, where he was engaged in
farming until 1883, when he located in Yankton,
South Dakota, where he continued to be identi-
fied with farming and stock growing until i8'.,8,
when his cherished wife was summoned into
eternal rest, and he has since resided in Edgerly,
North Dakota, where he is living practically re-
tired.

The subject was reared in Dodge Center,
Minnesota, where he duly availed himself of the
advantages of the public schools, and he ac-
companied his parents upon their removal to
South Dakota, continuing to be associated with
his father until he had attained his legal ma-
jority, when he initiated his independent career,
being for four years in the employ of the mer-
cantile firm of Lea & Prentice, in Vermillion,
and thereafter engaging in farming and stock
dealing in that locality for the ensuing seven
years, meeting with distinctive success in his in-
dividual operations. He passed the next two
years in Charles Alix county, running his stock
on the reservation. He then came to Sully
county, where he became associated with Alfred
Hallam in the stock and land business, under the
firm name of Stone Lake Stock Company, and
here they have since continued operations with
gratifying success. They raised cattle of high
grade, giving preference to the Durham type and
also having a considerable number of the Polled
Angus and Hereford grades, usually running an
average of one thousand head of cattle, while
they keep an average of two hundred head of
horses, principally Percherons, with a proportion
of the Hambletonian line. In sheep they run an
average of twenty-five hundred head, all being
bred from full-blood sires, of the Ramboullct and
Shropshire lines. In the home ranch are com-
prised eight thousand acres, and here water is
supplied from a fine artesian well, sunk to a depth
of fifteen hundred and ninety-five feet and flow-
ing eighty gallons a minute, while on the place is
secured a supply of natural gas adequate for

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[737

light and fuel should it be deemed expedient to
thus utilize the same. The buildings on the
lanch are substantial and well-arranged struct-
ures, including an attractive modern residence.
Twenty miles east of this place the firm have the
Stone Lake ranch of about thirty-five hundred
acres, with an inexhaustible supply of water
available at a depth of thirteen feet, and on their
ranches is raised an ample supply of fodder to
provide properly for the care of stock during the
winter seasons. Mr. Fairbanks is a man of pro-
gressive ideas and tlirough his well-directed ef-
forts has gained a position as one of the repre-
sentative and prosperous stockmen of the state.
In politics he exercises his franchise in the
support of the principles of the Republican party,
and fraternally holds membership in the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows.

On the 9th of August, 1892, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Fairbanks to Miss Gertrude
Olsen, who was born in Clay county, this state,
being a daughter of C. Olsen, a successful farmer
and stock raiser of Vermillion, Clay county. Mr.
and Mrs. Fairbanks have five children, Hattie,
Mabel, Ruth, and Frank and Francis, who are
twins.

ALEXANDER LEANDREAUX, one of the
successful stock growers of Edmunds county,
comes of French lineage and is a native of
the province of Quebec, Canada, his birth-
place having been sixty miles east of the
city of Montreal, where the family was early
established. He was born in Xovember, 1835.
and will have thus passed the psalmist's
span of three score years and ten by the
time this history is issued from the press,
but he is an excellent type of the sturdy pioneer
and in appearance and actions gives slight indica-
tions of the years which rest so gently on his
head. His parents passed the closing years of
their lives in the state of Massachusetts. In 1852,
when about seventeen years of age, Mr. Lean-
dreaux left his native province and made his way
to the Lake Superior region, where he was en-
gaged in teaming for the ensuing three years.

In the autumn of 1855 he went to the city of
New York and there embarked for California,
making the trip by way of the isthmus of Pan-
ama and arriving in due course of time in San
Francisco. He went lo the gold fields and de-
voted his attention lo placer mining there for
three years, being successful during the major
portion of the time, as it evident when we revert
to the fact that he cleared sixteen thousand dol-
lars in thirty days. In 1858 he joined the stam-
pede to the newly discovered gold fieUls of the
Frazer river, where, within one year, he lost
nearly all he had previously accumulated. He
then proceeded to Colville, Washington, at the
head of the Columbia river, where he remained
two years, being fairly successful in his oper-
ations. He then went to Florence City, Idaho,
three hundred miles distant, remaining six
months and finding his success notable for its ab-
sence. He then returned to Colville and started
in the business of transporting supplies by means
of pack trains of mules, continuing this enterprise
four years and making the same profitable.
Thereafter he was for three years in Virginia
Cit} , Montana, where gold was first discovered
in that state, and he then joined in the unsuccess-
ful .stampede to the Blackfoot district, and thence,
the same fall, went to the Deer Lodge valley and
made his way down the Missouri river on a
steamer called the '"Zephyr," to Fort Rice. In
the following spring he, with others, was
ordered to leave, by reason of the treaty stipula-
tions made with the Indians, the major in com-
mand of the post having about this time taken
measures to also expel Father Smith, one of the
missionar\- priests of the Catholic church. He
fired his gun at the good father, and one of the
Indians stepped forth and reproved the major,
telling him he was a fool and trying to kill God
Almighty. Mr. Leandreaux went next to Fort
Sully, where he worked about five months for the
post traders. Duff & Peck, assisting in the erec-
tion of their store. He then secured permis-
sion and established a wood yard on the river, and
continued to operate the same until the railroad
reached Pierre, having made the business a
profitable one. He then engaged in the live-

1738

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

stock business, going to Minnesota for stock and
pasturing the same on the range about Fort
Pierre. He next located on the Cheyenne river,
where he continued in the same line of enterprise
for three years, utilizing the Bad river range for
the ensuing two years, and then moving his stock
to the Moreau river valley, where he has since
remained, running about five hundred head of
cattle, principally of the Hereford breed, while
he also has an average of one hundred horses,
both draft and light driving. He is the owner of
a fine modern residence in Evarts, and the family
occupy the same during a portion of each year.
Mr. Leandreaux has been twice married, his
first wife having been a Sioux woman, and after
her death he married a half-breed French and
Sioux woman. He has one son and eight daugh-
ters.

JAMES SIMPSON.— Xo history of the
South Dakota School for Deaf Mutes can be com-
plete without a sketch of the life of the one man
who. through thick and thin, worked early and
late to build up the institution. This man was
the late James Simpson, virtually the founder
and for twenty-three years the superintendent.
He took up the work in the summer of 1880,
one year after any attempt was made to educate
the deaf of the then territory of Dakota, and he
did not relinquish the work until the end of the
twenty-fourth year of the school's existence, in
June, 1903. His was a most remarkable career,
the more so when one considers that Mr. Simp-
son was himself deaf, like the young people of
the state of South Dakota who came to his school
in quest of an education. Being possessed of a
broad and thorough education himself and realiz-
ing the many difficulties that the deaf have to
surmount in the attainment of an education, Mr.
Simpson was early drawn to the cause of teach-
ing the deaf and he expended his whole life in
the work.

James Simpson was born in Milford county,
Michigan. January 21, 1855, of sturdy Scotch
stock. He was the youngest of a family of six
children, two girls and four bovs. Besides him-

self there were in the family two brothers who
were deaf more or less. William, the second
boy, was partially so, and Delos, the next young-
est, was almost totally deaf. The deafness of
James came on gradually and the exact cause is
a mystery, though one of the physicians of the
day attributed it to a throat trouble. The fact
that he was losing his hearing was only fully ap-
parent when he was about ten years old. His
mother was a painstaking woman and encour-
aged him to use his vocal powers all the time,
with the result that he was always able to speak.
Being unable to hear, he came into the habit of
watching the motions of the lips and in this way
understood nearly all that was said to him.
This accomplishment remained with him through
life, and few persons, meeting and conversing
with him for the first time, were aware that they
were speaking to a man who could not hear a
word of what was said to him. In nearly all
matters of business intercourse 'Sir. Simpson re-
lied on spoken words in carrying on conversa-
tions, thus facilitating matters and avoiding the
tedious method of written conversation neces-
sarily employed by those who are unable to use
speech in their intercourse with the hearing
people.

At the age of fourteen years, when both of
his parents were dead, the subject of this sketch
entered the Michigan School for the Deaf, at
Flint. His brother William was acting as guar-
dian to him and his other deaf brother, Delos.
The last named, being older than James, had
been attending the school at Flint for several
years previous and was soon to graduate and
enter the National College for the Deaf at
Washington, D. C, the only institution of its
kind in the world. At the Flint school James
Simpson entered upon his studies with zest. He
was naturally bright and absorbed learning read-
ily. One of his ambitions was to graduate and
enter the national college or one of the larger
schools for the deaf in the east, to round out his
education. For four years he studied hard un-
der the tutorship of Prof. Thomas L. Brown, and
made such rapid progress that he was soon in the
j highest class, having passed many a student who

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

■739

liad been in the school any number of years. At
tlie end of these four years young Simpson re-
moved to New York state, making his home with
an uncle or cousin. In the fall of the same year he
entered the Fanwood School for the Deaf, in
New Y'ork city. Here he again showed his pro-
pensity to outstrip the older students in the race
for the head of the class. He entered the highest
or academic class within three months after his
entrance into the institution, and in so doing
passed three or four classes of some twenty-five
students each. The academic class consisted of
about thirty students and was under the tutor-
ship of Prof. Oliver D. Cooke, of whom there
has seldom been an equal as a teacher of the deaf,
and never as a disciplinarian. Prof. Cooke,
previous to his appointment to the Fanwood
school, was a teacher in the school for the deaf
at Hartford, Connecticut, the original school of
the kind in America, founded by Dr. Thomas
Hopkins Gallaudet. whose son. Dr. Edward M.
Gallaudet, is president of the National College
for the Deaf. Mr. Simpson spent three years in
the Fanwood school and graduated with the high-
est honors. He devoted himself so assiduously
to his studies that in a total of seven years he
had completed a course which it takes most
young men from ten to fourteen years to finish.
He was the valedictorian of his class, and de-
livered a masterly' address at the graduating ex-
ercises, and received, with his sheepskin, honor-
ary mention from the faculty for his particularly
fine record throughout the three years he had
spent at Fanwood.

Immediately upon graduation young .Simp-
son went to Attica, New Y^ork. and took up the
jeweler's trade. He spent about a year at this
business, then went back to Alichigan, where he
secured employment on the farm of one of his
cousins. He was young and his future in life
had not then shaped itself definitely. He was
determined, however, to make his mark in the
battle of life and as he followed the plow he kept
his mind active planning for the future. His
<?hance. which was also the turning point in his
life, came in a most unexpected manner. His
brother Delos had graduated from the national

college some time previous and his standing as a
student had reached the ear of Moses Folsom,
then superintendent of the Iowa School for the
Deaf, at Council Bluffs. Mr. Folsom was look-
ing for a number of bright and capable young-
men to become a part of his faculty. He wrote
to Delos Simpson and offered him a position in
the corps but the offer for some reason did not
appeal to him. It occurred to him, however, that
his brother James might be willing to accept the
position were it agreeable to Superintendent Fol-
som to make the substitution. Accordingly he
laid the proposition before James, who signified
his willingness to accept, and a letter of explana-
tion was dispatched to Superintendent Folsom.
Word came back that it would be satisfactory to
the school authorities to have James become a
member of the teaching corps.

It was with vigor and enthusiasm that he
entered upon the work of teaching the deaf. His
methods were eminently those employed by Prof.
O. D. Cooke at the Fanwood school and by Prof.
T. L. Brown at the Michigan school. It was a
coincidence that Mr. Simpson had had in Prof.
Brown an instructor who had been a pupil of
Prof. Cooke's at Hartford. To this fact un-
doubtedly was due the peculiar success attained
by Mr. Simpson in his educational work, coupled
with his natural aptitude for the work. His ev-
ery procedure was logical and his explanation of
subjects clear. He realized that to attain the best
results the student should understand fully the
subject in hand. Thorough and intelligent work
on the part of the pupil was made the watch-
word— and results fully attested to the wisdom
of such a course. At the Iowa school he was a
leader among the faculty, ever holding out for
modern and logical methods, tempered with con-
servatism. He remained in this position for
three years, during which time he was married
to Miss A. Laura Wright, a student of the Iowa
school and sister of the matron.

In the summer of 1880 Mr. Simpson, finding
himself in poor health, sought rest and recreation
at the home of his brother-in-law. Atttorney E. G.
Wright, at Sioux Falls, South Dakota. An-
other sister of Mrs. Simpson had been in Sioux

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Falls the previous twelve months, teaching a
class of seven deaf children. She had found the
work rather trying and was not sure that she
would want to continue it indefinitely. \Mien
Mr. Simpson came among the people of Sioux
Falls the suggestion was made that he was the
proper person to take up and carry on the work.
He. immediately, put the suggestion into effect.
Citizens of Sioux Falls came to his aid promptly,
for they realized tliat such an institution in their
midst was bound to grow and prove a worthy
institution. Money was raised for the erection of
a suitable building and to provide for the main-
tenance of the school until such time as the ter-
ritory should come to its aid with territorial
funds. A tract of ten acres of land was donated
by a few public-spirited citizens and a large
building erected thereon. The school was opened
under most auspicious circumstances on October
21, 1880, with James Simpson at the head. The
attendance was eight pupils on the opening day.
The ninth pupil came one month later, and by the
beginning of the year 1881 there were ten pupils.
Since its establishment this school had had at
least two hundred and fifty pupils at one time or
another within its walls.

Superintendent Simpson acted as instructor,
assisted by his wife. The first two or three
years were trying ones, but Mr. Simpson had a
stout heart and knew he was engaged in a
worthy work that would bring him his reward.
He overcame numerous obstacles and the school
prospered. The attendance grew rapidly and
new buildings had to be provided. After the
lapse of twenty years there were six' fine stone
structures, grouped in such manner that a fire
threatening one would not affect the others.
Thirty acres of land additional was purchased,
deciduous and evergreen trees were set out and
the grounds were beautified with driveways and
lawns. From the nucleus of eight pupils on the
opening day there were nearly fifty in 1889,
when the territory of Dakota was divided into
the states of North and South Dakota. A new
school w-as soon established in the northern
commonwealth and between fifteen and twenty
pupils at .Sioux Falls were transferred. A few

years later the attendance at the South Dakota
school was again at the former number, three or
four teachers were regularly employed, and
one of South Dakota's most worth)- institutions
was doing a noble and necessary work. Her
graduates are scattered to the four winds, and
they are self-supporting and valuable citizens.
Most of them, in addition to obtaining an intel-
lectual education, learned some branch of the
trades, by which they are able to hold their own
with hearing people.

Mr. Simpson was a careful manager and
watched every detail of the institution closely.
His expenditures were always within the annual
allowances made by the state. The health of the
children in his charge was so carefully looked
after that seldom was there a case of serious sick-
ness. The moral and spiritual welfare of the
children also came for most careful attention.
In his personality Mr. Simpson possessed a most
attractive quality and he made friends easily.
To know this man and to enjoy his confidence
were an honor. He was devoted to his family, of
whom he had three boys, all of whom survive
him, and one girl, who passed away in infancy.
His wife also survives him. He was a good busi-
ness man and made judicious investments of his
earnings, thus leaving his family in good circum-
stances at his death. His property holdings
consisted of a large farm in iowa and two in
South Dakota, besides numerous head of live
stock and other property.

The pernicious practice of permitting poli-
tics to enter into the affairs of state institutions
is responsible for Mr. Simpson finally relinquish-
ing the superintendency of the school he had so
long guided. In the spring of 1903 the board of
charities and corrections, pleading a desire to
make a record in economical management of the
institutions under their charge, reduced his salary
nearly one-half. Under the circumstances Mr.
Simpson could not accept the reduction and still
retain his self-respect, so he promptly handed in
his resignation. This step had been anticipate;!
by the board, and they were not slow in accept-
ing the resignation, seeing that it was their
chance of driving in the wedge that was to open

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the way to using the school for deaf mutes for
political purposes. For twenty-three years no
preceding board had dared go contrary to public
sentiment by removing the efficient head of the
the school. This action of the board in the
spring of 1903 was condemned by every citizen
of the state who wanted to see efficiency- placed
above politics.

At tlie time he handed in his resignation Mr.
Simpson's health was poor and the action of the
board only hastened a step he had considered for
some time previous. He immediately sought re-
cuperation of his health in the Black Hills, but
there was no appreciable improvement. He re-
turned to Sioux Falls to settle down in a home of
his own, hoping that complete rest would restore
him to health. But on the way he was stricken
down and in a very short time breathed his last
at the home of his brother-in-law, J. T. Gilbert,
in Sioux Falls, surrounded by his entire family.
His death occurred on November 16, 1903, and
on the 19th his mortal remains were consigned
to their last resting place in Mount Pleasant
cemetery. The services at the house were private,
but at the grave the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks had charge of the exercises, the
deceased having been an honored member of the
order. The services, both at the horse and at the
grave, were largely attended and the floral
tributes were many.

In the demise of James Simpson the state of
South Dakota lost a valuable citizen and the deaf
a warm friend. There can be no nobler monu-
ment to his memory than the South Dakota
school for the deaf.

Phil L. Axling.

NEWTON S. TUBES, of Custer Gity, is a
native of Oneida county. New York, and dates
his birth from November 22, 1853, having first
seen the light of day in the town of Weston, near
which the parental homestead is situated. His
}-outhful years were spent on his father's farm,
where he early learned the lessons of industry,
thrift and self-reliance, which have so materially
influenced his subsequent life, and in the public

schools he received a modest educational train-
ing. When a mere lad he began working for
himself and so assiduously did he apply himself
that at the age of sixteen he found himself the
possessor of several hundred dollars, which he ju-
diciously invested in land, thus early in life be-
coming a tiller of the soil upon his own responsi-
bility. A hard worker and good manager, he
took advantage of every opportunity to improve
his condition, and it was not long until he was
regarded one of the most energetic and success-
ful agriculturists of the community in which he
resided. He continued to cultivate his farm and
prosper until 1879, when he disposed of his in-
terests in York state and started west, arriving
at Ghe}-enne, Wyoming, on March 24th of that
year. Shortly after reaching his destination Mr.
Tubbs engaged in dairying near Gheyenne, in
connection with which he also bought cattle,
meeting with encouraging success in both lines
of business. Later he discontinued his 01,-erations
in Wyoming and in the fall of 1879 drove
through with an ox-team to the Black Hills and
took up land adjoining Custer Gity which place,
at that time, was an insignificant hamlet, consist-
ing of a few log shacks and occupied by a tran-
sient population, attracted thither by the pros-
pect of gold. Having faith in the future growth
and ultimate prosperity of the town, Mr. Tubbs
decided to make it his permanent place of abode ;
accordingly he began improving his land, and in
a short time started a dairy, which he operated
for several years with profitable results, also es-
tablished a cheese factory, which in like manner
proved the source of a handsome income. While
prosecuting these enterprises he turned his at-
tention to stock raising, beginning on a small
scale, but gradually enlarging the business until
within a comparatively short time he had it es-
tablished upon a firm basis with every prospect
of continued success. In the fall of 1882 he went
to Gheyenne and bought one thousand head of
sheep, which he drove through to the Hills and
herded on a large tract of fine grazing land near
Red Canon, about ten miles from the Gheyenne
river. This was the first attempt at sheep rais-
ing in the Black Hills country and to Mr. Tubbs

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

belongs the honor of being the father of the in-
dustry in southwestern Dakota. From that time
to the present his business has steadily grown
in magnitude and importance until he is now the
largest and most successful sheep raiser in the
state, owning extensive tracts of land in various
parts of the country and running from sixteen
to twenty-five thousand head every year.

In addition to his large live-stock interests
^Ir. Tubbs is identified with various other en-
terprises, notable among which is the Edge-
mont Irrigation and Improvement Company, an
undertaking inaugurated in 1895 to carry water
from the Cheyenne river to a large area of sur-
rounding country for the purpose of reclaiming
and reducing to cultivation lands which up to
that time were little better than dry. sterile wastes.
This laudable object, however, failed of accom-
plishment by reason of the financial embarrass-
ment of the company, after which Mr. Tubbs
secured the entire canal and lands to the amount
of ten thousand acres, taking possession of the
property in January, 1903. He is now rapidly
pushing the enterprise to completion and when
finished it will doubtless make him one of the
wealthiest men in the west, as the canal is the
largest artificial waterway in the state, and the
land when properly irrigated will be among the
richest and most productive in Dakota.

Mr. Tubbs has manifested commendable zeal
in all of his undertakings and possesses the abil-
ity, judgment and fertility of resource essential
to the prosecution of large and important enter-
prises. He is not only a broad-minded, public-
spirited man of affairs but tactful, shrewd and a
natural leader who in business knows no such
word as fail and who labors for the public good
while advancing his own interests. His home,
adjoining the corporate limits of Custer City,
is perhaps the finest and most costly private res-
idence in this part of the state, and he has been
exceedingly liberal in surrounding himself and
those dependent upon him with the conveniences
and comforts of life and all the luxuries which
large wealth and refined taste suggest. He was
married in Custer City, August 3, 1883, to Miss
Jennie Page, of Illinois, the union being ter-

minated by the death of the loving and faithful
companion, after a happy wedded experience of
nearly nine years' duration. ]\Irs. Tubbs de-
parted this life on the 22d day of March, 1902,
leaving besides a husband three children to
mourn her untimely loss, namely : George, Page
and Alice. Mr. Tubbs holds membership with
several secret fraternal organizations, belonging
to the Masonic lodge at Custer City, also to the
Inerependent Order of Odd Fellows, Modern
Woodmen of America, Knights of the Macca-
bees and Ancient Order of United Workmen,
at the same place, being an active worker in the
different orders.

ALLEN D. DOUGAN, one of the prom-
inent and successful citizens of Aurora county,
is a native of Dodge county, Wisconsin, where
he was born on the 14th of December. 1856. be-
ing a son of John and Eliza ( Nickerson ) Dou-
gan, who now reside in Mason City, Iowa, the
former being seventy-three years of age at the
time of this writing. The paternal grandparents
of the subject were born in Ireland, whence they
emigrated to America in an early day and located
finally in Warren county. New York, where their
son John was born and reared. In 1845 they re-
moved to Wisconsin and located on a farm in
Dodge county. At the age of twenty-one he
left home and learned the carpenter's trade and
was foreman and had charge of the woodwork
in John S. Powell's manufacturing establishment
at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, for ten years. In the
fall of 1869, he, with his family, removed to
Mason City, Iowa, where he formed a co-partner-
ship with E. R. Loyd for the sale of farm ma-
chinery. Their efforts were very successful. For,
the past twenty-five years he has not engaged in
any active business, only giving attention to his
landed interests. He has been an ardent Re-
publican from the time of the organization of the
party. Fraternally he is a member of the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and it is largely
through his efforts that the organization has
completed a fine business structure and lodge
rooms, also having succeeded in securing the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

'743

location of the State Orphans' Home at Mason
City, Iowa. Of their eight chilih'en only three
are now living.

The subject of this sketch received his early
educational discipline in the public schools of his
native county and supplemented this by a course
of study in the Sliattuck Military Academy, at
Faribault, and a six-months course at a business
college in St. Paul, Minnesota, after which he
was engaged in teaching school about three
years, meeting with success in his pedagogic ef-
forts. Later he was employed for four years as
a salesman in a mercantile establishment in Ma-
son City, Iowa, and in 1883 established himself
in the hardware btisiness in Plankinton, South
Dakota, to which he continued to devote his at-
tention for twelve years. He has been in a sig-
nificant sense the architect of his own fortunes,
and the marked success which stands to his
credit thus represents the tangible result of his
own well-directed eflforts. In 1882 he came to
Aurora county. South Dakota, where he took
Vip government land in Palatine township, the
same constituting an integral portion of his pres-
ent valued homestead ranch of four hundred and
eighty acres, most eligibly located nine miles
northeast of Plankinton, the county seat, where
he has maintained his home since 1896. His en-
tire ranch is well fenced and equipped with sub-
stantial and attractive buildings and other per-
manent improvements of the best type. In ad-
dition to the original homestead, Mr. Dougan
also took up a tree claim, and tint he has ac-
complished more tlian the required amount of
work in the matter of planting trees is evident to
even the casual observer, for his place is made
doubly attractive by the many fine trees planted
by him and now well matured. In addition to
the various cereals, he has given special attention
to the raising of potatoes, to which he devotes
about six acres of ground, from which he secures
an animal yield of about one thousand bushels.
He also has a good orchard on his place, and in
the agricultural and pomological and horticul-
tural departments of his farming enterprise he is
particularly favored through the providence af-
forded bv his fine artificial lake, which covers

a tract of fourteen acres and which varies in
depth from seven to nine feet. From the sur-
face of the same he can draw oft" the water to a
depth of thirty-three inches for irrigation pur-
poses, while the supply is unfailing, being se-
cured from one of the finest artesian wells in this
section of the state. The well has a diameter of
four and one-half inches and is five hundred and
twenty-three feet in depth, the sinking of the
same having been accomplished at a cost of eight
hundred dollars. In the line of live stock, Mr.
Dougan gives special preference to the Black
Polled cattle, while he also raises an excellent
grade of horses and swine. In addition to this
homestead ranch he owns seventy acres of val-
uable land adjoining the town of Oacoma,
Lyman county, where he lived during the year
1889, after which he returned to his home place.
In politics Mr. Dougan had always been a Re-
publican until the campaign of 1896, when he ad-
vocated the policy as adopted by the Chicago and
later the Kansas City platforms, believing the vol-
ume of the money regulates the prices of all com-
modities, but in no sense is he in sympathy with
what is known as Cleveland Democracy. He
served one term each as mayor of Plankinton and
as a member of the board of supervisors of Pala-
tine township. He is affiliated with the Brother-
hood of American Yeomen, Knights of Pythias
and also was a charter member and the first noble
grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
of Plankinton.

On the 6th of September, 1883, Mr. Dougan
was united in marriage to Miss Katherine E.
Dunn, who was born in Crawford county, Penn-
sylvania, and reared to maturity in Iowa. She is
a daughter of Philij) and Rebecca (Greenlee)
Dunn, who removed from Pennsylvania to
Cerro Gordo county, Iowa, in 1876, where Mr.
Dunn became a successful farmer, and where
he remained until his death, which occurred in
1893, in Plankinton. His widow now has her
home with her daughter, the wife of the subject.
Mr. and Mrs. Dougan have three children, Lee,
Blanche and Lynn, all of whom remain at the
parental home, the two elder children having
completed their education in the Plankinton high

1744

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

school, in which they were graduated as mem-
!)crs of the class of 1903. Lee is at present tak-
ing a course in the State University at Vermil-
lion, South Dakota, and Blanche, having com-
pleted a successful term of school the past
winter, is at present studying music at Mason
Citv. Iowa.

S. WESI.EY CLARK, a representative and
successful member of the bar of Spink county,
was born at Platteville, Grant county, Wisconsin,
on the 28th of December, 1873, and is a son of
Samuel P. and Elizabeth (Huntington) Qark,
who now maintain their home in San Jose, Cali-
fornia. Samuel P. Clark was born on a farm
near the city of Rutland, Vermont, in the year
1838, and in 1847 ^^ accompanied his parents on
their removal thence to Wisconsin. His father,
Pliny Clark, was one of the early pioneers of
the Badger state, where he reclaimed a good
farm, being compelled in the early epoch to haul
liis produce by wagon to Milwaukee, eighty miles
distant. The Clark genealogy is traced back to
pure English extraction and family tradition in-
dicates, that the original representatives in
America were Puritans who came over on the
historic Mayflower, either on its first or second
voyage. Abraham Clark, one of the signers of
the Declaration of Independence, was of this fam-
ily. The father of the subject was reared in
Dane county, Wisconsin, where he was educated
in the common schools of the pioneer era and the
state university, at Madison, where he completed
a partial course, withdrawing from that institu-
tion in order to assist his parents, by teaching.
In 1862 he was united in marriage to Miss
Elizabeth LIuntington. who was born in Liver-
pool, England, in 1842. In 1849 her father,
Thomas Huntington, came with his family to the
LTnited States and settled in Dane county, Wis-
consin, becoming one of the prominent farmers
near the town of Mazomanie, where the mother
of the subject received her early education in the
common schools, supplementing this discipline
by a course of study in a seminary at Evansville,
that state. She and her husband are communi-

cants of the Episcopal church. Thomas Hunt-
ington was a prominent architect and builder in
Liverpool, after coming to America aban-
doned his profession and lived quietly on his farm
in Wisconsin until summoned to his reward.

In July, 1882, the parents of the subject came
to South Dakota and located in Faulk county,
within whose confines the father took up a con-
siderable tract of government land and engaged
in farming and stock growing, while in 1883 he
established the postoffice of Wesley, named in
honor of the subject of this sketch, who was the
youngest white boy in the county, having been
eight years of age when the family located in
Faulk county. During the early years he watched
his father's cattle on the prairies and assisted in
trapping many wolves and foxes during the win-
ter months, while in August, 1882, he espied a
single buffalo, not far distant from the primitive
home, and wished to take his father's rifle and
shoot the animal, but was forbidden to do so
by his anxious mother, her husband being absent
at the time. Mr. Clark stated to the writer that
he had ever retained a sincere regret that he had
failed to shoot at that bufifalo. He early mani-
fested a distinctive predilection for the reading
of good books and while still a boy expressed a
wish to become a lawyer. When but thirteen
years of age he began to read with absorbing
interest such books as he could obtain as touch-
ing both ancient and modern history, as well as
scientific works, and the while secured such edu-
cational advantages as were offered in the pioneer
common schools of Faulk and Spink counties.
When but nine years of age he met on his father's
farm near Athol, Spink county, Thomas Sterling,
now dean of law at the state university, and
through a conversation with him detemiined to
take up the study of law as soon as he could
secure the necessary books, while it may be said
that in the passing years he has not abated in
the least his enthusiasm in the study of the
science of jurisprudence in its various branches.
He herded cattle for fifteen dollars a month and
thus secured the money which enabled him to be-
gin his collegiate work. He studied out on the
prairies while keeping watch and ward over the

WESLEY CLARK.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

cattle, and at times became so immured in his
reading that his charges took unkind advantage
of his abstraction and wandered away from their
prescribed province. After completing the cur-
riculum of the public schools Mr. Clark entered
Redfield College, in which he was graduated as a
member of the class of 1894, having taught
school to aid in defraying his college expenses
and having held a first-grade teacher's certificate
when but eighteen years of age. Immediately
after his graduation he entered the law office of
Sterling & Morris, at Redfield, and devoted him-
self assiduously to his legal duties until Febru-
ary, 1897, when he was admitted to the bar of
the state, upon examination before the supreme
court. He then remained with his preceptors for
two years, on salary, and at the expiration of this
interval, in 1899, entered into a professional part-
nership with E. B. Korns, at Doland, Spink
county, this alliance continuing until the removal
of Mr. Korns to Tracy, Minnesota. In
1900. upon his election to the office of state's at-
torney of Spink county. Mr. Clark returned to
Redfield and here entered into partnership with
his honored preceptor and friend, Thomas Ster-
ling, and they have since continued to be as-
sociated in practice, under the firm name of Ster-
ling & Clark, while they control the leading law
business in Spink and adjoining counties. At
the time of his election to the office of state's
attorney Mr. Qark was but twenty-seven years
of age. being at the time the youngest incumbent
of such office in the state. At the expiration of
his two years' term, in 1902, he was re-elected,
receiving the largest majority ever accorded a
candidate for public office in the county. His
second term will expire in January, 1905, while it
should be stated that he has made a most admir-
able record as a public prosecutor. In politics he
gives an uncompromising allegiance to the Re-
publican party : his religious faith is that of the
Congregational church, with which he united
while attending college; and fraternally he is
identified with the Masonic order, the Knights of
Pvthias, the Ancient Order of United Workmen,
and the Modern Woodmen of America, being at
the time of this writing chancellor commander of

Ivy Lodge, No. 23, Knights of Pythias. He has
ever taken an interest in military affairs, and
has been a member of the National Guard since
he was sixteen years of age. He enlisted at the
time of the Spanish-American war, at Sioux
Falls, but was in poor health at the time and thus
unable to pass the required physical examination
and was not accepted as a volunteer. He is at
the present time captain of Company G, Sec-
ond Regiment, South Dakota. National Guard, at
Redfield. Mr. Clark is of sanguine temperament
and genial personality, and has a host of loyal
friends, his only enemies being malefactors whom
he has hard pressed in his various prosecutions.
He went to California in 1890, with the inten-
tion of permanently locating, but became home-
sick for the prairies and the invigorating climate
of South Dakota, to which state he returned after
six months, convinced that this is the ideal place
for young men.

On the 7th of February, 1900, at Doland, this
county, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Clark to Miss Daisy Gertrude Labrie, who was
born in the state of Illinois but who has resided in
South Dakota since infancy, being here reared
and educated. She is a daughter of Joseph E.
Labrie. who came to this county in 1879, becom-
ing a member of the first board of county com-
missioners and being one of the most prominent
pioneers and influential citizens of Spink county ;
he is now postmaster at Doland. Mr. and Mrs.
Clark have twin sons. Sterling and Stanton, who
were born at the home of his parents, in San Jose,
California, on the ist of June, 1902, and when
they were but six weeks of age the two lively
voungsters were brought to their South Dakota
home snugly ensconced in a basket.

LYMAN T. BOUCHER, of Eureka, at the
present time state's attorney of !\IcPherson
countv, was born in Washington county, Illinois,
on the 27th of February, 1858. and is a son of
Tohn V. and Polly (Roundtree) Boucher, the
former of whom was born in Kentucky and the
latter in Illinois. John Boucher, the grandfather
of the subject, was likewise a native of Kentucky,

'746

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

where the family was established in the early
pioneer epoch. John \". I'.oucher was a pioneer
of Illinois, where he was engaged in agricul-
tural pursuits at the outbreak of the war of the
Rebellion. He tendered his services in defense
of the Union, becoming a member of the Tenth
^lissouri Volunteer Infantry, a considerable
quota of which was furnished by Illinois, and he
served from the opening of the war until the
year of its close, having died in January, 1865,
while enroute to his home, his death being the
result of disease contracted during the Wilder-
ness campaign. His wife survived him a year.
Of their six children four are living, the subject
of this review having been the sixth in order
of birth.

Lyman T. Boucher passed his boyhood days
in his native county, where he secured his early
educational training in the public schools, after
which he was a student in ]\IcKendree College,
at Lebanon, that state. He then took up the
study of law and in 1879 was matriculated in the
Chicago College of Law, where he was gradu-
ated in June, 1880, with the degree of Bachelor
of Laws, being duly admitted to the bar of his
native state. He located in Bellville, Illinois,
where he was engaged in the practice of his pro-
fession until the spring of 1883, when he de-
cided to cast in his lot with the pioneers of the
future commonwealth of South Dakota. He
forthwith opened an office in Leola, and later at
Eureka, being one of the early settlers of the
town, and here he has labored earnestly and suc-
cessfully in his profession, attaining prestige as
an able and discriminating attorney and counsel-
lor and having the respect and confidence of the
people of the community, while he has at all times
been at the forefront in urging forward all
measures ending to advance the general welfare
and social and material progress of his county
and state. He was a member of the state con-
stitutional convention of i88g, and served as
prosecuting attorney of McPherson county prior
to the admission of the state to the Union, while
he has since been incumbent of the office of
state's attorney for several terms, his last election
having occurred in IQ02. while his term will ex-

pire in January, 1905. On June 2, 1904, Mr.
Boucher was nominated by the Republican party
of the sixth judicial circuit of South Dakota for
the office of circuit judge, and as all the counties
of the sixth circuit are Republican, his election
next November is assured. He was a member
of the state board of regents of education from
1893 to i8g6, inclusive, and is one of the three
members of the state board of commissioners to
the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, which
opened in the city of .St. Louis in ]\Iay of the
present year. 1904. In politics he is a stanch ad-
vocate of the principles of the Republican party
and has been active as a worker in the party
cause.

On the 26th of December, 1888, Air. Boucher
was united in marriage to Miss Helen Melvill, of
Galena, Illinois, and they have four children,
namely: Alelvill, John \l., Lyman T.. Jr.. and
Hiram A.

HANS O. WICKRE, one of the progressive
farmers and stock growers of Day county, is a
native of Norway, where he was born on the 5th
of May, 1855, being a son of Jacob and Kater-
ina (Holland) Wickre, who emigrated from
Norway to the United States in 1868 and located
in Benton county, Iowa, where they remained
until 1886, when they came to South Dakota,
being residents of Webster at the present time.
The subject secured his early education in the
excellent schools of his native land and was
about thirteen years of age at the time of the
family immigration, to America. He remained
on the home farm in Iowa, in the meanwhile at-
tending the public schools at intervals, until
1884, when he came to South Dakota and lo-
cated in Independence township, twenty-two
miles northwest of Webster, Day county, where
he took up government land, to which he has
since added until he now has a finely improved
landed estate of about one thousand acres. The
entire ranch is being conducted under his per-
sonal supervision, and he raises large quantities
of grain each year, the product running from
twelve to fifteen thousand l)ushels annually, while

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1747

he also makes a specialty of breeding Hereford
cattle, from registered stock, usually having an
average of two hundred head; also Percheron
horses ; and in particular the Duroc Jersey swine,
in which line his stock is unexcelled in the state.
He has a modern two-story house on his farm
and a specially large and well-equipped barn,
which provides the best of accommodations for
stock and produce. He is a man of much energy
and good judgment and has attained success
through his own elTorts, while his enthusiasm in
regard to the attractions and great resources of
the state of his adoption is as marked as is the
success which has attended his efforts since cast-
ing his lot here. He has shown a zealous con-
cern in local affairs of a public nature, has held
various township offices and also served as a
member of the school board of his district. In
1888-89-91 Mr. Wickre was a member of the
board of county commissioners, and in 1902 he
was elected county treasurer, of which ofSce he is
incumbent at the time of this writing, while his
continuance in the position by re-election in the
fall of 1904 is practically a foregone conclusion.
He has maintained his home in Webster, the
county seat, since 1895, and here he has one of
finest and most modern residences in this section
of the state, the same having been erected at a
cost of seven thousand dollars and being a
dwelling which would be a credit in any metro-
politan center. Fraternally he is identified with
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the
Ancient Order of United Workmen and the
Modern Woodmen of America, while he is one
of the most prominent and popular members of
the Old Settlers" Association of the county, of
which he is president at the time this article is
prepared.

On the 22<1 of December, 1878, Mr. Wickre
was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Sfrand,
who was born in Norway, in 1877. whence she
immigrated to America, having been a resident
of Iowa at the time of her marriage. Of this
union have been born one daughter and three
sons. Janna is a member of the class of 1904 in
Oberlin College, at Oberlin, Ohio, and Jacob,
Sherman and Benjamin are attending the public

schools in their home town. In politics Mr.
Wickre is a stanch adherent of the Republican
party, and both he and his wife are members of
the Lutheran church.

WHEELER S. BOWh:.\, who is at the
present time editor of the Sinu.x Falls Press and
a member of the firm of Dotson & Bowen, pub-
lishers of the same, was born in Akron, Summit
county, Ohio, on the Sth of April. 1843, being
a son of Hiram and Manila 1 Wlieeler) Bowen,
who removed to junesville, Wisconsin, when he
was a lad of si.x years, the father there becoming
editor of the Janesville (lazette, of which he was
part owner.

The subject received his earlv educational
discipline in the common schools of Janesville,
and as a boy began to work about his father's
printing office, the training afforded in this line
having been consistently designated as equal to a
liberal education, and so it eventually proved in
the case of Mr. Bowen. In the second year of
the Civil war his patriotism was roused to re-
sponsive and definite protest, and in August,
1862, he enlisted as a private in the Twelfth
Battery of Wisconsin Light Artillery, with which
he served until the close of the war, making the
record of a valiant and loyal son of the republic
whose integrity he thus aided in perpetuating,
while the history of his battery is the history of
his service in the great conflict. His command
was assigned to the Army of the Tennessee, com-
manded in turn by Generals Grant, Sherman,
McPherson and Howard, and he was a partici-
pant in all the campaigns of said army after the
time of his enlistment. Mr. Bowen received his
honorable discharge in May, 1865, and then re-
turned to his home in Janesville. where he be-
came a compositor in the office of the Gazette,
later being made foreman of the office and finally
city editor of the paper, with whose publication
his honored father was long identified. In the
spring of 1874 Mr. Bowen accepted the position
of Rock Island editor for the Davenport Gazette,
retaining this incumbency a few months, after
which he returned to Janesville and was married.

'748

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

In November of that year, in company with his
bride, Mr. Bowen came to the territory of Da-
kota and located in the city of Yankton, where
be became associated with George W. Kings-
bury, Sr., in the purchase of the Yankton Press
and Dakotan, and he thereafter continued to be
in editorial charge of that paper during the
major portion of the time until 1896, covering a
period of nearly a quarter of century. In the
year mentioned he went to Washington, D. C, to
assume the office of clerk of the senate commit-
tee on Indian affairs, remaining in the federal
capital until 1901, in July of which year he lo-
cated in Sioux Falls and purchased the Si )ux
Falls Press, C. L. Dotson being admitted to part-
nership a few months later. They have since
conducted the Press as an independent paper.
the same having both daily and weekly editions.
During the campaign of i8q6 Mr. Bowen was
editor of the Sioux Falls Daily Journal, and
in the connection ably supported Bryan for the
presidency, while during the campaign of 1900
he edited the Press as an exponent of the inter-
ests of the same party and presidential candi-
date. He is stanch Democrat and has been one
of the leader of the party contingent in South
Dakota, during and since the campaign of i8g6.
While a resident of Yankton he served six years
as postmaster of the city, having been twice ap-
pointed to this office, and once removed because
of a change in the politics of the administration.
On the 2 1 St of June, 1874, in Janesville, Wis-
consin, Mr. Bowen Avas married to Miss Ella S.
Davis, daughter of Jerome Davis, a well-known
citizen of that place, and they have one son,
George H,, who is now a student in the Sioux
Falls high school.

j eye state from November, 1837. Mr. Alexander
was elected register of deeds of Campbell county
in 1884, and was elected as delegate to the con-
titutional convention held at Sioux Falls in 1885.
He was elected county judge on the admission of
the state of South Dakota into the Union in
1 889, and has the honor of being the first register
of deeds and county judge elected by the people
of this county. He was appointed chief of divi-
sion in the office of Indian affairs in Washington
and after holding that position for over a year
he resigned to take the position of special agent
of the general land office, and was assigned to
duty in Montana. He returned to Mound City
in 1902. In 1896 he was elected state's attorney
of Campbell county and held the position for
four years. Owing to a vacancy in that office he
has been appointed to fill the unexpired term,
and has been nominated for that position on the
Republican ticket and will be elected for a two-
years term. In politics Mr. Alexander is a Re-
publican and he has always taken a very active
part in building up his party.

FRANK ALEXANDER is one of the
pioneers of Campbell county. He settled at
Mound City in September, 1884, and with the
exception of the interval of a few yea-rs has re-
sided there to the present time. He was born in
Dubuque county, Iowa, and spent his early life
on a farm. His parents were among the pioneers
of Iowa and date their residence in the Hawk-

ROBERT C. HAWKINS, who stood as an
honored citizen of Sioux Falls from practically
the time of its inception to that of his death, and
who passed to his reward on the i6th of Septem-
ber, 1903, was born in Plattsburg, Clinton county.
New York, on the 23d of July. 1825, and was a
scion of colonial stock, while his parents were
numbered among the pioneers of the Empire
state, where he was reared to manhoorl and
where he received a common-school education
which he later effectively supplemented through
personal application and the valuable lessons of
experience. He acquired the trade of mason, to
which he gave his attention in his native state
until 1844, when he removed to Illinois, and
thence, a few years later, to Richland Center,
Richland county, Wisconsin, where he followed
his trade and also engaged in farming. He was
chairman of the township board of supervisors,
township clerk and treasurer, chairman of the
county Ijoard and justice of the peace, while he
was sheriff of the county for one term. A man

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of broad mental ken and decided views, it was
but natural that his intrinsic patriotism and loy-
alty should manifest themselves in a definite
way when the thundering- of rebel guns agaiu'^t
the ramparts of old Fort Sumter heralded the
opening of the Civil war. He raised the first
company of volunteers in Richland county, be-
ing made captain of the same, which became
Company H, Fifth Wisconsin Volunteer In-
fantry. He continued in active service with his
command for nearly two years when he received
his honorable discharge, owing to disabilities
resulting from his service in the field.

Soon after the close of the war Mr. Hawkins
removed to Woodstock, in the same county of
Richland, and was there engaged in the nurcan-
tile business until September, 1872, when he
came to the territory of Dakota and located in
Sioux Falls, where he was engaged in the work
of his trade for two or three months. Tn the
early winter he started to return to his home in
Wisconsin by way of St. Paul, and so s-.vere
were the snowstorms and so many the other ob-
stacles encountered that an entire week elapsed
ere he reached the city mentioned. In the
spring of the following year, in company with his
family, he returned to Sioux Falls, where he
ever afterward made his home. In the early
days he took up a homestead claim in Wayne
township, the same comprising the south half
of the southeast quarter of section 33, and the
south half of the southwest quarter of section
34, and this property he improved and retained
in his possession until his death. He followed
contracting in the line of his trade about
two years after his return to Sioux Falls.
He soon gained the confidence and esteem
of the people of the city, and became in-
fluential in public alTairs, having ever given a
stanch allegiance to the Republican party and
having been for a number of years an active po-
litical worker in a local way. In 1874 he was
elected justice of the peace and continued incum-
bent of that ofifice, with the exception of one
term, until he was elected police justice of the
city, upon its incorporation, in 1883. In the
latter ofiice he served consecutively until April,

1894, representing a full decade. He also held
the office of probate judge of Minnehaha county
for eight years, and in every office of trust to
which he was called he manifested the utmost
fidelity, honor and zeal, while his mature judg-
ment and strong individuality made him a power
for good in whatever work he undertook. He
was one of the prominent representatives of the
Masonic fraternity in the state, and did much to
forward the interests of the order in his hcime
city.

In 1843 ^Jtr. Hawkins was united in marriage
to Miss Ada Monroe, of Plattsburg, New York,
and they became the parents of three children,
Frederick B., who is now a resident of Sioux
Falls ; Albert, who resides in Sioux City, Iowa ;
and Isabel, who is the wife of George W. Clark,
of Pasco, Washington. Mrs. Hawkins was sum-
moned into eternal rest in 1869, and on the 23d
of December, 1872, at Alma, Wisconsin, was
solemnized his marriage to Miss Harriet Al-
bertson, who was born in Stroudsburg, Monroe
county, Pennsylvania, and she survives him and
still retains her residence in Sioux Falls, as did
also their only son, the late D.-. John R.. of
whom individual mention is made elsewhere in
this work. In religion Mr. Hawkins was a
Methodist.

Mr. Hawkins was the architect of his own
fortune, and upon his life rested no shadow of
wrong or. injustice while his kindly and genial
nature won him firni and abiding friendship, his
memory resting as a benediction upon all who
came within the immediate sphere of his in-
fluence.

I'T^ED LEWIS TIFFANY, one of the able
and popular young members of the bar of Wal-
worth county, and now incumbent of the office
of United States court commissioner for the
northern district of the state, was born in Mason
City. Cerro Gordo county, Iowa, on the 20th of
May. 1877, and is a son of David M. and Ad-
die R. Tiffany, the former of whom was born
in the state of New Y'ork and the latter in that of
New Hampshire, while they are now residents of

I750

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Mitchell, South Dakota, the father being a mer-
chant by vocation. The subject passed his boy-
hood days in his native town, where he com-
pleted the curriculum of the public schools, hav-
ing been graduated in the high school as a mem-
ber of the class of 1896. He then entered the
University of Minnesota in the city of Minneap-
olis, where he continued his studies in the aca-
demic department for two years and later com-
pleted the prescribed course in the law depart-
ment, in which he was graduated in June, 1901,
with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, being sim-
ultaneously admitted to the bar of the state, as
was he to that of South Dakota a short time af-
terward. In June of the same year he came to
Mitchell, this state, and there initiated the active
practice of his profession, remaining there until
March, 1902, when he located in Selby, Wal-
worth county, where he was engaged in practice
until June 16, 1903. when he was appointed to his
present office, by Judge J. H. Garland, of the
United States district court, and then removed to
Everts, where he has since given his attention
to his official duties, while he also continues the
practice of the law, in the minutiae of which he
is thoroughly well informed. In politics Mr.
Tiffany gives his allegiance to the Republican
party, and he takes a lively interest in the ques-
tions and issues of the hour. Fraternally he is
identified with the Masonic order, while he is
also affiliated with two college fraternities, the
Phi Kappa Psi and Phi Delta Phi.

On the 20th of May, 1902, was consummated
the marriage of Mr. Tiffany to Miss Florence
Gregory, who was born in Racine, Wisconsin, on
the loth of December, 1877, being a daughter of
William H. and Ellen R. Gregory, now residents
of Mitchell, South Dakota. Of this union has
been born a fine little son, Lewis Gregory Tif-
fany, who was ushered into the world on the
loth of April, 1903.

JOHN R. HAWKINS, M. D.. who was
summoned to the life eternal on the 3d of May,
1904, in the very flower of his manhood, was a
native of Sioux Falls and a son of one of its

honored pioneers, Robert C. Hawkins, to whom
a memorial tribute is accorded on other pages of
this volume. Dr. Hawkins was born in Sioux
Falls, on the loth of July, 1874, and was a son
of Robert C. and Harriett (Albertson) Hawk-
ins. He secured his early education in the public
schools and manifested from his boyhood a dis-
tinctive predilection for study. After complet-
ing a course in the local high school he entered
the University of Qiicago, where he continued
his studies for four years, at the expiration of
which he was matriculated in Rush Medical Col-
lege, in Chicago, where he completed the pre-
scribed technical course and was graduated as a
member of the class of 1900, receiving his degree
of Doctor of Medicine. Through his own ef-
forts he, to a large extent, paid the expenses of
his higher education, and in the few years of his
active professional work he had gained marked
prestige and distinction. Soon after his gradu-
ation he engaged in active practice in his native
city, making a specialty of the diseases of chil-
dren, and he gained a representative support and
a stronghold upon popular confidence and esteem,
as well as upon the high regard of his profes-
sional confreres. He was made major surgeon of
the Second Regiment of the South Dakota Na-
tional Guard, and recently promoted to surgeon
general with the rank of colonel, and held this of-
fice at the time of his demise, while he was a mem-
ber of the State Medical Society and secretary of
the Minnehaha County Medical Society, as well
as county coroner and medical counselor of the
ninth district when summoned from the sphere
of life's activities, having been incumbent of the
office of county coroner for three years. He was
deeply devoted to his profession and took a great
interest in all that tended to conserve its ad-
vancement. He was practically the originator
of the present medical laws of the stat«, having
expended much time, effort and money in pre-
paring the measure and urging its passage, the
enactment of the law having been made by the
last legislature. He was a Master Mason, being
identified with Minnehaha Lodge, No. 5, and
was a consistent and valued member of the
Methodist Episcopal church.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

On the 19th of June, 1900, was solemnized
the marriage of Dr. Hawkins to IMiss Alinnie
Edna Dull, of Freeport. Illinois, who survives
him.

ALBE HOLMES, superintendent of the
Two Johns mine, located at Crow Hill, Law-
rence county, comes of stanch old colonial stock,
and is himself a native of the far-distant Pine
Tree state, having been born in Belfast, Waldo
county, Maine, on the 13th of June, 1848, and
being a son of James and Hannah H. (Ward)
Holmes, who were likewise born and reared in
that county, both passing their entire lives in
Maine, where the father devoted his attention
to lumbering during his active business career.
The subject secured his early educational train-
ing in the common schools of his native place
and early began to assist his father in his lum-
bering operations. In i86g, upon attaining his
legal majority, he came west as a youthful pio-
neer. He made his way to Nevada, where he
was for a number of years employed in the great
Comstock mine. In 1876 he came to the Black
Hills, making the trip to Qieyenne, Wyoming,
from which point he came overland in a stage
coach, in company with ten other men, hiring a
team from one of the old-time pioneers, Tim
Dyer. This was the second stage to enter the
hills, and while the party were enroute a band
of one hundred and fifty Indians passed their
camp but gave them no trouble. They arrived
in what is now the town of Custer on the 24th
of ^larch, and after devoting a few weeks to
quartz prospecting Mr. Holmes started the first
express line between Gayville and Deadwood,
operating the same about six months, when he
sold out. He then resurhed prospecting, in which
line he met with varying success during the fol-
lowing years. In 1896 he located the property
now worked by the Spearfish Mining Company,
and he still retains an interest in this property,
which is a most promising one. In 1897 he was
appointed superintendent of the Two Johns mine,
named in honor of two well-known individuals
of national reputation, John W. Gates and John

A. Drake, the property being situated at Crow
Hill, nine miles distant from Deadwood.

In politics Mr. Holmes gives a stanch sup-
port to the Republican party, and he is a member
of the Business Men's Club, of Deadwood, being
also a member of its house committee, while he
also holds membership in the Mining Men's As-
sociation of the United States and the South
Dakota Pioneer Society, as well as the time-hon-
ored Masonic fraternity, in which he has risen to
the thirty-second degree of the Ancient Accepted
Scottish Rite, while he also holds membership
in the adjunct organization, the Ancient Arabic
Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

On the 3d of April, 1886, Mr. Holmes was
united in marriage to Miss Ellen V. Himes, who
was born and reared in Pennsvlvania.

DWIGHT GERARD HOLBROOK, of

Sioux Falls, -who is manager for South Dakota
for the Mutual Life Insurance Company, of
New York, is a native of Windsor Locks, Hart-
ford county, Connecticut, where he was born
en the 27th of July, 1867, being a son of Dwight
and Kalista (Thayer) Holbrook, both scions of
prominent families of New England, where the
father was an inventor and a manufacturer of
scientific and school apparatus, his birth having
occurred in Derby, Connecticut. Tie died in
1 891, and his wife resides in New York state.
The subject of this sketch is of the seventh
generation in direct line of descent from John
Holbrook, who immigrated from Derby, Eng-
land, and settled at Oyster Bay, Long Island, in
the early part of the seventeenth century. His
son Abel was the first white child born at Oyster
Bay, the date of his nativity having been 1653.
Several of the descendants of the original Amer-
ican ancestors were valiant soldiers in the Con-
tinental line during the war of the Revolution.
On the maternal side the subject is descended
from Richard Thayer, who settled in Braintree,
Massachusetts, in 1640; Henry Adams, who was
born in 1626 ; John Alden and his wife, Priscilla ;
William White, of the "Mayflower" ; and in the
fourth generation from Rev. Joseph Thaxter,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

who was commissioned by the "council of the Col-
ony of the Massachusetts Bay," on the 23d of
January, 1776, as "chaplain of the regiment
whereof John Robertson, Esq., is colonel," and
who carried a musket at the battles of Concord
Bridge, Lexington and Bunker Hill. In 1825 Rev.
Joseph Thaxter conducted the religious service
at the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker Hill
monument. His commission as chaplain is now
in the possession of his great-granddaughter, the
mother of him whose name initiates this resume.
As to the genealogy of the Holbrook family spe-
cific reference is made in the following named
historical publications : American Ancestry, vol-
ume I, page 38, and volume VH, page 6; Aus-
tin's Ancestral Dictionary, page 27, also allied
families, pages 131-3; Dodd's History of East
Haven, Connecticut, page 129; Orcutt's History
of Derby, pages 729-31 ; and Vinton's Genealogy,
pages 185-8 and 330-40. Of the Thayer and
Thaxter families mention is made in detail in
Massachusetts Historical Society, volume XVH,
page 280 ; in the Records of the Town of Brain-
tree, 1640-73; and in East Anglia, volume HI,
page 35 ; while of the Adams, Alden and White
families, record appears in Savage's Genealogical
Dictionary.

Dwight G. Holbrook received his early edu-
cational discipline principally in private schools
in his native state, where he was prepared for
college. He, however, decided to enter business
life, in 1884, rather than to continue a burden
upon a mother whose courage, business sagacity,
self-abnegation and unqualified devotion had
hitherto given him ample opportunities. After
nine months of clerical service in the passenger
department of the New York Central Railroad,
he resigned, in October, 1884, to become a clerk
in the actuary's department of the Mutual Life
Insurance Company of New York, winning ad-
vancement through his fidelity, discrimination
and marked executive ability, and being made
private secretary to the vice-president of the com-
pany in 1889, while in 1893 he was given his
present important preferment as general agent
for the Dakotas, in which capacity he has ac-
complished a great work in the interests of a

great company, manoeuvreing his forces with
consummate skill and distinctive initiative and
administrative force, and thus bringing much
prestige to this old, reliable and well-known in-
surance corporation. He is a Republican in his
political proclivities, but has never desired office.
Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of
Pythias, and the Masonic order, in which latter
he is affiliated with Minnehaha Lodge, No. i.
Free and Accepted Masons ; Sioux Falls Chap-
ter, No. 2, Royal Arch Masons ; Cyrene Com-
mandery. No. 2, Knights Templar; and Oriental
Consistory, No. i, Ancient Accepted Scottish
Rite.

In the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, on the
14th of July, 1898, Mr. Holbrook was united in
marriage to Miss Charlotte B. Long, daughter
of Joseph D. Long, and of this union have been
born two children, namely : Robert Dwight,
June 7. 1899, and Darwin Long, July 5, 1903.

JOHN L. W. ZIETLOVV, who is president
of the Dakota Central Telephone Company, with
headquarters in the city of Aberdeen, is a native
of Prussia, where he was born on the 8th of
December, 1850, and where he was reared to the
age of seventeen years, having received his edu-
cation in the excellent national schools of his
native land. In 1867 he immigrated to the
United States, having previously learned the
watchmaker's trade in Prussia. He made his
way to Wisconsin, and there sought such em-
ployment as caine to his notice. He worked on
a farm a time and later was employed in a ma-
chine shop and in sawmills. In 1873, while
working in a sawmill, he had the misfortune to
meet with an accident of most deplorable nature,
having his right arm severed above the elbow.
By the time he had recovered from his injury, so
far as may be, he found himself almost penniless,
but the same courage and self-reliance which
have brought to him success in later years stood
him well in hand at that critical period. He
went to Naperville, Illinois, and there succeeded
in completing a course in a commercial college.
Thereafter he secured a position as scaler in a

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

sawmill, while later he secured clerical work in
an office in Stillwater, Minnesota. In March,
1880, Mr. Zietlow came to what is now the state
of South Dakota, and took up a homestead claim
in Spink county, where he turned his attention to
farming and the implement business, but his
crops failed six years in succession, a fact which
led him eventually to identify himself with the
telephone business. Being a superior mechanic
and having made particular study of applied elec-
tricity, he has been able to direct his efforts with
consummate ability and success.

It may be said that while residing in Min-
nesota the subject»had read a glowing description
of the attractions of the James river valley in
South Dakota, and later he was visited by a man
who purposed bringing a colony to this section.
A church meeting was held and this promoter
prefaced his exhortations by a long prayer, after
which he expatiated on his plans and on the great
future in store for the section in which he was
interested. Mr. Zietlow determined to investi-
gate matters for himself, and, in company with
a friend, he came to Watertown, then tlie ter-
minus of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad,
and thence, in the teeth of a fierce blizzard, made
his way to the promoter's vaunted city of Ash-
ton, which he found to be comprised of one
shanty and a sod house. He took up a home-
stead claim, which proved to be near Athol, and
then returned to Minnesota. On account of
being caught in a blizzard in the fall of 1880,
while on his way to his claim, he practically de-
cided to abandon the property, when an offer of
fifty dollars was made him for this tree claim
adjoining Athol, which was beginning to show
signs of growth, and which within six months
was increased to the amount of twenty-three
hundred dollars, he decided to once more come
and "see what was doing." He found fourteen
stores and two hotel buildings in the course of
erection in the town, and that the railroad com-
pany had designated the same as a station on its
line, while town lots were being platted beyond
his claim. He refused eleven thousand dollars
for his property and the town continued to boom
for two years, within which time he platted his

land, selling one lot. Other towns grew up as
if by magic, and in time Athol's fortunes lan-
guished and it became practically but a memory.
Within the limitations necessarily prescribed
for an article of this nature it is impossible to
enter into details as to the gradual upbuilding
of the great telephone enterprises in ■ which the
subject of this sketch is so prominently con-
cerned, and yet it is but consistent that an outline
be entered. In October, 1886, the Dakota Emner
Telephone Company was organized, the promoter
having been the subject of this sketch, who was
one of the seven stockholders and incorporators.
This company establishes exchanges in Aberdeen,
Watertown and Columbia, and also connected
Aberdeen with Groton and Columbia by long-
distance telephone during the winter of 1886-87,
while the local exchanges in Aberdeen and Wa-
tertown were later sold to local companies. With-
in one year after the establishment of the business
the Bell Company attempted to close the ex-
changes on account of infringements of patents,
and, fearing litigation, all of the exchanges men-
tioned were closed with the exception of those
in Aberdeen and Watertown, to which Mr.
Zietlow gave his personal attention. He carried
on the work against the wishes of the Bell Com-
pany, though he was simply working on a salary
at the time and the struggle was a strenuous and
bitter one. From 1887 to 1894 it was under these
adverse conditions the two exchanges mentioned
were kept in operation by the use of such appli-
ances as Mr. Zietlow could secure by personal ef-
fort. He familiarized himself with the old Reis
apparatus, which had been invented only for the
reproduction of musical tones, and by personal
manipulation and improvement he succeeded in
making the device available for conversational
purposes, and during this time he discovered and
brought out several inventions which have proved
to be very important to practical telephone serv-
ice. Before the expiration of the Bell patents the
other persons interested in the local service had
become discouraged, and in April, 1896, Mr. Ziet-
low concluded to attempt individually what the
company had originally intended to accomplish.
He constructed the line from Aberdeen to Red-

'754

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

field, and then found himself six thousand dollars
in debt and with a cash capital of but one dollar
and a half. The line was constructed through
the efforts of himself and his son, with the assist-
ance of a kindly disposed friend, and the subject's
wife and daughters attended to the operation of
- the exchange while he was thus engaged in build-
ing the new line. From this time forward suc-
cess has crowned his efforts and justified his de-
termination and courage. The line became very
popular, particularly during the hard winter of
1896, when communication by other means was
cut off. In the time of the great floods of the
following spring, when telegraph and railroad
service came to a standstill, he kept his line in
operation to Redfield, fording the streams to make
the necessary repairs, and on account of no other
line of communication being open, it paid some
days as high as seventy and eighty dollars. After
he had constructed three hundred miles of line,
Mr. Zietlovv organized and incorporated the West-
ern Dakota Telephone Company and also the Cen-
tral Dakota Telephone Company. The Dakota
Central absorbed the Clark Telephone and the
Midland line, of North Dakota, the Western Da-
kota and Central Dakota Telephone Companies
as well as the Aberdeen. Watertown and other
local exchanges. Mr. Zietlow is still one of the
principal stockholders and an officer in each of
these companies, whose aggregate capitalization
is five hundred thousand dollars, which fact in-
dicates the extent and importance of the service
given and the business controlled. The Dakota
Central Telephone Lines, of which he is president,
represents one of the most profitable enterprises
of the sort in existence and still gives its service
at minimum rates to patrons. It now has a four-
thousand-mile circuit, with four hundred offices,
fifty of which are local exchanges, while seventy-
five persons are represented on the regular pay
roll, besides the construction gangs and agents,
the latter being on commission basis. In 1903 the
company expended one hundred and thirty thou-
sand dollars in improvements, and the average
annual revenue has reached fifty thousand dollars,
the estimate for 1904 being one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars. It mav be said without fear of

contradiction, that the service accorded to pa-
trons is cheaper than that of any other telephone
company in the Union doing a legitimate busi-
ness. The net profit on each twenty-five cent
message is only four and a half cents. The com-
pany has no indebtedness and the stock is all held
by residents of South Dakota.

In politics Mr. Zietlow is a Republican, his
religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and fraternally he is identified with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Knights
of the Maccabees and the United Commercial
Travelers.

At Newton, Wisconsin, on the 4th of March,
1878, Mr. Zietlow was married to Miss Martha
Hewitt, who was born in Ohio and reared in Wis-
consin, and who has proved an able coadjutor to
her husband in his past struggles and at all times
a wise counselor. They have three children : J.
Forrest, who is superintendent of the system here
described, having grown up with the business ;
Essie, who is a graduate of the high school and
who has been employed in the office of the tele-
phone companies since she was ten years of age,
and Nina, who aided in the work as a child and
contributed her quota to the building of the great
enterprises of which her father is the head ; in
fact she states that as a child she was a "mes-
senger boy." She is a graduate of the Aberdeen
high school, the Aberdeen Normal School, and is
now a student of the Chicago Musical College.

FRED W. SCHAMBER, one of the leading
business men of Eureka, McPherson county, was
born in Krem, South Russia, on the 13th of De-
cember, i860, and is a son of Martin Schamber,
who was likewise born and reared in that local-
ity, the family having been established in south-
ern Russia during the time when Catherine was
czarina. She was a German and induced many
of her countrymen to locate in Russia, giving
them grants of land and exempting them and
their descendants from military service for a pe-
riod of one hundred years. The expiration of
this period, a few years ago, doubtless led to the
emigration of many of these worthy Russo-Ger-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

mans to America, and South Dakota is favored
in having gained a large relative contingent of
excellent citizens through this means, among
them being the members of the Schamber family.
In 1874 Martin Schamber came with his fam-
ily to America, landing in New York city on the
13th of August, and thence coming through to
what is now the state of South Dakota. He ar-
rived with his family in Yankton in August of
that year, and soon afterward located on a farm
in Yankton county, and theer improved an ex-
cellent property. In 1881 he engaged in the
hardware and implement business at Scotland,
Bon Homme coimty, being associated in the en-
terprise with Messrs. Wentzloff and Max, and
after about one year he disposed of his interests
there and returned to the farm, where he re-
mained until 1885, when he again engaged in
the hardware and farming implement business in
Scotland, where he continued operations until

1892, when he sold out and engaged in the lum-
ber business. His devoted wife died August 29,

1893, her maiden name having been Friedericka
Alueller, and in the following year he disposed
of his lumber business and removed to the state
of Virginia, where he passed three years, since
which time he has maintained his home in Scot-
land, South Dakota. He served for eight years
as a member of the board of county commission-
ers of Hutchinson county, and has been incum-
bent of other offices of local trust.

Fred W. Schamber secured his rudimentary
education in his native land, having been a lad
of about fourteen years at the time of the fam-
ily immigration to the United States. His fa-
ther is a man of distinctive scholastic ability and
had been a successful school teacher in Russia,
so that after coming to South Dakota in the pio-
neer days, when educational advantages were
chiefly notable for their absence, he was enabled
to aid his children in carrying forward their
studies, and through this effective home disci-
pline the subject of this sketch rounded out his
education. He remained associated with his fa-
ther until 1884, when he became identified with
the clothing business in Scotland, Bon Homme
countv. thus continuing until 1887. when he lo-

cated in the village of Tripp, Hutchinson county,
where he was successfully engaged in the hard-
ware and agricultural implement business until
1889, when he disposed of his interests there and
took up his residence in Eureka, McPherson
county, where, in company with his brothers
Julius, Emil and Philip, he established himself
in the same line of enterprise. In 1897 • Emil
and Philip withdrew from the firm and were suc-
ceeded by Christopher Hezel and Milburn Mat-
thews and the new firm then opened the Eureka
Bazaar. In the following year Mr. Matthews
withdrew from the firm, and in January, 1904,
Mr. Hezel retired, since which time the enter-
prise has been conducted by the subject and his
brother Julius, while their establishment is a
large and well-equipped department store, while
the trade controlled is a representative one and
wide in its ramifications. Julius Schamber is the
active manager of this business, and with the
subject is also associated in the ownership of the
Golden Rule store, of which Mr. Hezel is man-
ager and also a partner. The subject of this re-
view now devotes the major portion of his time
to his collection and loan business, having at-
tractive offices in the building of the Bank of
Eureka. In comjoany with his brother Julius and
Isadore Seitzick and W. G. Jacobs, Mr. Scham-
ber is engaged in the manufacture of ladies'
wrappers, the factory being in Millville, New
Jersey, and the enterprise proving a profitable
one. its inception dating back to July, 1903,
while all of the interested principals are resi-
dents of South Dakota. The subject and his
brothers are the owners of a large amount of
valuable real estate in McPherson county, in-
cluding two thousand acres of valuable farming
land, all of which is under cultivation or utilized
for grazing purposes, while each of the brothers
is the owner of a modern residence and has been
successful in his business operations.

In politics Mr. Schamber gives his allegiance
to the Republican party, and he has ever shown
a deep interest in all that concerns the general
welfare and progress. He served for two terms
as justice of the peace, in 1892 was elected to
represent McPherson county in the state legisla-

1/5^'

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ture, while in 1898 he was elected to represent
his district in the state senate, making an excel-
lent record in both assemblies and proving him-
self a valuable working member of both bodies
of the legislature. In 1899 he was chosen the
chief executive of the municipal government of
Eureka, serving as its mayor for two years and
giving a business-like and progressive adminis-
tration.

On the 13th of December, 1885, Mr. Scham-
ber was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Hetz-
ler, who was born in Missouri, being a daughter
of Rev. Heinrich Hetzler, who was numbered
among the pioneers of South Dakota. Mr. and
Mrs. Schamber have two children, Edwin and
Arthur.

• BURN ACE W. BAER, senior member of
the firm of Baer & Brewster, who conduct a
successful abstract and real-estate business in
Woonsocket. Sanborn county, is a native of the
state of Iowa, having been born in Ash Grove.
Davis county, on the 4th of February, 1877, and
being a son of William R. and Alice (Wonn)
Baer. The subject secured his preliminary edu-
cational discipline in the public schools of his
native town, and then entered the high school at
Harlan, Iowa, where he was graduated as a
member of the class of 1895. Soon afterward
he was matriculated in the Southern Iowa Nor-
mal School at Bloomfield, that state, where he
completed a course of study and was graduated
in 1896. Upon leaving the normal school he
began reading law under the preceptorship of
Thomas H. Smith, of Harlan, continuing his
technical studies under these auspices for two
years. He then entered the law department of
the Iowa State University, at Iowa City, and
was there graduated as a member of the class
of 1900, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws,
while he was simultaneously admitted to the
bar of his native state. In February, 1901, Mr.
Baer came to South Dakota and took" up his
residence in Woonsocket, where he has since
been engaged in the practice of his profession.
In 1902 he entered into partnership with Del-

mar H. Brewster, and they have since conducted
a general real-estate and abstract business, the
firm name being Baer & Brewster. In politics
the subject is a stanch adherent of the Repub-
lican party and is an enthusiastic advocate of its
principles and policies. In 1902 he was elected
to the office of state's attorney of Sanborn
county, and has proved a most able public prose-
cutor, so that it is most certain that he will be
chosen as his own successor in the election of
November, 1904. In a fraternal way he is
identified with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows.

On the I St of June, 1904, Mr. Baer was
united in marriage to Miss Blanche E. Smith,
daughter of Ellis M. Smith, who is a prominent
and influential citizen of Woonsocket, where he
is engaged in the drug business.

GEORGE J. J.ARVIS. of Faulkton, South
Dakota, is a native of Ohio, having been born
at Columbus, March 26, 1843. He is the son
of George and Sarah Jarvis, the former of wl:om
was born at Staffordshire, England, and the
later at Broekelhurst. Sheffield, England. The
paternal grandparents were William B. and
Mary (Green) Jarvis. the former a native of
Wales and the latter of Birmingham, England.
The subject's grandparents on both the paternal
and maternal sides came to America early in ■
1830. The subject was not favored with special
advantages for securing an education in his
youth, and as a consequence is practically self-
educated. May 17, 1849, the subject accom-
panied his parents upon their removal to Wis-
consin, the trip being made in a "prairie
schooner." so much used by emigrants in those
days. In the winter of 185 1-2 they returned to
Ohio, but in April, 1856, they went to Richland
county, Wisconsin. On July 26, 1863, Mr.
Jarvis enlisted in the Third Battery, Wisconsin
Light Artillery, at Madison, Wisconsin, with
which he served until October 15. 1864. Since
becoming of age Mr. Jarvis has conducted busi-
ness on his own account. He was in the milling
business, in which he was fairly successful, and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1757

at the same time he also met with several severe
reverses, having the mill once burned clown and
once destroyed by flood. He subsequently
turned his attention to the study of law and
was adniitled to the bar at Richland Center,
AMsconsin, in April. 1875. He came to his
present location in South Dakota on August 2,
1883, and has since been actively engaged in
the practice of his profession, having attained
an enviable standing among his fellow mem-
bers of the bar and the public generally. The
only official position he has ever held is that of
judge of the courts of Faulk county, in which
position he is now serving, to the satisfaction
of all having business in the court and with
great credit to himself. The Judge has always
taken an active interest in politics and was for-
merly a stanch abolitionist, and since the for-
mation of the Republican party he has exerted
his influence in its behalf. He is also engaged in
farming to some extent an.d has made of this
a success in an eminent degree. He maintains
a deep interest in his old comrades by member-
ship in the Grand Army of the Republic.

Judge Jarvis was united in marriage to Miss
Diantha M. Nichols, a native of Somerset, Ohio,
and to them have been born the following chil-
dren: Nellie A., born April 26, 1866; George L.,
October 2, 1867: Harry J.. April 24, 1869; Fred
W., May 14, 1872; S. Belle. December 2, 1874.

EUGENE E. RING, president of the
Bowdle Roller Company, merchant millers, was
born at Owatonna, Minnesota, August 27, 1864,
the son of Nathaniel and Mary (Wheeler) Ring.
The parents were natives of Maine and Ver-
mont, respectively. They were pioneers of Min-
nesota and South Dakota, coming to this state in
1884 and locating in Potter county, where the
father took up land and farmed. He removed
to Bowdle in 1903. He is now in his sixty-
eighth year, while his wife is fifty-eight years old.
Both are members of the Free Methodist church.

The subject was reared to manhood in Min-
nesota, where he attended the country schools
and also an academy, finishing his education

with a course at a commercial college. He came
to South Dakota in 1885 and took up land in
Potter county, where he farmed for twelve years.
He then located at Bowdle, where he became
interested in an electric light plant which had
been incorporated by other parties. In 1900 he
engaged in the milling business, he and his
brother, Simon C. A., purchasing a half interest
in the Bowdle Roller Company, which had been
incorporated in 1897, combinin.g the two cor-
porations together. In 1902 the brothers bought
sixty-six out of one hundred shares of the mill
stock, thus securing a controlling interest, and
they reorganized the company, with the subject
as president. The plant has a capacity of one
hundred and forty barrels daily, and the com-
pany also ships from one hundred thousand to
one hundred and sixty thousand bushels of
wheat annually. The nominal value of the plant
and mill is thirty thousand dollars.

Mr. Ring married Miss Jennie Z. Wilson,
who was born at Owatonna, Minnesota, the
daughter of Charles and Zettela (Thompson^)
Wilson, now deceased. Their children are as fol-
lows: Mabel F., Eunice C, Lois A. and Lucile
Z. Mr. Ring is a Republican in politics ; in re-
ligion is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and fraternally is affiliated with the
Knights of the Maccabees, carrying life insur-
ance in the same, also in several old line com-
panies.

JOHN R. WEAVER, a successful merchant
and representative citizen of Claremont, Brown
county, was born at Eureka, Montcalm county,
Michigan, on the 29th of December, 1858, and
is a son of Benjamin A. and Betsy (Clark)
Weaver, both of whom were born and reared in
the state of New York, the former having been
a son of Aaron Weaver, who was a native of
Rhode Island. The last mentioned was a son of
John Weaver, who was likewise born in Rhode
Island and who married a Miss Chase, whose
original ancestor in America was one of two
brothers who came over in the historic May-
flower, while their sister remained in England

1758

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

and became the wife of Sir John Townsend.
Representatives of the Chase family were val-
iant soldiers in the Continental line during the
war of the Revolution, and through their thus
giving allegiance to the colonial cause they sac-
rificed a large estate in England. The paternal |
grandfather of the subject continued to reside
in Troy, New York, until 1845, when he re-
moved to Michigan and became one of the pio-
neers of Ionia county, where he passed the resi-
due of his life. The father of the subject be-
came the owner of a farm in Montcalm county,
that state, where he remained until 1859, when
he then removed to Ionia county, same state, then
removed to Stearns county, Minnesota, being one
of the pioneers of that section of the state. They
passed on their way only three miles distant from
the point the memorable Indian massacre at New
Ulm, he and his family fortunately being unmo-
lested. For a quarter of a century he resided in
the city of Chicago, where he was a prominent
contractor and builder, finally meeting with an
accident which compelled him to retire from ac-
tive labors. He is now living in the home of the
subject, being seventy-four years of age at the
time of this writing. His present wife is 'living
with a daughter in Chicago. They became the
parents of four children, all of whom are living.
The subject's mother died in July, 1861 ; she
was the mother of four children, three of whom
are dead.

John R. Weaver, the immediate subject of
this review, passed his school days in Michigan,
and as his mother died when he was but eighteen
months of age he was reared in the home of his
paternal grandfather, with whom he remained
until the spring of 1885, when he came to Brown
county. South Dakota, and located in Detroit
township, where he took up government land
and engaged in farming. Two years later, upon
the completion of the line of the Great Northern
Railroad through this section, he engaged in the
draying and freighting business, in which line
he continued operations one year, at the expira-
tion of which he established himself in business
in Claremont, where for the ensuing decade he
conducted a lumber vard and also dealt in coal

and farming machinery and implements, build-
ing up a most prosperous enterprise. In 1899 he
disposed of his business and purchased a farm
southeast of the town, where he established the
family home, and thereafter he was engaged as
traveling representative for the Piano Alanufac-
turing Company until March, 1904, when he en-
tered into partnership with his brother, James
A., and became associated with him in the car-
rying on of the general merchandise business
which the latter had established in Claremont in
the preceding September, and the enterprise has
been since conducted under the firm name of
Weaver Brothers. They carry a large and com-
plete stock of general merchandise and also han-
dle farming machinery and implements, and their
trade has been most satisfactory from the start
and is constantly increasing in scope and im-
portance. It may be noted in the connection that
our subject's brother and partner was the first
white child born on the Indian reservation across
the river from Sauk Center, Minnesota, and is
the offspring of the second marriage of their
father. He came to South Dakota in the au-
tumn of 1903. In politics the subject is a stanch
Republican, and fraternally is a member of the
Masonic order, in which he has passed the ca-
pitular degree, and also of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, the Modern Woodmen of
America and the Knights of the Maccabees."

On the 31st of December, 1878, Mr. Weaver
was married to Miss Janett Cole, who was born
in Eureka, Montcalm county, Michigan, being a
daughter of Leander T. and Sarah J. Cole, who
were numbered among the pioneers of Brown
county. South Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver
have two children, Clarence J., who has charge
of our subject's farm, previously mentioned,
and Maud J., who is the wife of I\I. Hugh
Miller, a successful young farmer of this county.

JOHN J. FENELOX is a native of the state
of Wisconsin, having been born on a farm in
the vicinity of the city of Brandon, Fond du
Lac county, on the 20th of June, 1861, and l)eing
a son of William and Catherine ( Fitzpatrick)

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1759

Feuelon, both of whom were born in Connty
Carlow, Ireland, where their respective faniiHes
had been estabHshed for many generations. Both
the paternal and maternal grandfathers of the
subject emigrated from the Emerald Isle to
America in 1850, and both settled in Wisconsin,
where they became successful farmers and
where they passed the remainder of their lives.
The parents of the subject are still residents of
Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin. Of the six
children in the family, John J- was the second
in order of birth, while of the number five arc
living.

John J. Fenelon passed his boyhood, days on
the old homestead farm, and after completing
the curriculum of the public schools, including
the high school, in which he was graduated, he
entered Ripon College, Ripon, Wisconsin, and
there continued his studies for two years. In
1885 he came to the present state of South Da-
kota, and located in Campbell county, taking up
a homestead seven miles southeast of the vil-
lage of Pollock and being one of the earliest
settlers in this section. He still owns the home-
stead mentioned. In 1892 he was elected to rep-
resent his district in the state legislature, and in
1894 was elected county treasurer, being chosen
as his own successor in the latter office in 1896.
He made Mound City, the county seat, his head-
quarters until 1901, in the autumn of which year
he came to the newly established town of Pollock,
moving his house from Mound City, and as this
was the first house in Pollock he may well be
said to be in a significant sense one of the found-
ers and builders of the town. He had previously
effected the organization of the bank, under the
title of the Pollock State Bank, and on the 9th
of November, 1901, the bank established was
formally opened for business in its present lo:a-
tion. The enterprise has proved successful, the
subject acting as cashier of the same. Mr. Fene-
lon is associated with his brother, William, in
the ownership of a large farm south of Pollock,
and they are also largely concerned in the rais-
ing of live stock. In politics the subject is a
stanch Democrat, and takes an active interest in
the furtherance of the party cause.

On the 9th of November, 1899, Mr. Fenelon
was united in marriage to Miss Flora E. Irwin,
who was born and reared in Wisconsin, of which
state her parents were pioneers. Of this union
have been born two children, Irwin and
Katherine.

GEORGE SMITH HUTCHINSON, pres-
ident of the. James Valley Bank, at Huron, is a
native of the old Empire state, having been born
in Pike, Wyoming county, New York, on the
5th of December, 1853, and being a son of
George and Angeline A. (Smith) Hutchinson,
who removed to the state of Wisconsin when he
was about nine years of age, locating in Manito-
woc, wdiere he secured his early educational
training in the public schools, later continuing
his studies in Milwaukee, Madison and Durand,
that state, and receiving good advantages in the
line. On the ist of November, 1872, Mr. Hutch-
inson located in West Depere, Brown county,
Wisconsin, where he secured a position as clerk
in a general merchandise establishment, eventu-
ally securing an interest in the business, with
which he continued to be identified until 1887,
when he sold out his interest. In November of
that year he entered the employ of the exten-
sive wholesale grocery house of Reid, Murdoch
& Company, of Chicago, in the capacity of trav-
eling salesman, and on the i6th of July, 1889, he
came to South Dakota as representative of this
concern in the state, with headquarters in Huron.
Fie continued with the firm until May i, 1902,
when he resigned his position and forthwith ef-
fected the organization of the James Valley Bank,
which was incorporated under the laws of the
state on the 15th of that month, with a capital
stock of thirty thousand dollars. He has been
president of the institution from the time of its
organization and has directed its affairs with
consummate judgment and ability.

Mr. Hutchinson is a stanch Republican in
his political proclivities and has been an active
worker in its cause, in a local way. The hold
which Mr. Hutchinson has upon the esteem and
regard of the people of Huron has been given

1760

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

significant evidence, since in 1896 he was chosen
mayor of the same, serving two years and giving
a clean, capable and business-lil<e administration
of municipal affairs. He has been a member of
the board of education since 1898 and in the
connection his interest has been far removed
from the apathetic and perfunctory. In 1902
still higher official preferment was conferred
upon our subject, who was then elected to repre-
sent his district in the lower house of the state
legislature, where he made an enviable record
during the 1902-3 general assembly, while he is
a candidate for state senatorial honors in the
forthcoming election of November, 1904. He
is a Knight-Templar Mason and is also affiliated
with the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of
the Mystic Shrine.

On the 23d of July, 1884, Mr. Hutchinson
was united in marriage to Miss Agnes J. Per-
sons, of Brodhead, Wisconsin, and they have
three children, Harry T., Augusta Jean and
George.

REV. CALVIN H. FRENCH, A. M., D. D.^
is a native of the old Buckeye state, having been
born in Wellsville. Columbiana county, Ohio,
on the 13th of June, 1862, and being a son of
Rev. Charles P. and Mary J. (Brown) French.
His father, after serving as pastor of home mis-
sion churches in N'irginia and spending some
time in broken health at his own home in Wash-
ington county, Pennsylvania, removed to Grand
Ridge, LaSalle county, Illinois, when the sub-
ject was eight years of age. He there secured
his early educational discipline in the public
schools and later entered the high school at
Streator, that state, where he was -gTadualed as
a member of the class of 1883. He was then
matriculated in Lake Forest University, in the
town of that name, and there completed the
classical course and was graduated in 1888, with
the degree of Bachelor of Arts, while his alma
mater later conferred upon him the degree of
Master of Arts. Dr. French early decided to
prepare himself for the ministry of the Presby-
terian church, and in 1888 entered the LTnion 1

Theological Seminary, in New York city, where
he completed his divinity course, being graduated
as a member of the class of 1891 and licensed by
the presbytery of Chicago in June of that year.
In the autumn of the same year Dr. French came
to South Dakota and was ordained by the pres-
bytery of Southern Dakota and installed as pastor
of the Presbyterian church at Scotland, Bon
Homme county, where he remained until August,
1898, having also acted as principal of the Scot-
land Academy, a church institution, during the
last year of his pastorate. In the year mentioned
was eft'ected a consolidation of Scotland
Academy and Pierre LTniversity, and the outcome
was the founding of Huron College. L^pon the
establishing of the new college Dr. French was
made president of the same, and he has ever
since continued incumbent of this important exec-
utive office, in which his work has been a noble
and prolific contribution to the educational pres-
tige of the state. In recognition of his high in-
tellectual attainments and his prominence as an
educator and representative member of the clergy
of the Presbyterian church, the Wooster Uni-
versity, at Wooster, Ohio, conferred rpon him,
in igoi, the degree of Doctor of Divinity. In
politics the Doctor gives his allegiance to the
Republican party, and he ever manifests a lively
interest in the questions and issues of the hour.

On the 17th of July, 1897, was solemnized
the marriage of Dr. French to ]\Iiss Anna E.
Long, of College Springs, Page county. Iowa,
and they have two sons, Robert C. and Ralph V.

From the bulletin of Huron College for
1904-5 we make the following historical excerpt:
"The presbytery of Southern Dakota established
Pierre University in 1883. The synod of Da-
kota was established in October, 1884, by order
of the general assembly and assumed control of
the college. With the division of the territory
and the admission of the two states, the name
of the controlling body was again changed, be-
coming now the synod of South Dakota. This
was the name of both the ecclesiastical body and
of the legal corporation until January, 1904,
when the articles were amended and the corpo-
rate name of the institution changed to Huron

EEV. CALVm H. FRENCH.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[761

College. Rev. Thomas M. Findley became the
iirst president, serving two years. In 1885 ^^'^'■
William M. Blackburn, D. D., LL. D., succeeded
to the presidency and continued in office until
August, 1898. During these fifteen years the
college did a noble and far-reaching work. It
aided in the classical training of twenty-nine
young men for the gospel ministry, two of whom
are now missionaries in distant foreign lands,
^lany more became teachers, while hundreds
were sent out to become centers of helpful and
uplifting influence in almost as many different
communities. Scotland Academy was established
by the presbytery of Southern Dakota in 1886.
Of its students seven have entered the ministry,
while more than eighty are known to have l)c-
come teachers. Owing to unforeseen changes in
the development of the state, the synod deemed
it necessary to remove the college from Pierre.
With the purpose of obtaining greater efficiency
in the educational work of the church in this
state, it was determined to consolidate the col-
lege and academy. Action to this end was taken
at a special meeting of the s_vnod held at Huron
on June 2-3, 1898. The people of Huron, by
public subscription, raised a sufficient amount of
money to purchase and fit up a large and sub-
stantial four-story building, costing, at the time
of erection, fifty thousand dollars. On account
of advancing years and failing health Dr. Black-
burn resigned the presidency in the summer of
i8g8. but remained in the faculty as president
emeritus and professor until his death, in De-
cember, 1898. The college will long bear the
impress of his life, and its growth and usefulness
will be a lasting monument to his noble self-
sacrifice in its behalf. Rev. C. H. French be-
came president of the college in August, 1898,
and at once began the work of reorganizing and
rebuilding on the new foundations. During the
summer of 1902 a new impulse was given to the
development of the college by the beginning of
an effort to secure money for buildings and en-
dowment. The Chicago & Northwestern Rail-
way Company offered to donate for a campus
four blocks of ground admirably located in the
residence portion of the city. Subscriptions were

taken in South Dakota and help was obtained
from friends in the East. On December 31,
1903, a total sum of one hundred thousand dol-
lars had been given or subscribed, of which
thirty thousand or more will be available for
use during the present summer (that of 1904).
With this amount the new dormitory for girls
will be completed and an artesian well will be
secured and a central heating and lighting plant
will be installed. The college is under the man-
agement of the Presbyterian synod of South D:i-
kota. The synod elects the trustees, who are
divided into three classes and serve three years
each. They must not be less than five nor
more than twenty-four in number, and two-thirds
of them must be members of the Presbyterian
church. This board of trustees appoints the
faculty and administers all the affairs of the
school."

It may be further said that the college is
Presbyterian, but not sectarian, and that its
curriculum and facilities are of the best, while its
faculty has been selected with the utmost of dis-
crimination. An excellent library and museum
are maintained, a college paper published^ and the
student life is of enthusiastic and appreciative
type. Four courses are offered in the college,
leading up to the degree of Bachelor and Mas-
ter of Arts, while there are also musical,
academic, normal and commercial departments,
each equipped for most effective work. The
financial budget of the institution has increased
from eight thousand dollars, in 1898-9, to
eighteen thousand five hundred dollars in 1904.
An endowment and building fund of one hun-
dred thousand dollars was secured December 31,
1903. The building now occupied is valued at
about twenty-five thousand dollars ; the dormi-
tory and heating and lighting plant, completed in
the summer of 1904, represent an expenditure of
thirty-five thousand dollars, and the campus,
given by the railway company, on the ist of Sep-
tember, 1904, is valued at twelve thousand dol-
lars. The state, the church, the official board, the
faculty and the students all have reason to take
pride in Huron College and to be assured of its
still brighter and more glorious future.

1762

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

JOHN M. ROBB, a successful cattle raiser
and farmer of Stanley county, claims the fine
old Buckeye state as the place of his nativity,
having been born in Lima, Allen county, Ohio,
on the 28th of March, 1854, and being a son of
Hon. Thomas M. and Ann M. Robb. The
father of the subject was born in Pennsylvania,
as was also his father, Joshua Robb, who removed
thence into Ohio in the pioneer days, becoming
a successful farmer and there passing the re-
mainder of his life. Thomas N. Robb was a
man of high attainments, being one of the rep-
resentative members of the bar of the state, and
also serving as a member of the legislature.
Both he and his wife continued to reside in
Lima, Ohio, until death. They became the par-
ents of eight children, of whom five are living.

John M. Robb was reared to maturity in his
native city, and there completed the curriculum
of the public schools, being graduated in the
high school as a member of the class of 1875.
After leaving school he was engaged in the
Ijanking business until 1877, when, at the age of
twenty-three years, he came as a pioneer to what
is now the state of South Dakota. He was a
member of the government party which came
here and built Fort Custer, and there he was
in charge of the trader's store until the fall of
that year, wlien he removed to Fort Bennett,
where he continued in charge of the government
trading store until 1890, when he engaged in
the same line of business on his own responsi-
bility. The Lidians were more or less trouble-
some during these years, and our subject became
familiar with the strenuous work demanded in
keeping them in subjection to government au-
thority. L'pon the removal of the military post
from Fort Bennett, in 1891, Mr. Robb became
associated with Senator Douglas F. Carlin in
the stock business, and about three years later
he purchased the interests of his partner and
has since been successfully identified with the
great cattle industry of the state in an individual
way, having a fine ranch of ten thousand acres,
eligibly located on the Cheyenne river, while
on the place is also a fine natural spring which
supplies a large amount of pure water. Mr.

Robb gives special preference to the Hereford
type of cattle and carries on his operations upon
an extensive scale. In politics he gives his sup-
port to the Democratic party, but has never
aspired to public office of any description.

MORRIS M. WILLIAMS, a well-known
and 'representative citizen of Lebanon, Potter
county, was born in Portage, Wisconsin, on the
I2th of October, 1865, and after there complet-
ing the curriculum of the public schools he en-
tered the Northwestern Business College, in
Madison, the capital of the state, where he was
graduated as a member of the class of 1885. In
1885 he came to the territory of Dakota and was
for one year employed as clerk in the Inter
Ocean Hotel, at Mandan, in what is now North
Dakota. He then, in 1886, came to Gettysburg,
Potter county, South Dakota, and was there
working for his brother, A. G., in the real-
estate business for two years, at the expiration
of which, in 1888, he came to Lebanon, where
he engaged in the buying of grain for the
Marfield Elevator Company, remaining with this
concern twelve years, while during the latter few
years of this period he was also engaged in the
lumber and farming implement and machine
business on his own responsibility, retiring from
the grain business in 1902, while he still con-
tinued the other lines of individual enterprise,
having built up a large and successful business.
In 1898 he was also engaged in the general mer-
chandise business here, as the senior member of
the firm of Williams & Schneider, having a com-
modious store and warehouse and carrying an
extensive stock of goods. He has been con-
secutively concerned in the real-estate business,
and his books at all times show desirable in-
vestments in good farming and grazing lands, as
well as town property. He has recently com-
pleted in Lebanon a fine modern residence, the
same being heated by the hot-water system and
having other up-to-date facilities and being one
of the most attractive homes in this section of the
state. In politics he is a stanch Rcpulilican
but has not been ambitious for public office.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1763

though he served for a number of years as treas-
urer of the school district. He is a Royal Arch
Mason and also identified with the Ancient Or-
der of United Workmen.

On the 8th of August, 1890, Mr.' Williams
was united in marriage to Miss Frankie Carr,
and they have three children, Perry R., Benjamin
H. and Marjorie.

GEORGE A. DODDS, one of the leading
and pioneer merchants of Watertown, is a native
of the state of New York, having been born in
Wellington, St. Lawrence county, on the 17th of
June, 1845, ^^^ being a son of Captain George
and Anne (Walton) Dodds, the former of whom
was born in Scotland and the latter in England,
while the father was for many years engaged
in mercantile business, both he and his wife hav-
ing died in Waddington, New York. After at-
tending the public schools of his native town tlie
subject of this review went to Ogdensburg, New
York, where, at the age of seventeen years, he se-
cured a clerkship in a dry-goods store, being thus
employed for the following decade and gaining
an intimate knowledge of the details of the busi-
ness. At the expiration of the period noted he
came west to the city of Chicago, where he was
engaged in clerking in leading mercantile estab-
lishments until 1875, having been in the city at
the time of the memorable fire of 1S71. In 1875
he there engaged in the dry-goods business upon
his own responsibility, continuing this enterprise
until 1884, when he disposed of his interests in
the western metropolis and came to Watertown,
South Dakota, where he opened a dry-goods
store in the Mellette block, his having been the
first exclusive dry-goods establishment in the
city. He built up an excellent trade, the growth
of the enterprise keeping pace with the devel-
opment and progress of the town, and finally he
added other departments to his business and se-
cured large and ample quarters, where he now
has a general stock of merchandise of select and
comprehensive order. He is one of the alert and
progressive business men of the city and com-
mands the unqualified esteem of its people, while

he always maintains a deep interest in public af-
fairs and in the promotion of the welfare of the
city and state. His political allegiance is given
to the Republican party and both he and his wife
are valued members of the Congregational
church.

Mr. and Mrs. Dodds have an attractive home,
located on the north side of the city, and the
same is a center of refined hospitality.

MELVELLE B. BRIGGS, a successful stock
grower of Stanley county, is a scion of stanch old
colonial stock, the original American ancestors
having settled in New England prior to the war
of the Revolution. He is himself a native of the
old Pine Tree state, having been born in Brigh-
ton, Somerset county, Maine, on the iQtli of Jan-
uary, i860, and being a son of William E. and
Almeda (Hight) Briggs, both of whom were
likewise born in that state, where they were
reared to maturity and where they con-
tinued to reside until 1865, when they re-
moved to Iowa, the father having pre-
viously passed some time in California.
They remained in Iowa until 1868, when they
located in Olmstead county, Minnesota, where
the honored father of our subject was engaged
in agricultural pursuits until 1881, when he came
to South Dakota, passing the closing years of his
life in Woonsocket, Sanborn county, where he
died in 1899. His widow is still living, seventy-
five years old. They were the parents of five
sons, of whom the subject of this review was
the youngest. His brother, George E. Briggs,
who was a locomotive engineer on the Chicago
& Northwestern Railroad, was killed in a wreck
on that road near Bramhall, this state, on the
19th of July, 1899. The others are O. W.
Briggs, of Rochester, Minnesota; W. T. and I.
F. Briggs, of Woonsocket, South Dakota.

M. B. Briggs was about five years of age at
the time of the family removal to the west, and
his early educational training was secured in the
public schools of Iowa and Minnesota. He re-
mained at the parental home in Minnesota until
he had attained the age of nineteen years, when,

1764

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

in 1879, he came to South Dakota and initiated
his independent career by engaging in the butch-
ering business in Huron, where he remained two
years, at the expiration of which he rejoined
his parents, who about that time took up their
abode on their ranch in Sanborn county, this
state. He continued to be associated in the work
and management of the home place until 1894,
when he removed to his present location, in Ster-
ling county, twelve miles northeast of the little
postoffice town of Leslie, among his neighbors
in the locality being such well-known and hon-
ored citizens as John Robb, Senator Douglas F.
Carlin and Louis La Plante, Sr., as well as oth-
ers, who are individually mentioned in this com-
pilation. Mr. Briggs has a well-improved and
well-watered ranch of six hundred and forty
acres, and the best of range facilities for his cat-
tle, of which he runs a large herd each season.
In politics he is a stanch adherent of the Demo-
cratic party, and fraternally he holds member-
ship in the jModern \\'oodmen of America.

On the 8th of November. 1884, Mr. Briggs
was united in marriage to Miss Kate U. Seely,
who was born in Burns, La Crosse county, Wis-
consin, being a daughter of Alfred and Louise
(Miles) Seely, who removed thence to Elgin,
Minnesota, when she was a mere child, and she
was there reared and educated. 2\Ir, and Mrs.
Briggs have five sons, namely : Frederick,
Frank, George, Walter and William.

DOUGLAS CARLIN, representative of
Stanley and Lyman counties in the state senate,
and one of the successful farmers and stock
growers of this section of the state, is a native
of the state of Illinois, having been born in
Greene county, on the 20th of August, 1855, and
being a son of Thomas J. and Mary (Kelly)
Carlin. who were likewise born and reared in
that state. William Garland, the grandfather of
the subject, was born in the old Dominion state,
where the family was established in the colonial
days, and he became one of the early pioneers
of Illinois, where he was engaged in agricultural
pursuits until his death. He was associated with

his brother Thomas, who later became one of the
early governors of the state. The parents of
the subject of this review are still living in Illi-
nois, and the father, who has attained the vener-
able age of seventy-five years, has devoted his
active life to farming. He served as register of
deeds and clerk of the circuit court for a period
of twelve years and is now living retired, in the
town of Garrollton. His three children are all
living, and the subject of this review is the only
son.

Douglas Carlin passed his boyhood days in
his native county, and received his rudimentary
education in the public schools, after which he
continued his studies in a school conducted by
the Christian Brothers in the city of St. Louis,
Missouri, entering the institution at the age of
fifteen and remaining in the same for a period
of four years. He then returned to his home and
there attended school until he had attained his
legal majority, when he was appointed deputy
sheriff of Greene county, in which capacity he
served one year, at the expiration of which, in
1877, he came to Bismarck, Dakota territory,
and thence proceeded down the Missouri river
to Fort Yates, where he joined his uncle. Gen-
eral William P. Carlin, who was in command of
that military post. The General served with dis-
tinction during the war of the Rebellion, with
the rank of major general, and was retired a
number of years ago with the rank of brigadier
general, while he now resides in the city of
Spokane, Washington, in which state he has ex-
tensive real-estate interests. L^pon reaching Fort
Yates the subject was appointed quartermaster's
clerk, and there served in that capacity until
June. i88r, when he was ordered to Pierre by
the chief quartermaster and there assigned to
the supervision of the shipping department, is-
suing supplies to the different military posts up
and down the Missouri river, including Fort
Meade. He retained this position until 1885,
when he was given a clerical office in the depart-
men of the interior and assigned to the Chey-
enne Indian agency, where he continued in
active service until the autumn of 1890. He
then resigned his position and located on the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1765

Cheyenne river, where he has since been suc-
cessfully engaged in the raising of cattle and
horses, having a ranch of open range, well-
improved and carrying on his enterprise on
a large scale. He gives preference to the Here-
ford breed of cattle, keeping an average herd of
about five hundred head, while he also raises an
excellent grade of draft and road horses. In
politics Mr. Garland gives an unwavering al-
legiance to the Democratic party, and in 1899
he was elected a member of the board of com-
missioners of Sterling county, while in 1902
he was elected to represent his county in the
state senate, in which body he has proved a
valuable working member. Fraternally the
Senator is identified with the ^Masonic order
and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

On the 27th of August, 1887, Mr. Carlin was
united in marriage to Miss Marcelle Duprce,
who was born at Fort Sully, this state, being a
daughter of Frederick Dupree, who resided in
this section of the Union for sixty years, being
a prominent and influential figure in the pioneer
liistory of the state. He died in Jmie, 1898, on
his ranch, in Sterling county, at the advanced
age of seventy-nine years. Of him individual
mention is made on other pages of this work.

Mr. and Mrs. Garland have six children,
p-amcly: Lilly, Thomas, Walter, Uaura, Bessie
and Ruth.

JOSEPH J. STEHLY, of Hecla, Brown
county, is a native of Lakeville, Dakota county,
Minnesota, and a representative of one of the
honored pioneer families of that state. He was
born on the 3d of September, i860, and is a son
of John and Mary Stehly, the former of whom
was born in Manheim, Baden, Germany, whence
he immigrated to America when a young man,
taking up his residence in Minnesota, where
he turned his attention to farming, having
been one of the early settlers of Dakota
county, where he remained until the outbreak of
the war of the Rebellion, when he showed his
loyalty to the land of his adoption by enlisting
as a member of Company K, Third Minnesota

\'olunteer Cavalry, with which he served until
the time of his death, which occurred on the 28th
of August, 1864, at Pine Bluiif, Arkansas, as the
result of hardships endured while in the army.
His wife survived him by many years, her death
occurring in 1880, while their three children
survive them. The father was but thirty-four
years of age at the time of his death.

The subject was reared on the homestead
farm and secured his early educational discipline
in the public schools of Minnesota. He contin-
ued to be identified with the work and manage-
ment of the homestead until 1884, when he en-
tered upon an apprenticeship at the carpenter
trade, becoming a skilled artisan in the line and
following his trade in Minnesota until 1888,
when he came to South Dakota, locating in the
village of Hecla on the 30th of May of that year.
Here he found ample demand upon his services
as a contractor and builder, and in July, 1888, he
purchased a half interest in a local furniture
establishment, being associated in the enterprise
with Fred Rock, under the firm name of Rock
& Stehly. In 1890 the firm purchased the lum-
ber yard of the town and continued to conduct
both entei-prises until January 20, 1892, when the
partnership was dissolved and our subject se-
cured the lumber business as his share. He has
since conducted this most successfully, his trade
being exceptionally large for a town of the size
and this fact indicates that he is specially ener-
getic, progressive and straightforward in his
methods, his annual transactions reaching a large
aggregate. As he is a thorough mechanic and
an excellent judge of material, he is able to dis-
criminate in the selection and care of stock, and
this fact is appreciated by his patrons. He also
carries a full line of builders' materials, includ-
ing paints, glass, special hardware demanded in
the line, etc. He is also the owner of a consid-
erable amount of good farming land in the
county, and has in the town an attractive mod-
ern residence, located in the vicinity of his lum-
ber yards. Fraternally he holds membership in
the Modern Woodmen of America, and he and
his wife belong to the Roman Catholic church.
On the I2th of January, 1891, Mr. Stehly was

1766

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

united in marriage to Miss Katie Dietrich, who
was born in Germany, whence she came to Amer-
ica with her parents when a child, being reared
and educated in Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Stehly have
six children, namely : Nicholas J., Michael W.,
Mary C, Frank J., Theodore H. and Leo P.

IVAN WILBUR GOODNER, of Pierre, a
representative member of the bar of the state
and president of the state board of regents of
education, is a native of the state of Illinois, hav-
ing been born in Washington county, on the 24th
of July, 1858, and being a son of Rev. Wil-
liam Milton and Margaret Nancy (Edmiston)
Goodner, natives respectively of the states of
Tennessee and Kentucky, the former being of
Holland Dutch lineage and the latter of English.
Rev. William M. Goodner was a clergyman of
the Methodist church for many years, and later
was a Swedenborgian missionary in the western
states, being a man of ripe scholarship and ex-
alted integrity of character. The subject of this
review received his early educational training
in tb.e public schools of the states of Illinois and
Michigan, later attended Graham's Academy, in
New York city, while he completed his technical
law course in the law department of the Univer-
sity of Nebraka, at Lincoln, where he was gradu-
ated, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, in
1897. He had previously become an expert
shorthand reporter, and to this vocation devoted
his attention for a number of years. He came
to what is now the state of South Dakota in 1884,
and from 1880 to 1889 he followed the vocation
noted. He was the first clerk of the supreme
court of the state, resigning the office in 1896
to enter the practice of law. He was the official
reporter of debates in the Sotith Dakota con-
stitutional conventions of 1885 and 1889, in
1898-9 was city attorney of Pierre, while he ren-
dered most efficient service as state's attorney for
Hughes county from 1900 to 1904. In 1901 he
was appointed, by Governor Charles N. Herreid,
a member of the state board of regents of edu-
cation, being elected president of the board in
1903 and being still incumbent of that important

office, in which connection his efforts have
proved of great value in forwarding and con-
serving the educational interests of the state. He
was admitted to the bar in 1885 and has won
marked distinction both as a trial lawyer and a
counsellor, having been identified with a large
amount of important litigation, notably the long
line of bond litigations in which the city of
Pierre was involved. He carried these cases
through the federal courts and to the supreme
court of the United States, before which he was
admitted to practice in April, 1901. In politics
Mr. Goodner has ever been stanchly aligned as
a radical Republican and has been an active
worker in its cause in South Dakota. In the
Masonic fraternity he has attained to the degrees
of the commandery, was deputy grand master of
the Masonic grand lodge of the state, and this
year (1904) was elected grand master. He is
also past grandmaster of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows in South Dakota and is also
identified with the Modern ^^'oodmen of
America.

On the 1 6th of September, 1880, Mr. Good-
ner was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Ada
Perry, who was born in Bolton, Vermont, on the
24th of May, i860, being a daughter of David
and Emma (LeGrol Perry. Of their six chil-
dren four are living, namely : Ivan E., Milton
P., Grace E. and Ernest F. Those deceased are
Jilabcl and Ruth.

JOHN GRAY, one of the sterling pioneers
of the Black Hills, was born in Durham. Eng-
land, on the 28th of February, 1846, and is a
son of Henry and Elizabeth (Nelson) Gray, both
of whom were born in Cumberland, England,
as was also his grandfather, Henry Gray, who
was there identified with mining during his en-
tire business career. The father of the sub-
ject was reared in Cumberland and there fol-
lowed the same vocation as did his honored sire.
In 1840 he removed to Durham, where he con-
tinued the mining operations until his death, his
wife also passing the closing years of her life
there. Of their nine children six are living.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1767

while but one of the number is a resident of the
United States.

The subject received somewhat limited edu-
cational advantages, since, as was customary with
the majority of miners' sons in the locality, he
early went to work in the mines. At the age of
eight years he began work as a trapper in the
Durham mines, and gradually rose step by step
until he had attained the dignity of a full-fledged
miner. He continued to be employed in the mines
of his native county until he had attained the age
of twenty-three years, when, in March, 1869, he
came to America. He first located in Steuben-
ville, Ohio, where he was engaged in mining for
nine months, after which he went to the city of
Pittsburg and there secured a position in the
mines at Saw Mill run, on the Monongahela
river, where he was employed until 1870, when
he removed to the Scranton district and worked
in the Dunmore mine for several months, after
which he passed about six months in the Pitts-
burg district, where he had previously been em-
ployed.' He then went to the Sugar Creek mines,
in Ohio, and three months later went to Bra-
zil, Clay county, Indiana, where the work of
opening the first block-coal mines in this dis-
trict was in progress, Mr. Gray being one of the
first miners to be employed there. He remained
until September, 1872, when he came west to
Rock Springs, Wyoming, being one of the pio-
neer miners in that locality, and there organiz-
ing the first miners' union. In January of the
following year he left for French Guiana, being
one of a party of fifty-two men, recruited from
Wyoming, Utah and Montana. They proceeded
to Salem, Massachusetts, and there embarked on
a sailing vessel, which in due time bore them
to their destination. There they engaged in
prospecting for gold, but owing to the peculiar
laws in force in the country they found it prac-
tically impossible to secure title to any ground.
John Murphy, with his wife and son, were the
first to strike the pay streak, but conditions were
such that they could not work the property to
any profit, owing to the legal restrictions. Nine
of the party died of yellow fever, and twenty-
two were sent back to New York through the

kindly interposition of the British consul, nine-
teen others scattered about in various localities
and the four Wyoming men, John Hartler, John
Brunskill, Edward Jeffries and Mr. Gray, sailed
to Georgetown, British Guiana, where they re-
mained four months and then set sail for New
York, having been absent about nine months
from the time of leaving Salem.

From the national capital the subject went
into the Cumberland mountains in Tennessee,
where he was en:ployed for a while, and then he
returned to Rock Springs, Wyoming, where he
entered the employ of the Rock Spring Mining
Company, by which he was sent to the mine^ in
Carbon, that state. There he shortly afterward
organized a company to start for the Black
Hills, the intention being to make the trip under
the guidance of "Tom's Son." a well-known
stock man of Wyoming, but this individual re-
ceived an ofifer of two thousand dollars from an-
other party to compensate him for his services
as guide, and as. he accepted the proposition the
other company abandoned the expedition. In
the fall of 1875 Mr. Gray went to Des Moines,
Iowa, where he remained until February of the
following year, when he returned west to Chey-
enne. In June following he started for the Black
Hills with what was known as the Colorado
Charlie and Wild Bill train, the first named be-
ing captain of the expedition, while Wild Bill and
the husband of Madame Mustachio were his two
lieutenants, the three being well-known charac-
ters on the frontier. They found a number of
dead men at Indian creek and Red Canon, show-
ing that the hostile Indians were in the prox-
imity, but as their party was a large one, com-
prising one hundred and ninety persons, they
were not molested by the savages while enroute,
and arrived in Custer on the 14th of July.
Among the women in the party were Calamity
Jane (whose death occurred about a year ago),
Madame Mustachio and Dirty Em., each of
whom will be remembered by the old timers.
Mr. Gray went to work in mine No. 79, below
the smelter, on Whitewood creek, and Jack Mc-
Cal! was working on the next claim. On the
2d of August, 1876, McCall killed the man

[768

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

known as Wild Bill, the subject being at work
at the time. He was intimately acquainted with
the victim, and speaks of him as having been a
square man, generous to a fault and possessed
of many other admirable qualities. In April,
1877, I\Ir. Gray returned to Cheyenne for his
wife, and they had a pleasant trip on the way
back. After his return to the hills Mr. Gray
purchased claim No. 2 above discovery in Dead-
wood gulch, and continued to work the same
until November of the following year, when he
found it unprofitable to continue operations, as
it was virtually worked out. He realized a large
sum from this claim. In December, 1878, he re-
moved to Terraville, where he purchased what
was then known as the Caledonia boarding
house, which historic building he still occupies
as his home, having modernized and otherwise
improved the property. He continued to be
identified with mining enterprises, having been
for a time in the Carbonate camp in the Bald
mountains, and in January, 1884, he left for tbe
Coeur d'Alene mining district of Idaho, being
one of the first in that now famous district. He
bought the discovery claim on Pritchard creek,
and there sunk what is known as the Combina-
tion shaft, this being the first sunk and drifted
upon up to that time. The venture proved a dis-
tinctive failure and he sunk twenty thousand
dollars as well as his unprofitable shaft, having
remained there for a period of thirteen months.
He then returned to the Carbonate camp, where
he had heavy interests, and there remained until
the enterprise went down. He then went on
with his mining in the Ruby basin, and still owns
valuable interests in that section. In 1896 Mr.
Gray, in company with John Blatchford, D. A.
McPherson and W. L. McLaughlin, purchased
what was known as the McShane property, in
the Yellow creek or Flatiron district, and this
was operated thereafter under the general man-
agement of Mr. Blatchford, as a shipping prop-
osition— that is, the ore was shipped out instead
of being treated on the ground. In 1898 Mr.
Gray became general manager and work was
continued as before until 1900, when the com-
pany built a fifty-ton cyanide plant, whose ca-

pacity was doubled five months later, and since
that time the property has been working only
(luartzite, as a coarse-crushing proposition, quar-
ter mesh. In 1900 the work was carried to a
depth of only five feet into the quartzite ledge,
and during the last year the company have pen-
etrated to a depth of twenty feet, with a width
of three hundred feet. The development is giv-
ing good returns and the subject is the largest
individual stockholder, as well as general mana-
ger of the company, which is incorporated as the
Wasp No. 2 Mining Company. Mr. Gray has
maintained his home in Terraville since 1878 and
is one of the honored and public-spirited citizens
of the town and county. In politics he is found
arrayed as a stanch advocate of the principles of
the Republican party, and fraternally he has at-
tained the thirty-second degree of Scottish-rite
Masonry, being also a member of the Ancient
Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine and the Order of the Eastern Star, while
aside from the Masonic affiliations he has been
identified with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows since 1870 and with the Knights of
Pythias since 1871 ; while he also enjoys the
goodfellowship implied in his membership in
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
He is a member of the American Mining Con-
gress and a director of the Mining Men's As-
sociation of the Black Hills. He is also an ex-
president of the Black Hjlls Pioneer Association.
In 1875 Mr. Gray was united in matrimony
to Miss Ellen Chamberlain, who was born in
St. Ellens, Lancastershire, England, while her
marriage to the subject was solemnized in the
city of Chicago, She was summoned into eter-
nal rest on the 13th of March, 1898, and is held
in loving memory by all who knew her. No chil-
dren were born of this union.

JOSEPH ELSOM, one of the represent-
ative business men and land owners of Spink
county, is a native of England, having been born
in lincolnshire, on the 13th of December, 1840,
and being a son of Wilson Elsom, who came with
bis family to America in 1853, passing the first

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1769

winter in the province of New Brunswick,
Canada, and then locating in the state of New
York, where his death occurred two years later.
The subject of this sketch was the second eldest
of the eight children and was but thirteen years
of age at the time of his father's death, so that
he was thus early thrown to a large degree upon
his own resources, also contributing to the sup-
port of the other members of the family. He
had attended the schools of his native county in
England, and also continued his studies when
opportunity presented after coming to America.
He was engaged in various occupations in the
state of New York until the outbreak of the war
of the Rebellion, when he gave significant
evidence of his loyalty to the land of his adop-
tion by enlisting, on the 13th of October, 1861.
as a private in Company F, Eighth New York
\'olunteer Cavalry, which was commanded by
Colonel Crooks and assigned to the Army of the
Potomac. The subject was with his coniinand
when it cut its way out from Harper's Ferry,
and thereafter was an active participant in the
Ijattles of Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, second
battle of Bull Run, Antietam and Beverly Ford,
where Colonel B. F. Davis, commander, was
killed. Mr. Elsom continued as a member of the
Army of the Potomac and in active service for
three 3'ears and four months, making a record
as a faithful and valiant soldier and taking part
in forty-nine of the fifty-four engagements in
which his regiment was in action. He received
his honorable discharge on the 15th of Decem-
ber. 1864. His brother, Thomas, was a mem-
ber of the same regiment, and was wounded in
the engagement at Berksdale Junction, Virginia,
in the Wilson raid, his death resulting from his
injury some time later while on furlough.

After the close of his military career Mr.
Elsom returned to the state of New York, where
he remained until 1880, when he came to the
present state of South Dakota and located on a
tract of government land two miles south of
Northville, Spink county, where he engaged in
farming and also in the buying and shipping of
grain, with which lines of industrial enterprise
he has ever since been identified. To his original

claim he has added until he now has a finely im-
proved farm of eight hundred acres, his young-
est son having the general management of the
place, while the subject devoted the major por-
tion of his attention to his grain business, until
January i, 1904. He is one of the progressive
and highly honored business men and popular
citizens of the county with whose annals his
name has been linked for nearly a quarter of a
century. He is a stalwart Republican in politics,
and has served with ability and discrimination
in the various township offices, while fraternally
he is affiliated with the Grand Army of the Re-
pulilic and the Ancient Order of United Work-
men.

In August, i860, Air. Elsom was married to
Miss Jane Harmer, who was born in Norfolk,
England, and of their children we enter the fol-
lowing brief record : Nancy N. is deceased ;
Emma Jane, deceased ; Thomas H. is superin-
tendent of construction for the Inland Telephone
and Telegraph Company, with headquarters in
the beautiful city of Spokane, Washington ;
Annie Laurie is the wife of Francis Kingsley, of
Mansfield, Brown county, this state; Charles W.
is engaged in business in Northville ; Evert J.
is residing in New York state ; Wilson J. has
charge of the old homestead, and Eliza J., de-
ceased, and Mary E., twins, the latter the wife
of John H. LeMay, editor of the Northville Jour-
nal.

GEORGE D. PARR, D. D. S., of Pierre, is
a native of the state of New Jersey, having been
born in Warren county, on the 25th of Decem-
ber, 1855, and being a son of Levi J. and Mar-
garet (Deats) Parr, both of whom were like-
wise born in New Jersey, the ancestry of the
former being of English extraction and of the
latter sturdy Holland Dutch, while both families
were founded in America in the colonial epoch.
Tlie paternal great-grandfather of the Doctor
was a. valiant soldier in the Continental line dur-
ing the war of the Revolution, while the ma-
ternal ancestors were numbered among the
verv earlv settlers in New Tersev and New York.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Levi J. Parr became a successful farmer and
was one of the influential citizens of his sec-
tion, ever commanding the respect of all who
knew him. He was twice married, and of the
three children of the first union the subject of
this sketch was the youngest. After the death
of his first wife Levi J. Parr married Mrs.
Lavina Huffman, and they became the parents
of seven children, while of his ten children all
are living except one.

Dr. Parr passed his boyhood days in Xew
Jersev and when he was about fifteen years of
age his parents removed to ^Michigan, locating
in Wayne county, where the father continued to
follow agricultural pursuits during the remaind-
er of his life. The Doctor secured his early
educational discipline in the public schools of his
native county and later continued his studies in
the, schools of Wayne county, Michigan, where
he remained a student until he had attained the
age of twenty years In the meanwhile he had
determined to adopt the dental profession as his
vocation in life, and with this end in view he
entered the office of Dr. A. H. Lacey, of Clarks-
ton, Michigan, under whose effective direction
he gained a most excellent knowledge of all
phases of dental work, both operative and
laboratory, and, proving himself well qualified,
he was admitted to practice in the Wolverine
state. In 1874 he engaged in practice at Davis-
burg, ^Michigan, where he remained two years,
after which he was successfully established in
practice at Wayne, that state, until 1882, when
he came to the present state of South Dakota
and took up his residence in Pierre, being one
of the first representatives of his profession in
this part oFthe state. Here he has ever since been
engaged in practice, and he now controls a very
extensive and representative business, while his
offices are equipped with the best of modern ac-
cessories and the methods utilized are of the
ma.xinium standard of excellence. The Doctor
has manifested a lively interest in all that has
touched the progress and material upbuilding of
the capital city and has been largely interested in
local real estate. At the present time he is the
owner of valuable property on Folsom avenue,

adjoining the grounds of the state capitol. In
politics the Doctor has ever given an uncom-
promising allegiance to the Democratic party, in
whose ranks he has been an active and valued
worker. For the past decade he has been chair-
man of the Democratic central committee of
Hughes county, and in the connection has ably
marshalled the forces under his executive con-
trol. ■ He was for two years incumbent of the
office of city auditor, and prior to his removal to
South Dakota . was a member of the village
council of Wayne, Michigan. Fraternally he is
identified with the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and the Knights of the Maccabees.

On the 8th of July. 1876, was solemnized the
marriage of Dr. Parr to Miss Celia J. Post, who
was born in Wayne county, Michigan, on the
6th of September, 1857, being a daughter of
Cornelius and Eliza (Westerfield) Post, the
former of whom was born in New York and the
latter in New Jersey. Mrs. Parr was sum-
moned into eternal rest on the 6th of Septem-
ber, 1903, and is survived by one child, Grace,
who is the wife of John P. Erickson, a promi-
nent business man of Pierre. Mrs. Parr was a
woman of beautiful attributes of character and
was held in affectionate regard by all who came
within the sphere of her gracious influence. She
was a devoted member of the Baptist church,
and was a member of the choir of the local
church of this denomination for a period of
twelve vears.

JOHN .A.. FYLPAA, a prominent merchant
and valued citizen of Frederick, Brown county,
was born in Norway, on the 5th of January-,
i860, and there his parents maintained their
home until their deaths. The father died in
1901, aged eighty-eight years, while the mother
passed away in 1902, aged eight\- years. He was
reared and educated in his native land, where
he remained until 1878, when he came to Amer-
ica and settled in St. Croix county, Wisconsin,
where he continued to reside until 1882, having
been for an interval engaged in the mercantile
business at Deer Park, that state, in company

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

with his brother Carl. In the year mentioned
he disposed of his interests there ajid came to
South Dakota, arriving in Frederick in Septem-
ber of that year. Here he opened a general
store, beginning operations on a modest scale.
By careful management and scrupulous attention
tt> the demands of his patrons, he soon found
his business increasing in scope and importance,
and in 1884 his brother, Thomas H. Fylpaa,
l)iiu,L;ht a one-half interest in the store, and they
fciund it expedient to secure larger quarters and
augment the stock of goods. In this second
store they continued to do a successful business
until November, 1894, when the establishment
was destroyed by fire. The subject shortly aft-
erward opened business in another store, which
continued to be his headquarters until 1899,
when he took possession of his present well-
equipped store, which is twenty-six by seventy
feet in dimensions, with excellent appointments
and large and select stock in each of the several
departments. He also has a commodious ware-
house in connection. In 1901 Mr. Fylpaa also
engaged in the real-estate business, in which he
is associated with his brother, Thomas H., and
they have built up an excellent enterprise in the
line, having controlled a large amount of valu-
able farming land in the county, while at the
present time they own or control about seventy-
five quarter sections, all of which represent de-
sirable investments.

In politics Mr. Fylpaa is a stanch Populist
and the high confidence and esteem in which he
is held has been signally manifested in the offi-
cial preferment which has been accorded him.
In 1890 he was elected county treasurer, and in
1896 he was again called to this office, while in
1898 he was chosen as his own successor, being
elected on the independent or Alliance ticket.
He is absolutely independent in voting, and will
vote for the best man, regardless of party. He
was elected the first city clerk of Frederick, at
the time of its incorporation, and held this office
two years, and he is at present time presi-
dent of the board of education. Fraternally he
is identified with the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and its anxiliarv, the Degree of

Honor, and also with the Modern Brotherhood
of America. Air. Fylpaa was married in 1892
and is the father of three chiklren.

GEORGE HARRISOX HOFFMAX, who
is associated with his sons, Benjamin and John,
in the ownership and management of the Park
farm and stock range, near Bangor, Walworth
county, was born in Adams county, Pennsyl-
vania, on the 2 1 St of January, 1838, and his
father, George Rosenmiller Hofifman, was like-
wise a native of the old Keystone state and of
stanch Gemian ancestry, the family having been
founded in Pennsylvania in the colonial epoch,
as was also that of the mother of our subject,
whose maiden name was Sarah Jane Cramer, and
who likewise was born and reared in the state
mentioned. In his earlier life George R. Hoff-
man was a teamster or freighter by vocation,
and his six-horse teams were employed in doing
lieavy freighting to and from Baltimore, Mary-
land; Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) ;
Little York, Harrisburg and Gettysburg, Penn-
sylvania. Later he was engaged in teaching in
town and village schools in Pennsylvania, being
well educated in both German and English and
being a man of superior mentality. In 1844 lie
removed with his family to Indiana and settled
on a farm in Butler township, Dekalb county,
the section at that time being an untrammeled
wilderness and covered with a dense forest.
\Vith the aid of his three sturdy sons he cleared
and improved his farm, and for a number of
years was employed as teacher in the pioneer
schools of the locality during the winter months.
He was for many years incumbent of the office of
justice of the peace, and also practiced law in
the lower courts. Later he was elected auditor
of Dekalb county, in whjch capacity he served
two terms. In politics he was an old-line Whig
and was an ardent supporter of William Henry
Harrison for the presidency. He was present
at the birth of the Republican party and was
loyal to the party and the nation, and Abraham
Lincoln was his ideal President. He died in
1889, at the venerable age of seventy-two years,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

his devoted wife having preceded him into
eternal rest by many years, her death occurring
in 1848. They became the parents of three sons
and three daughters, concerning whom we in-
corporate the following brief record: Elmira E.,
who was married to Jonathan Weaver, died about
a decade ago ; Rev. Joseph O. is now a resident
of Lima, Ohio, having been a clergyman of the
Lutheran church of that city for many years;
he graduated from the Lutheran college at Co-
lumbus, Ohio, and was ordained a minister of
the gospel in i860; John Henry, who is
now a resident of Ligonier, Indiana, and
who was a member of Company K, For-
ty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, dur-
ing the Civil war, having been wounded in the
battle of Shiloh and having been discharged from
service by reason of resulting physical disability ;
was postmaster at Ligonier for eight years and
is one of the substantial and influential citizens
of his county; he was educated in the high
schools of Dekalb and Noble counties and after
the close of the war taught in the schools of Lig-
onier; George H. is the im'mediate sub-
ject of this sketch ; Sarah J. Mathens is a resi-
dent of near Toledo, Ohio, and Rebecca Middle-
ton is a resident of Joplin, Missouri. John Hoff-
man, the paternal grandfather of the subject,
was born and reared in Pennsylvania and was
a division wagon master in the Continental
army during the war of the Revolution.

George H. Hoffman was reared to manhood
on the pioneer homestead in Dekalb county,
Indiana, and his education was secured prin-
cipally at home and under the direction of his
honored father. He thus conned his lessons by
the light of the tallow candle and the blaze of
hickory bark from the great fireplace, after the
day's work on the farm was done. He also at-
tended the common schools as opportunity af-
forded and was for one term, of six months, a
student in Kells Academy, near Hunterstown,
Allen county, Indiana, so that he laid substantial
foundations for that broad fund of knowledge
which he has gained in the practical school of
experience and active association with men and
affairs. Mr. Hoft'man initiated his independent

career as a farmer and carpenter in 1859 and
continued to follow these occupations until 1864.
when he enlisted in Company A, Thirteenth
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which became a part
of the Third Brigade, Second Division, Tenth
Army Corps, the division being commanded by
General Ames, while the corps was commanded
for a time by General Benjamin F. Butler and
later by General Terry. Mr. Hoffman was an
active participant in the engagements at Chapin's
Bluff, near Richmond, Virginia, and in the cam-
paign whicli thereafter extended through and
including the engagements at Deep Bottom,
Dutch Gap canal and Bermuda Hundred, and
later was with the expedition which operated
against Fort Fisher and Newbern, North Caro-
lina. He took an active part in the battle at
Fort Fisher, Fort Caswell being evacuated upon
the fall of Fort Fisher, and assisted in the cap-
ture of Fort Anderson and Fort Sugarloaf, Wil-
mington, South Carolina ; Mount Olive, Benton-
ville, Goldsboro and Raleigh, being stationed in
the last mentioned city at the time of the sur-
render of Johnston's army. He was mustered
out of the service, at Goldsboro, North Carolina,
on the 5th of September, 1865, and received his
honorable discharge, in the city of Indianapolis,
Indiana, about two weeks later.

After the close of his faithful and valiant
service as a soldier of the republic Mr. Hoffman
returned to Dekalb county, Indiana, where he
effected the purchase of the old homestead farm
upon which his father had originally located and
upon which he himself had been reared to
manhood. Four years later he disposed of the
farm and removed to Auburn, Indiana, where he
engaged in the handling of agricultural imple-
ments, building up an excellent business and
there continuing operations in the line for a
period of seven years. In September, 1883, he
came to what is now the state of South Da-
kota, and with his two eldest sons, William and
Sigel, took up government land in Walworth
county, and here they have improved a valuable
estate, the same being the present home of our
subject and his family. The home farm com-
prises six hundred and forty acres of good land,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

as does the stock farm, and the improvements
on the property are of the best order, while they
are known as the most vakiable agricultural and
stock farms in this section, and Mr. Hoffman has
attained a high degree of success in his opera-
tions, in which he has been ably assisted by his
sons.

^^'hen South Dakota was admitted to the
Union, in 1889, Air. Hoffman was nominated by
the Republicans of the thirty-sixth senatorial dis-
trict, composed of the counties of Walworth and
Campbell, to represent the district in the upper
house of the first general assembly of the new
commonwealth. He was victorious at the polls
and proved a valuable and popular member of
the legislature, whose work was exacting, oner-
ous and important in the formative period, when
much was to be accomplished and planned for the
well-being of the state. At the state Republican
convention held in Mitchell in i8go Mr. Hoff-
man was made the nominee of his party for the
ofifice of lieutenant governor, being elected to this
office and serving one term, while in 1892 he was
a candidate for governor and in the state con-
vention of his party, at Madison, received the
second highest vote of the convention on the
first ballot, Hon. Charles Sheldon being finally
accorded the nomination. Mr. Hoffman cast his
first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, in
i860 and has ever since given an unfaltering al-
legiance to the Republican party. He is a mem-
ber of the Grand Army of the Republic and he
and his wife are Free Methodists.

On the 27th of September, i860, Mr. Hoff-
man was united in marriage to Miss Sarah J.
Crouse, who was born in Dayton, Ohio, in the
year 1841. being a daughter of Charles F. and
Barbra (Warbel) Crouse. In 1852 her parents
removed to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and there she
was reared and educated, the family home hav-
ing been there for many years. To Mr. and
Mrs. Hoffman have been born eleven children,
concerning whom we offer the following brief
record : William Elmer, who is now register of
deeds of Walworth county ; Sigel F., barber and
confectioner at Selby, Walworth county; Laura
M., the wife of Caleb Sniithers, editor of the

Bowdle Pioneer; George Henry died in 1888, at
the ag-e of twenty-one years; Charles Franklin
and William are photographers and put in the
first photograph gallery at the county seat of
Walworth county ; they both own farms of their
own; Clara E. Clark is a resident of Selby;
Edward C. owns and controls a farm of his
own; Benjamin H. and John J. are associated
with their father in the stock farm, consisting of
six hundred and forty acres ; Jessie Estella is at
home, while Etliel Mabel is associate editor of
the Pioneer and lives with her sister, Mrs.
Smithcrs, at Bowdle. Edwards county, .South
Dakota.

SAMUEL O. O'VERBY, United States In-
dian trader and dealer in general merchandise
at the Cheyenne Agency, in Dewey county, is a
native of Norway, where he was born on the
20th of October, 1865, being a son of Ole and
Aaste Overby, the former of whom was a pros-
perous farmer in Norway. The subject was
reared in his native land and received his edu-
cational discipline in the excellent national
schools, being graduated in the high school in
December, 1883. In 1884 he emigrated to the
United States and came at once to South Da-
kota, taking up his residence in Campbell county,
engaging in the mercantile business in Mound
City. He was for three years a member of the
board of county commissioners and for two years
served as postmaster of Mound City, while for
one year he was incumbent of the office of county
treasurer, by appointment, and by election served
two years as register of deeds of the county. In
1900 he removed to Cheyenne Agency, where he
has since been the United States Indian trader,
having a well-equipped general merchandise es-
tablishment and dealing in hats, caps, clothing,
hardware, drugs, boots and shoes, saddlery and
harness, buggies, etc. In politics he is a stanch
adherent of the Republican party and takes a
lively interest in the party cause, and his reli-
gious faith is that of the Lutheran church, of
which Mrs. Overby likewise is a devoted mem-
ber.

1774

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

At Mound City, Campbell county, on the nth
of June, 1894, was solemnized the marriage of
Mr. Overby to Miss Annie Amundson, and they
have one child, Alfa, born Jnly 2, 1899.

RE\'. HUGH H. JONES, whose untimely
death, on October 2, 1895, at the age of fifty-five
years, was universally lamented throughout the
community, was a native of Wales, born on May
2, 1840. He remained in his native land until
he was sixteen years of age, and was educated
there. In 1856 he came to the United States,
and having chosen the Christian ministry as his
profession, entered college and pursued a thor-
ough course of theological training, at the end
of which he was ordained to preach in the Meth-
odist church. After preaching in towns of cen-
tral Wisconsin for a number of years, he moved
to Boone county, Iowa, in 1870, and did minis-
terial work there for three years. He then re-
turned to Wisconsin and remained two years,
after which he passed another year in Boone
county, Iowa. In 1878 he brought his family to
the Black Hills, arriving at Rapid City in July.
Here he served as pastor of the Methodist
church two years and also carried on a flourish-
ing furniture business, continuing the latter un-
til the spring of 1881, when he located a ranch
on Rapid creek, about fifteen miles from the
town. He settled on the land and devoted his
energies to improving it and raising cattle and
horses until his death. But while giving his at-
tion to the promotion of his own business he
never lost interest or withheld activity in mat-
ters of public concern, working faithfully and
intelligently for the general good in all lines of
religious and public usefulness. In politics he
was an earnest Republican and a devoted serv-
ant of his party. His death was a great loss to
the community in many ways, and his memory
is cordially cherished by all classes of tlie people.
Since the sad event his widow and children have
continued to live on the ranch, together manag-
ing its affairs and carrying forward the develop-
ment and improvements he had planned and be-
gun. The sons are bright and capable, and meet

every duty in a manly and courageous manner,
devoting their energies to the farm work and
their cattle interests, and taking their place in
the community as forceful factors among the
best of its people.

Mr. Jones was married on Alarch 26, 1872,
to Miss Maria M. Burkhart, a native of Penn-
sylvania, the marriage being solemnized in
Boone county, Iowa, where both were living at
the time. Ten children blessed their union, of
whom eight are living, May (Mrs. Ehrler), \\'il-
liam H., Centennial A. (Mrs. Hart), Catherine
M. (Mrs. Payne), Arthur, Minnie, Gladys, Her-
bert. Ithel and Dio are deceased. The family
has maintained the position in the esteem of the
community won by their father, and by their
course in life reflect credit upon him as well as
upon themselves.

FRANK A. AIORRIS was born on a farm
near Nora, Illinois, on December 15, 1855, the
son of Crowell E. and Nancy P. (Voris) ^lor-
ris, and the seventh child of ten children. He re-
ceived his education in the common schools of
Jo Daviess county, the high school of Warren,
and the Northwestern Normal, of Galena, Illi-
nois. After leaving school he became a tenant
on his father's farm for a period of five years.
From that time on until 1882 he taught school
and farmed. In 1882 he entered a homestead in
Hutchinson county, Dakota territory, where he
remained until March, 1892, when he rented his
farm and entered the real-estate and banking
business at Tripp, South Dakota; continued in
the banking business, of which he was president,
until 1896, when he sold his bank to his cashier.
He remained in the real-estate business until ap-
pointed surveyor general for the district of South
Dakota by President McKinley in 1898, being
reappointed by Roosevelt in 1902. In politics
he is a Republican and served in the seventeenth
and eighteenth sessions of the territorial legis-
lature. He is a member of the Parkston lodge
of Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Lodge
No. 444, Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks, at Huron, South Dakota.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1775

Mr. Morris was married October 15, 1879,
to Elizabeth A. Carpenter, and they have three
children, Lulu B., Ada M. and Helen N., all liv-
ing with the exception of the eldest daughter,
who died September 26, 1902.

JUSTIN LEVI SPAULDING was born in
Mooretown, Vermont, June 17, 1841. He was
educated at the state normal school at Bloom-
ington, Illinois, entering this institution at the
age of sixteen. He pursued his studies here un-
til the outbreak of the Civil war in 1861, when
he enlisted in the Thirty-third Illinois Infantry,
under Colonel Oglesby. He served in the army
until his health became broken, when he was
discharged, and returning to Bloomington, he
re-entered the normal school, from which he soon
graduated with high honors. After leaving the
normal school he was elected city surveyor of
Bloomington and county surveyor of McLean
county, Illinois. Following this he was elected
city clerk of Bloomington, which position he re-
tained until 1865. In May, 1863, he was mar-
ried to Miss Adra A. Stiles, also a graduate from
the State Normal, in Rochelle, Illinois. Soon
after his marriage he removed to Chicago where
for two years or more Mr. Spaulding did court
reporting in the criminal courts and gained a
wide reputation as an expert stenographer, being
second in speed in the United States. In 1882 Mr.
Spaulding came to Huron, South Dakota, and
took a position in the United States land office;
this he filled for seven years or more, during
which time he was elected a member of the board
of county commissioners, serving as its chair-
man for two years. Meanwhile he was admitted
to the South Dakota bar. In 1889 he was elected
county clerk of Beadle county, and two years la-
ter he was re-elected to the same office. The fol-
lowing spring he was taken seriously sick, and
on May 22, 1891, he passed away. He was
survived by his wife and one daughter. Rose
Blanche, who still reside in Huron. His daugh-
ter in later years has become quite prominent in
the work of several of the state lodges and has
been honored with the position of department

secretary of the state Woman's Relief Corps, and
with various offices in the Rebekah state assem-
bly, and is at present the warden of that body.
She is also a member of the local Order of the
Eastern Star. At the time of his death, Mr.
Spaulding was a prominent Odd Fellow, an in-
fluential Mason, and a leading member of the
Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. Spaulding
was prominent in the political affairs of both
Illinois and South Dakota during his life time,
and was universally esteemed by all who were
privileged to know him.

HARVEY J. RICE, receiver of the United
States land office at Huron, and grand secretary
of the Odd Fellows in South Dakota, was bom
at Freeport, Illinois, April 23, 1849, the son of
John and Milvira (Williams) Rice. In his
childhood his parents removed to Nauvoo, where
Harvey attended the common schools, and later
graduated from the University of Carlinsville,
in 1865. It was at this time his intention to be-
come a lawyer and to that end he became a stu-
dent in the law office of George Scoville, in Chi-
cago, but developing taste along commercial lines
he took the business course in the Bryant &
Stratton College of Chicago and in 1869, in com-
pany with his brother John, engaged in the dry-
goods business in Chicago, in which he contin-
ued until the fire in 1871. Soon after they en-
gaged in general merchandise at Austin, Illinois,
disposing of the same in 1875 to enter the employ
of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway. Wlien
the Dakota divisions were under construction he
was made storekeeper in charge of all material
and in that capacity came to Dakota and estab-
lished company headquarters in Huron in 1880.
He continued with the railway company until
1887, when he resigned to become teller in the
Huron National Bank and continued in this posi-
tion until appointed railway commissioner for
Dakota territory by Governor Mellette in the
spring of 1889. This position he held through
two terms, until March, 1893, when he engaged
in the mercantile business in Huron, which he
still conducts. In 1884 he was elected mayor

1776

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of Huron and re-elected for five terms. In 1902
he was appointed receiver of the land office and
continues in the position. He is an ardent Re-
publican and is one of the party's safest coun-
cilors.

Mr. Rice is a thirty-second-degree Mason, a
Knight Templar, and is a past grand master of
the order in the state. He is also a prominent
Odd Fellow and for four years represented the
state in the sovereign grand lodge. He has been
the grand secretary of the order for the past ten
years.

Mr. Rice was married, December 25, 1873,
to Miss Elizabeth Kimes. Two sons have been
born to them, John A., who was drowned in the
James river at Huron, and George H., who is
engaged in business in Huron. South Dakota
has no more competent, reliable, and useful citi-
zen than Harvey J. Rice.

ROBERT HILL, M. D., a leading physician
of Ipswich, South Dakota, was born in the north
of Ireland (County Antrim), April 10, 1865,
and is the son of Joseph and Harriett (Collins)
Hill. The father was also a native of North
Ireland, is a farmer by occupation, and still re-
sides in Ireland, being now in his seventy-sixth
year. The mother died in 1892.

Doctor Hill was reared in County Antrim,
and during the period of his youth, between the
age of eleven and fourteen years, he attended
the Lesburn Academy. From this institution he
matriculated into the Queen's University, Bel-
fast, where he partially completed the medical
course, spending about three years at the uni-
versity. In 1885 he came to the United States
and joined his brother in McPherson county.
South Dakota, with whom he remained a few
years, and then went to Keokuk, Iowa, and en-
tered the College of Physicians and Surgeons in
that city, where he was graduated in 1894. He
began the practice of medicine at Leola, McPher-
son county. South Dakota, during the summer
of 1894, following which he visited his old home
in Ireland, where he spent most of that winter.
In the spring of 1895 he returned to the LTnited

States and, stopping in New York and Chicago,
spent some time in hospital work. He then lo-
cated at Ipswich. The Doctor is a member of
the Aberdeen District Medical Society, the South
Dakota Medical Society and the American Medi-
cal Association. He is a thirty-second-degree
Mason, and also belongs to the Modern Wood-
men of America, the Knights of the Maccabees
and the Ancient Order of United Workmen,
being medical examiner for the three orders. He
has served as coroner of McRierson county for
the past eight years. He is a Republican in
politics and in religion is a member of the Con-
gregational church.

Dr. Hill was married, September 18, 1895, to
Bird R. Roe. who was born in Michigan, and
to them have been born three children. Helen
Harriett, Ruth Elizabeth and Robert Roc.

FRED ANDREW SEAMAN, secretary of
the Big Four Land and Cattle Company, incor-
porated, of Faulkton, was bom at Arcade, Wyo-
ming county, New York, on March 11, 1857.
His parents were Andrew and Mary A. (Jack-
man) Seaman, the former a native of Holland,
who came to America when he was seventeen
years old with his people. The mother was bom
in Sardinia, Erie county. New York. The fa-
ther died in 1882, and the mother has made her
home in Faulkton, being now in her seventieth
year. Her mother resides at Oshkosh, Wiscon-
sin, and is in her ninety-first year.

Fred A. Seaman resided in Arcade, New
York, until he was twenty-five years of age. He
received a common-school and academic educa-
tion. He then took a four-years course at read-
ing law in the office of the district attorney's office
of Wyoming county, and was admitted to prac-
tice both in New York and South Dakota. He
came' to South Dakota in 1883, and located at
La Foon, which afterwards became the first
county seat of Faulk county. He organized the
Faulk County Bank in La Foon in 1885, of which
he became cashier. He removed to Faulkton in
the fall of 1886, moving the bank from La Foon.
The bank was closed in 1890. He was on a

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ranch for five years, which ranch he still owns,
it being seven miles southeast of Faulkton, and
containing six hundred and forty acres.

Mr. Seaman was married December 2, 1886,
to Miss Julia E. Smith, of La Foon, the daugh-
ter of Hon. D. S. Smith, who served in the
South Dakota state senate. To the union two
sons and five daughters have been born, of whom
only the sons are living, Leonard A. and Paul S.

Mr. Seaman is a Mason, being a member of
the blue lodge and chapter. Modern Woodmen
of America, the Ancient Order of United Work-
men and the Royal Arcanum. He is a member
of the Congregational church, and is superin-
tendent of the Sunday school for the past tliree
years. For the last three years he has been sec-
retary of the Big Four Land and Cattle Com-
pany. For seven years he was district collector
for the Deering and McCormick Harvester Com-
panies.

CHARLES A. BLAKE, register of the
United States land office at Huron, is a native of
Port Washington, Wisconsin, where he was born
August 20, 1854. He is the son of Barnum and
Christine Blake. He was educated in the Port
Washington common schools, attended the Ra-
cine College and graduated from the academy at
Winnetka, Illinois, and from Drew's Business
College. He was a partner in the People's Bank
of Chicago and also engaged in the coal busi-
ness until 1878, when he became the Chicago
correspondent of the New York Commercial Re-
view, continuing in this position until he came to
Dakota in 1882 and located at Wessington in the
real-estate and insurance business. In 1890 he
purchased the Wessington Times, which he still
conducts. In 1898 he was appointed by Presi-
dent McKinley to his present position. Mr.
Blake was always a Republican and has been
prominent in party affairs during his long resi-
dence in South Dakota. He is a prominent Ma-
son, belonging to the commandery and the
Shrine, and is also a member of the Huron lodge
-of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

Mr. Blake was married, December 16, 1884,

to Miss Minnie M. Barnes. They have four
children, all excellent students in the Huron
schools, George B., Ambrose B., Elma B. and
Nellie M. The prominence which Mr. Blake
has attained in the community is but a recogni-
tion of his integrity, ability and public spirit.

REV. S. H. STEVENS, an honored resident
of Gregorv county, is a native of the Empire
state of the Union and a scion of stanch old New
England stock. He was born on a farm in Cat-
taraugus county. New York, on the i8th of
April, 1837, being a son of Levi and Nancy
(Van Tassel) Stevens, the latter of whom was
born in the state of New York, being of the
sturdy Holland Dutch lineage. The father of
the subject was born in Vermont, where he was
reared to the age of twelve years^ when he ac-
companied his parents on their removal to the
state of New York, where he passed the re-
mainder of his life, engaged in agricultural pur-
suits. His father was for many years engaged
in the nursery business in the old Green Moun-
tain state, his property in this line being de-
stroyed during the war of 1812. He located in
Niagara county, New York, where his death oc-
curred, while his son Levi died in Cattaraugus
county, where he was engaged in farming for
many years. He was a Democrat in politics and
was a devoted member of the Baptist church,
having been identified with one church organi-
zation for the long period of sixty-one years,
and having been eighty-four years of age at the
time of his death, while his wife also passed
away at the age of eighty-four years. They be-
came the parents of five sons, all of whom are
living.

Rev. S. H. Stevens was reared on the home
farm and secured his elementary education in
the common schools of his native county, supple-
menting this by a course of study in Adrian,
Michigan, and early determining to prepare him-
self for the ministry of the Baptist church. He
was ordained in 1866, at New Haven, Macomb
county, Michigan, and in 1868 removed to Oak-
land county. Michigan, where he was engaged

1/78

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

in the work of his noble calling for the ensuing
four years, and thereafter he held for two years
the pastorate of the Baptist church at Lenox,
Ashtabula county, Ohio. At the expiration of
this period he removed to Correctionville, Wood-
bury county, Iowa, and there continued his ef-
fective labors in the vineyard of the divine Mas-
ter until 1895, when he came to South Dakota and
became a pioneer of what is now Gregory county.
Here he took up a homestead claim of govern-
ment land, and on a portion of the same the
thriving little village of Bonesteel is located.
He was the first regular pastor of the first Free
Baptist church organized in the county, and the
Baptist church of Bonesteel was the first edifice
of the sort erected in the county by the English-
speaking people. The subject retired from the
active work of the ministry in 1897, but still con-
tinues to exercise the functions of his ecclesias-
tical olifices at intervals.

When the dark cloud of civil war obscured
the national horizon, Mr. Stevens was among the
iirst to tender service in defense of the Union.
In July, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Com-
pany F, Sixty-fourth New York Volunteer In-
fantry, the command being stationed at Elmira
until the following October, for the purpose of
tactical discipline. The regiment then pro-
ceeded to the national capital, remaining in its
defensive force until December, when it crossed
the Potomac and camped near Alexandria, Vir-
ginia, during the winter. It took part in the en-
gagement at Manassas Junction, in the follow-
ing spring, and then moved onward to old Fort-
ress Monroe and took part in the Peninsular
campaign. The subject was an active partici-
pant, under General McClellan, in the engage-
ment at Fair Oaks, where he received a wound
in the neck, but joined his regiment in time to
participate in the battles of Antietam and Qian-
cellorsville, where before crossing the river he
was taken ill with fever. He, however, recov-
ered to start forward with his command on the
way to Gettysburg, but while enroute suffered
a sunstroke, which compelled him to enter the
hospital, where he remained until about twenty
davs bcfftre his three-vears term of enlistment

expired, and received his honorable discharge
at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in June, 1864. He
retains a deep interest in his old comrades in
arms and signifies the same by retaining mem-
bership in the Grand Army of the Republic,
while he is also identified with the Independent
Order of Good Templars. In politics Mr. Ste-
vens has ever given his allegiance to the Repub-
lican party.

The subject has attained marked temporal
success, and that through consecutive and inde-
fatigable work. He is now the owner of seven
hundred and twenty-three acres of valuable land,
about three miles distant from Bonesteel, near
which village he also owns an additional one
hundred and twenty acres.

On the Sth of March, 1865, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Stevens to Miss Angeline
Bassett, who was born in Cattaraugus county.
New York, being a daughter of Daniel and Abi-
gail (Libbey) Bassett. Daniel Bassett was born
in Washington county. New York, on the 17th
of September, 1806, and became a tanner and
currier by vocation, while he eventually re-
moved to Cattaraugus county, where he followed
this line of enterprise until his retirement, his
death there occurring in 1873, while his wife
passed away in 1877. Of their nine children all
are living except one. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens
have two children, Howard, who is now fore-
man in the painting department of the Great
Northern Railroad Company, in the city of St.
Paul, Minnesota, and Mabel A., who is the wife
of \\'illiam Redmon, a successful farmer of
Plvni(.)uth C(iunt\', Iowa.

JOHN LONGSTAFF is the son of George
and Mary (Bradbury) Longstai? and was born
at Newport, New York, May 22, 1863. He re-
ceived his education in the public schools and at
twenty years of age landed in Huron, where for
two years he was employed upon the Daily
Times. He was then with the Davenport (Iowa)
Gazette for a couple of years, but in 1887 re-
turned to Huron and purchased an interest in the
Huronitc. and has since continued in that con-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1779

nection, since 1896 having been the sole owner
of the establishment. Mr. Longstaff was ap-
pointed postmaster at Huron by President Har-
rison, and was appointed by Governor Lee mem-
ber of the non-partisan committee to investigate
all of the state institutions since statehood. He
was chairman of the appropriation committee of
the house of representatives in the legislature of
1903 and has since been reappointed postmaster
of Huron by President Roosevelt. As a citizen
and business man, Mr. Longstaff is public-spir-
ited, clean, energetic, a leader in every movement
for the advancement of his community. As a
public official he has exemplified ideal, popular
and economical government. As an editorial
writer he has developed an individuality which
has given to his newspaper, the Daily Huronite,
a classification all its own ; strong, trenchant,
clean ; a fearless advocate of righteousness in pri-
vate and political life, which has given to it a
place of the first influence in state affairs.

Mr. Longstaff is a member of Syracuse
Lodge, No. 16, Knights of Pythias, and of Huron
Lodge, No. 444, Benevolent and Protective Or-
der of Elks. He was married in 1887 to Miss
Rose Schechtl, of Racine, Wisconsin, and they
are the parents of three masterful boys, Ralph S.,
George Elbert and John Walter.

ARTHUR E. CLARK, cashier of the Bank
of Hecla, is a native of the old Empire state, hav-
ing been born in Onondaga county. New York, on
the 2d of April, 1863, and being a son of Fayette
and Priscilla (Spaulding) Clark, both of whom
were likewise born and reared in that county,
while Chester Clark, the paternal grandfather,
was a native of Connecticut, whence he removed
to New York state, in an early day. The family
is of English extraction and was founded in New
England in the colonial epoch of our history,
while it is interesting to note that our subject is
in the sixth generation of direct descent from
Joseph McCoy, who married Jerusha Sawyer,
the latter being a member of one of the Puritan
families that came over in the historic May-
flower. In 1875 the parents of Mr. Gark re-

moved to Michigan and settled in Ionia county,
where the father died in 1878, having been a
farmer by vocation. His wife passed away in
1901, and of their three children all are living.
Arthur E. Clark, the second of the three chil-
dren, secured his early educational discipline
in the public schools of his native county, and
continued his studies in the schools of Michigan,
having been twelve years of age at the time of
the family removal to the Wolverine state. In
his youth he learned the art of telegraphing,
which he followed for some time in Michigan,
and in 1885 he came to the present state of
South Dakota, first locating in Roscoe, Edmunds
county, and being thereafter engaged in farm-
ing for q short interval. In October, 1885, he
became a telegraph operator in the office of the
Qiicago & Northwestern Railroad at Aberdeen,
working at several points as relief agent and op-
erator, until September of the following year,
when he located in Hecla, as station agent and
operator on the same line of railroad. From an
interesting brochure issued by the bank of which
he is cashier, we make the following excerpts,
as apropos in connection : "In September, 1886,
our present cashier, Mr. A. E. Qark, came to
this town and opened the station, taking charge
as agent and operator. He participated in some
of the luxuries of pioneering, to the extent, at
least, of sleeping in a pile of straw with a few
boards laid on to make it feel like bedding. On
December 9, 1887, he opened the books of the
State Bank of Dakota, but waited until January
21, 1888, for its first depositor, who was John
Quickborner, the agent for Stokes Brothers. In
the fall of 1888, when the First National Bank
of Columbia, Dakota territory, surrendered its
charter, Mr. Charles A. Baker, a man of wealth,
induced us to associate our interests and organ-
ize the Bank of Hecla, which was chartered De-
cember 7, 1888, with an authorized capital of
thirty-five thousand dollars. With Charles A.
Baker as president and A. E. Clark as cashier,
the Bank of Hecla opened its doors in its new
building, in which it is still located, on the 28th
of May, 1889, with a paid-up capital of fourteen
thou.^and dollars. The Russian thistle and hot

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

winds of the season caused Mr. Baker to long
for a more congenial atmosphere and society,
and on December 27th of the same year he sold
his interests in the bank to James Holborn, who
was elected president. At this time the paid-in
capital was reduced to ten thousand dollars, and
January I, 1891, a further reduction was ef-
fected, to the amount of five thousand dollars.
On the 2ist of October, 1892, Mr. Holborn re-
signed the presidency of the bank and P. C.
Wright was elected his successor.

"Then followed the 'times that tried men's
souls,' the whole country suffering from short
crops and the effect of the panic of 1893, until
we struck our low point on the 8th of June,
1895. Acknowledgment should be made of the
true worth and work of B. S. Clark, who was
elected vice-president on the 31st of August,
1893, and who has contributed no small share I
toward keeping and making the Bank of Hecla
an institution of which to be proud."

The management of the bank has at all times
been conservative and discriminating, and it is
known as a solid and well conducted concern.
From its statement rendered on March 2, 1904,
we find that its capital is retained at five thou-
sand dollars, while its individual deposits are in
excess of seventeen thousand dollars ; above
thirteen thousand dollars are represented in cer-
tificates of deposits, while the undivided profits
show an aggregate of nine hundred and three
dollars and twenty-three cents. The banking 1
office is a modern and attractive one, with the '
best of appointments and facilities, and the funds
are protected by a Hall fire and burglar-proof
safe.

Mr. Clark continued to be more or less iden-
tified with the management of the local railway
station until 1893, since which time he has given
his undivided attention to his banking and other
interests. He has been for a number of years
prominently concerned in the real-estate busi-
ness, and has owned much valuable farming and
grazing land, having at the present time three
quarter sections under eiifective cultivation and
supplied with fine artesian wells, while he also
owns a large tract of grazing land. In politics

he allies himself with the Socialistic party and
is one of its wheelhorses in the state, while his
name has appeared on its ticket in connection
with nomination for important offices. He is
the party candidate for the office of state treas-
urer at the time of this writing, the election to
be held in November, 1904. He is in all senses
a most eligible candidate, and his personal pop-
ularity is such that he will certainly receive a
good endorsement at the polls. He is affiliated
with the Masonic fraternity and the Ancient Or-
der of United Workmen, as well as with the
auxiliary branch of the latter, the Degree of
Honor.

On the 22d of January, 1888, Mr. Clark was
united in marriage to Miss Bertha Wilmsen,
who was born in Wisconsin. They have no
children.

ORVIN J. ROE, editor and publisher of the
Eureka Post, at Eureka, ]\IcPherson county,
was born at Larabee's Point, in Shoreham town-
ship, Addison county, Vermont, on the 13th of
November, 1851, said village being twenty-five
miles north of Whitehall, New York. His
father, Ambrose Thomas Roe, was born July 2,
181 7, at Williamstown, Massachusetts, and his
death occurred in 1873, while his wife, whose
maiden name was Helen Mar Payne, was
born at Alden, New York, and died in
1870. The father was a carpenter by
trade and vocation, and about i860 removed
from New York to Michigan, locating finally
in the city of Battle Creek, Calhoun county,
where he and his wife passed the remainder of
their lives. He was the tenth in order of birth
of the eleven children of Elisha and Electa Roe,
the maiden name of the latter having been Hill.
So far as authentic data is accessible the first
generation of the Roe family in America was
headed by Hugh Roe, who was married in Wey-
mouth, Massachusetts, in 1655, to Abigail

her maiden name not being recorded. They
later removed to Hartford and finally to
Suffield, Connecticut. Their son, Peter, was
married in 1689, to Sarah Remington, and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

they had ten children. He died February
4, 1739. The ninth of the children, and
the one through whom the direct line is
traced to the subject of this review, was Thomas
Roe, who was born July 28, 1708, at Suffield,
Connecticut, and was married, December 36,
1728, at Enfield, Connecticut, to Elizabeth Pur-
chase. Their seventh child was Thomas, Jr.,
who was born in November, 1739, and who died
in 1823, his wife dying about the same year.
Her maiden name was Mary Welles. They re-
moved to Williamstown, Berkshire county, Mas-
sachusetts. Thomas Roe, Jr., the great-grand-
father of our subject, was a private in Captain
Jeremiah Pettibone's company at the time of the
French and Indian wars in 1755, and also ren-
dered valiant service as a Continental soldier in
the war of the Revolution, having been a mem-
ber of a Berkshire county regiment and having
taken part in the battle of Bennington, on the
i6th of August, 1777. His first c\iild was Elisha,
Roe, grandfather of the subject of this, sketch.
Elisha Roe was born in Williamstown, Massa-
chusetts, on the 5th of December, 1768, and on
the 5th of March, 1798, married Electa Hill.
He died on the 12th of January, 1830, at Medina,
New York.

Mary ( \\'elles ) Roe, great-grandmother of
the subject in the agnatic line, was born August
7, 1739, and was a daughter of William and
Mary (Hume) Welles, the ancestry in the pa-
ternal line being traced back to Thomas Welles,
Sr., who came to Salem, Massachusetts, in 1629.
He was born in Rothwell, England, in 1598, and
his first wife bore the maiden name of Elizabeth
Hunt, and was a native of Rutland, England.
Said Thomas Welles was the second governor
of Connecticut, and also its first treasurer and
secretary. He died January 14, 1660. His son.
Captain Samuel, was killed by Indians, on the
15th of July, 1675, having commanded the
Weathersbury, Connecticut, training bank in the
great fight with King Phillip and having been
killed in this historic engagement. He married
Elizabeth Hollister, and their son, Captain
Thomas Welles, who was born July 29, 1662,
died December 7, 1711. For his second wife he

married Jerusha Treat, a daughter of Lieuten-
ant James Treat, a son of Richard Treat, who
was one of the nineteen men to whom the charter
of Connecticut was issued and who was a
brother of Governor Robert Treat. Ambrose
Hill, the great-grandfather of the subject in the
maternal line, was born March i, 1744, and was
of the fifth generation of the family in America.
He made an honorable record as a patriot sol-
dier in the Revolutionary war. He became cap-
tain and he served at Bunker Hill and Saratoga,
under General Paterson.

Orvin J. Roe was about nine years of age at
the time of his parents' removal to Michigan,
and the circumstances of the family were such
that he was soon thrown upon his own resources,
while his early educational discipline was se-
cured in the public schools of the city of Battle
Creek. He early manifested a predilection for
mecjianical pursuits, and in 1864 secured a posi-
tion in the woolen mills at Battle Creek. He re-
moved with his parents from Shoreham, Ver-
mont, to Lockport, New York, in 1858, and two
years later to Battle Creek, Michigan. In i868.
he went to Kalamo, that state, and in 1877 re-
moved to the city of Jackson, where he continued
to reside until 1883, when he came as a pioneer
to what is now the state of South Dakota, ar-
riving in Leola, McPherson county, on the 28th
of May, and there continuing to make his home
until October, 1896, when he removed to Eu-
reka, where he has since resided. He was en-
gaged in mercantile pursuits from 1869 until
1883, when his health became much impaired
and this was the primary cause of his coming
to South Dakota, since he hoped that the change
of climate might prove beneficial. At Leola he
was engaged in the general merchandise busi-
ness from the autumn of 1885 until 1888, being
associated with L. H. Moulton, under the firm
name of Moulton & Roe. He was clerk of the
courts of McPherson county from November 2,
1889, until January i, 1896, having been ap-
pointed to this position upon the admission of
the state to the Union, and having thereafter
been three times elected to the ofifice. In Octo-
ber, i8g6, he purchased the Eureka Post, which

1782

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

is published in both English and German edi-
tions, and which was at the time enlisted in sup-
port of the Populist partw He changed the po-
litical policy of the papers, making them expo-
nents of the cause of the Republican party, and
they exercise important functions in a political
way, and also in the furthering of local inter-
ests, while he has succeeded in increasing the
circulation from three hundred and fifty to eight-
een hundred copies, showing the popular esti-
mate placed upon the man and his efforts. He
has ever been an uncompromising advocate of
the principles and policies of the Republican
party, and is one of its leaders in McPherson
county, where he is held in high regard as a cit-
izen and business man. He and his wife are
members of the Presbyterian church in their
home town, and fraternally he is identified with
the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen
of America and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, in each of which he has passed nearly
all the official chairs in the local organizations.

On the 21 St of August, 1872, Mr. Roe was
united in marriage to Miss Dilla M. Sears, of
Bennington, Vermont, a daughter of Benjamin
F. Sears, who owned the property known as the
State Arms, in that place, and upon whose
grounds now stands the Bennington monument.
Mrs. Roe was summoned into eternal rest on
the 13th of November, 1893, in the city of Chi-
cago, and her remains were interred in the old
family burying grounds, in Center village, Ben-
nington, A'ermont. On the 27th of November,
1895, Mr. Roe married Miss Pauline Ansmus,
of Rockford, Illinois, and they have one child,
Ramona, who was born August 23, 1898.

SALOMON ISAAK, one of the leading
business men of Eureka, being the senior mem-
ber of the well-known firm of Isaak & Keim
Brothers, was born near Odessa, Russia, in the
year 1S65, and is a son of Gottlieb Isaak, who
was born one hundred miles west of the city
mentioned, his father having there taken up his
abode upon his immigration from Germany. In
T878 Gottlieb Isaak came with his family to

America and located in what is now South Da-
kota. He took up government land ten miles
east of the present town of Parkston, Hutchin-
son county, becoming one of the first settlers in
the county and there continuing his residence
for a period of eight years. He then removed
with his family to Mercer county, North Da-
kota, where he continued to be engaged in farm-
ing and stock growing during the ensuing seven
years, at the expiration of which he and his fam-
ily returned to South Dakota and located in Eu-
reka, where the honored father and mother of
our subject now maintain their home, the former
being practically retired from business.

The subject of this sketch secured his ele-
mentary education in his native land and sup-
plemented this by attending school as oppor-
tunity afforded after the family came to the ter-
ritory of Dakota, while it should be said that he
has broadened his education through the asso-
ciations and experiences of a signally active and
successful business career. In 1888 Mr. Isaak
initiated his independent career by engaging in
farming in Mercer county, North Dakota, where
he remained 'seven years. His place was
fifty miles from the railroad and he preferred not
to be thus isolated from civilization for a
longer period, and he accordingly disposed of
his live stock, rented his farm and then came to
South Dakota, once more and took up his abode
in Eureka. Here he was for four years engaged
in clerking in a mercantile establishment, and he
then began buying and shipping live stock on his
own account, continuing operations two years
and meeting with success, while he also began
I buying grain. In 1900 he entered into partner-
ship with John and Jacob Keim. under the firm
name of Isaak & Keim Brothers, which has
since continued, and at that time they pur-
chased a grain elevator in Eureka, while they
have since acquired two others, located at eligi-
ble points, so that they 'control a large business
in the buying and shipping of grain. In 1902
the firm also purchased the feed store of William
Robb, in Eureka, and have since continued the
enterprise, which has increased in scope and in
profits, the store being fifty by seventy-five feet

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

i/"\?

in dimensions, and eligibly located on Main
street. Mr. Isaak exchanged his land in North
Dakota for land in Franklin county. Washing-
ton, where he now owns a half section. He is
progressive in his methods and is held in high
regard as a citizen and business man. His po-
litical adherency is with the Republican party,
but he has never aspired to public office.

On the 23d of December, 1889, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Isaak to Miss Mary
Muller, who was likewise born in Russia,
whence she came with her parents to America
when a child. Of this union have been born
eight children, all of whom are living except
one: Paulina (deceased). Henry. Walter, Ed-
v,-in. Otto. Lvdia, Alatilda and Anna.

JOHN KEIM. one of the representative
business men of Eureka, McPherson county,
was born at a point about one hundred miles
west of the city of Odessa, Russia, on the 20th
of November, 1864, and his father, Jacob Keim,
was likewise born in the same district, where
he passed his entire life, being a farmer by voca-
tion. He came of stanch old German stock, his
father having removed from Wurtemberg, Ger-
many, to Russia and settled in a locality in which
were found many of his countr\-men.

The subject of this review secured his early
education in the excellent schools of his native
land and continued to there maintain his home
until 1889, when, at the age of twenty-five
years, he came to America and forthwith took up
his abode in McPherson county. South Dal<ota,
where he has ever since maintained his home
and where he has gained success and popularity,
being one of the progressive and able young
business men of the town of Eureka. For the
first six months after his arrival in the state he
was employed in farm work, and he then took
up a tract of land and engaged in farming and
stock growing on his own responsibility, con-
tinuing to be successfully identified with these
lines of enterprise until 1900, while he still owns
the farm, which is located two miles north of
Eureka, and which now comprises six quarter

sections of land, arable and productive and de-
voted principally to the raising of wheat, corn
and live stock, while he has made excellent im-
provements of a permanent nature.

In 1901 Mr. Keim entered into partnership
with Salomon Isaak, and they have been ever
since associated in the ownership and operation
of an excellently equipped and conducted grain
elevator in Eureka, while they also have two other
elevators in this section of the state and are the
owners of a feed store in Eureka, and are en-
gaged in the handling of all kinds of farming
machinery and implements in the same town.
The subject's brother, Jacob, is also an interest-
ed principal in each of these enterprises and
the same are conducted under the firm name of
Isaak & Keim Brothers. The members of the
firm are men of sterling integrity and indomi-
table perseverance and energy, and they have
naturally commended themselves to the confi-
dence and good will of all with whom they have
come in contact in either a business or social
way, being numbered among the valued citizens
of the village and county. In politics Mr. Keim
gives his support to the Republican party, while
he is most loyal to the land of his adoption and
appreciative of the advantages here afforded.

In November, 1885, J\lr. Keim was united in
marriage to Miss Christiana Schanzenbach, who
likewise was born and reared in Russia, and
they have four children : Freda, Rosa. Gustave
and Theodore.

HAMPTON RAY KENASTON, M. D.,
who is succesfully engaged in the work of his
profession in Bonesteel, Gregory county, was
born near Elmwood, Cass county, Nebraska, on
the 24th of March, 1870, and is a son of Dr.
James and Caroline Kenaston, the latter being
now deceased. They became the parents of
twelve children, of whom eight were sons,
and of the number ten are yet living.
The ancestors of the Doctor in the ag-
natic line came from Scotland to America
in the colonial epoch of our national his-
tory, the original orthography of the name

1/84

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

having been McKenaston, and the prefix hav-
ing been dropped by the American branch. At
the outbreak of the war of the Revolution the
grandfather of the subject was but eight years
of age, his parents being at the time residents
of Vershire, New Hampshire. His eldest broth-
er was a member of the famous Boston "tea
party," and, with others of the older brothers,
rendered valiant service in the cause of inde-
pendence, as a soldier in the Continental line.
The Kenaston family followed the march of civ-
ilization westward through Ohio, Indiana, Illi-
nois and Wisconsin, and the year 1855 found
them in Warren county, Iowa, while the father
of our subject served as a valiant soldier in the
war of the Rebellion. He removed from Iowa
into Nebraska, locating in Elmwood, Cass
county, where he engaged in the practice of his
profession, and where he passed the remainder
of his life. The subject of this review secured
his early educational discipline in the public
schools of his home town and there remained
until the death of his mother, in 1889, after
which he accompanied two of his brothers to the
Pacific coast, passing a year in Washington and
Oregon, and returning home through the Cana-
dian northwest. The Doctor then located in
Butte, Boyd county, Nebraska, where, in the
spring of 1891, he began the study of medicine
under the able preceptorship of Dr. A. S.
Warner, of that place : In 1893 he was matric-
ulated in the Sioux City (Iowa) College of Med-
icine, where he continued his studies for one
year, completing his technical course in the med-
ical department of the U. S. Grant University,
at Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he was grad-
uated with honors, receiving his degree of Doc-
tor of Medicine on the 22d of March, 1898. In
the following month he came to South Dakota,
and located in Bonesteel, Gregory county,
where he at once began the practice of his cho-
sen profession. He has been most successful as
a general practitioner and has built up a large
and representative professional business, while
he has the confidence and high regard of the
people of the community. In 1902 he received
a certificate as a registered pharmacist, after ex-
amination before the state board of pharmacy,

and has since conducted a drug store as a com-
plement to and base of supplies for his profes-
sional work. When the Citizens' Bank of Bone-
steel was incorporated in May, 1902, the Doctor
was one of its incorporators and was chosen a
member of its directorate, while in May of the
following year he was elected vice-president of
the institution. In 1902 he was appointed lo-
cal surgeon for the Chicago & Northwestern
Railroad. In the autumn of 1903 he took a post-
graduate course in the New York Polyclinic
medical school and hospital, in New York city.
In 1900 Dr. Kenaston was appointed vice-pres-
ident of the Gregory county board of health,
and the following year was made superintend-
ent of this board, which incumbency he still re-
tains. He is a stanch advocate of the principles
i of the Republican party, and upon the organiza-
I tion of Gregory county was elected coroner, in
which office he has ever since continued to serve
efficiently. He is a member of the South Dakota
State Medical Society and of the American
i Medical Association, while on February 20,
1904, he was appointed a member of the national
auxiliary congressional and legislative commit-
tee of the latter association. He is identified
with the Masonic fraternity.

The Doctor has an especially well-equipped
office, in which is found a fine sixteen-plate X-
Ray machine and several other electrical instru-
ments. He is essentially a self-made man, hav-
ing depended entirely upon his own efforts and
resources in securing his education. He has
ever been foremost in lending his support to
those measures and enterprises which have for
I their object the enhancement of the material
I prosperity of the community and the bettering
of humanity. He is imbued with distinctive lit-
erary taste and has a splendid library.

On the 8th of November, 1899, Dr. Kenaston
was united in marriage to Miss Jean May Mc-
Kee, who was graduated in the State Normal
School at Clarion, Pennsylvania, as a member
of the class of 1892, and who was prior to her
marriage a teacher in the public schools of But-
ler, that state. Dr. and Mrs. Kenaston have one
son, Hampton Ray, Jr., who was born on the
13th of October, 1902.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[785

JAMES M. BROWN, judge of the county
courts of McPherson county, comes of stanch
old colonial stock, the genealogy in the paternal
line showing that the family was founded in
America in 1500. The ancestors were driven
out of England during the persecution of those
identified with the Society of Friends, or Quak-
ers, and they filed to Holland and thence to
America at the opening of the sixteenth cen-
tury, as previously noted, the original settlement
having been made either in New England or
Rhode Island, while the name was for many
generations more particularly identified with
agricultural pursuits than any other vocation.
Judge Brown was born on a farm in Oneida
county. New York, on the loth of January,
1861, and is a son of John and Hannah (Mitch-
ell) Brown, both of whom were born and reared
in that same county, and both of whom are now
deceased. The paternal grandfather of the sub-
ject likewise bore the name of John, and he
likewise was born in the state of New York,
whither his father, Thomas J. Brown, removed
from Rhode Island, the place of the latter's na-
tivity. Thomas J. was an active participant in
the war of the Revolution, and this implies that
he must, in a sense, have deviated from the prin-
ciples of his ancestral faith, since the Quakers
are opposed to warfare. The father of our sub-
ject became a successful farmer of Oneida
county, was public-spirited, his integrity was be-
yond question and he wielded no little influence
in his community, having been called upon to
serve in various county offices. In his family
were two children, James M., the subject of this
sketch, and Minnie B., a resident of Chicago,
Illinois. The parents were consistent and de-
voted members of the Friends church.

Judge Brown received his early educational
training in the public schools of his native coun-
ty, and then entered Hamilton College, in the
same county, in which famous old institution
he continued his studies until his health became
so impaired as to compel him to abandon his
course and seek a change of climate. Accord-
ingly he went to the south, and at Galveston,
Texas, in 1876, he joined the engineer depart-

ment of the government and was identified with
its field work for the ensuing six years, in var-
ious portions of the south and west. In 1883 he
came to South Dakota and located in La Grace,
Campbell county, where he remained three years,
at the expiration of which he removed to Eu-
reka, McPherson county, where he has since
maintained his home, having been one of the
early settlers of the town and having been
closely identified with its material, civic and po-
litical development and progress. In the mean-
while he had taken up the study of law and so •
thoroughly covered the field of jurisprudence as
to secure admission to the bar of the territory
of Dakota in 1887, while he has ever since con-
tinued to be identified with legal affairs in this
section of the state, either as a general practi-
tioner, public prosecutor or as judge. He was
state's attorney of the county for several years,
and has served on the bench of the county court
for a total of three terms, though not absolutely
in a consecutive way, while he is incumbent of
this responsible office at the time of this writing
and has made a record for fair and impartial
rulings, based upon the law and evidence, so
that he has had few reversals of his decisions by
the higher tribunals. In 1901 he was appointed
by Governor Herreid as one of the three code
commissioners to revise and codify the laws of
the state of South Dakota, the other two com-
missioners being Judge Bartlett Tripp and the
late Judge Gideon C. Moody. The Judge is a
Knight Templar Mason and identified with the
Order of the Eastern Star, the Knights of Pyth-
ias and the Modern Woodmen of America.

On the 9th of January, 1895, Judge Brown
was united in marriage to Miss Hattie A. Van
Gorder, who was bom and reared in Prairie
du Giien, Wisconsin.

JOHN R. BONNER, who has a well-im-
proved and valuable farm of three hundred and
twenty acres, eligibly located five miles north-
east of Pierpont, Day county, was born on a
farm in DuPage county, Illinois, on the 13th of
August, 1859, the old homestead being within

1786

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

sight of the city of Chicago. He is a son of
Qiarles and Sarah (Rooke) Bonner, both of
whom were born and reared in Lincohishire,
England, while their marriage was solemnized
in March, 1855. Upon coming to America
Charles Bonner settled in DuPage county, Illi-
nois, being numbered among its pioneer farmers,
and there he continued to resides until 1884,
when he removed to Remington, Indiana, where
he and his devoted wife now maintain their
home, being venerable in years, but in excellent
health and spirits. They became the parents of
eight children, of whom five are living, the sub-
ject of this sketch having been the third in or-
der of birth.

John R. Bonner was reared on the old home-
stead farm and early became inured to the labors
involved in the cultivation, while in the connec-
tion he gained that intimate knowledge of the
practical details of the great basic art of agri-
culture which has so signally conserved his suc-
cess in the line during the years of his residence
in South Dakota. He initiated his independent
career in 1881, having received his educational
training in the public schools of his native
county. He there remained two years subse-
quently to starting out for himself, and then,
in 1883, came as a pioneer to the present state
of South Dakota, where he secured homestead
■and tree claims, the two constituting his pres-
ent fine farm, which has been his home during
the long intervening years, within which he has
contributed his share to the work of developing
the county and its resources, taking a proper in-
terest in public affairs and ever standing ready
to do his part in pu.shing forward the work of
progress and material and social advancement,
while his efforts have been so ably directed that
he has not been denied a full measure of success.
His farm is improved with good buildings and
practically the entire tract is under cultivation,
yielding large crops of wheat and other grains.
Mr. Bonner has not had a crop failure in the
past twenty years, and the productive integrity
of the soil of his farm seems not in the least im-
paired. He has an excellent supply of water on
the place and in addition to diversified agricul-

ture makes somewhat of a specialty of raising
an excellent grade of swine. He is a stanch
adherent of the Republican party and has served
in the various township offices, having been cho-
sen to such preferment soon after locating in
the county. Fraternally he is a master Mason and
identified with the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and the Knights of the Maccabees.

On the 14th of September, 1889, Mr. Bon-
ner lead to the hymeneal alter Miss Stella Burt,
who was born in the state of Michigan, and who
has proved a devout wife and helpmeet. They
have five children, James, Sarah, Joseph, Susan
and Helen.

CHALKLEY W. DERR, a representative
business man of Turton, Spink county, is a son
of Judge Chalkley H. Derr, one of the distin-
guished and honored citizens of Faulkton, Faulk
county, of whom specific mention is made on
other pages of this compilation. The subject
of this sketch was born in Jones county, Iowa,
on the 27th of August, 1868, and he was there
reared to the age of fourteen years, having re-
ceived his educational discipline in the public
schools of Olin, that county. He accompanied
his parents on their removal to Faulkton, this
state, where, in 1887, he engaged in the buying
and shipping of wheat, with which important
line of enterprise he has ever since been identi-
fied. In 1888, he removed from Faulkton to
Turton, with whose business interests he became
closely identified. In 1890 he established a lum-
ber business here, and in 1900 opened a hard-
ware store and warehouse for the sale and stor-
age of agricultural implements and machinery,
and he has since continued to successfully con-
duct the three enterprises, showing marked ex-
ecutive ability and facility in the management
of his affairs, which are of wide scope and im-
portance, while he is recognized as one of the
most progressive and public-spirited men of the
county, contributing to the general prosperity
through the individual business activities with
which he' is identified. He has a well-equipped
hardware store, and his business in all lines is

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1787

constantly increasing, while he commands the
uniform confidence and esteem of all with whom
he comes in contact, his genial nature and un-
varying courtesy doing much to conserve his
personal popularity, while both he and his wife
are leaders in the social life of the community.
In politics Mr. Derr is a stanch advocate of the
principles of the Republican party, but has never
sought ofScial preferment, and fraternally he is
identified with the following named organiza-
tions : Lodge No. 134, Ancient Free and Ac-
cepted Masons, at Conde, South Dakota ; the
chapter. Royal Arch Masons, at Clark, South
Dakota; Damascus Commandery, No. 10,
Knights Templar; Aberdeen Consistory, No. 4,
Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, at Aberdeen,
and El Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of
the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Sioux Falls,
while he is also afifiliated with Turton Lodge,
No. 96, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and
Turton Camp, No. 6067, Modern Woodmen of
America, in his home town. Religiously he is
affiliated with the Congregational church.

ANDREW FEENEY, a prosperous and
honored stock grower of Stanley county, his
well-improved ranch being located fifteen miles
west of Fort Pierre, is a native of the fair Em-
erald Isle and a representative of stanch old
Irish stock. He was born in Hollygrove, County
Galway, Ireland, on the 28th of May, 1870, and
is a son of Patrick and Margaret Feeney, the
former of whom died in 1876, in Ireland, where
he devoted his life to stock raising, while the
latter died in South Dakota, in 1900, haying
been one of the noble pioneer women of the
state. The subject of this sketch received his
early educational training in the parochial
schools of his native land, and was about six
years of age at the time of his father's death.
In 1 88 1, when eleven years old, he accompanied
his mother and the other members of the family
to America, and they forthwith came to what is
now the state of South Dakota and located on a
jiioneer ranch one mile northwest of Harrold,
Hughes county. There they secured a pre-emp-

tion claim, upon which our subject continued to
reside about six years, doing most strenuous
work in connection with its improvement and de-
development. The family then removed to a
ranch three and one-half miles northeast of
Pierre, in the same county, where they remained
for the ensuing six years, since which time the
subject has resided on his present ranch, which
comprises six hundred and forty acres and
which is eligibly located fifteen miles west of
Fort Pierre, Stanley county, as has already been
noted. He gives his attention principally to the
raising of cattle and horses, and has steadily
pressed forward toward the goal of success, be-
ing now numbered among the substantial, pro-
gressive and popular stock growers and valued
citizens of Stanley county. He has retained his
residence in Fort Pierre since 1902, in which
year he was elected sheriff of the county, an of-
fice of which he has ever since remained incum-
bent, while his administration has been a most
discriminating and able one, gaining to him une-
quivocal commendation. He is a stalwart advo-
cate of the principles of the Democratic party,
and has taken an active part in forwarding its
cause in a local way. He was reared in the faith
of the Catholic church, of which both his father
and mother were communicants. Mr. Feeney
remains a bachelor.

JOHN N. ELLERMAN, one of the prom-
inent young business men of Fairfax, Gregory
county, not only has the distinction of being a
native of the state of South Dakota, but also
that of being the youngest county treasurer iti
this commonwealth, which has been his home
throughout his entire life. Mr. Ellerman was
born at Jamesville, Yankton county, this state,
on the i8th of June, 1878, and the date signifies
plainly that he is a representative of one of the
pioneer families of South Dakota. He is the
son of Herman and Emily (Rudolph) Eller-
man, both of whom were born in Germany,
whence they came to America in their early
childhood. Their marriage was solemnized at
lamcsville. South Dakota, where the father of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the subject took up a homestead claim of gov-
ernment land, which he improved and placed un-
der cultivation. In the years following this set-
tlement Herman EUerman took an active part in
the politics of Yankton county and held several
positions of trust, among them being county
treasurer and county assessor. He now is the
United States collector of internal revenue for
the district of North and South Dakota, to which
position he was appointed during McKinley's
administration and in which he has continued
ever since. I

John N. Ellerman, the immediate subject of
this review, secured his early training in the
public schools of the city of Yankton, being
graduated in the high school as a member of the
class of 1898. In September of that year he en-
tered the celebrated University of Michigan, at
Ann Arbor, and in this institution continued his
studies for two years, at the expiration of which
he returned to his home at Yankton. In 1900 he
was appointed deputy county treasurer, in which
capacity he continued to serve nearly two years,
after which he became business manager of the
Dakota Free Press and devoted his attention to
newspaper work until May, 1902, gaining pres-
tige and success in this field of endeavor. In
May, 1902, he took up his residence at Fairfax,
the capital of Gregory county, and here estab-
lished himself in the real-estate and loan busi-
ness. He has been successful in his labors and
is known as a progressive and public-spirited
citizen. Only four months after his arrival in the
county Mr. Ellerman was nominated on the Re-
publican ticket for the office of county treasurer,
and in the autumn of the same year, 1902, he
was elected to this responsible ofifice. He en-
tered upon the active discharge of his official
duties on the ist of January, 1903, and as an ex-
ecutive and citizen spares no pains to further
the best interests of the new and thriving county
with whose people he has cast his lot. He still
continues his real-estate and loan business and
enjoys the liberal patronage of the ppople of the
county. At the time of his nomination for
county treasurer he was incumbent of the office
of justice of the peace, resigning the same to

take up the work of his present office. In poli-
tics Mr. Ellerman gives an uncompromising al-
legiance to the Republican party, and frater-
nally he has attained high advancement in the
time-honored Masonic order, in which his af-
filiations include membership in St. John's
Lodge, No. I, Free and Accepted Masons, in
Yankton, and Oriental Consistory, No. i, ^An-
cient Accepted Scottish Rite, in which he
has attained the thirty-second degree at the time
of this writing. Mr. Ellerman enjoys a marked
popularity in Gregory county, as does he also in
his old home in Yankton county, and he is one
who well exemplified the progressive spirit so
manifest in his native commonwealth.

CRIST GRUE, the able and popular regis-
ter of deeds of Day county, was born not far
from the picturesque old city of Christiania,
Norway, on the 19th of September, 1863, and is
a son of Andreas Grue, who was born in the
same place and who passed his entire life in his
native land. Our subject was reared in his na-
tive city, where he duly availed himself of the
advantages of the excellent national schools, and
he there continued to reside until 1881, when, in
company with his four brothers, he immigrated
to the United States. They came at once to
South Dakota, and located near Canton, Lincoln
county. There the subject continued to be en-
gaged in farming and stock growing until 1890,
when he removed to Day county and purchased
a quarter section of land four miles west of Bris-
tol, and here he continued in the same line of in-
dustry, conserving his resources and working
with indefatigable energy, so that he was pros-
pered and enabled to add to the area of his
landed estate. He now has a finely improved
farm of four hundred acres, of which his origi-
nal quarter section is an integral part, and about
one-half of the tract is under a high state of
cultivation, the remainder being utilized for
grazing purposes.

Upon coming to America, Mr. Grue soon
realized the necessity of gaining a more ade-
quate knowledge of the language of the country

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

789

than could be attained b}- absorption, and he
continued his studies in the pubhc schools for
some time, making rapid progress in English
and in the other branches of the curriculum. He
is a stanch Republican in politics and has taken
a lively interest in public affairs of a local inter-
est, while he has held various township offices.
In the autumn of 1902 he was elected register of
deeds of the county and thereupon took up his
residence in Webster, and his re-election to the
office is assured in the fall of the present year,
1904, since he has given a most able administra-
tion and even more firmly cemented his hold
upon popular esteem and approval. He is identi-
fied with the Improved Order of Red Men and
the Brotherhood of American Yeomen.

On the 31st of March, 1890, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Grue to Miss Julia Sogn, of
Lincoln countv. Thev have no children.

SAMUEL P. HOWELL, of Frederick,
Brown county, is a native of the old Buckeye
state, having been born on a farm in Licking
county, Ohio, on the 23d of December, 1837,
and being a son of George P. and Matilda
(Preston) Howell, the former of whom was
born in New Jersey and the latter in Pennsylva-
nia. Elias Howell, grandfather of the subject,
was likewise a native of New Jersey, where the
family was early established, and he removed
thence to Ohio, in the pioneer epoch in that
great commonwealth, becoming a man of prom-
inence and influence in public affairs and hav-
ing represented his district in congress for two
terms. He passed the closing years of life in
that state. George P. Howell was reared to
manhood in Ohio and was there married. He
continued to be identified with agricultural pur-
suits in Licking county until 1852, when he re-
moved with his family to McLean county, Illi-
nois, where both he and his wife passed the re-
mainder of their lives. They became the parents
of six sons and three daughters, the subject of
this sketch having been the third in order of
birth, while of the nimiber five are living. Cap-
tain Howell received his earlv educational train-

ing in the common schools of his native state and
later prosecuted his studies in the schools of Il-
linois. With the outbreak of the war of the Re-
bellion his patriotism was roused to responsive
protest, and on the 25th of August, 1862, he en-
listed as a private in Company I, Ninety-fourth
Illinois \'olunteer Infantry, commanded by Col-
onel W. W. Orm. His command was assigned
to duty on the frontier and there remained dur-
ing a considerable portion of its service. The
regiment was in active service in the various op-
erations in Misouri and Arkansas, later took
part in the siege of Vicksburg and was present
at the capitulation of Mobile and Spanish Fbrt.
The Captain continued with his command until
the close of the war, receiving his honorable dis-
charge in August, 1865. Immediately after the
organization of his company he was chosen sec-
ond lieutenant, later was promoted first lieuten-
ant and finally became captain of his company,
over which he was in command at the time of
the close of the great conflict, while he was dis-
charged with the brevet rank of major.

After having thus proved by faithful service
his loyalty to the Union, Captain Howell re-
turned to the old homestead in McLean county,
Illinois, where he remained until 1869, when he
removed to the eastern part of the county and
engaged in farming on an extensive scale, open-
ing up a farm of two thousand acres. He im-
proved a most valuable property and there con-
tinued operations until the spring of 1883, when
he located in McPherson county. South Dakota,
having made an investigating trip through this
section the preceding autumn. He became the
owner of twenty-four hundred acres, twelve miles
north of Leola, and there gave his attention prin-
cipally to the raising of cattle and horses, while
three hundred acres of the property were placed
under effective cultivation. He maintained an av-
erage of seven hundred head of cattle on the
ranch, which he still owns and operates, the
property having been well improved and having
greatly appreciated in value during the inter-
vening years, which have witnessed the settling
of the country and the rapid development of all
resources and industries.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

The Captain has retained his residence in the
village of Frederick in the winters, living on
the McPherson county farm of summers, since
1898, and was one of the owners of the Bank
of Frederick, of which he has been president
since January, 1894, while he is also part owner
of the Frederick flouring mill, which is equipped
with the most modern machinery and has a ca-
pacity for the output of two hundred barrels
daily. He also has other capitalistic interests of
importance, owning controlling interests in sixty-
seven hundred acres of Brown county farms, and
is known as one of the public-spirited men of
this section of the state, being at all times ready
to lend his aid and influence in the support of
enterprises and measures which inure to the
general good. In politics he gives an unwaver-
ing allegiance to the Republican party, having
cast his first vote for Lincoln in i860. Though
he has never been ambitious for political prefer-
ment he has served in various local offices, hav-
ing held the office of county commissioner for
McPherson county for an entire decade, and
having been a member of the first board of
commissioners of the county. He has attained
. to the thirty-second degree in the Ancient Ac-
cepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry and is also
identified with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows.

On the 8th of February, 1872, Captain How-
ell was united in marriage to Miss Mary Brooke,
who was born in Media, Pennsylvania, being a
representative of old colonial stock. They have
six children, namely: Helen, who is now the
widow of Bertine D. Gamble, of Milbank, and
George Brooke, Mamie F., William E., Marga-
ret and Jessie, who remain at the parental home,
the elder son being the manager of the Frederick
flouring mill.

JOHN BIBELHEIMER, the efficient and
popular superintendent of schools for Walworth
county, was born in southern Russia, province of
Cherson, on the 22d of July, 1876, being a son of
Heinrich and Katherina (Hirning)Bibe!heimer,
both of whom were likewise born in that part of

the great domain of tlie czar, while both are of
stanch German lineage. The father of the sub-
ject was engaged in agriculure or farming in his
native land until 1890, when he immigrated to
the United States, accompanied by his family,
and after landing in New York came directly, to
South Dakota, arriving in Walworth county in
April of that year. He and his wife now reside
on a farm in Hiddenwood township, this county,
and he has been prospered in temporal affairs
and is one of the honored citizens of this section
of the state. He is a Republican in politics and
he and his wife are members of the German
Baptist church. Of their thirteen children seven
are living, the subject of this sketch having been
the sixth in order of birth.

John Bibelheimer secured his preliminary ed-
ucational discipline in the village schools of his
native land, and there became familiar with both
the German and Russian languages. He was a
lad of fourteen years at the time of the family
arrival in South Dakota, and he continued to at-
tend the public schools of Walworth county until
he had attained the age of eighteen years, after
which he was engaged in teaching for two years,
his eligibility in a pedagogic way showing be-
yond peradventure that he had made good use of
the advantages afforded him here, since he was
unable to speak the English language at the time
he began attending school in the county. His
success in teaching and his enthusiastic interest
in the work led him to determine to definitely fit
himself for the profession, and after taking a
preparatory course of study in the Baptist Col-
lege, in the city of Sioux Falls, he was matricu-
lated in the State Normal School at Madison,
where he completed a thorough course and was
graduated as a member of the class of 1901. He
thereafter taught one year in the schools of Wal-
worth county, and in 1902 was nominated on the
Republican ticket for the office of county sup-
erintendent of schools, being elected in Novem-
ber of that year, by a gratifying majority, while
he has demonstrated the wisdom of the voters of
the county in calling him to the office, for he is
doing most effective work and greatly advanc-
ing the interests of the schools in his jurisdiction.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

He is a stanch advocate of the principles and pol-
icies of the Republican party, his religious faith
is that of the German Baptist church, in which he
was reared, and fraternally he is affiliated with
Bangor Camp, No. 39, Knights of the Macca-
bees, in Selby, where he now resides, being one of
the popular young men of the county and one
who has the high esteem of all who know him.

JOHN W. ARTHUR, one of the represent-
ative business men of Webster, Day county, is a
native of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
where he was born on the 30th of June, 1858,
being a son of Robert and Mary (Scott) Ar-
thur, both of whom were born in Ireland. As a
young man the father of our subject left his old
home in the northern part of the Emerald Isle
and came to America, settling in Philadelphia,
where he was for man)- years engaged in the
coal business, becoming successful in his en-
deavors and continuing to reside in the fair old
City of Brotherly Love until his death, which
occurred in 1902, his wife having passed away
in 1871.

John W. Arthur, the immediate subject of
this review, completed the curriculum of the
public schools in his native city and then entered
Crittenden College, in the same city, where he
was graduated as a member of the class of
1875. He then learned the drug business, with
which he there continued to be identified until
1884, when he came to South Dakota, bringing
a number of car loads of live stock and settling
in Day county, where he continued to be en-
gaged in the raising of stock for a number of
years, after which he became identified with
newspaper work. He purchased an interest in
the Reporter and Farmer, published in Webster,
South Dakota, and continued to be associated in
its editorial and business management until 1901,
when he disposed of his interests in the line. In
1898 he was appointed postmaster of Webster,
retaining this incumbency until 1902, and giving
a most satisfactory administration. Since that
time he has been established in the real-estate
business, controlling valuable farming and graz-

ing lands in this section of the state, as well as
improved and unimproved town property, and
having at all times represented on his books
many desirable investments. He is specially
interested in realty in Webster, where he has
built a large number of houses. In politics Mr.
Arthur is a stanch and uncompromising advo-
cate of the principles of the Republican party,
and he has taken an active part in the promotion
of its cause in the state of his adoption, having
held membership on both the county and state
central committees and been a delegate to the
various conventions of his party. He is affiliated
with the lodge and chapter of the Masonic fra-
ternity and also with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen.

In 1885 Mr. Arthur was united in marriage
to Miss Clara F. McDougall, who was born in
Sparta, Wisconsin, being a daughter of Peter
and Elizabeth (Farrington) McDougall, who
were born and reared in Maine, being represent-
atives of stanch old colonial stock, while the rec-
ords establish the fact that members of the Far-
rington family were soldiers of the Continental
line during the war of the Revolution. Mrs.
Arthur was summoned into eternal rest on the
29th of December, 1897, ^^'^ 's survived by
three children, Robert, Irene and Walter Scott.
The elder son is now attending the United States
Military Academy at West Point, being one of
the youngest cadets in the institution. On the
30th of June, 1903, Mr. Arthur wedded Mrs.
Mary Ella Whitemore, of Stillwater, Minne-
sota.

HENRY R. UE jMALIGNON, who is suc-
cessfully engaged in the farm implement business
at Selby, Walworth county, has maintained his
home in this county since 1886 and is one of the
popular and representative citizens of the town
and county.

Henry Richard de Malignon has the dis-
tinction of being a native of the national metrop-
olis, having been born in New York city, on
the 19th of Februar}', i860, and being a son of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Francis and Margaret de Malignon, the former
of whom was born in Germany, of French an-
cestry, while the latter was born in England.
The father of our subject came to America as
a young man and was for many years engaged
in insurance in New York city. Henry R. re-
ceived his educational discipline in the public
schools of the metropolis and gave inception to
his independent career when a lad of but four-
teen years. He continued his residence in the
east until 1886, when he followed the star of
empire toward the west and in 1886 took up his
residence in Walworth county, South Dakota,
where he has put forth well-directed effort and
gained success and prosperity as a business man.
He is a stanch Republican in his political pro-
clivities and was elected and served as county
auditor during 1893-1897; county judge, 1898-
1900. and representative in the legislature from
the thirty-ninth district, 1902-1904. While he
has a high respect for the spiritual verities, he
is an avowed agnostic. Fraternally he is affili-
ated with the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, the Knights of the Maccabees, the Brother-
hood of American Yeomen and the Modern
Woodmen of America.

On the 29th of March, 1884, Mr. de Malig-
non was united in marriage to' Miss Minnie Hof-
meyer, who was born in London, England, on
the 30th of November, 1862, being a daughter
of Au.gust and Maria Hofmeyer. They have
four sons. Harrv, Frank, Arthur and Robert.

CHARLES A. KELLEY, one of the repre-
sentative members of the bar of Beadle county,
being engaged in the practice of his profession
in the city of Huron, and being also incumbent
of the office of state's attorney of the county, is
to be noted as one of the progressive and influ-
ential business men of this favored section of the
state, being president and manager of the
Kelley Land Agency, one of the leading
real-estate concerns of the state. Mr. Kel-
ley is a native of the state of Illinois, having
been born in Lemont, Cook county, on the 21st
of November, 1873. He is a son of M. F. and

Bridget Kelley. When the subject was eleven
years old he came with his parents to the pres-
ent site of South Dakota, where he has ever since
retained his home, having literally grown up with
the country and being a representative of one of
sterling pioneer famihes of the commonwealth.
He received his education in the public schools
of Huron and the University of Wisconsin.
Shortly after finishing his law course he located
in Huron and initiated the active practice of his
profession, opening an office here in May, igoo.
A man of most alert mentality and mature judg-
ment, he forthwith proved his mettle as a member
of the bar, and his success has been cumulative
and gratifying, while the professional prestige
which he has attained is indicated in the official
position which he holds. As state's attorney he
has made an excellent record, being known as a
strong trial lawyer and as one thoroughly well
informed in the minutiae of the science of juris-
prudence. Mr. Kelley has been progressive and
resourceful, and has shown much initiative and
executive ability, so that he has found it expe-
dient to identify himself with much that has to
do with the development of the resources of his
town, county and state. Kelley's Land Agency,
of which he is president and manager, controls
a large and important real-estate business, hav-
ing headquarters in Huron. The most desirable
investments are at all times represented on the
books of the agency, in the way of South Dakota
farm lands, stock ranches and dairy farms, while
a specialty is mlade of high-grade farm mort-
gages and of the exchanging of properties. For
the facilitating of the operations of the concern
offices are maintained in all of the principal cit-
ies of the state, and the agency controls valuable
lands in all sections of the commonwealth. Mr.
Kelley has proven himself loyal and helpful as a
citizen, and is one of Huron's most public-spirited
men. He is the owner and publisher of the Jour-
nal-World, the leading paper of Beadle county,
and in politics he is a stanch advocate of the prin-
ciples and policies of the Republican jiarty, to
which he has accorded an unwavering allegiance
from the time of attaining his legal majority,
while he is an active factor in the promotion of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1793

the interests of the party in a local way. As
touching his fraternal relations, it may be said
that he is identified with the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and the Modern Brotherhood of
America, while he is held in the highest esteem
in both business and social circles, being one of
the well-known and popular citizens of Beadle
county.

On the I2th of November, 1899, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Kelley to Miss Alice
C. Issenhuth, who was born in Shellsburg, Iowa,
on the I2th of November, 1881, being a daughter
of Martin and Margaret Issenhuth, who became
pioneers of South Dakota, in which state their
six sons are prominent business or professional
men.

As a lawyer Mr. Kelley evinces a familiarity
with legal principles and a ready perception of
facts, together with the ability to apply the one
to the other, which has won him the reputation
of a sound and safe practitioner. Conscientious
work has not only brought with it increase of
practice and reputation, but also that growth in
legal knowledge and that wide and accurate judg-
ment the possession of which constitutes marked
excellence in the profession. In the trial of cases
he is uniformly courteous to court and opposing
counsel, caring little for display, but seeking to
impress the jury rather by weight of facts in his
favor and by clear, logical argument than by ap-
peal to passion or prejudice. By a straightfor-
ward, honorable course he has built up a large
and lucrative legal business and his life affords
a splendid example of what an American youth,
plentifully endowed with good common sense,
energy and determination, may accomplish when
directed and controlled by earnest principles.

HON. GEORGE W. SNOW, of Springfield,
Bon Homme county, lieutenant governor of the
state of South D,al<ota, is a native of the state of
Indiana, having been born in Posey county, on
the 13th of December, 1842. His father, Au-
gustus F. Snow, was born in the city of Pitts-
burg, Pennsylvania, on the 21st of March, 1816,

and was a miller by trade and vocation, having
been the owner of a flouring mill in Grant
county, Wisconsin, at the time of his death,
which occurred on the r3th of February, 1886.
His wife, whose maiden name was Catherine
M. Felt, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on
the 28th of July, 1819, and their marriage was
solemnized on the 9th of April, 1837. She died
near Montfort, Wisconsin. December 11, 184S.
They became the parents of four sons, all of
whom are dead except the subject of this sketch.
The genealogy in both the paternal and ma-
ternal lines traces back to stanch German origin.
Governor Snow was about two years of age at
the time of his parents' removal from Indiana to
Wisconsin, in which state he was reared and ed-
ucated, completing the curriculum of the com-
mon schools and a local academ)- and taking a
thorough course in a commercial college in
Madison, the capital of the state, in which insti-
tution he was graduated as a member of the class
of 1866. The father of our subject located on a
farm in Grant county, Wisconsin, at the time of
taking up his residence there, in 1845, and in
1854 he engaged in the general merchandise
business at Montfort, that county, where he re-
mained until 1858, when he removed with his
family to Beatrice, Nebraska, but returned to
Grant county, Wisconsin, the next autumn and
again resumed agricultural pursuits and milling.
The subject of this review remained on the
homestead farm until his father engaged in the
mercantile business, when he became an assist-
ant in the store, while after the return of the
family to Grant county he aided in the work and
management of the farm until there came the
call to higher duty_. the rebellion of the south
having caused the tocsin of war to be sounded.
In August. 1862. Mr. Snow enlisted as private
in Company F, Twentieth Wisconsin \'olunteer
Infantry, for a term of "three years or until
the close of the war." He continued in active
service with his command until victory had
crowned the Union arms, having been mustered
out and having received his honorable discharge
in August, 1865. He participated in several im-
portant and hotly contested battles, including

1794

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

that of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, and took part in
the memorable sieges of Vicksburg, Spanish Fort
and Mobile, being present at the capitulation
of the last named city, while he was also with his
command in numerous skirmishes and other
minor engagements, proving himself a valiant
and faithful soldier of the republic whose integ-
rity he thus aided in perpetuating.

After the close of his military service Mr.
Snow returned to Wisconsin and completed a
course in a commercial college in Madison, as
previously noted. Thereafter he was employed
as clerk in a general store at Dodgeville, that
state, until 1869, when he came as a pioneer to
what is now the state of South Dakota, settling
in Springfield, Bon Homme county, which was
then a mere straggling frontier village, and
here he has thus maintained his home for thirty-
five years, being one of the pioneers of the town
and state and having ever been loyal to both.
Here he became identified with the operation of
a sawmill and for a time was clerk in one of the
first general stores in the town, while he availed
himself of the opportunities which presented in
connection with the development and material
progress of the state, and soon found himself
well advanced on the highway of definite and
distinctive success. He began dealing in real
estate in the early years of his residence here and
largely through this medium has he gained inde-
pendence and prosperity, while he is at the
present time the owner of several thousand acres
of valuable land in Bon Homme and adjoining
counties. He has shown a public-spirited in-
terest in all that has appertained to the civic and
material advancement of his home town and has
aided liberally in the support of all legitimate
public enterprises, having been largely instru-
mental in securing the location of the State
Normal School in Springfield. In politics he has
given an unequivocal allegiance to the Republi-
can party from his early manhood to the present
time. He has served in various offices of public
trust and responsibility, including that of justice
of the peace, member of the board of education
and county treasurer, to which last he was in-
cumbent two terms of two vears each. He was

a member of the constitutional convention o£
1885. while in 1890-1 he represented his district
in the state senate, as did he again in 1897-8, and
in 1901 he was elected lieutenant governor of the
state, serving with signal ability and being chosen
as his own successor in the election of Novem-
ber, 1903, so that he remains in tenure of this
important office at the present time. Mr. Snow
eiifected the organization of the Bank of Spring-
field in 1883, and is its principal stockholder, giv-
ing personal. supervision to its management and
being its president, while he is also a large stock-
holder in the Bank of Monroe, at Monroe, Ne-
braska. He still continues to deal extensively in
real estate and controls a large amount of valu-
able realty, offering most attractive investments.
He and his wife are attendants and supporters
of the church of the Ascension, Protestant
Episcopal, of which the latter is a communicant.
Mr. Snow has been identified with the Independ-
ent Order of Odd Fellows since 1867, and is
past grand master of the grand lodge of the
order in the state, while he is at the present
time grand treasurer. He has attained to the
thirty-second degree in the Masonic fraternity,
with which he has been identified since 1881, and
is past grand treasurer of the grand lodge, while
he is also past grand patron of the allied or-
ganization, the Order of the Eastern Star. He
is one of the appreciative and honored mem-
bers of General Steadman Post, No. 38. Grand
Army of the Republic, and the hold which he
has upon the esteem and confidence of his com-
rades in the same is significantly intimated in
the fact that he has served as commander of the
post for the past fourteen years, while during
1901-2 he had the notable distinction of being
department commander of the order in Sorth
Dakota.

In Yankton, this state, in April, 1874. Mr.
Snow was united in marriage to Miss Sylvia L.
Tvler, who died in May, 1878, leaving one child,
Harry, whose death occurred in the following
August. In February, 1882, he consummated a
second marriage, being then united to Mrs. Al-
berta M. Davison, nee Mead, and they have two
sons, George G., who was born on the 4th of

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1795

January, 1884, and who is a member of the class
of 1903 in the celebrated University of Michi-
gan, at .A.nn .Arbor, and Frank M., who was born
on the 6th of .August, 1888, and who is now a
student in the South Dakota State Normal
School, in his home town.

JAMES C. BL.\IR was born Xovember 2t,.
1837, in Pocahontas county, West Virginia, and
grew to manhood in that state, receiving a com-
mon-school education and assisting his father on
the farm until twenty-two years of age. In 1859
he went to Iowa, tlience, after a short time, to
Missouri, and in 1861 crossed the plains to Colo-
rado, where he prospected for a while, later en-
gaging in freighting there and in Utah terri-
tory. In the spring of 1864 he accompanied, in
the capacity of a teamster, a freight train from
Salt Lake to Virginia City, Montana, arriving
at the latter place in the month of May, and for
some time thereafter he prospected and mined
in Alder gulch and "the Belt district, meeting
with fair success in his search for gold. Later
he traveled over barren parts of Montana, min-
ing and pro.specting, but in 1869 returned to his
native state, where he remained until the follow-
ing spring, visiting his parents and renewing the
acquaintances of his childhood and youth. The
next year he again started west, with Missouri
as his objective point, and from there he subse-
quently went to Texas, where he purchased cattle,
which he drove to New Mexico to winter. The
following spring he took his cattle to Colorado,
where they were disposed of at good prices, after
which he again turned his attention to prospect-
ing-in that and adjoining states and territories
until the opening of the Black Hills country,
when he proceeded thither, being among the
first arrivals in the spring of 1877. In May
of the same year Mr. Blair came to Whitewood
creek and settled on public land, six miles from
the town of Whitewood, which in due time he
' converted into a fine ranch, and since that date
he had made his home on the same, devoting his
attention the meanwhile to the live-stock busi-
ness, being now among the enterprising and suc-

cessful horse raisers of Lawrence county. By
industry and thrift he has acquired not only the
valuable ranch on which he lives, but a sufficient
amount of material wealth to make him prac-
tically independent, his place being well stocked
with horses and other domestic animals, from
the sale of which he realizes liberal returns.

PHILIP DuFR.\M comes of stanch French
lineage and is a native of Dubuque county, Iowa, •
where he was born on the 26th of May, 1856, be-
ing a son of John B. and Lenora DuFram, both
of whom were born in the province of Quebec,
Canada. John DuFram took up his residence in
Iowa in 1840, being one of the early settlers of
that state, where he remained, engaged in farm-
ing until 1861, when he came to what is now
the state of South Dakota, and located near Elk
Point, in Union county, having brought his fam-
ily through by way of Fort Dodge, and making
the entire trip with teams. He engaged in farm-
ing in the county mentioned and also became
identified with the freighting business, transport-
ing supplies to the, various government military
posts, in which connection he met with many
narrow escapes from the hostile Indians. He
continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits
until his death, which occurred in 1894, and his
widow now resides in the city of Yankton, hav-
ing attained the venerable age of eighty-six
years. Of their fourteen children eleven are yet
living, the subject of this sketch having been the
seventh in order of birth.

Philip DuFram, whose name introduces this
article, passed his boyhood days at Elk Point,
this state, and Sioux City, Iowa, and owing to the
exigencies of time and place his educational ad-
vantages were limited. At the age of twelve
years he became connected with his father's
freighting business to the different army posts
and was thus engaged until 1871, when he took
charge of the government herd of cattle at Yank-
ton Agency, and retained this position until the
autumn of 1876, when he went to Nebraska and
became the foreman for the Durfee Cattle Com-
pany, in whose employ he remained until the

1796

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

spring of 1882, when he went to the head of the
Powder river, in the Big Horn mountains of
Montana, in charge of the stock of the Frontier
Land and Cattle Company, and he was a prom-
inent figure in the contest between the reliable
and law-abiding stockmen with the "rustlers" in
the cattle war in Johnson county, Wyoming. He
was a member of the party of forty-seven stock-
men who were at this period surrounded at the
"T. A." ranch and besieged for five days, being
finally relieved by the government troops from
Fort McKenna, this being during the invasion
of Wyoming, in 1892. Prior to this he had
charge of the stock of the Frontier Land and
Cattle Company, utilizing the range in the fa-
mous "Hole in the Wall" country, and here he
met with many exciting experiences through the
hostility of the same class of invaders. On one
occasion he made a most hazardous trip to Buf-
falo, Wyoming, to reconnoiter, and though hard
pressed succeeded in making his escape. His
is a nature without an iota of cowardice, and
this has been proved time and again in the face
of dangers which could not but test the mettle
of the most daring and venturesome. In 1875
Mr. DuFram took a pack outfit into the Black
Hills, being accompanied by old Grey Face and
three other Indians, and he devoted six months
to exploring the country, while in the following
year he transported supplies front Fort Pierre
to the Hills for Major Clarkson, of the United
States army, while in the fall of that year he
went to Nebraska, as has been already noted. In
1892 he was appointed state brand inspector for
Wyoming, and in the following year he went to
Arizona, where he remained one year, being fore-
man for the Aztec Land and Cattle Company. He
then returned to Montana, where he was em-
ployed by the Standard Cattle Company until
1900, when he was appointed brand inspector at
Fort Pierre for the Black Hills Stock Associa-
tion, retaining this incumbency eighteen months,
at the expiration of which he took charge of the
stock of the Minnesota and Dakota Cattle Com-
pany, on the White river. While attending to
his duties in this connection he became snow-
blind and also suffered an attack of smallpox,

the result being he lost the sight of his left eye,
and upon his recovery he was made representa-
tive of the interests of the well-known and ex-
tensive firm of stock commission merchants, Ro-
senbaum Brothers & Company, of Chicago, for
the territory from the Missouri river to the Black
Hills in South Dakota, in which capacity he is
rendering most efficient service at the time of
this writing. He is a man of genial personality
and has a host of friends throughout the great
northwest, while his name is a synonym of honor
and integrity. He maintains his headquarters in
Evarts, Walworth county. In politics Mr. Du-
Fram is a stanch Democrat. He is not married.

JOHN A. BUSHFIELD, editor and pub-
lisher of the Pioneer Press, at Miller, Hand
county, is a native of the old Buckeye state, hav-
ing been born in Cambridge, Guernsey county,
Ohio, on the 9th of August, 1856, and being a
son of John M. and Sarah E. (Moore) Bush-
field. He received his early educational disci-
pline in the public schools of his native town,
and there served an apprenticeship at the print-
er's trade, gaining a thorough knowledge of the
mysteries of the "art preservative of all arts,"
and securing incidentally that training which
has been well said to be equivalent to a literal
education — the discipline of a newspaper ofiice.
He continued his residence in Ohio until 1878,
when he located in Atlantic, Cass county, Iowa,
where he was identified with newspaper work
until 1883, when he came to the present state of
South Dakota and cast in his lot with the early
settlers of Miller, which was then but a small and
primitive frontier village. Here he purchased
a half interest in the Pioneer Press, which, had
been established the preceding year, and in 1889
he purchased his partner's interest in the enter-
prise, which he has since individually conducted,
the paper being a model country journal and
wielding much influence in the local field, both in
a political and civic way. The Pioneer Press is
issued on Thursday of each week, is a six-column
(juarto and is the official paper of the city and
county in which it is published. Mr. Bushfield

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1/97

is a member of the State Press Association and
is popular in the circles of the newspaper frater-
nity of the state, as is he also in business and
social circles in his home city. In politics he
has ever accorded an unequivocal allegiance to
the Republican party, and both in a personal
way and through the columns of his paper he
has done much to further its interests in a local
way. In January, 1899, the late lamented Pres-
ident McKinley appointed him postmaster of
Miller, and in January, 1903, he was reappointed,
bv President Roosevelt, so that he is incumbent
of the oflice at the time of this writing. He is
identified with the local lodge of the Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons.

On the 9th of November, 1880. ^Ir. Bush-
field was united in marriage to Miss Cora E.
Pearson, of Atlantic, Iowa, and they have three
children, Harlcy J., Laura D. and Anna M.

FRANCIS WILLIAM RYAN, of Jefiferson
township, L'nion county, was born on his pres-
ent farm, on the 9th of March, 1862, and his
boyhood days were passed amid the scenes and
conditions incidental to life on the frontier, while
he has reason to recall the privations endured
and the obstacles surmounted in the early days,
■ icluding the scourge of grasshoppers and the
/ ivoc wrought by the overflowing of the Mis-
^' luri river. He is now the owner of the old
liume farm, which is well improved and under
a high state of cultivation, his entire landed
estate comprising one hundred and sixty acres.
His educational privileges were such as were
afforded in the public schools, while he has ef-
fectually rounded out his training under the in-
struction of the wisest of headmasters, ex-
perience.

The subject is a son of Michael and Mary
( Edwards) Ryan, both of whom were born in
the Emerald Isle, the former being a native of
Queens county, where he was born in 1827, while
the latter was born in Kilkenny county, their
marriage having been solemnized in 1851. The
devoted wife and mother died in 1896, and is
survived bv her husband and four children. In

i860 Michael Ryan emigrated to America and
came to the territory of Dakota, settling on the
farm now owned by his son, subject of this re-
view, the same being the northwest quarter of
section 29, Jeffers township. The land was
at the time in its wild state, and there were but
few settlers in the county. After completing his
primitive log house he instituted the work of
reclaiming his land to cultivation, and in due
course of time success attended his earnest ef-
forts. He resided on the homestead until 1873,
when he removed to the village of Jefferson, this
county, where he erected one of the first stores
in the town, and there established himself in
the general merchandise business, simultaneously
acting as station and express agent and post-
master, and also buying and shipping grain.
He continued to be actively engaged in business
until about 1886, when he retired and has since
been enjoying the rewards of his former toil and
endeavor, being still a resident of Jefferson and
one of its most honored pioneers.'

Hon. Francis W. Ryan, whose name initiates
this sketch, has ably upheld the prestige of the
name which he bears and is one of the repre-
sentative men of his native county. He was a
member of the school board of his district from
1899 until 1902, and was honored with election
to the legislature of the state in 1899, serving
with ability through the general assembly of
igoo and that of 1902, and in the autumn of
the latter year received further evidence of the
popular appreciation of his efforts in his re-
election to the same office, and he has rendered
valuable service during the session of 1903. In
politics he gives an unqualified support to the
Republican party and its principles and has been
one of its leaders in the county for a number
of years past. His religious faith is that of the
Catholic church, in which he was reared, and
fraternally he is a member of Lodge No. 2758,
Modern Woodmen of America, at Jefferson.

On the loth of February, 1886, Mr. Ryan
was united in marriage to Miss Hattie Brow,
who was likewise born in Lhiion county, being
a daughter of Joseph Brow, and of this union
have been born five children.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

REV. JOSEPH B. VARNUM was born in
the village of Berlin, province of Ontario,
Canada, on the 19th of J\Iay, 1830, his parents
at 1:he time being citizens of the United States,
and he passed his youthful years in the state
of Michigan, completing his education in Albion
College, at Albion,, that state, the same being
one of the leading institutions of the Methodist
Episcopal church in the western division of our
country. He became a member of this church
in 1849, prosecuted a thorough theological
course and was ordained to the ministry in 1854.
He continued in the work of his noble calling
until tlie outbreak of the war of the Rebellion,
when he signalized his patriotism by tendering
his services in the defense of the Union, enlist-
ing as a private in a regiment of Michigan
volunteers and continuing in service until the
close of the war, having been wounded in the
engagement at Petersburg, Virginia, while his
record was that of a faithful and loyal soldier.
After the war he resumed his ministerial labors,
in which he continued until his removal to what
is now the state of South Dakota, while during
the greater portion of the time he held pnstoral
charges in Michigan. His life was gentle, and
kindly ; he was tolerant in his judgment, un-
derstanding the wellsprings of human thought
and action, and his was the faith which makes
faithful and which is ever a source of inspir-
ation to others. The following paragraph,
quoted from a previously published article, is
well worthy of reproduction in this connection :
"While in South Dakota Mr. Varnum sustained
a superannuated relation with the church, but his
influence and pious example had much to do with
building up and strengthening the cause. His
character was marked by a stanch integrity of
purpose, strong will, optimistic hope, intense
patriotism and unswerving devotion to his God."

In 1884 iMr. Varnum came with his family
to South Dakota and took up government land
in the immediate proximity of the present village
of Gale, Campbell county, where he eventually
developed a fine farm, being the owner of three
hundred and twenty acres at the time of his
death. He was a man of inlluence in the com-

numity and his aid was ever given in support
of all measures for the advancement of the gen-
eral weal, his influence being felt in the civic,
moral, educational and political aft'airs of his
section. In politics he gave an unqualified al-
legiance to the Republican party, and he has the
distinction of representing Campbell county in
the first state legislature, in 1889. His death oc-
curred on the 26th of May, 1896, and he "rests
from his labors," while his name is venerated by
all who knew him.

On the 8th of November, 1856, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Varnum to Miss
Maroa E. Vibbert, who was born in Chittenango,
JMadison county, New York, on the 3d of March,
1835, and she survives him, as do their three
children, namely: Olin B., Wewoka, Indiana, en-
gaged in the general mercantile business ; Lelia.
teacher in the Herreid school ; Wilbur E., gen-
eral manager of the Herreid Milling Company,
Herreid. Nettie died at Gale, South Dakota,
Alay 18, 1899.

Hon. Wilbur F. Varnum, the third child of
the honored subject of this memoir, was born in
Rochester, Oakland county, Michigan, on the
27th of May, 1868. and he received his early
educational discipline in the public schools of
his native state, being sixteen years of age at
the time of the family removal to South Dakota,
where he was reared to manhood on the old
homestead farm, to whose developiuent and im-
provement he contributed his quota, proving a
capable coadjutor to his father. On the 20th
of July, 1895, he engaged in the general mer-
chandise business at Gale, in the meanwhile con-
tinuing to superintend the home farm of eight
hundred acres, where he carried on general
farming and stock growing up to the time of his
removal to Herreid. He built up a very pros-
perous business in Gale and there continued
operations until 1900, when he disposed of his
business there and removed to the newly founded
town of Herreid, where he became one of the
organizers and principal stockholders of the
Herreid Milling Company, of which he has since
been general manager. The company has a
fine mill, equipped with the latest improved nia-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1799

chiner)' and having a capacity for the output of
one hundred barrels of flour a day. The enter-
prise has been most successful and is one of the
leading business industries of this section of the
state, while the facilities afforded are greatly ap-
preciated throughout the wide territory tributary
to the thriving village in which the mill is lo-
cated. Mr. Varnum is a stalwart advocate of
the principles and policies of the Republican
party, and in 1896 he was elected to represent
Campbell county in the state legislature, mak-
ing an excellent record and being chosen as his
own successor in 1898, while in 1900 still higher
honors were accorded him, in his election to the
state senate, as representative of the thirty-
seventh senatorial district, comprising the coun-
ties of Campbell and McPherson. He and his
wife are prominent and zealous members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and fratermlly he
is identified with the Ancient Order of L'nitcd
\\'orkmen.

On the 2ist of October, 1895, ^Ir. Varnum
was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Pollock,
who was born in Kansas, and who is a daughter
of Robert Y. Pollock, one of the prominent and
influential pioneers of Campbell county. South
Dakota, where the town of Pollock was named
in his honor. Mr. and Mrs. X'arnum have
three children, Joseph Emerson, Robert Dewey
and Evelvn.

GRANA-ILLE J. COLLER, M. D., one of
the pioneer ■ physicians of Brookings, is a na-
tive of the state of Michigan, having been born
on a farm in Lenawee county, on the 6th of No-
vember, 1854, and being a son of James L. and
Amanda M. (Richart) Coller. James L. CoUer
was born in the state of New York, a son of
Jesse B. Coller, who was of English lineage.
When the father of our subject was a child he
accompanied his parents on their removal to
Michigan, which was then considered on the
frontier, and the parents were numbered among
the pioneers of the state. James L. was reared
to manhood in Lenawee county and after his
marriage he continued to be engaged in farming

in that county for a few years, after which he
removed to Calhoun county, where he continued
in the same vocation until his death, which oc-
curred in 1861. He was survived by his wife
and their six children, the youngest being but
one year of age, while the subject of this sketch
was eight years old at the time when he was thus
deprived of the care and guidance of his father.
The family remained on the homestead farm,
and much of the responsibility of carrying on the
work devolved upon the youthful shoulders of
our subject and his brother Edgar, the latter be-
ing at the time about eleven years of age. Here
the devoted mother reared her children to years
of maturity and here remained until 1899, when
she came to Brookings and was made a welcome
acquisition to the family circle of her son, the
subject of this review, who accorded her the ut-
most filial solicitude until she was summoned to
the life eternal, in October, 1901, at the venerable
age of seventy-four years. Of the children we
enter the following epitomized record : Sarah,
who became the wife of Wheeler Collins, died
of consumption, in 1901, at the home of the sub-
ject, whither she had come from her home in
Colorado ; Edgar is a successful farmer living in
Michigan; Lafayette continues to reside on the
old homestead farm in that state; Granville J. is
the immediate subject of this review ; Chester is
likewise a resident of Brookings ; and William
is engaged in farming in Michigan.

Dr. Coller was reared to manhood in Calhoun
county, Michigan, where he worked on the home
farm until he had attained the age of eighteen
years, while in the meanwhile he pursued his
studies in the public schools during the winter
months. At the age noted he was matriculated
in Adrian College, at Adrian, Michigan, where
he was a student for three years, in the mean-
while teaching one winter term of school, while
after leaving the college he continued to follow
the pedagogic profession for two years. At the
age of twenty-one years he was elected superin-
tendent of the township schools of his native
county, rendering effective service, while it may
be said that he has ever maintained a lively in-
terest in the cause of popular education. In 1877

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

he entered the medical depart:nent of the Uni-
versity of Michigan, where he completed the pre-
scribed course in the autumn of 1880, receiving
the degree of Doctor of Medicine and coming
forth well equipped for the work of his noble
profession. Shortly after his graduation the
Doctor came to Brookings, South Dakota, the
town having at the time but three dwelling
houses, while the business places were repre-
sented by a -relative parity. When he arrived in
his new field of labor he was five hundred dol-
lars in debt, having utilized this amount in com-
pleting his technical education, and when he took
up his residence in the embryonic town his cash
capital was summed up in five dollars. He was,
however, endowed with boundless energy, de-
cermination and pluck, and his pleasing person-
ality and professional ability soon gained him
appreciative recognition in the pioneer commun-
ity. During nearly a quarter of a century of ac-
tive practice here he has ever been faithful and
self-abnegating and his name is deserving of an
enduring entry on the roll of the honored pio-
neers of the medical profession in the state. He
has continued a close student of his profession
and has availed himself of post-graduate work,
keeping abreast of the advances made in medical
and surgical science. In the spring of 1900 Dr.
Coller established a private hospital in Brook-
ings, the same proving a success, but by reason
of his own impaired health and the insistent de-
mands of his outside professional work he was
compelled to abandon the enterprise. The Doc-
tor has been justly prospered in temporal affairs.
He is a member of the State Medical Society,
American Medical Association and American
Association of Railway Surgeons. He is frater-
nally identified with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen. His religious views are in harmony
with the tenets of the Presbyterian church, of
which his family are members. In politics Dr.
Coller has ever been a stanch advocate of the
principles of the Republican party, in whose
cause he has been an active worker. He was for
three successive years incumbent of the office of
mayor of Brookings, while his also was the dis-

tinction of having been chosen to represent his
district in the senate of the first legislature of
South Dakota after its admission to the Union.
He has also served as a member of the board of
regents of the State Agricultural College and is
president of the board of health of Brookings
county and has been at intervals for a lumiber
of years.

On the 2d of October, 1884, was solemnized
the marriage of Dr. Coller to Miss Helen Un-
derwood, who was born in Calhoun county,
Michigan, on the 8th of October, 1856, being a
daughter of Amasa and Jane Underwood, both
of whom were natives of the state of New York,
whence they accompanied their parents to Michi-
gan in their childhood days. Amasa Underwood
was a son of Thad^eus and Phoebe Underwood,
the agnatic line tracing back to English origin,
while on the maternal side the lineage is of
Scotch-Irish extraction. Mrs. Coller was gradu-
ated in the Chicago Ladies' Seminary, in the city
of Chicago, as a member of the class of 1876,
and was thereafter, for six years, a successful
and popular teacher in the same institution. She
is a member of the Degree of Honor and also
of the Woman's Club of Brookings. To Dr.
and ;\Irs. Coller have been born five children,
concerning whom we incorporate a brief record :
Frederick A. is a member of the class of 1906 in
the State Agricultural College; Helen is attend-
ing the public schools : Granville C. died at the
age of five years; Clara J. is attending the
schools of her native city: and James died in in-
fancv.

SHERMAN FREDERICK LUCAS, of
Bonesteel, Gregory county, was born in Waverly,
Bremer county, Iowa, on the 17th of Septem-
ber, 1864, and is a son of William V. and So-
phronia M. (Lowe) Lucas, both being of
Scotch-Irish lineage. William Mncent Lucas
was born in Carroll county, Indiana, on the 3d
of July, 1835, and was there reared and edu-
cated. In 1856 he was united in marriage to
Sophronia M. Lowe, who was born in the same
county, in 1835, and in the same year they re-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

moved to Iowa and became numbered among
the pioneers of Bremer county. The father of
the subject was a presidential elector from that
state in 1876, served as treasurer of Bremer
county for four years, and was a man of much
influence in his community, while in 1880-8 r he
had the distinction of serving in the office of
auditor of the state of Iowa. In 1883 he re-
moved with his family to South Dakota and lo-
cated in lirule count}', of which he was treas-
urer for one term. He was a member of con-
gress from South Dakota for the term of 1893
and 1894 and was for several years commandant
of the State Soldiers' Home, at Hot Springs,
being himself a veteran of the Civil war, and he
resigned this office on the ist of July, 1903, and
removed to California, being now a resident of
Santa Cruz, that state. His cherished and de-
voted wife was summoned into eternal rest in
August, 1896. She was a woman of noble and
gracious character, a zealous member of the
Methodist Episcopal church and was held in af-
fectionate regard by all who came within the
sphere of her influence.

Sherman F. Lucas secured his early educa-
tional discipline in the public schools of Waverly
and Mason City, Iowa, and learned the printer's
trade in the newspaper office of his father, in
the latter place. In May, 1883, he came to the
present state of South Dakota and located in
the village of Castalia, where in the following
month, in association with his brother, Aaron B.,
he engaged in the newspaper business, establish-
ing the Castalia Republican, the pioneer paper
of the town. In 1888 he disposed of his interest
in this enterprise and accepted a position as as-
sistant cashier in the Charles Mix County Bank,
at Castalia. In 1890 he was appointed clerk
of the courts of that county and served one year,
being defeated for re-election in the Populistic
landslide of that year, though he ran eighty votes
ahead of his ticket and was defeated by only
eleven votes. He passed the year 1891 in Fort
Randall, being placed in charge of the post
trader's store b\ the receiver. He was chief
clerk of the enrolling and engrossing force of the
lower house of the state legislature during the

general assembly of 1893, and during the sum-
mer of 1895 was second clerk on the Diamond
Joe line of steamers, plying between St. Louis
and St. Paul. In 1856 he was appointed assignee
of the Charles Mix County Bank, continuing his
residence in Castalia, that county, until 1899,
when he removed to Bonesteel, Gregory county,
and here established the Gregory County News,
disposing of the same in May. 1903, to S. P.
Ayres & Son. On the ist of April, 1899, he was
appointed postmaster of the town and has since
remained incumbent of this office. In 1899 he
was admitted to the bar of the state upon ex-
amination before the supreme court, and gives
considerable attention to the practice of his pro-
fession. He was the candidate on his party
ticket for county judge in igcxD, but was defeated
by the Democratic candidate, Edwin M. Starcher.
He served two years as a member of the board
of trustees of the village of Bonesteel and is
known as one of its most loyal, progressive and
public-spirited citizens, while he gives an un-
compromising allegiance to the Republican ])arty.
as may be inferred from preceding statements.
At the time of the Spanish-American war Mr.
Lucas raised in Qiarles Mix county a company
of volunteers, but they were not mustered into
the United States service, by reason of the fact
that the state's quota of soldiers was fully sup-
plied from the members of its National Guard.
Mr. Lucas was affiliated with Doric Lodge, No.
93, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at
Castalia. of which he was master for one year.
A lodge is about to be constituted at Bonesteel
and Mr. Lucas has been selected as its first wor-
shipful 'master. He is also identified with the
Royal Arch Masons, at I^Iitchell ; is venerable
consul of Bonesteel Camp. No. 4793, Modern
Woodmen of America, and also affiliated with
the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. Mrs.
Lucg-s is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and the subject contributes to the sup-
port of the same.

On the 24th of June. 1899, Mr. Lucas was
united in marriage to Miss Cora B. Johnson,
who was born at Fredericksburg, Bremer
countv. Iowa, in March, 1875. being a daughter

l802

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of Marcellus M. and Ella M. Johnson, early and
honored pioneers of Dakota territory. Mr. and
Mrs. Lucas have two children, Vincent Lowe,
who was born April 20, 1900. and Arthur Wayne,
who was born May 9, 1902.

CHARLES A. CONKLIN was born in
Greenwood, Steuben county. New York, on the
1st of August, 1853, and is a son of Hon. S. J.
and Maria Conklin, who came to the west in
1857 and located in Waterloo, Wisconsin, where
the father became prominent in the pioneer his-
tory of the state, being successfully identified
with agricultural enterprises and also becoming
one of the distinguished members of the bar of
that commonwealth. He served as quartermaster
in the Forty-eighth Wisconsin Regiment and
was adjutant general for South Dakota for four
years. He died in South Dakota in November,
1872, while his wife died at Clark. The subject
has one brother, who lives in Chicago, and a sis-
ter, who lives in Hammond, Indiana.

Charles A. Conklin was a lad of five years
at the time of his parents' removal to Wisconsin,
where he was reared to maturity, securing such
advantages as were afforded in the excellent
public schools of Waterloo, that state, and re-
maining at the parental home until 1873, when
he went to Freeborn county, Minnesota, where
he engaged in farming until 1876, when he dis-
posed of his interests there and came as a pio-
neer to South Dakota. He proceeded by rail-
road as far as Watertown, which was then the
terminus of the line, and then located in the vil-
lage of Clark, in the county of the same name,
where he engaged in buying grain for the Por-
ter Milling Company, of Winona, and there he
continued to make his headquarters, continuously
connected with the line of enterprise noted, until
1892, when he removed to Qnerry creek and was
there engaged in the capacity of government
farmer on the Cheyenne Indian reservation for
the ensuing two years, at the expiration of which
he opened up his present fine stock ranch, on the
Cheyenne river, fifty miles from Fort Pierre and
two miles distant from Lindsey, which is his
postoffice address. He has here been since en-

gaged in the raising of cattle and horses, carry-
ing forward the enterprise with characteristic
energy and discrimination and having an ample
range, well-watered by the river as well as a
number of natural springs of pure water. He
gives his preference to the Hereford breed of cat-
tle and to Morgan horses, and on his ranch may
be usually found about three hundred fine speci-
mens of the .former and one hundred and fifty or
more of the latter. In politics Mr. Conklin has
ever given an unfaltering allegiance to the Re-
publican party, but he has refused to permit the
use of his name in connection with political office
of any description. He is a member of the Ma-
sonic and Pythian fraternities.

On the 28th of April, 1876, Mr. Conklin was
united in marriage 'to Miss Martha Austin, who
was born and reared in Wisconsin, being a
daughter of Samuel Austin, and she was sum-
moned into eternal rest in April, 1888, and is sur-
vived by four children, namely : Roy, Rena,
Samuel and Clyde. On the 2d of October, 1890,
Mr. Conklin was united in marriage to Miss Ida
Geyer, who was born in the state of Illinois, be-
ing a sister of Isaac M. Geyer, who is the sub-
ject of an individual sketch on another page of
this work. To said article reference may be made
for data concerning the family. Of this union
has been bom one child, Wanita. who was born
in Clark, Clark county, South Dakota, July 21,
1891, and is now twelve years old and has been
attending school at Pierre for the last four years.

JAMES W. JOHNSTON, secretary and
general manager of the Faulk County Land and
Title Company, is a well-known citizen of Faulk-
ton. He was born in Center county, Pennsyl-
vania, on the 4th of October, 1854, being a son
of William and Agnes (Watson) Johnston, both
of whom were likewise born and reared in Penn-
sylvania. The father of the subject was a suc-
cessful farmer of Center county, where he con-
tinued to reside until 1869, when he removed
with his family to Lee county, where he and his
wife resided until their deaths.

James W. Johnston passed his youth on the
family homestead farm in Pennsvlvania, and re-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1803

ceived a common-school education. He accom-
panied his parents on their removal to Iowa.
In 1879 he came to South Dakota, so that he
may be consistently tenned a pioneer of the
state, and shortly after his arrival he entered
claim to one hundred and sixty acres of govern-
ment land ten miles north of Watertown, which
he provetl up. He then assisted on the govern-
ment surveys of the territory until January, 1883,
when he removed to Faulk county, which was
then unorganized, and filed a pre-emption on
one hundred and sixty acres of land joining the
town site of La Foon, which afterwards became
the first county seat of Faulk county. At the
first general election held in Faulk county, No-
vember 8, 1894, he was elected to the office of I
register of deeds, being the first chosen to this
position by popular vote. He served one term,
while subsequently he was again elected to this
office, serving one term. His long experience in
the office has made him thoroughly familiar with
land values in this section and this knowledge
has been of great benefit to him in his real-estate
operations. In 1886, when the railroad was com-
pleted to Faulkton, the present county seat, he
removed to. the new town, with whose interests
and upbuilding he has since been identified. He
continued his business individually until" 1893,
when he effected the organization of the Faulk
County Land and Title Company, of which he
has been secretary and general manager from the
start. The company own a complete set of ab-
stracts of. land titles of Faulk county. Mr. John-
ston is a member of the Republican party, and
for the past eight years has served as chairman
of the Republican county central committee. He
served two terms as a member of the city council,
and for three years as a member of the board of
education. Fraternally he is identified with
Faulkton Lodge, No. 95, Ancient Free and Ac-
cepted Masons ; Faulkton Chapter, No. 30, Royal
Arch Masons, of which he is high priest at the
time of this writing; the order of Knights of
the ?ilaccabees and Modern Woodmen of Amer-
ica.

On the 5th of November, 1885, Mr. Johnston
was united in marriage to ]\Iiss Lizzie M. Coch-

rane, of Des Moines, Iowa, who was born and
reared in that state, being a daughter of J. C.
Cochrane. In the spring of 1883 Mrs. John-
ston came to South Dakota with her uncle, Jo-
seph Cochrane, and filed a pre-emption claim.
She may be termed a pioneer of Faulk county,
having settled on her land prior to the time it
came into the market. In December, 1884, Judge
Seward Smith appointed her clerk of the district
court, in which office she served about two years,
having been the first woman to hold the office in
the state. She resigned the position at the time
of her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have
had born to them ten children, of whom but four
are living : Belle, Lloyd, Laura and Ralph. Mr.
and Mrs. Johnston are members of the Congre-
gational church.

PATRICK H. O'NEIL, who has a large and
finely improved stock farm in Faulk county, is a
native of the Badger state, having been bom in
New Richmond, St. Croix county, Wisconsin,
on the 1 6th of February, 1866, and being a son
of Thomas Q'Neil, who was born and reared in
Ireland, when he came to America as a young
man and located in Wisconsin, where he has
maintained his home for the past forty years.
The subject was reared and educated in his na-
tive county and continued to reside in Wisconsin
until he had attained his legal majority, when,
in 1887, he came to South Dakota and located
in Faulkton, where he engaged in the meat-mar-
ket business, in which he continued until 1898.
Soon after his arrival in the county he also iden-
tified himself, on a modest scale, with the live-
stock industry, to which he has given his exclu-
sive attention since the year mentioned. He has
twenty-two thousand acres under fence, and in
the connection it may be stated that for his pur-
pose fully eighty miles of fencing are used, while
of his land he has deeded title to twelve thou-
sand acres. He raises both cattle and she(;p and
has the best graded stock, so that he is enabled
to command the highest market prices. In the
summer of 1892 he sold ninety-seven thousand
eight hundred dollars' worth of stock at one sale

i8o4

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

and to one man. His average run of sheep is
about fifteen thousand head and in 1903 he sold
seventy-two thousand nine hundred pounds of
wool to one buyer, the Shropshire type of sheep
being his favorite. All of his land is in Faulk
county, and he has the best of facilities for the
care and handling of his stock, an abundant sup-
ply of pure water being secured from three ar-
tesian wells. In politics he is a stanch adherent
of the Republican party and both he and his wife
hold the faith of the Catholic church.

On the 13th of June, 1887, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. O'Neill to Miss Annie Car-
lin, who was born in ]\IcLean county. Illinois,
and they have five children, namely : .Aloyisius,
Mary, Ignatius. John and Henry.

JOSEPH H. BOTTUM, state senator from
Faulk county, comes of sterling old colonial
stock in both the paternal and maternal lines and
both families are of stanch English extraction.
Records extant show that two of the maternal
ancestors were valiant soldiers in the Continental
line during the war of the Revolution, having
been participants in the historic battle of Bunker
Hill. The original patronymic in the agnatic line
was Longbottom, the initial syllable having been
dropped after the establishment of the family in
America.

The subject of this sketch is a native of the
Empire state, having been born in West Bloom-
field, Ontario county. New York, on the 26th of
September, 1853, and being of the eldest of the
eight children of Henr\ C. and Helen M. (Burn-
ham) Bottum, both of whom were born and
reared in \'ermont, as was also the paternal
grandfather of our subject. Roswell Bottum,
who was a man of prominence and influence in
the old Green Mountain state, having served for
a number of terms as a member of its legislature
and also held other offices of distinctive public
trust and responsibility. The original American
progenitors settled in the Massachusetts colony
and the name has been long and honorably iden-
tified with the annals of New England. As a
young man the father of the subject removed to

the state of New York, locating in Ontario
county, where he was engaged in the mercantile
business until 1854, when he came west to Wis-
consin, settling in Fond du Lac county, and be-
came one of the pioneers of that section. He
was prospered in his efforts and developed a
large and valuable farm, which he still owns. He
has always taken a prominent part in the politics
of the county and state and was for three years a
member of the Wisconsin legislature. He has
attained the age of nearly eighty years and is ad-
mirably preserved in mind and body, while he is
honored as one of the venerable pioneers of the
Badger state.

Joseph H. Bottum passed his boyhood days
on the homestead farm in Wisconsin, having been
an infant in arms at the time of his parents" re-
moval to that state, and his early educational dis-
cipline was secured in the public schools, after
which he completed a course of study in Ripon
College, in the town of that name, being there
graduated as a member of the class of 1877 with
the degree of Bachelor of Science. Shortly aft-
erward he entered the law office of the firm of
Shepherd & Shepherd, of Fond du Lac, the in'
terested principals being leading members of the
bar of Wisconsin, and under their able preceptor-
ship he continued his technical study of the law
until 1880. when he was duly admitted to the
bar. He immediately came to what is now the
state of South Dakota, locating in the city of
Sioux Falls, where he remained until the spring
of 1882, when he removed to Spink county,
where he was engaged in newspaper work until
March, 1883, when he located in the village of
La Foon, five miles east of the present county
seat, and was there engaged in the practice of his
profession until January, 1887. when the rail-
road was completed through Faulkton, where-
upon he removed to this point, where he has ever
since been prominent in professional work and
public and civic aflfairs, being one of the most
successful members of the county bar and being
held in the highest regard in the community, as
is evident from the dignified official position
which he has been called upon to fill, in the gift
of tlic people. The county was organized in

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1805

1883, and Mr. Bottum had the distinction of be-
ing its first register of deeds, La Foon being then
the county seat, while he served as state's attor-
ney for the county from 1890 to 1894, inclusive,
making an enviable record as a public prosecu-
tor. In 1898 he was electc<l to represent his
county in the state senate, serving during the
sixth general assembly, and in 1902 he was again
chosen for this responsible preferment, being a
member of the assembly at the time of this writ-
ing and having gained a reputation as a conserv-
ative and conscientious legislator and as one
thoroughly devoted to the interests of the people
of the state. Fraternally he is a Royal Arch Ma-
son, and is also identified with the Knights of
Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Work-
men. Senator Bottum has taken a deep interest
in local affairs, particularly in the cause of popu-
lar education, and at the present time he is presi-
dent of the board of education.

In June, 1885, Senator Bottum was united in
marriage to Miss Sylvia G. Smith, who was born
and reared in Missouri, and who is a daughter of
Judge Darius S. Smith. Of this union have been
born seven children, namely : Nellie. Fannie,
Dora. Emily. Julia, Roswell and Joseph H. Both
parents are members of the Congregational
church.

H. T. MEACHAM, one of the leading mer-
chants of Gettysburg, Potter county, is a native
of the beautiful Wolverine state, having been
born in Adamsville, Cass county, Michigan, on
the 19th of November, 1861, and being a son of
G. .-\. and Helen M. Meacham, natives re-
spectively of New York and Ohio. The father
now resides in Adamsville, Michigan, where he
has been' engaged in farming for many years.
The mother died in 1900. The subject was
reared in his native town and there completed
the curriculum of the public schools, being grad-
uated in the high school at Elkhart, Indiana, as a
member of the class of 1881, while he then put
his scholastic acquirements to practical test and
use bv engaging in teaching, to which profession
he gave his attention about three years. He then

decided to try his fortunes in what is now South
Dakota, whither he came in 1883, arriving in
Gettysburg on the 29th of August. He entered
claim to three hundred and twenty acres of gov-
ernment land seven miles south of the town, and
remained on the same for a number of months
and then returning to his home in Michigan for
the winter. In the spring of 1884 he came once
more to his claim, upon which he made improve-
ments, placing a considerable portion of the land
under cultivation and in due time perfecting his
title. In the fall of 1884 he was elected county
treasurer, on the Republican ticket, and the hold
which he had gained upon popular confidence
and esteem was shown in the fact that he was the
onlv successful candidate on the ticket, while he
also had the distinction of being the first county
treasurer elected, his predecessor having been
appointed at the time of the organization of the
county and having served initil the first general
election provided regular incimibents for the va-
rious offices. Mr. Meacham gave a most able
and satisfactory administration of the fiscal af-
fairs of the county during the formative period,
and was continued in the office for three sttcces-
sive terms, of two years each. Upon retiring
from office he engaged in the real-estate business,
to which he gave his attention until 1893, when
he went to Chicago, Illinois, where he remained
about two years, at the expiration of which he
returned to Gettysburg and established himself in
the general merchandise business, in which he
has ever since successfully continued, controlling
a large trade and having a select and compre-
hensive stock in the various departments.

Mr. Meacham has taken a particularly active
interest in public affairs of a local order and has
been prominent in the councils of the Republican
party contingent in the state. In 1896 he was a
delegate to the national convention, in .St. Louis,
which nominated the late and lamented William
McKinley for the presidency, and since that time
he has served as a member of the Republican
state central committee. Fraternally he is identi-
fied with Ionia Lodge, No. 83, Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons, in Gettysburg, having
been the first candidate initiated in the same ;

i8o6

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

with Faulkton Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and
with Huron Lodge, No. 444, Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, at Huron, South Da-
kota. ]\Ir. Meacham is a bachelor.

EVAN FREDERICK GROSS, a represent-
ative business man of Gettysburg, Potter county,
has the distinction of being a native of tlie me-
tropolis of the nation, having been born in New
York city, on the 19th of October, 1853, and be-
ing a son of G. F. Gross, born in Hall, Wurtem-
berg, Germany, and Theresia Gross, born in
Niederlies, Lower Austria. Shortly after their
marriage, in 1852, they emigrated to America,
and the subject, the eldest of their five children,
was born soon after their arrival in New York
city. They remained there for a short time and
then removed to Reading, Pennsylvania, which
continued to be their home until about 1861,
when they removed to the city of Chicago, Illi-
nois, where they passed the remainder of their
lives. The father of our subject was a printer
by trade and vocation, having learned the art in
his native land, and he followed the same until
his death, which occurred in 1884, while for a
number of years he owned and conducted a job
office in Chicago. In his family were four sons
and one daughter, and all are still living. The
mother is still living in Qiicago.

Evan Frederick Gross, the immediate subject
of this sketch, was about eight years of age at
the time of his parents' removal to Chicago, and
there he was reared to maturity, securing his ed-
ucation in the public schools, and entering upon
an apprenticeship at the printer's trade under
the direction of his father. He became a skilled
workman, while he continued to be identified
with the work of his trade in Chicago until 1883,
when he removed to Potter county, South Da-
kota, where he filed entry on a pre-emption claim
in Lincoln township, Potter county, where he
improved a good farm and there devoted his
attention to agricultural pursuits until 1887,
when he was at first appointed and afterwards
elected county auditor, in which capacity he
served six consecutive vears, havincr been twice

re-elected. He then established himself in the
hardware business in Gettysburg, the county
seat, beginning operations upon a somewhat mod-
est scale, and in the intervening years he has built
up a large and prosperous enterprise in the line,
controlling a representative patronage through-
out this section and having a large and well-
equipped store and also ample warehouse accom-
modations. He carries a large and comprehen-
sive stock of heavy and shelf hardware, stoves,
ranges, etc., has a well-equipped tin and repair
shop, and also handles a full line of agricultural
implements and machinery, while he is known
as a reliable and straightforward business man
and commands unequivocal confidence and re-
gard in the county in which he has so long made
his home and with whose industrial, business and
civic affairs he has been so prominently identi-
fied. He has been an active factor in local polit-
ical affairs ever since coming to the county, is a
man of broad intellectual grasp and mature judg-
ment, and thus he has become naturally a leader
in thought and action. He is a Democrat in his
political faith, and in 1900 was elected to repre-
sent his district in the state legislature, where he
made a most excellent record, the popular en-
dorsement of which came in his re-election in the
fall of 1902, so that he is a member of the gen-
eral assembly at present. Fraternally he is affili-
ated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
the Woodmen of the World and the Ancient Or-
der of United Workmen.

In 1874 Mr. Gross was united in marriage to
Miss Marienne Augustine, who was born in
Alsace, being of French ancestry, and her death
occurred in 1879. She is survived by two chil-
dren, Robert A., who is successfully engaged in
the real-estate business in Gettysburg, and Alma,
who is the wife of Frank G. Carpenter, of Sour
Lake, Texas.

On the 15th of June, 1890, Mr. Gross wedded
Miss M. Helen Williams, who was born and
reared in Harrison, Illinois, being a direct de-
scendant of Roger Williams, the founder of the
state of Rhode Island, and at the time of her
marriage she was superintendent two terms of the
pulilic schools in Potter, this county. Of this

HISTCmY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1807

union has been born one son, to whom has most
consistently been given the name of Roger Wil-
liams, and a daughter, Thcresia Marie.

ROY L. HOPKINS, one of the well-known
citizens of Redfield, South Dakota, where he is
president of the Redfield Cement Brick and Tile
Manufacturing Company, was born near Cleve-
land, Ohio, on April 23, 1853. He is the son of
William W. and Louise (Sumner) Hopkins. The
father was born in New York state, and is the
son of Cyrus Hopkins. The Hopkins are of
English stock, but have been in America many
generations. The mother was Ijorn in Ohio.
The genealogy of the Sumner family runs back
to the colonial period. Three brothers of the
family came from England prior to the Revolu-
tionary war. One of them, the great-grandfa-
ther of the subject, held three commissions under
the crown of Great Britain and for service was
granted a tract of land composing six hundred
and fifty acres on which the city of Rochester,
New York, now stands. He was a strong Tory,
and during the war for independence he fled to
Canada. He had prepared to return to his pos-
sessions, but was taken sick and died. The treaty
between England ^nd the United States provided
that all confiscated property should be returned
to the original owners. Not returning, however,
. the property fell into other hands, but even today
their titles are clouded by the fact that the prop-
erty really belongs to the said Thomas Sumner,
and no absolutely clear title can be given to Ro-
chester city property. The grandfather of the
subject, Azor Betts Sumner, was a native of
Vermont state. He removed from Vermont to
New York state, thence to Ohio and served in
the war of 1812, and then, at the age of ninety-
three years, he went alone to Missouri, in which
state he; died at the age of ninety-six years. Cy-
rus B. Hopkins, paternal grandfather of the sub-
ject, was born in the year of 1781 at Great Bar-
rington, Massachusetts, was in the war of 1812
and died September 6, 1863. Charlotte Bissell
Hopkins, his wife, was born at Randolph, Ver-
mont, October 30. 1791. and died in 1883. Persis

Warren Sumner, grandmother, was born at
Granville, New York, May 11, 1785, and died
March 26, 1861. From Ohio the parents of the
subject removed to Beloit, Wisconsin, in 1853,
and from that state he removed to Rockford,
Illinois, and from there came to Redfield, South
Dakota, in 1883, and here he and his wife have
since resided. He is now seventy-seven years
old, while his wife is in her seventy-fifth year.

Roy L. Hopkins was educated in the common
and high schools, and finished the same with a
course at Arnold's Business College, at Rockford,
Illinois. He learned the baker's trade, and opened
his first shop at Marengo, Illinois, where he was
burned out. In 1880 he came to South Dakota
and settled in Spink county, near the camping
ground of the Indians on the James river, four
miles northeast from Redfield, which locality he
reached on March 2, 1880. The following Au-
gust he went to Redfield, or what is now that city,
for at that time there was not a building on the
site. He opened the Star Restaurant and Bakery
, in the summer of 1881, and following that he
ran the Central Hotel at Redfield. He next
erected a building and opened a restaurant, fruit
store and bakery, to which he later added grocer-
ies, and managed the same until 1889. His wife's
health failing at this time, he returned to Illinois,
where he was engaged for eighteen months in
the butcher business, at the expiration of which
period he returned to Redfield and his old busi-
ness, being associated with his brother, G. S.
Hopkins. In 1897 he took charge of the local
telephone lines and exchange in connection with
his store, and two years later he sold out his store
and gave his entire attention to the telephone
business, of which he was the owner. He built
and operated lines in Redfield and the county un-
til 1904, when he sold out to the Citizens' Com-
pany. In 1904 he began the cement business, get-
ting in machinery, etc., and in the same year he
organized the company and began the manufac-
ture of cement brick and tile. The machine they
use was patented in Canada, and is the first one
turned out in the United States. Air. Hopkins
served four j-ears in the Redfield city council.

In September, 1874, Mr. Hopkins was united

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

in marriage to Miss Minnie Lanaghen, who was
l)orn at L>ons, Iowa. She died June 27, 1902,
leaving two sons, Clarence and Roy. Jr.

CHENEY C. GROSS, M. D.— To achieve
state reputation within a comparatively short
time, in one of the most exacting of the learned
professions, is evidence of intellectual capacity
of a high order and superior professional train-
ing, both of which, in an eminent degree, char-
acterize the learned and successful physician
whose name appears at the head of this article.
The distinction of being the leader of his profes-
sion in Yankton is freely conceded to him and
that he is also widely and favorably known in
other parts is attested by the worthy prestige he
enjoys in medical circles throughout the entire
state of South Dakota.

Dr. Cheney C. Gross, of Yankton, is a native
of Naperville, Illinois, and the second in a fam-
ily of five children, whose parents were Daniel N.
and Mary E. (Dudley) Gross. The Doctor's pa-
ternal grandparents, Conrad and Salome Gross,
came to America a number of years ago from
Bavaria, Germany, and settled in Pennsylvania,
thence about 1833, emigrated to Dupage county,
Illinois, where they spent the remainder of their
lives. The Dudleys, who came from New Hamp-
shire and Vermont, were also early pioneers of
Dupage county, their settlement being contem-
poraneous with that of the Gross family, both
locating near the town of Naperville, where they
engaged in agricultural pursuits. Grandfather
Gross was a devout member of the Gennan
Evangelical church, and a man of high character
and excellent standing. The Dudleys were Con-
gregationalists, of the most orthodox Ntew Eng-
land type, the Doctor's grandfather having been
a leading spirit in organizing the church of that
denomination in Naperville, of which society he
was a charter member, and for a number of
years one of its most liberal supporters. John
Dudley, the Doctor's great-grandfather, was a
Revolutionary hero, and the old flint-lock musket
which he carried during the war was retained
as a precious relic for many years. This branch

of the family came originally from England, the
ancestors being among the "Mayflower" pilgrims,
others immigrating to America at a later date.
Daniel N. Gross, the Doctor's father, was born
in Naperville, Illinois, in 1837. He enjoyed but
limited educational advantages, never attending
school after his thirteenth year, and when quite
young he apprenticed himself to learn the car-
penter's trade, which in due time he mastered
and became a skillful mechanic. For some years
prior to the breaking out of the great Civil war
he was foreman in a carpenter's shop, at Naper-
ville, but when the President called for volun-
teers to put down the rebellion he was one of the
first in that town to respond, joining Company E,
Eighth Illinois Cavalry, with which he served
until made an aide on General Sumner's staff,
some time later. His command was attached to
the Army of the Potomac, and took part in a
number of Virginia campaigns, participating in
many of the bloody battles which made the war
in that section historic. Upon the occasion of the
,{ seven days' battle before Richmond he was one
of those who volunteered to carry an important
dispatch in the face of a deadly fire to the com-
mander of another division, with an order to re-
treat, the mission being attended with great dan-
ger, and to all appearances aln\ost certain death.
Off the three he was chosen for the dangerous
j service, and after proceeding as far as he dared
on horseback, he left his animal and. crawling di-
rectly under the fire of the enemy, finally reached
his destination in safety and delivered the mes-
sage. Returning, he reached his horse without
injury, but in attempting to mount he was shot
through the leg, the missile killing the animal,
thus leaving him to make his way as best he
could to a place of safety. After hastily dress-
ing the wound, he was assisted by a comrade, S.
V. Hoang, now living near Fargo, North Da-
kota, who, helping him mount another hqfse, led
the animal, and in this way the two followed the
retreating army until arriving at Pittsburg Land-
I ing on the shore of Chesapeake bay, where they
' found the force already embarked, and the last of
I the transports just leaving the shore. The com-
mander of the transport was not disposed to re-

C. G. GROSS, M. D.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[8og

turn for them until Surgeon Hord, of Aurora,
Illinois, threatened to report him, when he re-
luctantly yielded and the vessel approached suf-
ficiently close to enable the wounded man to be
swung on board in a blanket, their rescue being
just in time to prevent their capture by the pur-
suing enemy. A storm came on and it was sev-
eral days before Mr. Gross could be taken to a
hospital in Baltimore, when, in order to save his
life, it was found necessar>' to amputate his
wounded limb. After remaining something like
six months under treatment, he was discharged
from the hospital, and immediately thereafter re-
turned home, where a short time later, January
14, 1864, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary
E. Dudley. This union, as already stated, re-
sulted in the birth of five children, four of whom
are living, at the present time, namely : Bertha C,
a kindergartener in Riverside,' California ; Dr.
Cheney C, of this review; Dean D., a hardware
merchant of Yankton, South Dakota, and Mary
S., an unmarried lady, who is still under the pa-
rental roof. Fred A. Gross, the youngest child,
died in San Diego, California, June 28, 1900, at
the age of eighteen years, after an illness of two
years.

Daniel N. Gross served three terms as treas-
urer of Dupage county, Illinois, and for a period
of fourteen years was postmaster at Naperville.
In 1883 he moved his family to Yankton,
South Dakota, where he became associated with
other partners in the hardware business, contin-
uing a member of the firm until his death, which
occurred November 28, 1889. One year prior to
that date, he was elected auditor of Yankton
county, and he had fairly entered upon the duties
of the office when the dread messenger sum-
moned him to the great beyond. Mr. Gross was
a man of influence in his various places of resi-
dence, and filled ably and worthily every position
with which honored. He was prominent in
the Masonic order, having been a leading mem-
ber of the Oriental Consistory at Yankton, and
was also active in religious circles, having been
identified with the Congregational church at the
time of his death, being a pillar of the First
church of that denomination in Yankton. Mrs.

Gross is still living and at this time makes her
'home in Yankton with two of her children, the
subject of this sketch and the youngest daughter,
Mary S.

Referring specifically to the career of Dr.
Cheney C. Gross, it is learned that he was born
in Naperville, Illinois, on February 15, 1868, and
that he grew up at home, receiving his early ed-
ucation in the schools of his native place, and
later, 1886. graduating from the Yankton high
school. The Doctor was a youth of about fifteen
when his parents moved to South Dakota and
since that time his life has been very closely in-
terwoven with the history of this city. After fin-
ishing his high-school course, he continued his
literary education for three years in Yankton
College, subsequently, in the fall of 1890, entering
the medical department of the Northwestern Uni-
versity at Chicago, from which institution he was
graduated in the summer of 1895. For one year
of the above period he was connected with the
drug house of G. W. Frostensen, in Yankton, but
immediately after receiving his degree aban-
doned all other pursuits for the practice of his
profession, which he has since prosecuted with
distinguished success, having not only risen to an
eminent position in his own city, but achieved a
reputation far beyond the limits of his present
field of endeavor. The Doctor's progress since
opening an office in Yankton has been rapid and
marked, and by common consent he is now recog-
nized as the leading physician in this section of
the state, his abilities in all branches of the pro-
fession creating a demand for his services which
taxes his utmost powers to meet. A close and
critical student, as well as a skillful and success-
ful practitioner, he keeps abreast of the times in
all matters relating to medical science, belonging
to a number of professional societies and associa-
tions, and taking a leading part in their deliber-
ations. Among these are the American Medical
Association, the South Dakota Medical Society,
Sioux Valley Medical Association and the Aber-
deen Medical Assbciation, in addition to which
he has also filled several positions in the line of
his calling, to-wit, that of health officer of Yank-
ton, superintendent of the county board of health.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

which post he has held during the past six years,
and county coroner, serving two terms in the last
named office. For several years he has held the
position of surgeon for the Great Northern Rail-
way Company at Yankton and is also medical ex-
aminer for several of the leading old-line life in-
surance companies.

Few physicians of his age and experience have
come so prominently to the front as has Dr. Gross,
and none have discharged their duties more ably
or faithfully. He is a gentleman of scholarly
habits and refined tastes, extensively acquainted
with general literature and, as already indicated,
a profound student of medicine. In private life
he is quiet and unobtrusive, yet of a social dis-
position, a ready and fluent conversationalist and
impresses all with whom he comes in contact by
the depth and wide range of his intelligence. It
is in these humble relations that characters are
most fully tested, and here, as in his professional
labors, the Doctor has always been governed by
principles of virtue and duty. Dr. Gross has
never seen fit to assume the duties and responsi-
bilities of matrimony, being still an unmarried
man and making one of a happy home circle of
which his mother and a sister are the members.
In religion he is a Congregationalist, being an
active member of the First church of that name
in Yankton, and he is also identified with the
Pythian fraternity, belonging to Phoenix Lodge,
of this city.

The subject's maternal grandmother Dudley
bore the maiden name of Mary Barrows and was
a native of Middlebury, Vermont. Her family
originally came from England, settling in this
country about 1630. She was a woman of ex-
ceptionally strong character and unusual intel-
lectual attainments. In 1832 she left her home
in Middlebury, Vermont, with a married sister,
Mrs. Rev. N. C. Clark, whose husband had been
appointed by the American Home Missionary
Society to the then new field of Illinois. They
arrived in Chicago when that city was a mere vil-
lage, boasting but one frame 'house. Here she
and a Miss Chapin founded a school, which was
to be the basis or origin of the present public-
school system of that great city. Miss Qiapin

later married Rev. Jeremiah Porter, an appointee
of the American Home Missionary Society and
who served as chaplain to the United States
troops stationed at old Fort Dearborn and whose
name is prominently mentioned in the history of
the early settlement of Illinois. Here Miss ]Mary
Burrows first met her future husband, John Dud-
ley, whoiru she married December 19, 1836. Her
niece. Miss Martha J. Barrows, has been a mis-
sionary at Kobe, Japan, for many years, where,
in 1893, she and the subject's aunt. Miss Julia
E. Dudley, founded the Woman's Evangelistic
School of Kobe, Japan, a Bible training school
under the supervision and control of the Amer-
ican Board of Foreign Missions.

The subject's mother, Mrs. Mary D. Gross,
is a woman of strong, earnest and sincere Chris-
tian character, and also of unusual intellectual
strength and abilities. To her Dr. Gross is prob-
ably indebted mainly for his mental and intellec-
tual ability. She was favored in her \-outh
with superior educational advantages, hav-
ing attended the public schools and a private
academy at Naperville, Illinois, and also the
Rockford Female * Seminary at Rockford, Illi-
nois. Her sister, Miss Julia E. Dudley, who is
still living in California, was for thirty years a
missionary in Japan, being superintendent of the
Bible training school for women, at Kobe, Japan,
under the American Board of Foreign Missions.

HON. CHARLES HENRY BURKE, of
Pierre, is a New Yorker by birth, descended on
the father's side from an old and noted Irish fam-
ily, and through his mother his ancestry is trace-
able to an early period in the history of New
England. His grandfather, Dr. Myles Burke, a
physician of wide repute, was born and reared
in Galway, Ireland, and after practicing his pro-
fession in that country for a number of years,
came to America and took up his residence in
New York city, where he spent the remainder of
his days. Walter Burke, son of the Doctor and fa-
ther of the subject, was also a native of County
Galway, where his birth occurred on November
10, 1820. He accompanied the family to this

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

country in 1830 and in 1856 married Miss Sarah
T. Beckwith, who was born October 17, 1828,
in the state of Connecticut, where, as above indi-
cated, her ancestors settled in an early day.
Walter Burke and wife spent the greater part of
their married Hfe on a farm near Batavia, Gen-
esee county, New York, and it was there that
their son, the subject of this review, first saw the
Hght of day, on April i, 1861.

Charles Henry Burke was reared under the
wholesome discipline and healthful influence of
outdoor life on the farm, early became accus-
tomed to the rugged labor of tlie same, and at
the proper age entered the public schools of Ba-
tavia, where he pursued his studies until finishing
the high-school course. The training thus re-
ceived was supplemented by an academic course,
which he completed in the spring of 1881, and
after teaching the following winter in a country
district in western New York, he started west,
arriving in Dakota territory in the spring of
1882 and settling on a homestead near Broad-
land, in what is now Beadle county. After
spending one year on his claim, Mr. Burke, in
the spring of 1883, located at Blunt, Hughes
county, where he opened a land and real-estate
office, forming a partnership with Smith & Cald-
well, of Huron, the firm thus constituted building
up in due time an extensive and lucrative busi-
ness. While thus engaged the subject took up
the study of law and prosecuted the same as op-
portunities offered, until his admission to the
bar in 1886, after which he practiced at Blunt
in connection with real-estate business until Sep-
tember of the following year, when he came to
Pierre and entered the employ of the Security
Mortgage and Investment Company, of this city.
Later Mr. Burke became manager of the com-
pany and continued as such until he closed up its
affairs. Subsequently he became a member of the
law firm of Burke & Goodner, of Pierre, but upon
his election to congress this partnership was dis-
solved.

Mr. Burke has been a forceful factor in po-
litical circles ever since becoming a citizen of
South Dakota and in 1894 was elected on the Re-
publican ticket to the legislature, in which body

he served two terms, having been chosen his own
successor in the year 1896. His record as a law-
maker proved eminently satisfactory to his con-
stituents, and in recognition of his ability as well
as by reason of distinguished services rendered
his party, he was honored in 1898 by being elected
to the national hohse of representatives. Mr.
Burke's first term in congress fully met the high
expectations of his friends and the public, and
his zeal in looking after die interests of his dis-
trict and state, and his ability in matters of na-
tional import were such as to lead to his renomin-
ation and triumphant re-election in 1900, there
being no opposition to him in the convention.
In 1902 he was again renominated by acclama-
tion and, his election following as a matter of
course, he is still ably representing his constitu-
ency and laboring for the welfare of the country,
putting "patriotism above party and proving by
distinguished public service that the confidence
reposed in his integrity and worth has not been
misplaced.

Previous to his legislative and congressional
experience, Mr. Burke took an active part in lo-
cal and state affairs and in 1890 was a member
and secretary of the Pierre capital committee, in
which capacity he devoted about eight months
exclusively to the campaign work of that year.
His labors were influential and highly appreci-
ated and to his judicious counsels and efficient
leadership is largely due the successful issue of
the state capital questions.

Fraternally Mr. Burke is a member of the
Ancient Order of United Workmen, which or-
ganization he joined at Blunt in the year 1885.
He was made a Mason in 1898 and at the present
time belongs to the blue lodge and chapter at
Pierre and he is also identified with SioUx Falls
Lodge, No. 262, Benevolent and Protective pr-
der of Elks. Although a member of no church,
he believes in religion and respects all organized
efforts for its dissemination, his preference
among creeds being the Episcopal. He is a loyal
attendant of the church of this name and a liberal
contributor to its various lines.

In concluding this brief sketch, reference is
made to the domestic life of ;\Ir. Burke, the his-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

tory of which dates from January 14, 1886, when
he was married, at Blunt, South Dakota, to Miss
Caroline Schlosser. IMr. and Mrs. Burke arc
the parents of five children, whose names and
dates of birth are as follows : Grace F., July 2,
1887; Bessie, February 18, 1889; Walter H.,
October 5, 1890; Charles Elmer, February 17,
1893, died May 3. 1898, and Josephine Louise,
who was born in Washington City, D. C, on
January I, 1900.

As stated in a preceding paragraph, Mr.
Burke on the father's side comes from an old
and highly esteemed Irish family, several repre-
sentatives of which have achieved honorable dis-
tinction in various spheres of endeavor. Joseph
Burke, an uncle of the subject, acquired renown,
both in Europe and America, by his wonderful
versatility as an actor as well as a violinist. When
a mere infant he displayed astounding' musical
and histrionic talents and long before he was out
of dresses he was receiving instructions both in
music and elocution from private tutors. He was
but three years of age when he began appearing
before the public as a violinist and his success
was instantaneous. His career as an actor began
when he was six years old and at the age of
twelve he was acknowledged by the best critics
of the day to be the most accomplished violinist
in the united kingdom. When a mere child he |
toured England, Scotland and Ireland, playing in
the larger cities before overflowing audiences and
later he repeated his success in the United States,
whither his fame had preceded him. He was
without doubt the most astonishing instance of
precocious talents the musical world has ever
known, but, unlike so many youthful prodigies
wliose skill disappears with advancing age, he
not only retained unimpaired his wonderful gen-
ius throughout a prolonged and remarkably dis-
tinguished career, but added to his skill and effi-
ciency as long as lived as an artist. When Jenny
Lind made her tour of the United States in 1850
young Burke accompanied her in the role of
violinist and afterwards became her treasurer
and private secretary as well as the leader of her
orchestra. She visited him several times at his
beautiful home near Batavia, New York, and be-

tween the two a lifelong friendship existed. The
success which everywhere attended ^Ir. Burke
was unprecedented and his fame was equally as
great on the continent of Europe as it was in
England and the United States. He was born in
Galway, Ireland, in 1817, began his professional
career in Dublin in 1824 and after playing the
different roles in all the leading theaters, spent
the remainder of his life, dying at his home in
Genesee county, Xcw York, in the year 1902.

JOHN STOLLER, one of the leadhig rep-
resentatives of the Russo-German families early
settled in McPherson county, was born near
Odessa, Russia, on the 24th of June, 1862. and is
a son of Dominick Stoller, who was born and
reared in that same locality. In 1872 the Stol-
lers, in company with about forty, other families
from the same district, came to America, pro-
ceeded west from New York to Sandusky, Ohio,
where they temporarily located, until svich time
as a selection of a place of permanent abode
could be determined upon. Dominick Stoller and
three other men of the company of sturdy and
worthy immigrant party set forth in search of a
location, making an investigating tour through
Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and other states, and
they finally decided to colonize in what is now the
state of South Dakota. The entire company
came forward to the new home on the frontier,
arriving in Yankton on the 22d of April. Previ-
ously to coming to America the father of the sub-
ject had been engaged in farming and sheep
growing, and he continued in the same lines of
industry after coming to South Dakota. He and
his elder sons took up land about eighteen miles
north of Yankton, and there the honored father
died on the nth of January, 1876, leaving seven
children, of whom the subject of this review was
the fourth in order of birth.

John Stoller received his rudimentary edu-
cation in the schools of his native land and was a
lad of about ten years at the time of the immi-
gration to America. He assisted in the improve-
ment and cultivation of the homestead farm in
Yankton county, and in the meanwhile availed

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

18.3

himself of such educational advantages as were
oflFered in the public schools of the locality. He
remained on the old homestead until 1884, and
in the spring of the following year came to Mc-
Pherson county, taking up a quarter section of
land in the center of the county, and there re-
maining for two years, engaged in fanning and
stock raising. He then removed to the embry-
onic village of Eureka, being one of the first set-
tlers in the town, and here for three years and
seven months thereafter he was employed on
salary in a local mercantile establishment. He
then engaged in the hardware business in Eu-
reka, forming at the time a partnership with C.
J. Hazel, manager of the Golden Rule mercantile
house in Aberdeen, and this association contin-
ued until 1893, when Frederick Heppler, now
mayor of Eureka, purchased Mr. Hazel's inter-
est in the enterprise, and the firm of Stoller &
Heppler has ever since continued, while its inter-
ests have greatly expanded in scope and import-
ance through wise management and fair deal-
ing. In i8g6 the firm added dry goods and other
lines of general merchandise tc* their stock, and
they have at the present time a large and well-
appointed store, in which is (tarried a comprehen-
sive and select stock. In 1900 they established
a branch store in Artis, and in 1902 they opened
a second store in Eureka, the same being located
one and one-half blocks south of their original
and still retained quarters, and in this second es-
tablishment they also carry a full line of general
merchandise, running the two stores in conjunc-
tion. ;\Ir. Stoller is a stanch Republican, and be-
sides having held various village offices, he has
also served as school commissioner and ju.stice
of the peace, while in 1902 he was elected to
represent his district in the state senate. In this
dignified body his course was such as to amply
justify the popular confidence and esteem which
led to his being chosen for the important office.
He and his wife are consistent members of the
Lutheran church. It should be said that the
father of the subject was of German lineage, be-
ing a scion of one of the numerous German fam-
ilies which went into Russia during the reign of
Czarina Catherine, who was herself a German

and who accorded special governmental provis-
ions for the continuous protection of her country-
men for a period of one hundred years. This
limitation expired some few years ago, and the
oppressive measures then adopted led to the emi-
gration of many of the leading Russo-German
families to America, the colony mentioned in this
article having been among the first to thus leave
the fatherland, and is is pleasing to note that
South Dakota thus gained a valuable element of
citizenship.

On the 9th of January, 1883, Mr. Stoller was
united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Kost, who
was born in Odessa, Russia, and who accom-
panied her parents on their immigration to
America when a child, the family coming to
South Dakota in the autumn of 1874, thus being
numbered among the early pioneers of the pres-
ent state. ]\fr. and Mrs. Stoller have five chil-
dren, namely: Emilia, Margaretta M.. John F.
W., Rosetta K., and Hildegard M.

FRED HEPPERLE, the popular mayor of
Eureka, McPherson county, and junior member
of the well-known mercantile firm of Stoller &
Hepperle, was born near Odessa, Russia, on the
2d of February, 1863, and comes of stanch Ger-
man lineage. He is a son of John Hepperle, who
was likewise born in Russia, to which country
his father removed with his parents from Ger-

i many when a lad of ten years, this being in 1817.

I The father of the subject became a successful
farmer in Russia and there passed his entire life,

I his death occurring in 1902. Fred Hepperle
was reared and educated in his native land,
where he remained until 1885, when he came to
America, landing in New York and thence
coming west to Nebraska, where he spent one
year, at the expiration of which, in 1886, he c^me
to South Dakota. He located in Campbell coun-
ty, where he was identified with agricultural
pursuits until 1888, when he took up his resi-
dence in Eureka, where he has ever since main-
tained his home. He became an interested prin-
cipal in the conducting of the Eureka Bazaar,
disposing of his interests in the same in 1893,.

i8i4

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

and purchasing C. J. Hazel's interest in the hard-
ware establishment conducted under the title of
Hazel & Stoller, and the new firm name became
Stoller & Hepperle. They continued the hard-
ware business unchanged until 1896, when they
installed a stock of .general merchandise, while
in 1902 they opened a second store in the town,
which is likewise devoted to a miscellaneous and
select stock, the business controlled being of an
extensive and representative sort. For further
data in regard to the enterprises of this popular
firm we refer the reader to the sketch of Hon.
John Stoller, the senior member of the firm.

In politics Mr. Hepperle gives an unqualified
allegiance to the Republican party, and he is es-
sentially loyal and public-spirited in his attitude,
and takes a helpful interest in all that makes for
the well-being of the community. He served
two terms as county treasurer and is at the pres-
ent time giving a most admirable administration
as mayor of Eureka.

In August, 1893, Mr. Hepperle was united
in marriage to Miss Matilda Weber, who was
born in Austria, and who came with her parents
to America when a child. Mr. and Mrs. Hep-
perle have three sons, namely : Bruno. Herbert
and Carl.

JAMES W. MORSE, the efficient clerk of
the courts of Hughes county, comes of stanch
old colonial stock in both the paternal and ma-
ternal lines, the respective families having been
established in New England at an early epoch
in our national history, while the genealogical
records of the Morse family have been carefully
compiled and preserved through the various gen-
erations. Professor Samuel F. B. Morse, the
distinguished inventor of the electric telegraph,
having been a member of the family. ■ ,■

James W. Morse was born in Springfield, the
attractive capital city of the state of Illinois, on
the 3d of September, 1853, and is a son of James
M. and Emma M. (Gregory) Morse, the former
of whom was born in Newburyport, Massachu-
setts, and the latter in Danbury, Connecticut,
while they were numbered among the early set-

tlers of Sangamon county, Illinois, the father
having been for many years engaged in business
in Springfield, where both he and his wife died.
The subject secured his early educational disci-
pline in the public schools of his native city, and
as a youth learned the art of telegraphy, but
shortly afterward learned the watch-making trade
to which he devoted his attention for eighteen
years. He came to Pierre in 1889 and here en-
gaged in the cigar and tobacco business, and in
1893 was appointed deputy postmaster, in which
capacity he continued to serve until November,
1894, when he was elected to his present office
of clerk of the courts, having held the same con-
tinuously for nearly a' decade, through successive
re-elections, and having handled the exacting
affairs of the ofifice with marked ability and dis-
crimination. In politics he accords an unwaver-
ing support to the Republican party, and is at
the present time worshipful master of Pierre
Lodge, No. 27, Ancient Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, while he is past master of the local lodge
of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and
past venerable consul of the Pierre Camp of the
Modern Woodmen of America.

On the 29th of December, 1878, Mr. Morse
was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Schlipf,
wb.ii was born and reared in Sangamon county,
Illinois. They have three children, Bernice W.,
aged twenty-four years, who holds a clerical posi-
tion in Pierre postoffice; Dorothy L.. aged
twent\'-t\vo. who is a stenographer in the
office of the secretary of state in her home city ;
and Kathryn H., at this writing three years of
age. The subject's musical abilities are evi-
denced by the popularity of his productions,
among which may be mentioned, "The Soldier's
Dream of Home," "Tell my Boy to Meet Me
There," "My Boyhood's Home in Sunny Ten-
nessee," and many others of equal merit.

ERNEST A. MOOSDORF is known as one
of the most enterprising and successful business
men of the thriving village of Tulare, Spink
county, where he began operations on a most
modest scale and has pushed steadily forward un-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1815

til he has interests of distinctive importance in a
commercial and industrial way and stands as one
of the honored and representative citizens of the
community.

Mr. Moosdorf was born in the province of
Saxony, Prussia, on the 23d of March, 1862, and
is a son of Traugott and Rosina Moosdorf, both
of whom were born in the same province, where
they passed their entire lives, the former having
been a miller and farmer by vocation. He died
in 1871 and his wife passed away in 1886. They
became the parents of twelve children, of whom
the subject of this sketch is the youngest and the
onl}- one who came from the fatherland to Amer-
ica. His eldest brother took charge of the mill
after the death of their father, and a son of this
brother now operates the same. Mr. Moosdorf
secured his early educational discipline in the ex-
cellent national schools of Germany and there-
after served a four-years apprenticeship at the
tinner's trade. In 1879 he enlisted in the Sev-

I'- enty-second In/antry Regiment in the Prussian

army, and served three years, at the close of
'■ which he received his honoral^le .discharge. He

thereafter followed the work of his trade until
1883 when he came to America and joined his
cousin in Wisconsin, whence, two months later,
he accompanied said cousin and his family on
their removal to Texas. He located in Marlin
county, and there was engaged in farming, the
major portion of the time on his own responsi-
bility, until 1886, when he returned to Wisconsin,
arriving in the month of January and being there
married in the following March, while he contin-
ued his residence in the Badger state until March,
1887, when he came to South Dakota and located
in Spink county. After being identified with
farming a few months he secured a position in a
' tin shop in Redfield, where he remained until
1889, when he came to Tulare, where he pur-
chased a small store, his cash capital at the time
being represented in the sum of sixty-two dollars,
while he also owned a pony. In his store he en-
gaged in the hardware business on a small scale,
and in the same fall added a stock of groceries,
while in the following year he still further aug-
mented the facilities of his establishment bv the

installing of a small stock of dry goods. His suc-
cess continued to be cumulative, and in 1891 he
purchased his present well-appointed store, which
is forty-four by fifty feet in dimensions, and
equipped with a large and select stock of general
merchandise. In 1896 Mr. Moosdorf erected a
grain elevator in the town, and has since devoted
his attention each season to the buying and ship-
ping of grain. In 1900 he added a lumber yard
to his business enterprises in the village, and still
conducts the same, while since 1897 he has been
associated in his eflorts with C. H. Petersmeyer,
whom he admitted to partnership in that year,
under the firm name of Moosdorf & Company,
the junior member being of American birth and
German parentage. In politics the subject gives
his support to the Republican party, and he has
filled various town and school offices, while he
has been postmaster of Tulare since 1900. He
and his wife are members of the German Meth-
odist Episcopal church. He and his partner own
a well-improved farm in Crandon township, and
lease the property to a good tenant.

On the 23d of March, 1886, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Moosdorf to Miss Minnie
Wieting, who was born and reared in Wisconsin,
being a daughter of John Wieting. The subject
and his wife have five children, the eldest of
whom is attending college at the time of this
writing, while the names, in order of birth, are
as follows :. Albert, Clarence, Viola, Harvey and
IMilton.

FREDERICK A. BURDICK, one of the
pioneer stockmen of Stanley county, comes of
stanch Scottish lineage, and the family was
founded in America in the colonial epoch, while
representatives of the name were found among
the valian1>soldiers in the Continental line during
the war of the Revolution.

Mr. Burdick was born in Brasher Falls, St.
Lawrence county. New York, on the 17th of Oc-
tober, 1864, and is a son of Charles B. and Alice
L. (Smith) Burdick, both of St. Lawrence
county, New York. John Burdick, the grand-
father of the subject, was born in Chateaugay,

i8i6

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Franklin county, that state, and was a son of
John Burdick, who came from Scotland prior to
the Revolution and settled in the old Empire
state, with whose history the name has been ever
since identified. The father of the subject was a
machinist by vocation and devoted the greater
portion of his active life to this line of enterprise.
In 1864 he enlisted in the Sixth New York Ar-
tillery, and met his death in an engagement in
the Shenandoah valley of Virginia about six
months later. In 1867 his widow removed with
her family to South Bend, Indiana, where they
remained about eleven years, and then removed
to Minneapolis, where she passed the remainder
of her life, her death occurring in 1885.

F. A. Burdick received his early education
ill the public schools of South Bend, Indiana.
He then learned the trade of plumbing, and was
engaged in this line of business for himself, at
Minneapolis, Minnesota, until February, 1892,
when he started for Fort Pierre, South Dakota.
Upon his arrival he engaged in the raising of
sheep, securing a tract of excellent grazing land
in Stanley county, and he continued in this line
of industry for six years, at the expiration of
which he disposed of his sheep and turned his at-
tention to raising of horses and cattle, in which
he has since been successfully engaged. His
well-improved ranch is located on the Cheyenne
river at the mouth of Big Plum creek, so that
an ample supply of water is afforded. The
ranch is located five miles south of the village
of Leslie, which is the postoffice address of Air.
Burdick. He gives preference to the Hereford
breed of cattle, his range stock in the line being
three-fourths Flereford blood. He is a man of
progressive ideas and superior business judgment,
and is one of the loyal and enthusiastic advocates
of the advantages and great resources of South
Dakota, having selected this state a? his place
of residence in preference to the many other sec-
tions of the Union in which he has been. When
he and his family took up their residence on the
present honi'cstead ranch their nearest neighbor
was one mile distant, while no others were to be
found save at distances varying from ten to forty
miles. The famous Dupree herd of wild buffa-

loes grazed in the vicinity, while deer, antelope,
wolves and coyotes were in evidence on every
side. The family lived an isolated and somewhat
lonely life for the first few years, but manifested
the courage and determination which have been
so characteristic of the sturdy citizens who have
developed the great resources of the state. Mrs.
Burdick is a lady of education and distinctive
refinement. She completed her education in Ta-
bor College, at Tabor, Iowa. In politics Mr.
Burdick gives his support to the Republican
party.

On the 7th of May, 1886, Mv. Burdick was
united in marriage to Miss Alice L. Percival,
who was born in the province of New Bruns-
wick, Canada, being of stanch English lineage.
She is a daughter of George and Elizabeth
(Love) Percival, who are now dead, and at the
the time of her marriage was a resident of Min-
neapolis. Of this union have been born five chil-
dren, all but one of whom are living, namely :
Henr_\- M., Percival S., Samuel L., Grace A. and
Frederick A.. Tr.

REV. LUCIUS KINGSBURY comes of
stanch old New England stock and is a native of
Connecticut, having been born in Andover, Tol-
land county, on the 20th of September, 1828, and
being a son of Joseph and Amelia (Reynolds)
Kingsbury. He received his early educational
training in the schools of Andover and Hartford,
Connecticut, and in 1 85 1 was graduated in the
Massachusetts State Normal School, at Bridge-
water. At the age of seventeen years he engaged
in teaching, and he continued to follow the ped-
agogic profession for the long period of thirty-
one years, accomplishing most effective work and
proving a valuable integer in his chosen field of
of endeavor. In 1852 he left his New England
home and removed to St. Louis, Missouri, where
he became principal of the Benton school, and
later an instructor in the high school. In 1862
he was principal of a school in Springfield, Illi-
nois, where he remained until 18(^)8, after which
he was for a decade incumbent of the position
of superintendent of schools of Havana, that

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1817

state. Thereafter he resided for two years in
Lincoln, IlHnois, still engaged in teaching, and
in June, 1878, he came as a pioneer to South
Dakota, first locating in Sioux Falls, which was
was then a mere frontier village. He was here
ordained as a minister of the Congregational
church and became pastor of the church at Can-
ton, Lincoln county, where he continued to serve
until 1886, when he accepted the pastorate of the
Congregational church at Clark, Clark county,
where he remained two years. He then returned
to Sioux Falls and for several years was pastor

? of the Livingston Memorial Reformed church,

with whose upbuilding he was most prominently
identified, infusing much of vitality into its spir-
itual and temporal affairs, and continuing to
serve as its pastor until he had attained the age

I of seventy years, when he resigned the active

pastoral duties to younger men and has since
living retired, retaining his home in Sioux Falls,
and being held in unqualified esteem by all who
know him. In politics he is a stanch advocate of
the principles of the Republican party, and he
has always taken a proper interest in public af-
fairs and stood for the highest type of loyal citi-
zenship.

On the 8th of July, 1855, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Kingsbury to Miss Lucy A.
Carpenter, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and of
their children we enter the following brief data :
Frederick G. was drowned in the Sioux river,
• in the summer of 1879, at the age of twenty-one
years ; Mary Amelia, is the wife of Rev. W. S.
Bell, superintendent of Congregational missions
in Montana ; Howard E. died at the age of three
years ; and Alice R. is professor of French and
German in Yankton College, at Yankton, South
Dakota.

CONRAD L. HOLMES, one of the assist-
ant general agents of the Northwestern Mutual
Life Insurance Company, of Milwaukee, Wiscon-
sin, with headquarters in the city of Sioux Falls,
is known as one of the able young insurance un-
derwriters of the state, and has gained advance-
ment in this field of endeavor by his signally well-

directed efforts. Mr. Holmes was born in
Rushford, Minnesota, on the 4th of August,
1875, being a son of Olaf and Mary (Hardevet)
Holmes. The subject secured his rudimentary
education in the public schools of his native place
and when but fifteen years of age became a stu-
dent in the college at Winona, Minnesota. His
parents removed to Sioux Falls in 1889, and here
he continued to prosecute his educational work
in the high school. He was thereafter employed
on a farm for some time and later was engaged
in clerical work in mercantile establishments in
Sioux Falls. In 1898 he identified himself with
the life-insurance business, in connection witli
which he has made a splendid record, being
known as one of the best solicitors in the state,
and ever commanding the confidence and esteem
of those with whom he comes in contact. His
political allegiance is given to the Republican
party and fraternally he is identified with Sioux
Falls Lodge, No. 262, Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks.

On the nth of November, 1889, Mr. Holmes
was united in marriage to Miss Mary Mallanney,
of Sioux Falls, and they have two winsome
little daughters, Helen and Hortense.

WILLIAM H. WILLIAMS, cashier of the
Merchants' Bank, of Woonsocket, is a native of
the Badger state, having been born in Grant
county, Wisconsin, on the ist of February, 1859,
a son of John S. and Susan Williams, to whom
were born eleven children, namely : Susan is
the wife of Frank Lightcap, of Winnipeg, Man-
itoba ; Honor, who is the widow of Joseph
Thomas and resides in Aurora, Illinois ; Hannah,
who is the wife of James Rogers, of Georgetown,
Wisconsin ; Sadie, who is the wife of Thomas E.
Mann, -of Sutherland, Iowa; Mary, who is the
wife of Richard Brown, of Minneapolis, Minne-
sota; John, who is' a resident of Plattville, Wis-
consin ; Roy, wlio maintains his home in Sioux
Falls, South Dakota; Grant, who resides in the
city of Chicago; Arthur, who is a resident of
Sibley, Iowa; Alfred, whose home is in Hazel
Green, Wisconsin ; and William H., who is the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

immediate subject of this review. The parents
were born in Cornwall, England, where their
marriage was solemnized, and shortly afterward
they came to the United States and located in
Hazel Green, Wisconsin, there taking up their
abode in 1847. Having been reared in the great
mining district of England, the father of our
subject naturally became a workman in the Corn-
ish mines, and after coming to America he fol-
lowed the vocation of miner, in Wisconsin, until
1850, in which year he went to California, where j
the gold excitement was then at its height. He
made the trip by way of the isthmus of Panama,
proceeding on a vessel from New York city and
crossing the isthmus on foot, and nearly perish-
ing for lack of water during the journey. He
passed two years in the gold fields of CaHfornia, |
meeting with fair success, and then returned to
Grant county, Wisconsin, where he purchased
a farm, to whose cultivation he thereafter gave
his attention until within twelve years prior to his
death, having retired and taken up his residence
in the village of Hazel Green, where he died on
the 7th of April, 1900, at the venerable age of
eighty-two years, secure in the esteem of all who j
knew him. He was a stanch Republican from I
the time of the organization of the party until
his death, having previously been a supporter
of the Whig party. He and his wife were earn-
est members of the Methodist Episcopal church,
she having preceded him into eternal rest by j
many years, passing away on the 25th of Feb-
ruary. 1885, at the age of fifty-seven years. j

William H. Williams was reared on the
homestead farm and early began to contribute [
his quota to its operation, while he secured a
good public-school education, completing the
course in the high school at Hazel Green. He
remained at the parental home until 1885, in
March of which year he came west and located
in Sanborn county, South Dakota, where he pur-
chased a relinquishing claim of one hundred and
sixty acres, three miles east of Letcher, and there
he was engaged in agricultural pursuits and
stock raising until the fall of 1890, having in
the meanwhile purchased another quarter section
rear his home place. In the autumn of 1890 he
was elected treasurer of Sanborn county, enter-

ing upon the discharge of his official duties in
January following, at which time he took up his
residence in Woonsocket, where he has since
made his home. He served two terms as county
treasurer, retiring from office on the ist of Jan-
uary, 1895, after which he was variously em-
ployed until the ist of January. 1899, when he
became associated with W. A. Loveland in the
establishing of a state bank in Woonsocket. One
year later he purchased his partner's interest and
brought about a reorganization of the bank,
which has since that time been conducted under
the title of the Merchants' Bank of Woonsocket,
while its business is a most prosperous one, the
institution having a strong hold on popular fa-
vor and being known as one of the solid and ably
conducted banking houses of the state. Mr. Wil-
liams is a stanch Republican in his political pro-
clivities and is recognized as one of the loyal and
public-spirited citizens of his adopted county
and state, where he has attained a high measure
of success through his well-directed efforts. In
connection with his banking operations he is also
engaged in the real-estate business, in which he
has made many important transactions, and he
is personally the owner of ten hundred and
eighty acres of valuable land.

On the i8th of February, 1885, Mr. Williams
was married to Miss Sally Price, of Galena, Illi-
nois, and they have one daughter, Elsie.

BURRE H. LIEN merits consideration in
this history by reason of his standing as one of
the most progressive and public-spirited citizens
of Sioux Falls and as one who has been promi-
nent in the public and civic affairs of the state.
Mr. Lien was born near Spirit Lake, Iowa, on the
2 1 St of December, 1859, being a son of Hans and
Gertrude (Burreson) Lien, both of whom were
born in Norway. An uprising of the Indians in
the vicinity caused the parents to leave their
home in Jackson, Minnesota, in 1863, and they
removed to Decorah, Iowa, where they remained
until 1873, when they removed to Faribault
county, Minnesota, where the father continued
to be identified with farming until the time of his
death.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

[819

The subject of this review received his rudi-
mentary education in the public schools of Iowa
and Minnesota, and supplemented the same by
a course in the normal school at Mankato, Min-
nesota. In 1879 li*^ came to Brookings county,
South Dakota, where he engaged in teaching
school, becoming one of the pioneer educators
m that section, where he also took up government
land and engaged in farming, continuing to fol-
low the two vocations until 1883, and thereafter
serving two years as deputy register of deeds of
that county. In November, 1885, he was elected
judge of probate and at the next general election
was chosen register of deeds of the county, in
which capacity he served two terms, or four con-
secutive years, while for three years he was a
valued member of the city council of Brookings.
In June, 1891, Mr. Lien took up his residence
in the city of Sioux Falls.

In politics Mr. Lien gives an uncompromising
allegiance to the Democratic party, in whose
councils he has been an important factor in the
state. In 1894 he was elected to represent the
third ward of city of Sioux Falls in the municipal
board of aldermen, while in 1898 he was elected
mayor of the city, giving a business-like and
able administration and accomplishing much in
improving and extending the public utilities.
In March, 1899, he was appointed a member of
the state board of charities and corrections, of
which he was chosen chairman, and he continued
to be a member of this important board until
igoi. In 1900 he was made the candidate of his
party for the office of governor of the state, and
while he gained that endorsement at the polls
which indicated his personal popularity, he met
the defeat which attended the party ticket in gen-
eral throughout the state in that year. Mr. Lien
has ever shown a deep interest in the welfare and
advancement of his home city, and his civic
pride prompted him to a most valuable and timely
donation to the city in April, 1903, when he pre-
sented to the municipality nine acres of land for
a city park, the same being most eligibly and at-
tractively located and being the first and only
land provided for park purposes in the city. Fra-
ternally he is identified with the following named

Masonic bodies : Minnehaha Lodge, No. 5, Free
and Accepted Masons; Sioux Falls Chapter, No.
2, Royal Arch Masons; Cyrene Commandery,
No. 2, Knights Templar; O/riental Consistory,
No. I, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, in which
he has attained the thirty-second degree; and El
Riad Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the No-
bles of the Mystic Shrine. He also holds mem-
bership in the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows and the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks.

On the 15th of May, 1881, Mr. Lien wedded
Miss Anne Udseth, of Brookings county, this
state, and they have six children, namely : Henry
L., George O., Florence, Agnes. Harold and
Eva.

CHARLES OLIN BAILEY was born at
Freeport, Stephenson county, Illinois, July 2,
i860. His ancestry is English on the paternal
and Welsh on the maternal side. All of his an-
cestors living at the time of the signing of the
Declaration of Independence were residents, and
the most of them natives of the colonies. His
father was Joseph M. Bailey, formerly chief jus-
tice of Illinois, and his mother, Anna O. Bailey,
he being their oldest son and child. He was edu-
cated in the public schools at Freeport and en-
tered the University of Rochester in the fall of
1876 as a member of the class of 1880, being
graduated from the university in June, 1880, a
few days before he became twenty years of age.
He is a member of the Alpha Delta Phi college
fraternity.

Mr. Bailey commenced the study of law in
the office of Neff & Stearns, at Freeport, in July,
1880, and in March, 1881, he became a
student in the office of Rosenthal & Pence
in Chicago, where he had remained but a
short time when he was offered and ac-
cepted the position of garnishee clerk in the law
department of the Qiicago & Northwestern Rail-
way Company in Chicago. He continued his
legal studies while occupying this clerkship un-
der Burton C. Cook, the general solicitor, and
Augustus M. Herrington, the assistant general

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

solicitor of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway
Company, until the spring of 1882, when he was
admitted to the bar.

In March, 1883, Mr. Bailey removed to Eagle
Grove, Iowa, where he occupied the position of
division attorney for the Northern Iowa division
of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Com-
pany. In 1884 he was elected the member of the
Iowa Democratic state central cominittee for the
tenth congressional district and upon the elec-
tion of President Qeveland had charge of the
distribution of the federal patronage for the thir-
teen counties comprised in his district. In 1885
he was re-elected a member of the state central
committee and was also elected mayor of the city
of Eagle Grove.

In January, 1886, Mr. Bailey removed from
Iowa to Chicago, where he engaged in the law
practice in partnership with Allan C. Story and
William H. Witherell. This partnership lasted
for one year, when it was dissolved. Mr. Bailey
then came to the territory of Dakota, locating
in Sioux Falls, April i, 1887. He opened a law
office, practicing alone for a few months, and in
August, 1887, forming a partnership with H. T.
Root, which lasted until February, 1888. In the
fall of 1888 he was nominated as the Democratic
candidate for district attorney of Minnehaha
county, and was elected to that office in Novem-
ber, running about fifteen hundred votes ahead
of his ticket. He held the office until the sum-
mer of 1890, when he resigned, on account of the
refusal of the county commissioners to make a
sufficient appropriation for the enforcement of
the prohibition law. Since that time he has not
held, or sought any public office.

In January, 1889, he became associated with
Captain William H. Stoddard and with William
H. Wilson in law practice under the firm name
of Bailey, Stoddard & Wilson. This partner-
ship continued until May, 1890, when Mr. Wil-
son retired from the firm and the business was
continued under the name of Bailey & Stoddard.
This firm was dissolved in January, 1892, and
Bailey entered into a partnership with John H.
Voorhees under the firm name of Bailey & Voor-
hees. In July, 1895, Judge F. R. Aikens became

a member of the firm, which was then known as
Aikens, Bailey & Voorhees. Judge Aikens
withdrew from the firm on October 25, 1897, and
the old firm name of Bailey & Voorhees was re-
sumed and has continued up to the present time.

Mr. Bailey has been admitted to the bar of
the states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, South Da-
kota and the territory of Dakota. He was ad-
mitted to practice in the supreme court of the
United States in October, 1893, and has since
that time been employed in a number of import-
ant cases before that court. He has the largest
law library in either of the Dakotas, and one of
the largest private law libraries in the United
States, it consisting of some eight thousand and
over volumes of reports, text-books and stat-
utes. He also possesses a private general library
of over six thousand volumes. His firm repre-
sents in a legal capacity the Illinois Central Rail-
road Company in the state of South Dakota and
also the Western Union Telegraph Company,
and the Mercantile Agency of R. G. Dun &
Company.

Mr. Bailey was married at Qiicago, Illinois,
on March 28, 1887, to Mary Emma Swan. They
have had four children, of whom three, Theodore
Mead, Charles Oiin, Jr., and Anna Elida, are
living, and one, Joseph Mead Bailey III, is dead.

Mr. Bailey is a member of the various Ma-
sonic bodies and is also a Knight of Pythias, an
Odd Fellow and an Elk. He is prominent in
Masonic circles and has been high priest of
Sioux Falls Chapter, No. 2, Royal Arch Masons,
eminent commander of Gyrene Commandery,
No. 2, Knights Templar, master of Minnehaha
Lodge, No. 5, Ancient Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, thrice illustrious master of Alpha Coun-
cil, No. I, Royal and Select Masters, and vener-
able master of Khurum Lodge of Perfection, No.
3, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. He has also
occupied the positions of grand warden, grand
sword bearer and grand standard bearer, and is
now (1904-5) grand senior warden of the grand
commandery. Knights Templar, of South Dakota.

Mr. Bailey is a member of the Iroquois Club
of Chicago and of the Dakotah Club of Sioux
Falls. He has been for manv vears a member

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of the American Bar Association and during sev-
eral years has been the vice-president of the asso-
ciation for the state of South Dakota.

JOSErn MEAD BAILEY. Jr., was born
at Freeport, Stephenson county, IlHnois, No-
vember 7, 1864. He was the third son of Joseph
Mead Bailey (former chief justice of Illinois)
and Anna Olin Bailey. He attended the public
schools of his native city and also the Mount
Morris Academy, of Mount Morris, Illinois, and
the preparatory school of the (old) University
of Qiicago. In 1881 he entered the University
of Rochester in the class of 1885, but on account
of ill health was obliged to leave college before
finishing his course. Subsequently the degree
of Bachelor of Arts was conferred upon him by
the University of Rochester as of the class of
1885.

After leaving college "Joe"' Bailey, as he was
commonly and popularly known, became engaged
in adjusting the claims of Iowa, Illinois, Ohio
and other states against the government under
what is known as the swamp land act. He also
became interested in land speculations in north-
western Iowa. In 1884 he came to Sioux Falls,
Dakota, and obtained from the territorial author-
ities the contract for the convict labor in the ter-
ritorial penitentiary. In 1885 he organized the
German-American Loan and Investment Com-
pany, which in 1887 was re-incorporated as the
German-American Loan and Trust Company.
Among the stockholders of this company were
many prominent men, among them General John
A. Logan and William Windom, formerly secre-
tary of the treasury. In 1886 the private bank
of Hills & Beebe, of Sioux Falls, was incorpor-
ated as a national bank under the title of the Cit-
izens' National Bank, and J. M. Bailey, Jr., be-
came its vice-president. In 1888 the Citizens'
National Bank was consolidated with the Minne-
haha National Bank of Sioux Falls and he be-
came the president of the consolidated institution,
he being the youngest national bank president in
the United States at that time.

In 1884 Mr. Bailey was one of the pages in

the Republican national convention at Chicago.
In 1888 he was one of the delegates to the Re-
l^ublican national convention at Minneapolis
from the territory of Dakota. • In 1889 he was
appointed by Governor A. C. Mellette as treas-
urer of the territory of Dakota and held this po-
sition until the admission of the state of South
Dakota, in November, 1889. At the Republican
state convention at Mitchell in 1890, he was a
candidate for the Republican nomination for
state treasurer. After one of the hardest political
contests ever carried on in South Dakota, he was
defeated by W. W. Taylor, who subsequently
defaulted with the major portion of the moneys
in the state treasury. Had the result of the nom-
inating convention been different, the state would
have been spared the most disgraceful episode
in its history.

Mr. Bailey was active in all matters pertain-
ing to the welfare of Sioux Falls, the city of his
residence, and served as a member of the school
board and upon various other organizations in-
stituted for the purpose of furthering the mate-
rial interests of the city. In 1890 he was ap-
pointed by President Harrison as one of the com-
missioners to examine the coinage of the mints
of that year.

J. ]M. Bailey, Jr., was married in June, 1886,
at Aurora, Illinois, to Corolyn Currier Tanner.
He died September 12, 1891, at the home of his
father at Freeport, Illinois. At the funeral, which
was held at Freeport, there were in attendance
many of his friends and business and political
associates from South Dakota. He left no chil-
dren. His widow is remarried to John Kimberly
Mumford and now resides in New Jersey. His
mother, Anna O. Bailey, is still living and resides
at Freeport, Illinois. His only living brother,
Charles O. Bailey, is a practicing lawyer of
Sioux Falls.

CHARLES E. McKINNEY, who has been
president of the .Sioux Falls National Bank from
the time of its organization and who has been a
resident of the city for nearly a quarter of a cen-
tury, claims the old Keystone state as the place

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of his nativity, having been born in Ulster, Brad-
ford county, Pennsylvania, on the i6th of March,
1858, and being a son of Russel and Elizabeth
McKinney, the father being a farmer by voca-
tion. The subject worked on the farm during
his youth. After completing the limited curricu-
lum of the district schools he was matriculated
in Cook Academy, at Havana, that state, which
he attended for three years, going from there to
Colgate Academy, Hamilton, New York, where
he was graduated in 1878. He took one year at
Madison University, also one year in the law de-
partment of Michigan University, at Ann Arbor.
In 1880 Mr. McKinney located in the city
of Detroit, Michigan. In November, 1880,
he came to Sioux Falls, which was then
but a frontier village. Here he became
a member of the firm of Easton, McKin-
ney & Scougel, and they established banks
in Sioux Falls, Yankton and Dell Rapids. In
December, 1882, Mr. McKinney further showed
his sagacity and enterprising spirit by effecting
the organization of the Sioux Falls National
Bank, one of the early institutions of the sort in
the state and one that has had a history of suc-
cessful operations, and most able and conservative
management. He was made president of the
bank at the time of its incorporation and has ever
since continued as its chief executive, while the
prosperity and prestige which mark the institu-
tion are due in large measure to his wise counsel
and the discriminating business policy which he
has enforced in his official capacity. Mr. McKin-
ney was admitted to the bar of the territory of
Dakota, in 1889, but has given but little attention
to active professional work. A previously pub-
lished sketch of his career has spoken of him as
follows : "Mr. McKinney has always been an
active, enterprising, energetic citizen, occasion-
ally taking a hand in local and state politics, but
devoting his time principally to financial matters,
in which he has the reputation of being cool-
headed and successful. He has been a member
of the board of education of his home city and
was a member of the commission appointed to
adjust the financial matters between North and
South Dakota when thev assumed statehood. In

1891-2 he was one of the railroad conmiissioners
of South Dakota." In 1902 he was appointed by
President Roosevelt a member of the United
States mint commissioners. It may be further
stated that Mr. McKinney is a stanch advocate
of the principles and policies of the Republican
party, in whose cause he has ever shown a deep
interest.

Mr. McKinney was married in December,
1880, to Miss Allie A. Waterman, of Coldwater,
Michigan. Fraternally he is a Mason and has at-
tained all the York and Scottish-rite degrees, and
he also belongs to the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks.

JONAS H. LIEN was born in Faribault
county, Minnesota, on the 12th of December,
1874, being a son of Hans and Gertrude (Burre-
son) Lien, of whom more specific mention is
made in the sketch of the life of his brother,
Burre H. Lien, on another page of this work.
When he was but ten years of age his father died.
He attended the public schools and continued
his studies in the State Agricultural College of
South Dakota, at Brookings, where he fitted
himself for the university work. In 1894 he was
matriculated in the Nebraska State University,
at Lincoln, where he remained until 1896, when
he withdrew to take part in the presidential cam-
paign of that year. Of his work in the connec-
tion another sketch has spoken as follows : "He
was employed by the state central committee of
the Populist party in South Dakota, and during
the campaign spoke in almost every county in the
state east of the Missouri river, being at once
recognized as a strong political speaker. Such
was his success in this campaign that he soon
became known as the 'Boy Orator of the Sioux.' "
At the next session of the legislature he was
elected chief clerk of the assembly, and thereaf-
ter for a short time was the city editor of the
Sioux Falls Daily Press. In the spring of 1897
he resumed his studies in the Nebraska Univer-
sity, where he was graduated in the spring of
1898. Again, for a short time, he was a mem-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1823

ber of the editorial corps of the Daily Press, but
when the war with Spain broke out he enlisted
in Company I, First Regiment of South Dakota
Volunteer Infantry, being mustered into service
on the 4th of May, 1898, as first lieutenant and
adjutant. His purpose had been to become a pri-
vate and earn promotion if possible. His
friends persuaded him to accept the commission,
and he entered upon the discharge of his duties
with the energy and ability which always char-
acterized him. In the Philippines he was in the
hottest of every fight, from Block House No. 4,
where the first battle occurred between the
Americans and Filipinos on February 4 and 5,
1899, to Marilao, where he was killed on the 27th
of March of that year." Well may it be said that
"death lay upon him like the untimely frost upon
the fairest flower of all the field," and yet in the
true perspective of his life we can not call its
end inconsistent, and the memory of all he was
brings its measure of compensation and reconcil-
iation to those who knew and loved him. The
colonel of his regiment spoke feelingly of the
youthful martyr as follows: "He was the
bravest man I ever knew, and one of the best of-
ficers." He had been promoted to the rank of
captain, but had not received his commission as
such at the time when he met his death. No one
of his age was better or more favorably known
throughout the state, and his untimely death was
most sincerely deplored by all who knew him,
his friends being in number as his acquaintances.

JOHN H. SHELDON, one of the able and
popular young business men of Sioux Falls, is
a native of the state of Wisconsin, having been
born in Okee, Columbia county, on the 21st of De-
cember, i860, and being a son of Harmon B. and
Mary E. (Woodley) Sheldon, who later became
pioneers of South Dakota. Our subject attended
the public schools of his native town and later
pursued his studies at Devil's Lake, Wisconsin,
while in 1876 he accompanied his parents on their
removal to the present state of South Dakota, and
was graduated in the high school at Lennox,

Lincoln county, as a member of the class of
1882. In 1885-6 he took a commercial course in
the Sioux Falls Business College, and in the lat-
ter year was graduated in stenography, having
received his technical instruction under the tu-
torage of E. P. White, court reporter. In 1882
Mr. Sheldon taught in the district schools in
Lincoln county, following his vocation two years,
and being thereafter for a short time in the em-
ploy of H. M. Avery, of Sioux Falls. In 1888
he entered the employ of the firm of Burnham,
Trevett & Mattis, at Huron, where he served as
stenographer for two years. He then returned
to Sioux Falls and secured a position in the law
office of Winsor & Kittredge, remaining with this
concern until 1901, and having been private sec-
retary to Mr. Kittredge during his political
career. Mr. Sheldon's health became much im-
paired and he resigned his position with the firm
and engaged in the loan and fire-insurance busi.
ness, while he still continues the latter portion of
the enterprise. On the ist of August, 1903, he
purchased the Cataract Book Store, representing
the leading enterprise of the sort in Sioux Falls,
and this he has since conducted most successfully.
On the 1st of May, 1904, he was appointed gen-
eral agent for South Dakota for the National
Surety Company, of New York. From March,
1903, until January, 1904, he was local cashier
for the Provident Savings Life Assurance So-
ciety, of New York.

On the i8th of February, 1891, Mr. Shel-
don was united in marriage to Miss Esther E.
Lutz, of Doland. Spink county. Mrs. Sheldon
was born in Illinois, being a daughter of John S.
and Mary (Davis) Lutz. She was graduated
in an excellent school at Knowledge Point, Illi-
nois, and at an early age accompanied her par-
ents on their removal to South Dakota. She con-
tinued her studies in a select school at Doland,
and has since successfully engaged in teaching
for a period of about twelve years. Mr. and
Mrs. Sheldon have two children. Hazel Gladys,
who was born on the 7th of November, 1893,
and Esther Erminie, who was born on the 28th
of May, 1898. In politics Mr. Sheldon is a Re-
publican.

1 824

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

JAMES PHILIP is one of those sturdy char-
acters to whom success has come through indi-
vidual effort in connection with the industrial
development o/ the great northwest, where he
has resided from the early pioneer days work-
ing his way upward to a position of definite inde-
pendence and prosperity and being now one of
the influential citizens of the city of Fort Pierre
and one of the extensive stock growers of the
state, while his is also the distinction of being
the owner of the largest head of the American,
bison, or buffalo, in the Union. Mr. Philip is a
Scotsman and is endowed with the sterling char-
acteristics of the race from which he is sprung.
He was born in Morayshire, Scotland, on the
30th of April, 1858, and there passed the early
years of his life, his educational advantages be-
ing such as were afforded in the national schools
of the land of hills and heather and being some-
what limited, as he early began to depend on his
own resources. In 1874, at the age of sixteen
years, he came to America, determined to iden-
tify himself- with the free and unconstrained life
of the great west and coming to Cheyenne, Wy-
oming, in which state he was employed as a cat-
tle herder until the following year, when he
came to the Black Hills, where he passed one
winter among the pioneer prospectors and min-
ers. He then returned to Wyoming and made
his heaquarters at Fort Laramie, where he se-
ciu-ed employment as a teamster in the govern-
ment service, remaining thus engaged until 1877,
when he went to Fort Robinson, Nebraska, and
there secured employment as cowboy with the
first cattle outfit that utilized the range on the
Running Water, remaining there until the win-
ter of 1878-9, when he entered the service of
the quartermaster of Fort Robinson, in the ca-
pacity of dispatch carrier and guide, being thus
employed until January, 1879, after which he
devoted his attention to freighting and cattle
herding in Nebraska and South Dakota until
1 88 1, when he took up his permanent abode in
Stanley county, this state, where he began trad-
ing in cattle on his own responsibility, his suc-
cess becoming greater with the passing of the
years, as he showed marked capacity in a busi- j

ness way. In 1896 Mr. Philip effected the or-
ganization of the Minnesota and Dakota Cattle
Company, with headquarters at Fort Pierre, be-
ing made general manager of the same and con-
tinuing to be identified with the company until
1890, when he disposed of his interests. He is
still prominently engaged in the raising and
handling of cattle and is the o\vner of an excel-
lent ranch of ten thousand acres in Stanley
county, while, as before stated, he ovras the larg-
est herd of buffaloes in the Union, taking much
pride in the same and having shown much ap-
preciative judgment in thus preserving the few
remaining specimens of this noble animal, whose
vast numbers were ruthlessly swept away with
the advance of civilization across the great west-
ern plains. He has over one hundred head of
the buffaloes. Mr. Philip is also interested in
the mercantile and real-estate business in Fort
Pierre and is a member of the directorate of the
Stockgrowers' National Bank, of this place. In
politics he is a stanch advocate of the principles
of the Democratic party, and in 1898 was elected
to represent his district in the state senate, where
he made an excellent record, while he also served
one term as a member of the board of county
commissioners. He is a Knight Templar Ma-
son and has also attained to the thirty-second
degree in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite
division of this time-honored fraternity.

j\tr. Philip was married in the spring of 1879
and has six children, the three eldest having
been educated in All Saints' School, in the city
of Sioux Falls. The names of the children are
here entered in order of birth: Emma, Olive,
Hazel, Clara, Stanley and Roderick. Mr. Philip
is a loyal and progressive citizen and is held in
high esteem by all who know him and have
recognition of his sterling attributes of charac-
ter.

THEODORE \V. BWIGUT. one of the rep-
resentative business men of the city of Sioux
Falls, and an ex-member of the state legislature,
was born in the town of Oregon, Dane county,
Wisconsin, on the 12th of March, 1865, being a

HISTORY OF- SOUTH DAKOTA.

son of E. W. and Elizabeth (Foote) Dwight,
both of whom were born in the state of New
York, the respective famihes having- been long
and prominently identified with the annals of
American history. In the agnatic line the subject
of this sketch is a direct descendant of Rev. Jon-
athan Edwards, a distinguished historical figure
in New England, and also of Timothy Dwight,
D. D., one of the early presidents of Yale College.
The subject still lives at Oregon, Wisconsin.

Theodore W. Dwight attended the public
schools of Red Wing, Minnesota, until he had
completed the course in the high school, being
graduated as a member of the class of 1885. At
the age of twenty years he became a clerk in a
general store at Brooklyn, Wisconsin, where he
remained until 1888, when he came to South Da-
kota and established himself in the general mer-
chandise business at Bridgewater, McCook
county, where he continued to reside until 1901,
baving built up a prosperous business in the in-
tervening svears. He then disposed of his inter- ^
ests there and took up his residence in Sioux
Falls, where he became identified with the whole- 1
sale confectionery business, as secretary and-
treasurer of the Anthony-Dwight Company,
which is incorporated under the laws of the state
and which controls an excellent and constantly
expanding trade throughout the territory nor-
mally tributary to Sioux Falls as a wholesale and
jobbing center. Mr. Dwight is also the owner of
two general stores, one at Canastota and the
other at Emery, and these are conducted under
bis supervision. He is also treasurer of the Re-
tail Merchants' F^ire Insurance Company, of
South Dakota, having held this office since its
organization. In politics he gives a stanch alle-
giance to the Republican ]iarty, as the candidate
on whose ticket he was elected to represent his
district in the state legislature in 1899, proving
a valuable working member of the legislative
body. He is affiliated with Unity Lodge, Free
and Accepted ]\Iasons, and Salem Qiapter,
Royal Arch Masons, at Salem, South Dakota,
and his religious faith is that of the Presbyterian
church, of which Mrs. Dwight likewise is a
member.

On the 20th of August, 1889, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Dwight to Miss Jennie M.
Brink, daughter of L. S. and C. R. Brink, of Red
Wing, Minnesota, and they have one daughter,
Helen, who was born on the 6th of February,
1895, and one son, born November 24, 1899.

CHARLES L. NORTON, one of the promi-
nent and influential citizens and I'eading business
men of the city of Sioux Falls, holding at the
present time the office of cashier of the Sioux
Falls National Bank, and also of the Security
Savings Bank, claims the old Empire state as
the place of his nativity, having been born in
Warren county. New York, on the 26th of May,
1852, and being a son of Lindsey D. and Electa
S. (Squiers) Norton, both of whom were born
and reared in that state, where they remained
until about i860, when they removed to Wis-
■consin and located in the village of Edgerton,
Rock county, where the father engaged in farm-
ing.

The subject received his elementary educa-
tional training in the schools of his native county,
and was about eight years of age at the time of
the family removal to Edgerton, Wisconsin,
where he continued to attend the public schools
until he had attained the age of fourteen years,
when he started to learn the art of telegraphy,
in which he became an expert. From 1869 to
1878 he served as station agent at various points
on the St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad
in Iowa and Minnesota, from which latter state,
in August, 1878, he came to South Dakota and
located in Sioux Falls, as representative of the
St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad, retaining this
office until 1880, when he resigned the same. In
the meanwhile, in 1880, Mr. Norton was chosen
assistant cashier of the First National Bank of
Sioux Falls, and in the following year was
elected cashier of the Sioux Falls National Bank,
of which position he has ever since remained in
tenure, having gained a high reputation as a
conservative financier and able executive officer.
In December, 1902, he was one of the organizers
of the Security Savings Bank of Sioux Falls, of

1 826

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

which he was chosen cashier at the time of its
incorporation, while he still holds this office and
is a member of the directorates of each of these
important and popular institutions. He is a
loyal and progressive citizen and has ever shown
a deep interest in local affairs of a public nature,
and has lent his aid and influence in support of
all worthy objects for the general good. In
politics he has been a stanch supporter of the
Republican party from the time of attaining his
majority, and he has served four terms as treas-
urer of Minnehaha county. He was elected in
April, 1904, treasurer Of the city of Sioux Falls.
He represented the second ward on the board
of aldermen for one term, and was for two years
a member of the board of education. Fraternally
he is an appreciative and popular member of the
Masonic order, being affiliated with Minnehaha
Lodge, No. 5, Ancient Free and Accepted Ma-
sons ; Sioux Falls Chapter, No. 2, Royal Arch
Masons ; and Cyrene Comniandery, Knights
Templar.

In September, 1874, Mr. Norton was united
in marriage to Miss Abigail S. Frost, a daughter
of Hon. James C. Fros't, at that time resident of
Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Norton have three
children, James L., Edith B. and ]\Iaxfield W.

EDGAR J. KINGSBURY, who was one of
the honored pioneers of Minnehaha county, and
who died in Sioux Falls on the i8th of November,
1903, came of sterling old Puritan lineage and
was himself a native of New England, having
been born in Andover, Tolland county, Connecti-
cut, on the 3d of April, 1831, and being a son of
Joseph and Amelia (Reynolds) Kingsbury. He
was a brother of Rev. Lucius Kingsbury, of
whom individual mention is made on other pages
of this work. Mr. Kingsbury was reared to the
sturdy discipline of the farm and secured his early
education in the common schools, after which he
continued his studies in the high school at East
Hampton, Massachusetts. At the age of seven-
teen years he engaged in teaching, and during
the ensuing eight years follow-ed this vocation
during the winter, while in the intervening sum-

mers he worked on the farm. Thereafter he had
charge of the old homestead fann in Andover
until 1880, when he came to South Dakota, ar-
riving in Sioux Falls on the 28th of March and
passing the first two years in this city, while he
devoted his attention to fanning and stock rais-
ing. He became the owner of a valuable landed
estate of three hundred and twenty acres, in Ma-
pleton township, and there resided for a number
of years, then building a fine residence on section
3, Sioux Falls township, where he made his home.
He was a man of much enterprise and adminis-
trative ability and gained unqualified success Jn
connection with the industrial affairs with which
he identified himself, while he so ordered his life
as to ever retain the unqualified confidence and
esteem of his fellow men. In politics Mr. Kings-
bury accorded an unwavering allegiance to the
Republican party, and took a lively interest in
all that tended to conserve the best interests of
his county and state. He served for some time
as assessor of Mapleton township, having also
held this office while a resident of Connecticut.
He was a faithful and zealous member, of the
Congregational church, and was ever active in
good works, being charitable and kindly in his
judgment and ever striving to uplift and other-
wise aid his fellow men. He was a deacon in the
church in Sioux Falls, for a number of years,
and had also served most efficiently as superin-
tendent of the Sunday school in Mapleton town-
ship. He was upright and conscientious in all
the relations of life and was a man who richly
merited the high respect in which he was held.

On the 25th of December, 1867, ]\Ir. Kings-
bury was united in marriage to Miss Maria Rey-
nolds, of Houston, Illinois, and she died on the
i8th of December, 1899, being survived by two
children. Amelia J. and Horace R.

WILLIAM T. DOOLITTLE was born in
Loudenville, Ohio, March 30, 1849. He attend-
ed school until he was fourteen years of age, and
then entered a railroad machine shop as an ap-
prentice. When nineteen years old he became
engineer, and since March, 1873, '"''^s been engi-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1827

neer on passenger trains. He was in charge of
the first passenger engine that ran into Sioux
Falls, and, except for a little more than a year,
has been the engineer on the passenger train be-
tween Sioux Falls and Worthington, Minnesota,
since then.

In 1879, an incident occurred which gave him
an unexpected vacation for thirty days. He was
the engineer of the train which during that year
started out from Worthington with R. F. Petti-
grew and a Mr. Bottineau on board, each of
them having in his pocket a deed which he was
particularly anxious to get on record in Sioux
Falls first, and was induced by Mr. Pettigrew to
detach the engine at Brandon east of the city
and bring Mr. Pettigrew in on the en-
gine. Mr. Pettigrew explained to Mr. Doo-
littlc that the attorneys on the other side
were on the train with a snap judg-
ment and were making every effort to get it on
record before his, and that if they succeeded in
doing so it would work a hardship on the people
of Sioux Falls who had bought their homes, as
they would be compelled to relinquish them with-
out recompense. Mr. Doolittle replied that he
would do nothing of the kind for Mr. Pettigrew,
but he would do it for the people of Sioux Falls.
Mr. Bottineau made complaint to the superin-
tendent of the road, John F. Lincoln, stating the
facts and demanding fifty thousand dollars dam-
ages. Superintendent Lincoln sent for Engineer
Doolittle, and when he appeared the following
colloquy took place : "William, if what is told is
true, I am afraid you have gotten the company
into trouble. I am told you detached your en-
gine and took a party into Sioux Falls that he
might get a deed on record before another pas-
senger who had a deed to the same property,
could do so. Is this true?" Mr. Doolittle replied,
"It is." Mr. Lincoln then said: 'T could not be-
lieve you would do such an act. The party hav-
ing the other deed says he is damaged fifty thou-
sand dollars by the transaction, and demands your
dismissal, and threatens to sue the company for
dainages." Mr. Doolittle replied, "If my dismis-
sal will appease the wrath of the gentleman, it is
a small matter; but as to the damages, that is

another thing." Here Mr. Doolittle, who had
had been advised of all the facts in the case, re-
lated them to the superintendent, and told him it
was simply a robbing scheme and so satisfied the
superintendent that it was true, that he ended the
interview by bringing his fist down on his desk,
paying: "Let him sue; he can't recover a cent;
but William, you need a rest of thirty or sixty
days ; take a vacation ; I will see that your pay
goes right along."

Mr. Doolittle resides with his family in Sioux
Falls, where he has one of the finest homes in
the city, and where for a number of years he
has been prominent in the public and civic affairs
of the municipality. He was elected alderman
from the first ward in 1896, re-elected two years
later, and since ]\Iay, 1897, he has served as pres-
ident of the council. In 1879 he organized tlie
first divison of Locomotive Engineers in Sioux
City, Iowa, was chief of the organization for sev-
eral years, and much of its success is directly at-
tributable to his able and untiring efforts.

Mr. Doolittle has been identified with a num-
ber of undertakings sincecoming to Sioux Falls,
notably among which are the Citizens' Telephone
Company and the Interstate Telephone Company
of Sioux Falls, being superintendent of the first
named enterprise and president of the other two.

Mr. Dolittle has always had the good of the
community at heart, and, as an enterprising, pro-
gressive citizen, gives his influence and generous
support to all measures calculated to promote the
general welfare. He is prominent in Masonic
circles, has served as grand commander of the
grand commandery. Knights Templar, of South
Dakota, besides filling the honorable position of
potentate of El Riad Temple, Nobles of the Mys-
tic Shrine. Socially and as a citizen he stands
well, numbers his friends by the score among all
classes and conditions of people, and enjoys to a-
marked degree the esteem and confidence of the
public.

Mr. Doolittle's family consists of a wife and
two children, the former before her marriage
having been Miss Catherine Strock, of Galveston,
Indiana. The only son, who resides at Sioux
Falls, is Walter S., a locomotive engineer on the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Omaha road, who was first Heutenant in a South
Dakota regiment during the Spanish-American
war, and saw much active service in the Philip-
pines; Mary Grace, the youngest of the chil-
dren, is still a member of the home circle.

LEROY D. MILES, who is associated with
his brother, J. A., in the ownership and conduct-
ing of the Spink County Stock Farm, is a native
of the state of Michigan, having been born on a
farm in Barry county, on the 14th of October,
1856, and being a son of James L. and Susan
(Cooper) Miles, both natives of Ohio. The
father of the subject was numbered among the
pioneers of Michigan, whither he removed with
his parents in the year 1832, several years prior
to the admission of the state to the Union. They
made the journey through from Ohio with teams
and located in the midst of the virgin forest of
Barry county, where they developed a valuable^
farm. The father of the subject there continued
to be actively engaged in farming and stock rais-
ing for many years, having been associated with
his brother, Alonzo, in the stock business and
having been among the first to drive cattle from
Michigan to the Ohio markets in the early days.
He continued to reside in Michigan until 1883.
when he came to South Dakota,, and soon after-
ward turned over his farming and live-stock busi-
ness to his sons. He died April 4, 1899, i" ''■'^
seventy-seventh year. The mother died in 1901,
aged sixty-three years.

Leroy D. Miles was reared on the home-
stead farm and secured his education in the
common Schools of his native county. He early
became familiar with the stock business, in which
his father was prominently engaged, and thus
is an authority as to values and handling of live
stock.

Mr. Miles came to South Dakota in 1883,
and has been from the start associated with his
brother Jamies A. in farming and stock raising.
They secured government land in Spink county,
and their landed estate here now comprises three
sections of valuable land in the northeastern part
of the county, and two miles south of the village

of Conde, which is the postofifiice address for the
great stock farm, which attracts many visitors
and buyers each season. The Spink County
Stock Farm is specially devoted to the breeding
of Hambletonian and Percheron horses, Gallo-
way cattle and Rambouillet sheep, and the best
types of each are raised, while the firm have for
sale the best of breeding stock at all times. The
farm is finely improved and is one of the show
places of the county, while the Messrs. Miles are
known as progressive and reliable business men,
commanding the confidence and esteem of all
with whom they come in contact.

The subject of this review is a stanch Re-
publican in his political proclivities and has been
a zealous worker in its cause. In November,
1902, he was elected to the office of county
treasurer, receiving a gratifying majority, and
assumed the active discharge of his official du-
ties in January, 1903. He is identified with the
Masonic fraternity and the Ancient Order of
United Workmen.

On the T^th of October, 1888, Mr. Miles was
united in marriage to Miss Carrie E. Curran, a
daughter of J. M. and Carrie Curran. who came
to South Dakota in 1885 and located in Spink
county, being numbered among the prominent
pioneers of this section of the state. Mr. and
Mrs. Miles have six children, namely : Ruth,
Hazel, Lvnn, Lena and Mabel and an infant.

THOMAS E. PHILLIPS was born in :\Iil-
lersburg. Holmes county, Ohio, on the 3d of
June, 1840, being a son of John D. and Hester
(Crane) Phillips, both of whom were born and
reared in Pennsylvania. The former was born
in Washington county, as was also his father,
John Phillips, who there devoted his life to
farming, the family having been established in
the Keystone state in the early pioneer era. The
parents of the subject were married in Pennsyl-
vania, whence they later removed to Holmes
county, Ohio, where the father became a prom-
inent and successful farmer and a man of influ-
ence in the community, having held various
county offices and having been known as a pub-

HISTORY OF SOUTI-I DAKOTA.

1829

lie-spirited and upright citizen. In his family
were eight children, of whom four are living at
the present time.

Thomas E. Phillips passed his boyhood 'days
on the homestead farm and after completing the
curriculum of the common schools continued
his studies in Hayesville College, at Hayesville,
Ohio, until the outbreak of the war of the Re-
bellion, when he subordinated personal interests
to respond to his country's call. In September,
1S61, Mr. Phillips enlisted as a private in Com-
pany B, Sixteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He
was mustered in at Wooster and thence pro-
ceeded with his command to Camp Dennison,
and thence to Lexington, Kentucky, where the
regiment was encamped for some time. The
command had an engagement at Mill Springs
and then proceeded onward by way of Crab
Orchard to Cumberland Gap, where they re-
mained until September, 1862, when they were
compelled to evacuate, owing to shortage of pro-
visions. They retreated to Gallipolis, on the
Ohio river, and thence went to Portsmouth,
where they outfitted and then took the transport
boat down the river to Memphis, under com-
mand of General Sherman. From Memphis they
went to Haines Blufif, where they had a heavy
engagement and were repulsed, after which they
proceeded up the Mississippi and Red rivers to
Arkansas Post, which they attacked and re-
duced. In the engagement at Haines BIuf¥ Mr.
Phillips received a severe wound in the right
shoulder and was sent back to Ohio, where,
after his convalescence, he received his honor-
able discharge, at Columbus, in September,
1863. Shortly afterward he went to Grand Ha-
ven, ^Michigan, and thence crossed Lake Michi-
gan to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from which point
he went to LaCrosse and thence up the Missis-
sippi river to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he tar-
ried a few months. He then proceeded by stage
to Fort Dodge, Iowa, and thence westward to
Sioux City, that state, where he arrived in Octo-
ber, 1864. From that place, then a mere village,
he came with a freighting outfit, owned by
Charles Bogue, to the confluence of Crow and
Oioteau creeks, in what is now Bon Homme

! county, South Dakota. At that time a small
t military garrison was established at what is now
known as Tacket's Station, and when our sub-
ject's party had approached within half a mile
of the west branch of Choteau creek a man came
running bareheaded, from the direction in which
they were going, and shouted the word Indians
as he approached. Upon reaching the outfit he
stated that the savages had attacked the stage
coach of which he was driver, among the pas-
sengers being Sergeant Trass and Eugene
Brewer, a half-breed Indian. The coach was at-
tacked by four Sioux Indians, who fired into the
vehicle and killed Sergeant Trass, after which
they "held up" the others and robbed the coach,
after which they cut the horses loose and made
good their escape. Word was sent to the sol-
diers, but owing to the condition of their horses
they were unable to go in pursuit of the ma-
rauders. The driver, whose name was Stephen
Coleman, was residing in Sioux City, Iowa, as
late as 1902, and is probably there at the present
time. After learning of this experience Mr. Phil-
lips' party returned to Fort Randall and thence
back to Crow creek, arriving late at night. From
that point they continued the journey back to
Sioux City, and a few days later Mr. Phillips
went to Calliope, now Hawarden, on the Sioux
river, in Iowa, where he passed the winter, while
in the spring he went out on a trapping expedi-
tion with George Christie, on the Rock river, re-
maining a few months and meeting with success.
In the meanwhile Christie returned to Calliope
for provisions and found the place deserted, and
it transpired that two of the party who had been
there had been killed by Indians, after which the
other departed. Mr. Phi-llips finally returned by
way of Calliope to Sioux City, and during the
trip he and his companions several times nar-
rowly escaped attack by the Indians. In Octo-
ber, 1865, in company with four others, he made
another trapping expedition, being out about a
month and returning to what was known as
the Twelve-mile house at the time of Burleigh's
election to congress. Later the same party went
up the Big Sioux river to Dell Rapids, where
were found evidence of recent visitations bv the

1830

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

Indians, and according^ly the sturdy little band
of trappers, believing discretion the better part
of valor, returned to Sioux City, and there our
subject was engaged in various lines of business
until 1875, when he started for the Black Hills,
being a member of a party of forty men. They
crossed over to the government trail, proceeding
from Fort Randall to the Red Crow Indian
agency, but upon crossing the White river for
the second time they encountered a company of
soldiers under command of Major Walker, who
compelled them to turn back, as the government
had issued strict orders that no one should enter
the Black Hills district for settlement or pros-
pecting. In the spring of 1876, having re-
ceived permission from Major Walker, Mr. Phil-
lips organized another party, the outfit consist-
ing of one hundred and sixty men and forty-one
wagons. They started for the Black Hills,
crossing the Missouri at Ponca agency, and
thence proceeding by way of Turtle Butte to
Porcupine Butte, from which point they made
ready to cross the dreary waste known as the
Bad Lands. As a preliminary precaution they
sent forth scouts, who finally returned and re-
ported that Indians were in evidence all along
the route. The company decided to take the
risk, however, but spared no pains to protect
themselves from attack, twenty men being sent
out as flankers. They were not molested the
first day and upon camping for the night estab-
lished heavy guards. In the morning they found
two Indian blankets, which had been left by sav-
ages who had evidently attempted to slip in and
stampede the horses during the night. It was
evident from that time forward that the Indians
followed closely upon their trail, but the numer-
ical strength of the party was such that they were
not attacked, arriving safely in Custer on the
loth of April of the centennial year. There Mr.
Phillips remained until July, engaged in placer
mining, and then returned to Sioux City by way
of Fort Pierre, makirig the trip on a flatboat.
Near the month of the White river the Indians
fired at the party but no damage was done. Mr.
Phillips continued his residence in Sioux City
until 1S70, and then passed a few months in Col-

orado. In 1880 he removed with his faniil}' to
Deadwood, South Dakota, where he remained
about six months, at the expiration of which he
came to Fort Pierre, where he has ever since
maintained his home. Here he engaged in the
furniture business and later became prominently
identified with the raising of sheep, his ranch
being located near the White Clay buttes, and
with this great industry he has ever since been
prominently concerned, running a large band of
sheep and having been prospei'ed in his efforts.
He is honored for his sterling integrity of char-
acter, and is a fine type of the sturdy frontiers-
man, while it could be wished that the limits of
this work were not so circumscribed by the ne-
cessities of the case that it is impossible to enter
details concerning his many interesting experi-
ences in the early days. In politics Mr. Phillips
is a stalwart Republican, but has never been an
aspirant for public office.

On the 27th of December, 1865, Mr. Phil-
lips was united in marriage to Miss Rachel
DuFran, of Sioux City, Iowa, and they have six
children. John. Annie, Thomas, Ltdu, Minnie
and Maud.

RICHARD JACKSON WOODS, assistant
general manager of the Northwestern Mutual
Life Insurance Company, with headquarters at
Sioux Falls, was born January 17, 1863, in Bel-
fast, Ireland, while his parents, whose home was
in Louisiana, were on a visit to that city. His
father, Arthur Woods, is an Irishman by birth,
though for many years a citizen of the United
States and a resident of Louisiana, and his
mother, who before her marriage bore the name
of Charlotte Bullidick, was born in Mississippi
and reared in the South. Richard J. spent his
bovhood days at the family homestead in Louis-
iana, and after receiving his preliminary educa-
tion in the schools of that state, took an aca-
demic course in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
where he made substantial progress in the higher
branches of learning. On quitting school, he de-
cided to seek his fortune in the west; accord-
ingly, in 187S, he came to South Dakota and for

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

some time thereafter worked as a farm hand
near Sioux Falls, in addition to which he also
drove team a few months for a gentleman by the
name of Quigley. To these and various other
lines of endeavor he devoted his attention dur-
ing the ensuing five years, or until 1883, when
he was appointed guard at the penitentiary,
which position he held until the summer of 1887.
Resigning his place on June 2d of that year, Mr.
Woods, one week later, was united in marriage
with Miss Anna Davis, of Sioux Falls, and im-
mediately thereafter engaged in the real-estate
business, which he continued with encouraging
success until 1890, when he was appointed spe-
cial agent of the Northwestern Mutual Life In-
surance Company, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
He entered upon his new field of labor under the
most favorable auspices and from the beginning
his success more than met his expectations. It
was not long until he commanded the largest in-
surance business in the city of Sioux Falls and
this prestige he has easily sustained to the pres-
ent time, being considered one of the most suc-
cessful solicitors in the United States, not only
by the large company he so aSly represents, but
by other companies, that for years have held
out liberal and tempting inducements to secure
his services. Some idea of the magnitude of his
work in this line may be inferred from the fact
that from June, 1892, to June, 1893, he wrote
seven hundred and twelve thousand dollars of
insurance, and four times during that year, as his
monthly reports went to the home office, he was
notified that he stood number one in a list of
twenty-five thousand active agents in the em-
ploy of the Northwestern Mutual, a record per-
haps without a parallel in the history of his own
or any other company in this country.

He possesses a winning, as well as a powerful
personality, understands thoroughly the art of
managing men, and being born a leader with
tmlimited faith in his own ability, he experiences
little difficulty in carrying to successful issue any
tmdertaking to which he addresses himself.

Mr. Woods is now general district agent of
twenty-two counties, through the central part of
the state, and with a large force of experienced

subordinates, to each of which he imparts no
small share of his personal magnetism and en-
thusiasm, it is not at all strange that he com-
mands the bulk of the insurance business of
South Dakota, or that the extensive work under
his vigilant management is continually on the
increase. He is also, at the present time, presi-
dent of the National Association of the North-
western Life Insurance Company Special
Agents, a position requiring not only a resource-
ful mind and superior business talent, but a high
order of executive ability as well.

In 1889, and again in i8go, Mr. Woods was
presilent of the State Firemen's Association, and
in the former year he was appointed by Gov-
ernor Mellette, chief of engineers and ordnance,
with the rank of colonel. Since coming west he
has been an influential factor in local and state
politics, and from that time to the present his
ability as an organizer and leader in the Repub-
lican party has been duly recognized and appre-
ciated throughout the state. He has been a
prominent factor in county, district and state con-
ventions, dominating many of these bodies, be-
sides being elected, in 1894, president of the
Republican State League, in which capacity he
bore an active and efficient part in the campaign
of that year. In the Republican National League
convention, held at Qeveland, Ohio, in June,
1885, he was elected one of the vice-presidents
of the league and appointed chairman of the
committee on credentials, and in 1896 he was
nominated by the state Republican convention
as a presidential elector, and his name placed at
the head of the ticket.

In a preceding paragraph incidental refer-
ence is made to Mr. Woods' commanding posi-
tion in the fraternal and benevolent work of
South Dakota. While an active worker in every
branch of the Pythian brotherhood, it is as a
member of the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks that he has especially distinguished him-
self and in which he has achieved not only a state
but a national reputation. He has been promi-
nent in all the varied interests of this popular
and rapidly growing fraternity; has attended a
number of sessions of the grand lodge, in all of

1832

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

which he served as chairman on returns and cre-
dentials, and it is needless to say that he has long
been considered one of the most popular mem-
bers of that honorable body. July 22, 1903,
Colonel Woods was elected by the grand lodge
of Elks, at Baltimore, grand esteemed loyal
knight.

In speaking of Mr. Woods, the Dakota Elk
of November, 1902, contains the following ap-
propriate references : "It is no idle thought to
predict that Brother Woods will some day oc-
cupy the highest position in the gift of the or-
der, a position he is eminently qualified to fill."
"He is a natural born organizer, a leader, and his
advice and counsel are considered essential on
many perplexing propositions that come before
the officers of the grand lodge." "He is as pop-
ular at home and in his home state, as he is else-
where and his friends are legion." "He is in the
true sense of the term, a self-made man and
those who have known him longest, love him
best." "With a heart as deep as a well and as
broad as barn door, he distributes charity
without ostentation, but with a liberal hand, and
all who come within the range of his influence
pronounce him the embodiment of hospitality
and a prince of good fellowship."

REV. WILLIAM I. GRAHAM, D. D.—
Crowning the advanced and admirable scheme
of popular education in the state of South Da-
kota arc several excellent institutions of higher
learning, of which the subject of this sketch was
the honored and efficient president for a full dec-
ade, while he .still remains a member of its fac-
ulty, having devoted thirty years of his life to
educational work and being a man of recondite
talents.

Dr. Graham is a native of the old Buckeye
state of the Union, having been born on a farm
in Noble county, Ohio, on the 22d of June, 1844,
and being a son of David and Jane Graham. He
passed his boyhood days on the home farm and
received his rudimentary education in the dis-
trict schools, making such use of his advantages
that he became eligible for minor pedagogic hon-

ors, having taught for a number of years in the
public schools, both before and after entering col-
lege. In 1869 he was matriculated in the Ohio
Wesleyan University, in the city of Delaware,
where he completed the classical course and was
graduated as a member of the class of 1873, re-
ceiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In 1876
his alma mater conferred upon him the degree of
Master of Arts, while in 1896 Baker University,
at Baldwin, Kansas, conferred upon him the de-
gree of Doctor of Divinity. From 1873 to 1876
Dr. Graham was principal of the high school at
Logan, Ohio, and in the meanwhile had com-
pleted a course of ecclesiastical study and been
ordained to the ministry of the Methodist Epis-
copal church. In the autumn of 1876 he as-
sumed the pastorate of the church of this de-
nomination at Kirkville, Iowa, becoming a mem-
ber of the conference of that state, and remain-
ing identified with the same until 1879, when he
accepted the chair of ancient classics in Baker
University, at Baldwin, Kansas, where he did
most effective work during the following ten
years, at the expiration of which he went to the
south and passed four years in educational work
in Fort Worth, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia. He
then, in 1893, came to South Dakota and ac-
cepted the presidency of Dakota University, be-
ing inducted into this executive office in August
of that year and at once entering vigorously
upon the discharge of his official duties, to which
he continued to give his attention for the follow-
ing ten years, giving a most able administration
and advancing the interests of the institution in
all departments. In September, 1903, he re-
signed the presidency in favor of Rev. Thomas
Nicholson, D. D., and has since occupied the
chairs of philosophy and Greek, remaining one
of the prominent members of the faculty and
being held in the highest esteem by all who know
him.

FRANK CHLADEK was born in Bohemia
on the 15th of November, 1845, '"s parents be-
ing Joseph and Annie (Novak) Chladek. Their
family numbered five children : Frank, Joseph,

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1833

Louis, Josie and Poweli. In the public schools
of his native land the subject of this review ob-
tained his education and when twenty-four years
of age he emigrated to the new world, attracted
by the favorable reports which he had heard con-
cerning this land and its business opportunities.
He made his way to Chicago, where he lived for
five years, and in 1872 he came to South Da-
kota, settling in Yankton county, where he pre-
empted a quarter section of land seven miles
south of Lesterville. Since that time he has been
a resident of this portion of the state and has
gained rank among the most successful farmers
of this locality. Unfaltering industry has been
the basis of his success and added to this are
other strong traits of character, such as persever-
ance, determination and sound judgment. He
worked for five years as an engineer in Yank-
ton and then his health became impaired so that
he resumed farming. He also began the sale of
farming machinery and subsequently in connec-
tion with his brother established a large machine
business which he carried on for some time,
meeting with prosperity in their undertaking.
Mr. Chladek now owns two thousand acres of
the best land in Yankton county. As his finan-
cial resources have increased he has placed his
money in the safest of all investments — real es-
tate— and his holdings are now very extensive.
He is likewise largely interested in the business
of buying and selling grain, live stock and farm-
ing machinery. He carries forward to success-
ful completion whatever he undertakes, brooking
no obstacles that can be overcome by honest
and persistent eflr'ort.

On the 24th of January. 1867, Mr. Chladek
was united in marriage, in Bohemia, to !Miss
Mary Cizek and unto them have been born
eleven children : Powlie, Lottie, Clara, William,
Emil, Emma, Eddie and Frank, all of whom are
living, and Powlie and Frank, who have passed
away and one that died in infancy. The living
son. to whom was given the name of Frank,
married Miss Zeitka. and is now engaged in
business in Hayward. Powlie is the wife of
Joseph Puchs, a resident farmer of Yankton
countv. Lottie is the wife of Frank Kolda, a

bus\{iess man of Lesterville, South Dakota, and
the other children are at home.

In public affairs Mr. Cliladek has been prom-
inent and influential and his fellow townsmen,
recognizing his worth and ability, have called
him to public office. He served as county com-
missioner for si.x years and was a school trustee
for many years, doing much for the benefit of
educational advancement in this locality. He is
one of the most prominent Bohemian American
citizens of Yankton county and has been looked
upon as a leader and adviser of his covmtrymen.
Xo native son of .America, however, is more
loyal to the stars and stripes or manifests greater
fidelity to the county and its institutions. His
church relationship is that of the Roman Cath-
olic denomination.

CHARLES FRAXKLIX PIERCE, super-
intendent of the Riggs Institute, at Flandreau,
Aloody county, was born in the town of Ware,
Hampshire county, Massachusetts, on the 17th of
January, 1858, and secured his early educational
training in the public schools of his native state
and at times assisted his father in the machine
shops. In 1873 '""^ accompanied his parents on
their removal to Xebraska, and they settled on a
farm near Creighton, Knox county, where his
father took up government land and became
numbered among the pioneers of that section.
In 1876 the subject taught his first term of school
and with money earned by teaching during the
winter terms he was enabled to continue his own
educational discipline, entering Boone Seminary,
at Boone, X^ebraska, where he prosecuted his
studies for two years, after which he was en-
gaged in teaching in the public schools of that
state for several years. In 1887 Mr. Pierce en-
tered the Indian school service as a teacher at
the Santee Agency, X'ebraska, where he soon re-
ceived a promotion to superintendent of the
school. In 1892 he was transferred to Oneida,
Wisconsin, where he was detailed to erect build-
ings and organize a school among the Oneida
Indians. In 1895 he was again promoted, being
made disbursing officer at that place, while in

i834

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1900 he was transferred to his present impoftant
office as superintendent of the Riggs Institute at
Flandreau.

Mr. Pierce is a Republican, and has been fre-
quently a delegate to county and state conven-
tions in the different states in which he has re-
sided. In 1884 he was elected superintendent of
schools for Knox county, Nebraska, and there-
after he became editor and publisher of the
Transcript, at Creighton, that county. He is a
member of the Masonic fraternity, the order of
the Eastern Star, the Knights of the Maccabees,
and Ancient Order of United Workmen. His
religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal
church.

Mr. Pierce was married to Miss Laura A. Jas-
mer and thev have had five children.

Cale and Miss Ann Carroll, the latter, like her
husband, being a native of county Roscommon,
Ireland, and to them nine children have been
born.

THOMAS CALE, of Bon Homme county,
was born in county Roscommon, Ireland, Decem-
ber 22, 1836. He spent his early life near the
place of his birth, but enjoyed few advantages
in the way of educational training. When
twelve years of age he followed his mother to
America, and joined her at Bloomfield, New
Jersey, where she located immediately after her
arrival in this country. Later Mr. Cale went to
Portage City, Wisconsin, but subsequently
changed his abode to Pike county, Missouri,
where he tilled the soil until his removal to South
Dakota. On coming to the territory, he took up
a quarter section of land in what is now Qeve-
land township, Bon Homme county, being one of
the first pioneers in that part of the country.
After building a small log cabin Mr. Cale set to
work improving his land and in due time reduced
the greater part of it to cultivation and became
quite a thrifty and prosperous farmer. The orig-
inal log dwelling answered, the purposes for
which intended until replaced by the present sub-
stantial and commodious structure, and from
time to time other buildings were erected, addi-
tional improvements were made and continued
success attended the energetic and well-directed
labors of the proprietor.

In 1869 was solemnized the marriage of Mr.

STEPHEN OLIVER, of Bon Homme coun-
ty. South Dakota, was born in Rock county, Wis-
consin, September 13, i860. His early life was
spent in the state of his birth and during his
childhood and youth he attended the public
school and acquired a good practical education.
When a young man he learned the machinist's
trade and worked at the same until 1883, when
he came to Eon Homme county. South Dakota,
with the object in view of devoting his attention
to farming and stock raising. He first purchased
one hundred and sixty acres of land, but later
exchanged it for a like number of acres, on which
he has since lived and prospered, and which, un-
der his effective labors and judicious manage-
ment has become one of the best improved and
most productive farms of its size in the county.
He has made a number of substantial improve-
ments on his place, the buildings, well-tilled
fields, and the large number of fine domestic an-
imals bearing evidence to its prosperous condi-
tion. Mr. Oliver votes the Republican ticket.
He was married to Miss Amy Crandall, of Bon
Homme count\', and to them have been born six
children.

HUGH HARTLY was born in Stonington,
Connecticut, January 8, i860. He was ten years
old when his parents left Connecticut for the
west and since the year 1870 his life has been
very closely interwoven with the history of Bon
Homme county, South Dakota. He was not per-
mitted to enjoy many educational advantages ;
however, he made the most of his opportunities
and obtained a valuable practical knowledge.
He assisted his father in developing and culti-
vating the homestead and on reaching the age of
manhood entered one hunderd and sixty acres
of land in Springfield township, on which he
lived for a period of five years, during which

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

i83i

time he addressed himself manfully to its im-
provement. At the expiration of the time noted
Mr. Hartly moved to the place where he has
since lived, a beautiful, productive and admira-
bly situated farm, devoted to stock raising and
farming. Mr. Hartly is familiar with the nature
of soils and their adaptability to the different
products of this part of the state and he seldom
fails to realize abundant returns from the wheat,
oats, corn and hay crops which are every year
harvested from his place. In connection with
general farming, he devotes a great deal of at-
tention to cattle, hogs and horses, and from the
sale of his animals he derives no small share of
the income which comes to him as a reward for
his well-directed labors. Mr. Hartly in politics
supports the Democratic party, while he is earn-
est and devout in his allegiance to the Catholic
church.

lOSIAH A. PIERSON, deceased, was born
on the 8th of April, 1838, in Woodsfield, Ohio,
and in the public schools of his native state he
acquired his education. After arriving at years
of maturity he sought a companion and helpmeet
for life's journey, being married to Aliss Nancy
A. Alexander, of Princeton, Indiana. Their wed-
ding took place in Illinois, and unto the union
four children were born. Mrs. Pierson, the first
wife of the subject, was called to her final rest
and Mr. Pierson was again married, his second
union being with Miss F. L. Houlton, and to
them was born one child.

In his early manhood Mr. Pierson engaged
in teaching school in Illinois and afterward
turned his attention to merchandising and farm-
ing. In 1881 he arrived in South Dakota and
purchased land in this state. He became a very
extensive stock raiser and was one of the prom-
inent and successful representatives of agricul-
tural interests in this part of the state. After
purchasing his land he discovered that it con-
tained clay beds and afterward sold a large tract
to a cement company.

Mr. Pierson gave close attention to his busi-
ness and his efforts at farming and stock rais-

ing brought to him a splendid financial return.
In his political views he was a Republican and
was a member of the Christian church.

J. T. REILLY, of Orient, Faulk county, was
born in Allamakee county, Iowa, on the 14th of
April, 1859, and was reared on the old homestead
which was the place of his birth, and his educa-
tional training was received in the excellent pub-
lic schools of Iowa. He continued thereafter to
be associated with his father until 1882, when he
came to South Dakota and took up a timber claim
in Clark county. In the fall of that year he re-
turned to his old home, and in the spring of the
following year he came once more to South Da-
kota, with whose advantages and resources he
had become greatly impressed. At this time he
took up squatter's claim in Faulk county, and re-
tained the same after the government survey was
made, ultimately perfecting his title to the prop-
erty, the claim lying four miles northwest of
Orient. He continued to be actively and success-
fully engaged in farming and stock raising until
December, 1902, when he disposed of the prop-
erty and removed to Orient, where he has since
been established in the general merchandise busi-
ness. In 1890 he was elected a member of the
board of county commissioners, while for eight
years he held the office of assessor of his town-
ship, and has been a member of the board of su-
pervisors.

Mr. Reilly was married to Miss Jane E.
Hand, and of this union have been born seven
daughters.

SVENNING PETERSON, of Qiarks Mix
county, was born in Norway, December 6,
1853. He grew up and was educated in his na-
tive land, but before reaching his majority de-
termined to seek a new home in the great repub-
lic beyond the sea. It was in 1880 that he started
on his long journey to the new world, accom-
panied by his recently wedded wife, and on ar-
rival be hastened overland to the distant territory
of Dakota. After spending two years at Yank-

1836

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ton he came to Charles Mix county, and home-
steaded one hundred and sixty acres of land, the
cultivation of which has constituted his occupa-
tion ever since. He has greatly improved his
land and made out of it a farm which compares
favorably with the best in the county. Besides
general farming, Mr. Peterson raises horses, cat-
tle and hogs, and conducts his business in the
manner of a prosperous agriculturist. He is a
member of the Republican party and usually
votes that ticket.

Before leaving Norway Mr. Peterson was
married to ^liss Angaba Olson, by whom he has
six children. Mr. Peterson and his family are
members of the Lutheran church.

JOHN CONNOR, whose postoffice address
is Orient, Faulk county, but whose finely
improved ranch is located across the line
in Hand county, was born in the city of
Wheeling, West Virginia, which was at that time
still an integral portion of Virginia. He was
reared under the sturdy discipline of the home
farm and early became inured to the strenuous
work involved in its cultivation, while his educa-
tional advantages were those afforded by the
common schools of the locality and period. He
continued to assist in the ojieration of the home
farm mitil he had attained the age of twenty-
three years, when he went to Lancaster county,
Missouri, where he remained for the ensuing two
years, at the expiration of which he purchased
a team and wagon and started for northwestern
Nebraska. L'i)on arriving in Nebraska City he
turned to Sydney and thence to Coonsville, where
he traded his team for a house and lot. He then
made a trip to Omaha, Lincoln and other places
in Nebraska, and then came clown the Elkhorn
river to Clair, and on to Missouri \'alley, Iowa,
from which place he returned to Coonsville and
disposed of his interests there, and then took up
his residence in ^londamin. Iowa. Later he pur-
chased an outfit and started for Dakota, coming
by way of Sioux City, to Sioux Falls, and mak-
ing an overland trip of one hundred and fiftv
miles. In .Sioux Falls he purchased a breaking

plow, and then started on in search of a location.
He finally filed on a homestead claim in McCbok
county, where he put up a sod house, in which
he domiciled himself in true pioneer style. He
held down the claim for four years and passed
the severe winter of 1888-9 '" '^is primitive
dwelling. Mr. Connor finally sold his property
and turned his attention to dealing in oxen, meet-
ing with fair success. He then came to Hand
county, where he took up a pre-emption claim.
He found the land unsuited for grazing purposes
and, accordingly removed east of his original
claim, and purchased a reliquishment claim for
fifty dollars, while he now controls about two
sections of land, by right of lease. Upon his
home place he has made excellent improvements,
having good buildings and other facilities, and
here he gives his attention to the raising of cat-
tle as a principal enterprise. He has been sig-
nally prosperous since coming to Hand county,
and is known as one of the influential citizens of
the county. Mr. Conner was united in mar-
riage to Miss Eliza Deal, and they have five chil-
dren.

HON. HERMAN KOCH is a native of Ger-
many, born in Thuringia on the 6th of October,
1853. He received his early education in the
schools of his native land and was about thirteen
years old when his parents came to the United
States. He attended a number of terms of school
after coming to this country, grew up to habits
of industry and at the age of twenty-eight was
united in marriage. Meanwhile he accompanied
his parents to South Dakota and later took up a
claim of one hundred and sixty acres in ]\IcCook
county, on which he lived for a period of two
\-ears, and at the expiration of that time he pur-
chased a c|uartcr section of land in the county
of Lincoln, which was his home during the suc-
ceeding nine years. Subsequently Mr. Koch
discontinued the pursuit of agriculture and
moved to the village of Tea, where he has since
been handling coal, wood and lumber, doing an
extensive business and becoming widely known
as an enterprising and progressive man of aft'airs.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1837

He has been influential in public matters ever
since becoming a citizen of South Dakota, served
several years as justice of the peace, and for a
long period held the office of town clerk. Mr.
•Koch is a Republican in politics and as such was
elect to represent Lincoln county in the fegisla-
turc. in which capacity he served four years.

Fraternally Mr. Koch is a member of the In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows ; also belongs to
the local organization of Woodmen at Tea, and
in religion he is a faithful and active communi-
cant of the Lutheran church. The family of Mr.
and Mrs. Kix'h consists of four children.

OLE HOKEXSTAD is a native of Xorwa>-,
born in Christiania, the capital of that country,
on the 28th of March, 1846. He was reared and
educated in his native land and when a youth
turned his attention to mechanical pursuits, be-
coming in due time skillful at carpentry and cab-
inet-making. In 1886 he came to America and
after spending a short time in Quebec, Canada,
went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, thence to Mon-
roe, the same state, where he worked at cabinet-
making for a period of three years ; he also fol-
lowed his trade about one year in the city of
Janesville, and there returned to Monroe, where
he resumed his trade until the spring of 1870,
when he came to South Dakota, locating on the
present site of Sioux Falls, of which city he was
one of the first settlers. On .\])ril 14th, of the
above year, Mr. Hokenstad took a claim of one
hundred and sixty acres on the public domain
near Sioux Falls and after living on the same for
six weeks secured employment at his trade in
the above town. He devoted the next three years
to carpentry work in Sioux Falls and at the ex-
piration of that time came to Lincoln county and
entered a quarter section of land in Dayton
township. He at once proceeded to improve his
place in Dayton township, and in the course of a
few years his farm was one of the best in the
county. Mr. Hokenstad has worked hard and
by patient and long continued effort has succeed-
ed not only in making a good home, but in ac-
quiring a competence sufficiently liberal to place

him in independent circumstances. He served as
supervisor for several terms, also as road master
and for a period of years filled the responsible
position of school treasurer. A Republican in
politics, he was elected county commissioner, an
office he held for six years, during which time he
labored zealously to promote the interests of the
county. In 1893 he was honored by being elected
to represent Lincoln county in the state legisla-
ture, in which capacity he served two terms. Mr.
Hokenstad belongs to the Pythian lodge at Can-
ton, and in religion subscribes to the Lutheran
creed.

J.\MES FEE, one of the representative farm-
ers and stock raisers of Dayton township, Lin-
coln county, is a native of county Antrim, Ire-
land, and was born in August, 1836. After the
death of his parents he lived with friends of the
family until old enough to earn his own liveli-
hood when he found employment in various
parts of his native county as a farm laborer. At
the age of eighteen he took passage for the
United States arid spent some time in the city
of Philadelphia. From there he went to Swartz-
ville. New Jersey, where an uncle was living,
and after devoting several years to farm work in
the vicinity of that town, changed his location
to Jackson county, Wisconsin, where he followed
agriculture and lumbering. Disposing of his in-
terests in the latter state, Mr. Fee went to Ford
county, Illinois, and purchased eighty acres of
railroad land, which he cleared and othewise im-
proved, and on which he made his home until his
removal to South Dakota, in 1873. On coming
to this state he took up land in section 10, Day-
ton township, Lincoln county, and at once pro-
ceeded to improve the same. His property in-
creased greatly in value until in the course of a
few vears he was the owner of one of the finest
and best located farms in the township of Day-
ton. 3.1r. Fee is now in comfortable circum-
stances and ranks with the leading agriculturists
and stock raisers of Lincoln county. Mr. Fee
has held a number of township offices and
takes an active interest in public affairs,

IS38

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

being a Populist in politics. As an earn-
est and faithful minister of the Presbyterian
church, he has been untiring in his efforts to in-
culcate and disseminate a healthy religious in-
fluence among the people of his neighborhood.

LOUISE CAVALIER is a native of the city
of Janesville, Wisconsin, and was reared and
educated in Wisconsin, and in 1881 became
identified with educational work among the In-
dians, having first been assigned to the Cheyenne
agency, in Dewey county, this state, where she
labored faithfully and acceptably for a long per-
iod. She accomplished a most noble work in the
agency, where her services were such as to en-
title them to perpetual recognition and commen-
dation. She continued to be the principal teacher
at the Cheyenne agency until 1895, when she was
sent to an agency in Nebraska, where she was
superintendent of the schools for the ensuing
three years, at the expiration of which she was
assigned by the department of the interior to
her present position as principal of the Riggs In-
stitute, the admirable Indian school at Flandreau,
Moody county. South Dakota. She finds pleas-
ure in her work, is kind and considerate and
gains the affection of her pupils, and these are
the elements which have contributed to the
marked successs which has laeen hers.

-AIICHAEL CUNNINGHAM was bora in
1855 in Mount St. Patrick, Ontario, Canada, and
in his parents' home he was reared and there had
instilled into his mind lessons of industry, of
economy and integrity. After attaining his ma-
jority he married Miss Mary Slowey, of Wis-
consin, whose parents were of Irish birth and
who in early life came to the new world, taking
up their abode in the Badger state. It was in
that state that the daughter gave her hand in
marriage to Mr. Cunningham, and their union
has been blessed with four children.

On coming to Decatur Mr. Cunningham se-
cured a' homestead claim in Mayfield, and later
made a purchase of land here, comprising a

quarter section near the James river. He sold
his property and with the proceeds he bought
four hundred acres, on which he is now living,
paying for it ten dollars per acre. He makes a
specialty of the production of corn and oats and
he also raises hogs and cattle on an extensive
scale. His farming methods are progressive and
in all of his work he is methodical and syste-
matic. Mr. Cunningham is a wami friend of the
cause of education, realizing its value as a prep-
aration for life's practical duties and he is giv-
ing his children excellent advantages in this di-
rection.

JOHN F. DAUGHERTY was born in
Maryland on the ist of August, 1847, ^"d is in-
debted to its public-school system for the educa-
tional privileges he enjoyed. His father died
when the son was a mere boy and the mother af-
terward married again. John Daugherty did not
receive very kind treatment from his stepfather
and so left home in Baltimore and made his way
to Illinois. He was there living at the time of the
outbreak of the Civil war, and} with patriotic
spirit, he offered his services to the government.
He was captured during service and was incar-
cerated in the famous Libby prison, where he
was detained for several weeks, at the end of
which time he was liberated and paroled. After
the war Mr. Daugherty went to California,
where he became manager of a large lumbering
business in the famous Redwood regions of that
state. Leaving the Pacific coast, he allied his
interests with those of Dakota and became
largely interested in land here. In order to es-
tablish a home of his own and to enjoy the com-
panionship of a helpmate he married Miss Ella
Colton, a native of South Bend, Indiana. In the
year after their marriage the young couple went
to Pierre, where Mr. Daugherty engaged in
freighting. His residence in that place continued
until 1882. when he removed to Wakonda, where
he began buying and selling grain and stock. He
has since engaged in this line of business, ship-
ping both products of the state on a very large
scale. He also owns an extensive ranch in the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1839

Black Hills, and is the proprietor of a large stock
farm near Yankton, besides much other land in
this state. His splendid possessions have been ac-
quired through his own efforts. The home of
Mr. and Mrs. Daugherty has been blessed with
four children, of whom three are yet living.

SOLOMON D. MEYERS was born August
ID, 1858, and received his education in the pub-
lic schools of Iowa, to which state he removed
with his parents during his early childhood. He
also accompanied his parents to South Dakota,
and after assisting his father for some time on
the home place, took up one hundred and sixty
acres of land in Hutchinson county, which he
cultivated for several years. Disposing of the
above, he bought the quarter section which he
now owns. Some few years later he became
manager of the Schwartz & Company general
store at Milltown, in which capacity he still con-
tinues. Politically Mr. Meyers supports the Re-
publican party. Fraternally he is a member of
the Odd Fellows lodge of Parker and the Wood-
men of the World. Religiously he is a supporter
and faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Mr. Meyers entered the marriage rela-
tion with Miss Mary Whaling, of Iowa, who has
borne him three children.

then went to Tuscarora, Nevada, as chemist and
assay er for the Dexter Mining Company, and
during the next two years he served that concern
with skill and fidelity. At the end of this period
he resigned and took a berth with Kilpatrick
Bros. & Collins as chief electrician in construc-
tion work on the Union Pacific Railroad in Wy-
oming. In 1 901 he left this firm and became
mill superintendent for a mining company near
Lead, and in 1903 resigned to accept a similar
position for the Horseshoe Mining Company, of
Terry, in this state. In all his various engage-
ment Mrs. Griggs has met the requirements of
his place in a masterful manner and has given
his employers service that has been entirely satis-
factory. He is an accomplished man in his cho-
sen lines of action, and is impelled by a high
sense of duty in every undertaking. He was
united in marriage with Miss Virginia L. Wat-
kins, a native of Nevada state, and they have one
child. Mr. Griggs belongs to the Masonic fra-
ternity, and is also a member of the Modern
Woodmen of America.

CLIFTON C. GRIGGS was born on May 3,
1875, at Beatrice, Nebraska, and went through
the public schools of his native place, being
graduated from the high school there. The fam-
ily soon afterward moved to Lincoln, and there
he attended the State University, graduating
therefrom. Before doing this, however, he was
employed for a time on a railroad and also taught
school to get the necessary funds for completing
his education. In the summer following his
graduation from the university he accepted a po-
sition with a mining company at Cambria, Wy-
oming, but only remained in its employ about
two months. He then came to Terry, this state,
as assayer for the Portland Mining Company,
remaining with this enterprise until 1898. He

PATRICK KING was born in county King,
Ireland, in 1829, was educated in his native coun-
try and when a young man was married, having
wedded Miss Mary Daily, a native of Ireland,
gnd unto them have been born eight children.

Mr. King has owned four hundred acres of
land, but has sold much of this and now lives re-
tired, in Irene, enjoying a well-earned rest. He
was long active in business affairs, but having
I acquired a good competence he at length deter-
mined to enjoy a season of leisure. He votes
with the Democracy and holds membership with
the Catholic church.

JOSEPH DRATZMAN, who carries on
general farming not far from Yankton, in Yank-
{ ton county, South Dakota, first opened his eyes
to the Hght of day on the 6th of August, 1861.
1 His native land is Germany, and he was about
I ten years of age at the time of the removal to the
I United States, and the Dakota schools furnished

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

him his educational privileges. He was united
in marriage to Miss Annie Hasker, of Yankton
county, and unto this union two children were
bom. This wife died, and for his second wife
Mr. Dratzman chose Mrs. Julia Long, and they
too have had two children.

In 1884 the subject jjurchased a claim in
Turner county and afterward selling that land
he purchased two hundred and forty acres in
Yankton county about five miles northeast of
Utica. He now cultivates one hundred and sev-
enty acres of this place and is a prosperous
farmer. In politics he endorses Democratic prin-
ciples, and he has served as school clerk for sev-
eral years. He and his family are communicants
of the Catholic church.

JCJHX T. KEAX. of Woonsocket, Sanborn
county, one of the able and prominent members
of the bar of South Dakota, has been an import-
ant factor in public affairs, liaving served as
lieutenant governor of the state and in other
offices of trust and responsibility, and being
particularly deserving of representation in this
history of the commonwealth with whose affairs
he has been so intimately identified.

John Taylor Kean is a native of the Badger
state, having been born in Whitewater, Wiscon-
sin, on the nth of March, 1857, a son of John
y. and Plioebe S. (Taylor) Kean, the former
of whom was a carpenter by trade and vocation,
having been one of the pioneers of Wisconsin,
where he took up his residence in the territorial
epoch, having removed thither from the state of
Pemisylvania. Both he and his wife are now
deceased, and of their six children two are liv-
ing at the present time. The subject completed
his preliminary educational discipline in the pub-
lic schools of Monroe, Wisconsin, and early
manifested a strong predilection for literary pur-
suits and public speaking, while his ambition to
acquire a thorough education led him to put
forth every effort to secure the funds with which
to pursue his professional studies. In 1876 he
entered the law department of the University of
\\'isconsin. at .Madison, where he was graduated

as a member of the class of 1877, and thereafter
he completed a post-graduate course in the Xa-
tional Law School in Washington, D. C, this
being in 1883. Owing to his financial position
he was compelled to seek other employment for
a time before entering upon the practice of law,
and thus worked in the sawmills and shingle-
mills of Wisconsin and at whatever else came
to hand, ever having a high appreciation of the
(liL;iiity of honest toil, in whatever field of en-
(le.iviir. In 1880 Judge Kean located at Lake
.Mills, low a, where be initiated his independent
iin.fes-ional career. l-rnm 1882 to l8S_|, in-
clusive, he was employed in the offices of the
war department in Washington, and in the
spring of 1884 he came to South Dakota and
took up his residence in Woonsocket, where he
resumed the practice of law, soon gaining dis-
tinctive prestige through his ability and am-
bitious effort in his chosen profession. He is
well grounded in the science of jurisprudence,
familiar with the minutiae of the law in its
various l)rancbes and over showing facility in his
recourse to precedents, "while he is knowin as a
strong advocate and conservative counsel, invari-
ably giving careful preparation to every case and
having exceptional strength as an advocate be-
fore a jury. He has a large and important prac-
tice and is one of the leading members of the
bar of the state, while he also has extensive
and valuable real-estate interests. He is an able
public speaker, graceful in diction and pleasing
in address, and he has taken a prominent part
in the various political campaigns, in which he
has proved an able exponent of the principles
and policies of the Republican party, while he
is also frequently called upon to deliver public
addresses in other lines, his services being thus
in requisition almost invariably on the occasion
of public observances of the Fourth of July and
Alemorial day. In 1890 he was elected county
judge of Sanborn county, and remained in tenur.'
of this office for two years, his rulings being-
wise and impartial and never meeting with re-
versal in the higher tribunals. He was the can-
didate of his party for the office of lieutenant
governor in the election of 1808. was elected

JOHN T. KKAX.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1841

by a gratifying majority and was incumbent of
the office for the two ensuing years. He was
elected chief executive of the municipal govern-
ment of Woonsocket in 1902 and guided its af-
fairs with marked discrimination and genuine
public spirit. Fraternally he is identified with
the Masonic order and the Society of the Sons
of the American Revolution.

C)n the 3d of April. 1884. Judge Kean was
united in marriage to Miss Ressie F. l^erry,
daughter of Waldo ( i. Perry, of \'ermont, who
was for many years superintendent of the dead-
letter office in the national capital, in which city
the marriage of the subject was solemnized.
;\lrs. Kean died April 17. 1903, at Palo Alto,
California.

PETER CHARLES REINHOLT, one of
the representative business men of Irene, Clay
county, where he is senior member of the well-
known firm of Reinholt & Jorgensen, was born in
Denmark, in the year 1858, and there attended
the excellent national schools until he had at-
tained the age of fourteen years, in the mean-
while working on the farm during the suinmer
months. At the age of fifteen he began working
at gardening, and continued to be identified with
this line of enterprise until his twenty-second
year, when he accompanied his parents and the
other members of the immediate family on their
immigration to America. For the first three
years they resided in the city of Chicago, Illinois,
and there the subject learned the trade of mason
and plasterer. At the expiration of the period
noted the family came to South Dakota, locating
forthwith in the vicinity of the present village
of Irene, Clay county. In this county the subject
followed the work of his trade about four years,
and then effected the purchase of eighty acres of
land, improving the same with good buildings
and there continuing to be actively engaged in
agricultural pursuits for the ensuing fourteen
years. He still owns this farm, which is main-
tained under a high state of cultivation, and
which has materially appreciated in value dur-
ing the intervening years. At the expiration of

the period noted Mr. Reinholt moved into the
village of Irene and established his present busi-
ness enterprise, which has been pros])erous from
its initiation and which has attained to wide scope
and importance as taken in a comparative way
with similar undertakings in other agricultural
sections of the commonwealth. He is also a con-
tractor on a rural free mail-delivery route, own-
ing the teams and wagons and employing sub-
ordinates to operate the same. In politics he
accords a stanch allegiance to the Republican
party and has been a member of the board of
school directors for a number of years past. He
holds to the Protestant faith in religion, while
fraternally he is identified with the Masonic or-
der, the Modern Woodmen of America and the
Danish Brotherhood.

Mr. Reinholt was married to Miss Anna Ja-
cobson, this being prior to the immigration to
America, and thev have five children.

FRANK JOHX SCHAFFER was born in
Mechlinberg. Germany, and remained in his na-
tive country until 1868, when he came with his
brother to .-Vmerica. Making his way westward,
he took up his abode in South Dakota in 1869
and pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of
land which had been cleared and a few improve-
ments had been made upon it. He planted fruit
trees upon the place, and has always carried on
farming here. He now owns two hundred and
eighty acres, of which more than one-half is un-
der cultivation, the remainder being devoted to
pasturage and to the raising of hay. Mr. Schaf-
fer makes a specialty of shorthorned cattle and
Poland-China hogs. He also raises oats, grain,
wheat and other cereals adapted to the soil and
climate.

Mr. Schaffer was united in marriage to ]\Iiss
Tilda Walter, and unto them have been born
three children. The parents are both worthy
Christian people. Mr. Schaffer belonging to the
Evangelical church and his wife to the Methodist
Episcopal church. In poiitical views he is a Re-
publican and for several years has served as a
school officer.

1842

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

WILLIAM C. FRY, one of the most highly
esteemed citizens of Charles Mix county, is a na-
tive of the old Bay state, having been bom in
Massachusetts in 1833, and was reared and
educated in his native county, where he
received the advantages of the common
schools, the while growing up under the
sturdy discipline of the farm. Later he removed
to Wisconsin, where his father also located, and
in that state he devoted his attention to farming
and lumbering for many years, being a hard
worker and gaining success through consecutive
toil and endeavor. At the outbreak of the war
of the Rebellion he was among the first to tender
his services in defense of the Union, enlisting in
the Sixteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and
the history of the regiment constitutes the history
of his personal war record. He was taken pris-
oner and was confined for six days in Libby
prison, at Richmond, being then paroled. He
served during practically the entire period of the
war.

In 1880 Mr. Fry came to South Dakota and
took up a tract of government land in Lincoln
county, where he remained until he came to
Charles Mix county and took up a homestead
claim, on a portion of which the village of Bar-
tholdi is now located. He is now the ownet of a
half section of valuable and well-improved land,
and of the same about one hundred and sixty
acres are under a high state of cultivation, while
the remainder is devoted to grazing purposes and
to the raising of hay. He has been successful in
his farming enterprise and is one of the most
honored pioneers of the county. He was one of
the founders of the village of Bartholdi, where
he has been engaged in the general merchandise
business, securing an excellent patronage, and has
also been postmaster of the town. In politics he
is an uncompromising Republican and he and his
wife are valued members of the Presbyterian
church, while fraternally he is identified with
the Grand Army of the Republic.

Mr. Fry was united in marriage to Miss Abby
Lane, who was born and reared in Wayne
county, Pennsylvania, and they have had six
children.

J. J. BARKLEY, who is the owner of ex-
tensive landed interests in Charles Mix county,
and who is engaged in the raising of cattle upon
a large scale, is a native of the old Empire state,
having been born in Washington county. New
York, on the 27th of November, 1848. When
but fourteen years of age he left school and be-
gan to "rustle for himself," as the colloquial
phrase well expresses it. He followed various oc-
cupations until 1875, when he became identified
with the work of railroad construction, in which
connection he advanced to positions of respon-
sibility, finally becoming superintendent of con-
struction and having been concerned in the build-
ing of a number of the important western rail-
roads, while he has made Chicago his home and
business headquarters, having retired from his
association with railroading enterprises in 1898,
since which time he has given much of his at-
tention to the handling of western lands and to
other capitalistic enterprises, showing great busi-
ness sagacity and judgment and also marked
executive talent. He is now the owner of two
thousand six hundred and forty acres of valu-
able land in Charles Mix county. His land is
principally devoted to grazing purposes and he
raises a high grade of cattle. In politics he is a
radical Republican. Mr. Barkley was tmited in
marriage to Miss Mary Henry, who presides with
gracious dignity over the home.

HENRY BRIDGES, one of the representa-
tive farmers and stock raisers of Charles Mix
county, was born in Iowa on the lOth of March,
1859, and passed his boyhood days on the old
homestead farm. His ^ucational advantages
were such as were afforded in the public schools
of that state. In 1883 he came to South Dakota
and took up a homestead claim in Charles Mix
county, the same constituting his present place
in part, for he and his brothers own a total of
six hundred and forty acres of land, which they
operate together, all having come here in the
pioneer epoch in the county, while all have la-
I bored earnestly and indefatigably and attained
I a marked success. They all reside together in

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1843

the one homestead, and are numbered among the
popular and prominent citizens of the county.
In politics the subject is a stanch advocate of
the principles of the Republican party, and he
has been called upon to serve in various township
offices and also as a school pfficial. Fraternally
he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of
America.

Mr. Bridges was united in marriage to Miss
Ida Owsley, and they have three children.

^^TLLIAM P. BIDDLE, who is the owner
of a fine ranch in Jackson township, Charles Mix
county, was born in Decatur county, Iowa, on
the 19th of December,. 1857, and was reared to
the work of the farm. He secured his early edu-
cation in the public schools of his native state,
his advantages being somewhat limited, as, owing
to the death of his father, he was early compelled
to depend upon his own exertions. He worked
on a farm from the age of fourteen until he had
attained his legal majority, and then went to Ne-
braska, where he secured land, for which he paid
two and one-half dollars an acre, and he there
devoted his attention to farming for the ensuing
four years, at the expiration of which he dis-
posed of the property. Subsequently he came
to South Dakota and located in Charles Mix
county, where he purchased three hundred and
seventy-eight acres of land. He forthwith
turned his attention to the improvement and cul-
tivation of his farm, and subsequently purchased
additional land so that his estate now comprises
six hundred and forty acres, while the property
is equipped with excellent buildings and other
substantial improvements and is one of the val-
uable farms of this favored section of the state,
the greater portion of the land being under a
high state of cultivation. In connection with his
agricultural enterprises Mr. Biddle devotes much
attention to the raising of cattle and swine. In
state and national affairs he is a stanch Demo-
crat, but in local matters he is independent.

Mr. Biddle was united in marriage to Miss
Kate Grant, who was born in New York, and of
this union have been born seven children.

VINCENT BRUNER, who was one of the
sterling pioneers of Charles Mix county, was
born in Bohemia, Austria, where he was reared
and educated, and there he learned the trade of
mason, to which he devoted his attention for a
number of years after coming to America. He
developed and improved one of the valuable farms
of Charles Mix count> — the homestead upon
which his widow still resides, situated five miles
south of Geddes, in Jackson township. The orig-
inal residence on the place was a sod shanty of
the primitive type, and as prosperity attended his
efforts he continued to make improvements on his
ranch, and the same is now one of the most at-
tractive and productive in this locality, having a
large and substantial farm residence and other
good buildings, while the home is surrounded by
a nice grove of trees which were planted by him.
He here continued to be engaged in farming and
stock growing until his death, since which time
his widow has carried forward the enterprise with
the assistance of her children. He was a Demo-
crat in politics and took a deep interest in local
affairs of a public nature. He served two years
as a member of the board of county commission-
ers, and in all the relations of life so lived as to
merit and receive the confidence and respect of
hi's fellow men.

Mr. Bruner was united in marriage to Miss
Mary Weiss, and of this union were born ten
children.

JOHN T. MAWHINEY, one of the honored
residents and influential citizens of Charles Mix
county, is a native of the old Keystone state of
the Union, having been born in Pennsylvania, on
the 21 St of June, 1833. He passed his boyhood
days in his native county, in whose common
schools he received his early educational training.
He has subsequently been engaged in teaching
and has proven particularly successful. He has
been employed in pedagogic work in five differ-
ent states in the Union, finally retiring from the
labors of this profession in 1897. For a number
of years he devoted his attention to teaching dur-
ing the winter terms and engaged in farming

1 844

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

during the summer seasons. After he came to
South Dakota he became the owner of a farm
and was there engaged in farming and stock
raising until he disposed of the property, since
which time he has resided in Wagner, where he
is the owner of good property, including his
pleasant home, while he is also the owner oi
town property in other places in the county. He
has been a stanch advocate of the principles of
the Republican party from the time of its organ-
ization, and was elected to the office of justice
of the peace, and is now serving in that capacity,
while for the past three years he has been a mem-
ber of the school board. He and his wife are
zealous and devoted members of the ]\Iethodist
Episcopal church, in whose work they are ac-
tively concerned.

^Ir. Mawhiney was united in marriage to
Miss Sarah Force, and thev have four children.

HENRY AlAXSHEni, of Qiarles JNIix
county, is a native of Lee county, Iowa, where
he was born on the ist of March, 1861, and he
early became inured to the work of the home
farm, while his educational advantages were such
as were afforded in the public schools of his na-
tive county. At the age of seventeen years he
left school and thereafter worked by the month
as a farm hand until he had attained his
legal majority, when he came to South Dakota
and took up a homestead claim in Jackson town-
ship, Charles Mix county, this property being a
portion of his present ranch. He spared no effort
or labor to improve his land, and the years have
brought to him a due measure of success. Later
Mr. Mansheim purchased an adjoining quarter
section of land, so that he now has three hundred
and twenty acres, the greater portion of his fami
being under cultivation, while he has also been
verv' successful in the raising of live stock, giving
special attention to the breeding of cattle and
hogs, while he also does considerable business in
the line of dairy farming. In so far as state and
national issues are involved he is a stanch ad-
herent of the Democratic part}-, but in local mat-
ters he maintains an independent attitude. He

has held office in his school district practicallv
from the time of coming to the countv to the
present. He and his wife are communicants of
the Catholic church, and he is also identified with
the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association.

Mr. Mansheim was married to Miss Matilda
J. Long and they have five children.

RASMUS PETERSOX was born in Den-
mark on November 11, 1842, and was reared
upon his father's farm there, his parents never
leaving their native country. In 1866, however,
Mr. Peterson bade adieu to home and friends and
sailed for the United States. Arriving in \\'is-
consin, he was employed for a time in Racine
county. He next went to Michigan, where he
worked in a sawmill and then returned to Ra-
cine county.

While there Mr. Peterson was united in mar-
riage to Miss Johanna Anderson and he carried
on farming there until he came to South Da-
kota. Here he secured a homestead claim, all
wild and unimproved, but with marked energy
and strong determination he began its cultiva-
tion and development and now in addition to his
homestead farm he owns good town property.
This farm is supplied with modern equipments
and is located not far from Irene, so that he is
enabled to enjoy the advantages of town life as
well.

Mr. and Mrs. Peterson became the parents of
ten children. INIr. Peterson exercises his right
of franchise in support of the men and measures
of the Republican party. He has been officially
connected with the schools for eleven years and
he belongs to the Lutheran church.

AMLLIAAl \'OLL is a native of Russia,
where his birth occurred on June i, 1852. He
grew to manhood in his native land and was
raised on a farm, his father having been an hon-
est, industrious tiller of the soil. In 1872 he
came to America and, proceeding direct to South
Dakota, took up a quarter section of land in Bon
Homme coimtv. later purchasing an additional

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1845

tract of four hundred and eighty acres, only a
small part of which was improved when he took
possession. Subsequently he disposed of his in-
terests there and changed his abode to Hutchin-
son county, purchasing what was known as the
Bechtold place, a fine tract of L'uul. un which lie
has made many substantial improvements, con-
verting it into one of the most productive and
valuable farms in the community. Mr. \'oll
served four years as school director, besides fill-
ing other local offices, and as a Republican he
wields a strong influence for his party. In addi-
tion to farming and stock raising Mr. VoU is an
enthusiastic horticulturist and for a number of
years he has devoted much attention to this in-
teresting and fascinating pursuit, and now has
one of the finest orchards in the county.

The subject was married to Miss Rosenia
Link, like himself a native of Russia, and the
union has been blessed with a family of thirteen
children.

PHILIP SCHAMRER.— On another page
of this work appears a sketch of the subject's
brother, Fred \V., and as in the connection is
entered an outline of the family history it will
not be necessary to give a supplementary review
at this point. He whose namie initiates this para-
graph is one of the able and popular young busir
ness men of Eureka. McPherson countv,
and was born in Russia, on the 1st of
June, 1870, and was about four years of age
at the time of his parents' immigration to Amer-
ica, whither they came in 1874 and forthwith
took up their residence in what is now the state
of South Dakota, where the subject was reared
to maturity, securing his educational training in
the public schools and under the able direction
of his father. He became identified with the
hardware business at Tripp, Hutchinson county,
where he was associated with his father and
brothers, and in 1889 this business was sold and
the brothers removed to Eureka, where they en-
gaged in the hardware and farming implement
business under the firm name of Martin Scham-
ber & Sons, the interested principals being the

honored father, Martin Schamber, and his sons,
Fred W., Julius, Emil and Philip. Subsequently
the subject disposed of his interests in the busi-
ness and entered the employ of the well-known
firm of Wardner, Bushnell, Glessner & Conih
pany, of Chicago, as traveling representative,
selling agricultural machinery. He was thus en-
gaged for two seasons and then established him-
self in the grain business in Eureka, buying an
elevator. Later he disposed of the elevator and
practically retired from the grain business to give
his attention to the buying and shipping of live
stock, with which line of enterprise he has since
been prominently and successfully concerned.
He is also the owner of an interest in the Golden
Rule department store in the city of Aberdeen.
In politics Afr. Schamber has ever been known
as a stanch Republican, and he was appointed
postmaster of Eureka, in which capacity he has
since continued to render effective service.

^Ir. Schamber was united in marriage to
:\liss Elizabeth Hezel. and of this union have
been Ijorn two children.

A. SCHOEX, M. D.. is a native of Austria,,
where he was born on the 3d of November, 1877,
and he was j-et a mere lad at the time he accom-
panied his parents on their removal to America.
.After attending the public schools of the metrop-
olis of the L'nion he took a course in the Col-
lege of the City of New York. In the autumn
of 1896 he was matriculated in the Bellevue Hos-
pital Medical College, New York city, being
graduated as a member of the class of 1899. In
the year following his graduation, at his technical
state examination, required as supplementary to
his collegiate professional degree, he was given
an honorary license for his proficiency, and in
September of that year he opened an office in
New York city, where he continued in practice
until 1902, when he came to South Dakota and
took up his residence in the city of Yankton,
where he is building up a gratifying practice.
In politics he is independent, while fraternally
he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of
America, and the Knights of the Maccabees.

1846

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

MATTHEW BIGGINS is a native of the
Emerald Isle, having been born in County Cavan,
on the 17th of September, 1835, and being a son
of representatives of stanch old Irish stock. The
mother died in Ireland, and her husband after-
ward came with his children to the United States,
locating in the city of Philadelphia. In that city
our subject completed his educational discipline
while in his boyhood he also learned the trade of
shoemaking. In 1861 Mr. Biggins gave evidence
of his intrinsic loyalty to the Union by enlisting
for service in the war of the Rebellion. Mr. Big-
gins remained in active service for a period of
four years, within which time he participated in
many important battles. After the close of the
war he returned to Pennsylvania, where he fol-
lowed his trade, having in the meanwhile be-
come a member of a Pennsylvania regiment of
old soldiers, known as the Veteran Reserves,
which enlisted as a portion of the regular army.
It was sent to the territory of Dakota, and here
Mr. Biggins continued in the army service for
several years. He took up a homestead claim
near Wheeler, Charles Mix county, having ever
since retained possession of this property, to
which he acquired title, as did many other sol-
diers who secured land in this locality, through
a special act of congress, the land being origin-
ally known as the Fort Randall military reserva-
tion. For some time Mr. Biggins had charge of
the mess house of the Crow Creek Indian reser-
vation, since which time he has given his atten-
tion to the management of his fine farm. In poli-
tics he is a Republican, and he is a communicant
of the Catholic church, as are also the members
of his family.

Mr. Biggins was united in marriage to Miss
Deborah McGrath, who was likewise born in
Ireland, and they became the parents of eleven
children.

tended the common schools, and he was about
ten years of age at the time when the family re-
moved to Wisconsin, where he continued to at-
tend school until the age of fifteen years, when
he entered upon an apprenticeship at the trade
of harnessmaking, becoming a skilled workman.
He thereafter worked as a journeyman in vari-
ous towns and subsequently came west to Sioux
City, Iowa, remaining about one year and then
returning east to the city of Chicago. In 1872
he came to Yankton, Dakota, where he remained
one year, at the expiration of which he took up
his residence in Springfield, where he opened a
harness shop and also a furniture and undertak-
ing establishment, becoming one of the pioneer
merchants of the town, and he successfully con-
tinued his operations in the lines noted until
1897, when he disposed of his interests and has
since lived practically retired, giving a general
supervision to his capitalistic investments. His
political support is given to the Republican party,
and in 1878-9 he served as a member of the lower
house of the territorial assembly, while in 1894
he was elected to represent his district in the
state senate, being chosen as his own successor
in 1896. Fraternally he holds membership in the
Free and Accepted Masons ; Yankton Chapter,
No. 2, Royal Arch Masons, and Independent Or-
der of Odd Fellows.

Mr. Stephens was married to Miss Emily A.
Place, of Yankton, who died, being survived by
three children, and subsequently Mr. Stephens
consummated a second marriage, being then
united to Miss Henrietta Hyatt, of Illinois, and
they arc the parents of three children.

JAMES H. STEPHENS, of Springfield,
Bon Homme county, is a native of the state of
Illinois, having been born in Jo Daviess county,
on the i6th of September, 1850. He passed his
bovhood (lavs in his native county, where he at-

JOHN BROWN, of Springfield, Bon
Homme county, was born in Quebec, Canada,
and was reared in the land of his birth and edu-
cated in the public schools of the same. When
but a youth he left home and went to St. Law-
rence county. New York, where he spent the two
years following at various kinds of manual la-
bor, and then accepted a position with the Fair-
banks Scale Company, at St. Johnsbury, Ver-
mont, and devoted the ensuing three vears to

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1847

mechanical work in their factory at that place,
after which he went to Fond du Lac county, Wis-
consin, where he was engaged in the lumber bus-
iness.

Disposing of his business in the latter state,
Mr. Brown moved to Iowa, where he purchased a
farm and turned his attention to agriculture, and
continued to reside there until he sold his posses-
sions and changed his residence to Bon Homme
county, South Dakota. On coming to this state
he took up land in the vicinity of Springfield and
from that time to the present has devoted his at-
tention chiefly to farming and stock raising, in
both of which his success has been most encour-
aging.

For a number of years Mr. Brown has had a
contract with the government to furnish beef to
the Indians and in addition to this and his agri-
cultural and live-stock interests he does a flour-
ishing business as a coal dealer. Politically he is
a Democrat, in religion a Catholic and his frater-
nal relations are with the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Flks.

SAMUEL McCORMACK, of Armour,
Douglas county, is a native of the Dominion of
Canada, having been born in Nova Scotia. He
received his educational training in his native
province, and at St. Johns, New Brunswick, he
served a thorough apprenticeship as a carpenter
and builder. Upon coming to the United States
he was employed for one year as a journeyman
by a firm in the city of Boston, being still under
instruction, as he desired to perfect himself in
all details of his chosen vocation. Later he be-
came a ship carpenter and as such sailed on a
number of the large clipper ships, continuing to
be thus employed for four years. He finally lo-
cated in East Boston, whence he later removed
to Chelsea, Massachusetts, where he remained
until 1866, engaged in the work of his trade, and
in that year he came west to Clayton county,
Iowa, where he erected a number of the principal
church edifices and other important buildings.
After the great fire in the city of Chicago he
went to that city and superintended the work of

erecting six of the principal church buildings.
Later he located in Webster City, Iowa, where
he built the court house and several fine resi-
dences, and then came to Sioux Falls, Dakota,
becoming one of the pioneer contractors and
builders of Dakota territory, and retaining his
home in that place until after the division of the
territory and the admission of the two states into

j the Union. In Sioux Falls Mr. McCormack
erected a large number of die principal build-
ings. In 1895 Mr. McCormack went to Kenton,
Ohio, where he erected a fine private residence
and the grammar school, the latter contract hav-
ing been secured in the face of much active com-
petition and opposition on the part of local con-
tractors. In 1900 he came to Armour, where
he has since maintained his home, and in the
spring of 1903 he was accorded the gratifying
and important appointment of superintendent of
construction of state buildings, said appointment
coming through the state board of charities and
corrections. A more judicious and merited ap-

j pointment could not have been made, for the sub-

j ject is thoroughly skilled in his chosen profes-
sion, to which he has devoted the major por-
tion of his long and useful life, while his fidelity

I to contract, his knowledge of values and his in-
flexible integrity will insure to the state the best
of service in the work assigned to his charge.
In politics our subject is a Prohibitionist in prin-
ciple, allegiance and practice, and his religious
faith is that of the Congregational church. He
is also identified with the ]\Iasonic fraternity.

]\Ir. McCormack was united in marriage to
Miss Eliza Hancock, of East Boston, Massachu-
setts, and thev have had six children.

ALBERT SAIITH was born in the village
of Laharpe, Hancock county, Illinois. He was
granted the advantages of the common schools
in his youth and thereafter took a course of study
in Knox College, at Galesburg, Illinois. In 1872
he removed to Minnesota, where he remained un-
til 1875, when he returned home, by reason of the
impaired health of his father, who died shortly
afterward. The subject again went to Minne-

1848

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

sota, and established himself in the hardware
business in Wright county, where he continued
operations about six years, meeting with fair
success. His health finally became delicate and
this led to his removing to South Dakota, whither
he came in 1883. He located on a farm eight
miles north of Britton, in Day county, the place
being now in ]\Iarshall county, and shortly after-
ward he returned to Howard, Minnesota. In the
spring of 1884 he came once more to Day county.
South Dakota, and became one of the organizers
of the first bank in Webster, while he served as
cashier of the same until 1888, when the insti-
tution was closed, owing to depressed financial
conditions, though the promoters of the enter-
prise allowed none of their patrons to lose by
reason of the suspension. In the autumn of that
year Mr. Smith was elected county auditor, of
which office he continued incumbent for the long
period of six years, after which he served in
various other offices of public trust and respon-
sibility, ever proving himself a discriminating
and faithful executive. In I goo he was elected
clerk of the courts, and has since served as such.
He is also representative of a number of the
leading fire-insurance companies and does a very
considerable business as underwriter for the
same. Fraternally he is identified with the Ma-
sonic order, and also with the Independent Or-
der of Odd FelloNvs and the Knights of Pythias.
Air. Smith was united in marriage to Miss
Hannah J. Alley, who was born in \^'est Mr-
ginia, and thc\- have two s(ins.

J. H. PARROTT. one of the representative
citizens and business men of Pierpont, Day
county, is a native of the state of Wisconsin,
having been born on a farm in Green Lake
county. He was reared on the old homestead
farm, while his educational advantages were such
as were afforded in the public schools of Wis-
consin. He came as a youthful pioneer to the
state of .South Dakota, locating on the north
shore of Liike Kanipeska, in Codington county,
where he continued to be engaged in farming
and stock growing until he removed to Ray-

mond, Clark county, and from thence to Day
count}-, where he became one of the founders
of the town of Pierpont, where he has ever since
maintained his home, having been conspicuously
concerned in the upbuilding and material and
civic development of the town. Here he engaged
in the general merchandise business, his store
having been one of the first in the place. Three
weeks after he had opened his establishment the
building and the greater portion of its contents
were destroyed by fire, entailing an almost total
loss, but he was not disheartened by this reverse
and soon reopened his store, while he has now a
large, attractive and well-appointed establish-
ment. He is the owner of a half section of most
fertile and productive land adjoining the town,
and in addition to general agriculture he devotes
special attention to the raising of cattle and
horses. A peculiar and valuable feature in con-
nection with this land is that on any portion of
the same, by drilling to a de]ith of from fourteen
to sixteen feet, an artesian well may be secured,
the water being pure and rising from four to five
feet above the surface.

In politics Mr. Parrott has ever given a loyal
support to the Democratic party and has shown
an active interest in the forwarding of its cause.
He was for two terms mayor of Pierpont, and
gave a most able and satisfactory administration
of municipal affairs. He is affiliated with the
Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, the Knights of the Maccabees and the
Modern Woodmen of America, I\Ir. Parrott was
married to Miss Rose Holdrich. who was born
and reared in ^Minnesota, and they have three
children.

W. S. :MITCHELL was born in Aberdeen,
Scotland, on the i6th of February, 1861. and
received his educational discipline in the excel-
lent schools of his native land, where he re-
mained until he had attained the age of twent}--
one vears, when he severed the home ties and
came to America. He landed in Xew York city
and remained in the national metropolis about

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1849

six months, at the expiration of which he came
to the west and located in St. Cloud, Minnesota,
where he followed his trade, that of stone cutter,
for the ensuing year, at the expiration of which
he returned to New York, where he passed the
following year and then came again to St. Cloud,
where he made his home until he came to South
Dakota and took up his residence in Sioux Falls,
where he was engaged in the work of his trade
until the following year, .when he cast in his lot
with that of the good people of Dell Rapids,
where he organized the Dell Rapids Granite
Company, of which he became secretary and
treasurer, the company owning and operating
valuable quarries in this locality. He continued
to be actively concerned in this line of enterprise
for a period of twelve years, at the expiration of
which he disposed of his interests and engaged
in the hotel and restaurant business in Dell Rap-
ids. He has gained to his place a high reputa-
tion for the best of service in all departments, and
Mitchell's hotel and restaurant enjoy unmistak-
able popularity with the traveling public. For
the past five years he has been manager of the
local opera house and in the connection has given
the public an excellent class of entertainments.
In politics Mr. Mitchell has ever given an un-
qualified allegiance to the Republican party but
has never sought or desired public office. He is
held in high regard in fraternal circles and he
is identified with the Masonic order, the Benev-
olent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights
of Pythias, Knights of the Maccabees, Modern
Woodmen of America and the Dramatic Order
of the Knights of Khorassan.

Mr. Mitchell was united in marriage to Miss
Hattie Love, and they have one child.

S. M. LINDLEY, of Bonesteel, Gregory
county, is a native of the Hawkeye state, having
been born on the parental famistead in Iowa.
He grew up under the sturdy discipline of the
homestead farm and his educational advantages
were such as were aflforded in the public schools
of the locality. He continued to be associated
with the work of the parental farm until he had

attained the age of nineteen years, when he set
fortli to seek his fortunes in what is now the
state of South Dakota, being attracted by the
discovery of gold m the Black Hills, to which
district he made his way. He there remained a
few months and then located in Charles Mix
county, where he took up government land and
gave his attention to farming and stock raising.
He was an influential factor in the public affairs
of that section, having been elected county com-
missioner when but twenty-one years of age,
while he also served as county clerk and register
of deeds. He continued to reside in that county
until he disposed of his interests there and came
to the new county of Gregory, settling near
Wheeler and in the immediate proximity of the
embryonic village of Starcher, where he served
as the first postmaster. He has ever been a
stanch advocate of the principles of the Republi-
can party, and was the one principally instru-
mental in securing the introduction of the legis-
lative bill providing for a treaty with the Indi-
ans for the opening of the Rosebud reservation
to settlement. Mr. Lindley was a member of the
legislature in 1901, and there gave most effective
service in the interests of his constituency, and
he was also a member of the Republican state
central committee. Fraternally he is identified
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and
the Ancient Order of United Workmen, while his
religious views are in harmony with the faith of
the Episcopal church, in which he was reared,
his wife being a communicant of the Catholic
church. Mr. Lindley was united in marriage to
Miss Lizzie Marshall, of Charles Mix county.

B. C. ASH, one of the prominent and suc-
cessful stock growers of Hughes county and also
incumbent of the office of sheriff of the county,
is a native of the Hoosier state, having been born
in White county, Indiana. When he was about
five years of age, his parents removed from Indi-
ana to Sioux City, Iowa. The subject received
his preliminary educational training in the
schools of Sioux City, and after the removal of
the familv to Yankton continued his studies in

i850

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the common schools of that place as opportunity
presented, while he early initiated his independ-
ent career. Mr. Ash was appointed deputy United
States marshal, and continued to serve in this
capacity for varying intervals during a number
of years. Subsequently he left Yankton and re-
moved to the site of the present thriving and at-
tractive city of Bismarck, and his is the distinc-
tion of having erected the first house in the town.
He held the position of wagonmaster for Gen-
eral Custer, who was then making his first trip
through this section of the northwest, where his
life was later sacrificed. Later Mr. Ash located
in Pierre, where he engaged in the livery busi-
ness and also conducted a general store, becom-
ing one of the leading and influential business
men of the capital city. He identified himself
with the stock business, to which he has since
given much attention, raising cattle and horses
upon an extensive scale and having a large and
well-improved ranch, which is located one hun-
dred and twenty-five miles northwest of Fort
Pierre, in Stanley county. In politics he is a
stanch advocate of the Democratic party and has
been one of the active workers in the party ranks.
In 1900 he was elected sheriff of Hughes county,
giving a most able administration and being
chosen to this office again in the spring of 1904,
for a second term of four years. In 1896 he re-
ceived from President Cleveland the appointment
as Indian agent at the Lower Brule agency, re-
taining this incumbency four years and proving
a most capable official. He is identified with the
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Ancient
Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine, and the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks.

]\Tr. Ash was unitetl in marriage to Miss
Sarah A. Brisbine, and they have three chil-
dren.

H. N. CHAPMAN was born in the province
of Quebec, Canada, and was reared and edu-
cated in his native land. At the age of twenty-
one he went to Boston, Massachusetts, and passed
a year in llie employ of a wholesale house, then

returned to Quebec, where he remained until
1871. In March of that year he came to South
Dakota, and settled at Yankton, taking con-
tracts on the construction of the Dakota &
Southern Railroad. Later he engaged in butch-
ering at Yankton. In 1876 he arrived at Dead-
wood with two wagon loads of window glass, the
first brought to that point, and sold it at a great
profit, getting his own price. Here he devoted
his time to mining, doing placer work for the
most part, and making his home at Deadwood,
where he remained until he came to Rapid City
and located land on Spring creek twelve miles
from the town, but still retaining his mining
claims, of which he yet has a number. Settling
on his place, he engaged in raising stock, begin-
ning with sheep and following with cattle and
horses. In politics he is an earnest and ardent
working Republican, taking an active part in all
the campaigns of the party, but without desire
or effort to secure office for himself. In 1895
he moved his family to Rapid City, and since
then he has maintained his home there, having
a fine modern residence, but he is still engaged
in the stock industry and his interests in it are
large. The Masonic order awakened his interest
manv years ago and since then he has been ac-
tive and earnest in devotion to its welfare. At
Yankton Mr. Chapman was united in marriage
with Miss Sarah A. Davis, a native of Canada,
and thev have four children.

DeLOSS PERRY^ farmer, stock raiser and
representative citizen, is a native of Bradford
county, Pennsylvania. He spent his youth and
early manhood in his native state, attending the
public schools of Bradford county. He remained
on the home farm and assisted to cuUivate the
same until his twenty-fourth year, and was
united in marriage with Miss Melvina Bennett,
of Tioga, Pennsylvania, after which he pur-
chased a small farm and engaged in the pursuit
of agriculture for himself. Four years later he
came to Minnehaha county, South Dakota, and
entering a quarter section of land, lived on the
same until he removed to a claim in the county

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of Kingsbury. Mr. Perry brought with him a
good team of horses, a number of cattle and
after building a small board house was better
fixed for farming than the majority of his neigh-
bors. Mr. Perry persevered in his attempts to
found a home and get a start in the west and
how well he succeeded is attested by his present
large farm and live-stock interests and the prom-
inent position he occupies among the leading ag-
riculturists and stock raisers of Kingsbury
county. He owns one of the finest and most val-
uable farms in this part of the state, besides a
large amount of excellent grazing land and keeps
on his place at all times blooded horses, cattle,
sheep and the best breed of hogs. He is also
engaged in the dairying business, this as well as
his other enterprises proving quite profitable.

Mr. and Mrs. Perry have five children. In
politics Mr. Perry formerly supported the Re-
publican party, but. of recent years he has been
voting irrespective of political affiliations. He
is a member of the Pyramids, a fraternal organ-
ization, and with his wife and family belongs to
the Congregational church.

JOHN WESTFALL, one of the enterprising
farmers and stock raisers of Custer county, was
born in the southern part of Louisiana. He re-
mained in his native state until a youth of fifteen
and then left home, going to Illinois, where he
was engaged in different kinds of manual labor
during the ensuing four years, spending the lat-
ter part of that period in the city of Rock Island,
from which place he went to Omaha, Nebraska.
\Mien nineteen years of age he left the latter
state for South Dakota, making the trip to the
Black Hills via Sidney and arriving at Harney
when that flourishing city was little more than
a mining camp. He remained one year prospect-
ing in the vicinity and then went to Deadwood,
where he followed mining about the same length
of time, meeting with fair success in his opera-
tions. Returning to Harney, he sold several
claims which he had previously located and after
living in that town and vicinity until the spring
of 18S2 took up his present ranch three miles

from Hermosa, on Battle creek, where he has
since been engaged in agriculture and the live-
stock business, devoting especial attention to cat-
tle raising.

In addition to his home place Mr. Westfall
has acquired considerable real estate in the
neighborhood, much of which has been reduced
to cultivation and otherwise improved and he is
now in comfortable circumstances, with flatter-
ing prospects of a long and prosperous business
career before him.

J. E. DICKEY, M. D., was born in Wayne
county, Illinois, and there grew to manhood's
estate, attending at intervals the public schools,
but at the age of thirteen beginning to earn his
own livelihood. When a youth he learned the
shoemaking business in his father's shop, but
did not work very long at the trade, devoting the
greater part of his time to farm labor. His fa-
ther owned a farm and on this the subject spent
several years very profitably until entering the
St. Louis Medical College. He also ran a sta-
tionary engine for two or three years, in which
capacity he earned money sufficient to defray his
expenses while taking his first course of lec-
tures, after which he devoted his vacations to
any kind of honorable work he could find to do,
in this manner paying his way through the medi-
cal college. The subject received his degree in
the month of March, 1882, and the same year
he went to Winslow, Arizona, where his brother
had located some time previously, and the two
eflfected a copartnership, soon commanding an
extensive and lucrative professional business.
They did the practice for the Atlantic & Pacific
Railroad (now the Santa Fe), in addition to
which their field included a wide range of coun-
try, a large part exceedingly difficult of access.
After remaining a little over one year in Ari-
zona the Doctor moved his business to Iroquois,
South Dakota, in 1883, where, in addition to
practicing his profession, he opened a drug store.
He conducted this business with encouraging
success for about fourteen years and then ex-
changed it for a farm near Iroquois to which he

1852

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

removed and which he cuhivated for a period of
two years in connection with his professional
work. Later he rented the place and returned
to town, since which time he has devoted his at-
tention exclusively to the healing art, being now
the oldest physician in Iroquois. Dr. Dickey is a
Mason and has held a number of prominent offi-
cial positions in the order, serving four years as
master of the local lodge to which he belongs,
besides representing it at different times in the
grand lodge. He is identified with the Ancient
Order of United Workmen and is now
state examiner of the same, being also an active
member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
In politics he is a Democrat and as such was
elected county conunissioner and that, too, despite
an o\erwhelming normal Republican majority.
After serving three years the opposition re-
quested the privilege of renominating him, as his
own party the meanwhile had become imbued
with certain populistic principles which he could
not well indorse. He was triumphantly re-
elected and discharged the duties of the office
for a period of seven years, in addition to which
he served nine years on the school board and for
three }ears was a member of the town board of
Iroquois.

Mr. Dickey was married to Miss Lena Wil-
fer, a native of Germany, and they have had four
children.

EDWARD HAZELTINE was born in Frye-
burg, Maine, and was taken three years later to
York state, where he remained some time, remov-
ing thence to Canada, which was his home until
1 87 1. Meanwhile he attended the public schools
and when old enough began working with his
father, who was an experienced millwright, and
to this kind of labor he devoted his attention until
becoming quite an efficient mechanic. He accom-
panied his parents to Howard county, Nebraska,
where the family were among the early settlers.
The subject's father took up a tract of govern-
ment land in that county and engaged in farming
and stock raising and it was there that Edward
spent the ensuing five years, attending school and

assisting in the development and cultivation of
the homestead. When the Black Hills were
opened the elder Hazeltine joined the rush to the
land of great expectations, being followed the
same year by his family. Edward Hazeltine and
his father became associated in the mercantile
business and soon established a lucrative trade.
Severing his connection with the above enter-
prises at that time he went on the range and con-
tinued to ride the same until the following fall,
when he located at what is now the city of Key-
stone and, in partnership with several of his
friends, began prospecting for gold and lime, in
the prosecution of which he traveled a large area
of country and made some exceedingly fortunate
strikes. Later Mr. Hazeltine ran a stage from
Tin Camp to Rapid City, but the meanwhile
kept up his mining interests and was quite suc-
cessful m prosecuting the same. In 1891 he
returned to Battle Creek where he followed
placer mining during the summer months, but
later in the season settled on a small tract of land
north of Keystone and turned his attention to
gardening, in connection with which he subse-
quently engaged in the live-stock business. Mean-
time his father and brothers took up a ranch on
Battle Creek and began farming and catfle rais-
ing and about seven years later Edward was ad-
mitted to partnership with them, after which the
business grew steadily in magnitude, the man-
agement being under the personal direction of the
subject. The same year in which the business re-
lationship was formed a sawmill was erected
near Keystone, which proved a paying invest-
ment. In 1897 Mr. Hazeltine took up a home-
stead in the forest reserve, two miles north of
Keystone, and moving a sawmill to the same
engaged in the manufacture of lumber on quite
an extensive scale. His brothers are interested
with him in this enterprise, as well as in stock
raising and farming, and their combined business
has so grown in proportions that the partnership
is now one of the strongest and most successful
of the kind in this part of the country. They also
purchased a complete threshing outfit and at this
time thresh all the grain in a large section of the
country. The progressive spirit manifested in all

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

i853

of his undertakings shows Mr. Hazeltine the pos-
sessor of universal energy- and determination
while his hopefulness and optimism have had not
a little to do in paving the way to the prominent
position in business circles which he now occu-
pies.

Politically Mr. Hazeltine wields a strong in-
fluence for the Republican party.

MARTIN AMUNDSON, one of the repre-
sentative farmers and stock raisers of Kings-
bury county, South Dakota, is of Scandinavian
birth, being a native of Norway. He was reared
to manhood amid the romantic scenery of Nor-
way, attended school at intervals until his six-
teenth year and early learned the lessons of hon-
est toil which life on a farm in that country in-
variably imparts. Losing his father at the tender
age of eight years, he was soon thrown upon his
own resources and two years later went to live
with a neighboring farmer. When fourteen years
old he began receiving wages for his services
and at the age of sixteen left his first employer
and engaged by the year with a farmer by the
name of Nitberg. After a year or so with that
gentleman he spent the ensuing three years in
railroad construction, working on sawmills and
at various other kinds of employment, and at
the expiration of that time came to United States,
making his way direct to Kingsbury county.
South Dakota, where an older brother was then
living, and spent that fall in the latter's employ.
The following winter and at intervals during the
ensuing spring and summer he worked on the
Northwestern Railroad, the meantime taking up
a pre-emption, a part of which he broke and
planted in potatoes the first year. He continued
to labor for wages, and as opportunities afforded
he worked his own land from time to time until he
finally reduced the same to a fine state of culti-
vation. Later he sold his claim and bought a
relinquishment on a quarter section, which he at
once proceeded to improve. Mr. Amund-
son bought another quarter section of fine land
which with the farm alluded to above, he still
owns, his real estate at the present time amount-

ing to three hundred and twenty acres on which
are to be seen some of the best improvements in
the township in which it is situated. Mr. Amund-
son labored diligently to develop his lands and
make improvements and was so successful in his
undertakings that in the course of years he found
himself in independent circumstances. He culti-
vated both of his farms until 1900, when he
rented his tree claim, and since that time has
managed the place on which he now lives, but,
as indicated above, does little of the hard work
himself, being in a situation to employ labor
whenever he sees fit to do so. In connection with
his agricultural interests he raises a great deal
of live stock, keeping on his place at all times
blooded horses, fine cattle and a number of hogs,
and he feeds every year all of the large corn crop
grown in his fields. He is a model farmer, uses
the best implements and machinery obtainable
and does everything according to system, in con-
sequence of which he realizes the largest possible
returns from his time and labor.

He is a Republican in principle, but does not
confine his voting strictly to party ; in matters
religious he is a member of the Norwegian Luth-
eran church.

R. A. ROUNSEVILLE, a representative
farmer and stock raiser of Kingsbury county, is
a native of Waterloo county, Wisconsin. He
grew to manhood in Sheboygan county, Wiscon-
sin, attended the public schools at intervals until
eighteen years old and assisted his father in run-
ning the home farm until attaining his majority.
Coming to Kingsbury county. South Dakota, he
entered a quarter section of land, after which he
worked among the neighboring farmers for sev-
eral years to earn sufficient money to develop and
otherwise improve his claim. Meanwhile he
spent considerable time on his land and when
not otherwise engaged addressed himself man-
fully to its improvement. He began farming
for himself with an ox-team and a plow and with
this outfit succeeded in breaking the greater part
of his ground and fitting it for tillage. He en-
tered the marriaere relation, after which he set

i854

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

up a domestic establishment on his place and,
beginning to farm in earnest, was in due time
on the high road to success and prosperity. Mr.
Rounseville owns three hundred and twenty
acres of fine land, admirably situated for farm-
ing and stock raising, and to these two lines of
industry he has devoted his attention, with most
encouraging financial results. Mr. Rounseville
and family belong to the Catholic church, the par-
ents as well as the children having been born and
reared in this faith. In former years the subject
was a Democrat, but when the Populist party was
organized he espoused its principles and became
one of its first leaders in the county of Kings-
bury. He was elected on this ticket county com-
missioner and served two terms, making a ca-
pable, painstaking and exceedingly popular offi-
cial. He was township clerk, has been assessor
and in addition thereto is now treasurer of the
school board of his township.

J. W. KILEY, of .Meade county, South Da-
kota, was born in jMiddletown, Susquehanna
county, Pennsylvania, and spent his early life
on his father's farm. At the proper age he en-
tered the public schools and so rapid was his ad-
vancement that he was soon able to pass the re-
(juircd examinations and obtain a teacher's li-
cense, and for some time thereafter he devoted
the winter seasons to educational work. He con-
tinued farming and teaching in Pennsylvania un-
til he went to Kansas, where he spent about one
year on a large cattle ranch.

In the spring of 1877 Mr. Kiley started for
Dakota, with the Black Hills as an objective
point, arriving in Deadwood the following June,
and at once engaged in prospecting, to which
he devoted his attention until he came to Sturgis
and entered the employ of a rancher on Alkali
creek. After spending one year thus he located
land in the vicinity, but two years later left the
j)lace on account of scarcity of water and bought
the right to the ranch about seven miles from
Sturgis, on which he has since lived and achieved
such marked success as a cattle raiser. Mr. Ki-
ley moved to his present place in 1884, and at

once inaugurated a system of improvements
which in due season made it one of the finest
and most valuable ranches on the creek. By ju-
dicious management he succeeded in getting a
substantial start in the way of live stock, and by
adding to his herds from time to time finally
forged to the front as one of the leading cattle
raisers in his part of the county, a reputation he
still sustains. Mr. Kiley married Miss Mary
Smith, of Indiana. In his political views Mr.
Kiley is a pronounced Democrat, and since at-
taining his majority he has been a firm and ac-
tive supporter of his party.

ADAM ROY'HE is of foreign birth, being a
native of Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. He spent
his childhood and youth in Hesse Darmstadt,
and received a good education in the schools of
his native state. He accompanied his parents to
the United States and attended school in Wis-
consin, where he learned to read and write the
English language, having previously obtained a
sufficient knowledge of the same to converse flu-
ently. The following summer he worked on the
farm and at the age of nineteen left home and
began earning his own livelihood, spending some
time in the lumber regions of Wisconsin. In
company with a friend he came to South Da-
kota, walking from Marshall, Minnesota, to
Kingsbury county, his original destination hav-
ing been the city of Yankton. On the way tliey
stopped in Brookings county, where they were
informed that better land could be obtained in
the county of Kingsbury than in the section of
countr}- for which they were bound. Accord-
ingly Mr. Royhe took up a claim, and after
spending the summer on the same and reducing
about fifteen acres to cultivation, returned to
Wisconsin, where he remained until the follow-
ing spring, purchasing the meanwhile a team of
horses, a wagon and various agricultural imple-
ments to be used on his western homestead. With
the advent of spring he returned to his claim
and broke a considerable portion of ground,
spending the succeeding winter in the pioneer
section of Wisconsin, and in this wav he di-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

185s

vided the time during the ensuing three years.
Mr. Royhe took to himself a wife and helpmeet
in the person of Miss Minnie Deetman, of Co-
himbia county, Wisconsin, and in the spring of
the following year settled permanently in Kings-
bury county, South Dakota, remaining on his
own clainuuntil 1890, when he took up his resi-
dence in Arlington. He still owns the above
farm, which is in a high state of cultivation, and
in addition thejeto has a half section of fine land,
which is also well improved and successfully
tilled. Mr. Royhe opened a meat market in Arl-
ington, which he operated with encouraging suc-
cess for two years, and then began handling grain
for the A'an Dusen firm, continuing with them
until erecting an elevator of his own. Since then
he has carried on an extensive grain business, be-
ing one of the largest buyers and shippers in the
county, and in connection therewith he also deals
quite extensively in real estate.

He has been influential in political circles
ever since becoming a resident of South Dakota,
has held a number of township and county offices
and for a number of years has been a delegate
to nearly every Republican convention held in
his county, district and state. He served with
marked ability as state senator, during which
time he was on some of the most important com-
mittees of the upper house, including among
others the committees on banking, insurance, cit-
ies and municipal corporations and railroads. He
is identified with several local enterprises, being
a director of the First National Bank and a
stockholder in the same. He stands high in the
Masonic order, and is also identified with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen, and with
his wife belongs to the Eastern Star lodge. In
his religious belief Mr. Royhe subscribes to the
German Lutheran faith, his wife being a mem-
ber of the Episcopal church. They are the par-
ents of four children.

E. E. HUDSON, of Yankton, is a native of
Trumbull county, Oiiio, and spent the first eight
years of his life in that county. In 1846 he ac-
companied his parents upon their removal to Illi-

nois. In his youth he attended the public
schools, later pursued his studies for some
time in one of the ward schools of Chi-
cago, and at the early age of fourteen
acquired his first practical experience in
life as a clerk in a general store at Wilming-
ton. He continued as a salesman in different
mercantile establishments until he responded to
the President's call for volunters by enlisting at
Qiicago in what was known as the Mercantile
Battery of that city, with which he served with
an honorable record until July, 1865. Following
his discharge Mr. Hudson came to South Da-
kota, and for some time thereafter was engaged
in trading and distributing government supplies
among the Indians, at Fort Thompson, at which
he was stationed for a period of thirteen years,
and of which he was also postmaster. Subse-
quently he came to Yankton, where he became
associated with Governor Edmunds in the bank-
ing business, the subject severing his connection
with the institution in 1886. Since then Mr.
Hudson has devoted his attention to the broker-
age, real-estate and insurance and general loan
business, being at this time not only the leader
in these lines at Yankton, but having perhaps
tlie largest and most extensive patronage of any
man in the state, similarly engaged. Since be-
coming a citizen of South Dakota he has been
untiring in his endeavors to promote the state's
interests, materially and otherwise. For the past
eighten years he has been a member of the Yank-
ton school board, and since 1898 has presided
over that body.

Mr. Hudson is one of the Republican stand-
ard bearers in South Dakota, and as such has
been instrumental in leading the party to suc-
cess in a number of local, state and national con-
tests. With a strong belief in revealed religion
and a profound reverence for the Bible, his life
measures according to the high standard of ex-
cellence as set forth within the Gospel and afifords
a commendable example of practical Christian-
ity. IVIany years ago he united with the Episco-
pal church, and for more than a quarter of a
century he has held the position of vestryman
in the different congregations with which iden-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

tified. He is a member of the Grand Army of the
Republic. IVIr. Hudson entered the marriage re-
lation with Miss Clara E. Warren, of Rockford,
Illinois, a lady of intelligence, refined tastes and
varied culture.

RE\', WILLIAM KROEGER. :M. D.— A
uniciuc and distinguished position is that oc-
cupied by the honored subject of this sketch, who
is a member of the priesthood of the Catholic
church, one of the leading physicians and sur-
geons of the state and one who has accomplished
an admirable and noble work for the good of
humanity in connection with both vocations to
which he has given his attention and great
ability. He is the founder, and virtual owner, of
the attractive little village which bears his name,
in Hanson county, and has there established a
sanitarium and medical institution and hospital
which have attained a wide and noteworthy repu-
tation.

Dr. KroegXT is a native of the city of Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, where he was born on the 25th
nf January, 1853, being the eldest of the eight
children of August and Elizabeth (Sexton)
Kroeger. both of whom were born in Germany,
the former in Clopenburg and the latter in West-
fald. They came to America when young and
their marriage was solemnized in the city of Cin-
cinnati, where for many years the honored father
of our subject followed his trade, that of car-
riage painting. He is still living in the "Queen
City," being seventy-four years of age at the
time of this writing, in 1904, while his wife
passed to the life eternal when the subject of
this review was a child of two years and five
months, having been a devoted member and com-
municant of the Catholic church, as is also her
venerable husband, who is a man of sterling
character and one whose life has been one of sig-
nal usefulness. Dr. Kroeger received his pre-
liminary educational discipline in the parochial
schools and other church institutions of his na-
tive city, and at the age of eighteen years was
matriculated in the Ohio Medical College, of
Cincinnati, where he completed the prescribed

course and was graduated, with high honors, as
a member of the class of 1871, receiving the de-
gree of Doctor of Medicine. He was thereafter
for three years engaged in the practice of his
profession in Cincinnati, and in the meanwhile
had determined to prepare himself for the priest-
hood of the church in whose ancient and in-
violate faith he had been reared. He completed
his divinity course in St. Meinrad, Indiana, and
on the 26th of January, 1880, was ordained to
the priesthood by Rt. Rev. Joseph Dwenger, of
the diocese of Fort Wayne. His first parochial
charge was in Elkhart, Indiana, but as his health
had become impaired he entered a request that
he might be sent to some other climate, and this
led to his identifying himself with South Da-
kota, to which state he came March 25, 1893.
Here he was placed in pastoral charge of the
Qiurch of the Epiphany, in Hanson county,
twelve miles north of Spencer, and here he
accomplished a most excellent work, infusing
both spiritual and temporal enthusiasm and
finally brought about the erection of the attract-
ive church edifice, which is one of sixteen which
have been built through his efforts. With the
work of the church here he has ever since been
closely identified, while the town of which he is
the founder is built up about the church edifice,
which was practically its nucleus, the postoflice
bearing the name Epiphany, while that of the
town is Kroeger. While still actively engaged
in his sacerdotal duties here he continued his
medical studies and also made many original re-
searches and experiments in the line. Rt. Rev.
Martin Marty, bishop of the diocese, became
aware of the attainments of Dr. Kroeger as a
physician and surgeon and in 1894 suggested
to him the propriety of bringing his professional
knowledge into requisition in connection with
his pastoral duties in view of the impoverished
condition of many of his people, and he thus
carried the double burden of responsibility, the
result being that he finally became convinced
that there lay before him the maximum of duty
in relieving the physical suffering of humanity,
for his reputation as a physician and surgeon
sonn far transcended local limitations and the

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

185/

suggestion of the church authorities was thus
the direct cause which led to his retiring from
the worlv of its priesthood to devote himself to
the medical profession. He had given special
study to the treatment and cure of diseases of
neurotic order and those peculiar to the female,
and in the great sanitarium which he has es-
tablished particular care is given to the treatment
of cases of these orders. His latest discovery
for the treatment of epilepsy, St. Vitus dance,
nervous debility, consumption, kidney disease,
catarrh of the stomach and cancers, through
which he has accomplished wonderful results,
has brought him into recognition throughout the
entire medical world. He has in his finely
equipped laboratory three of the largest X\-ray
machines, of his improvement, in the state, and
in 1903 his sanitarium had patients from every
state in the Union and all over the world. In
August, 1899, Dr. Kroeger tendered to the bishop
his resignation as rector of the Church of the
Epiphany, and this was accepted by that prelate
in the following month, since which time Father
Kroeger has given his entire attention to his
professional work and the management of the
various institutions which he has established in
the town which bears his name. His allegiance
to the church remains of the most devoted order
and in his professional work he draws no de-
nominational lines, giving the benefit of his
services and great abilities to all who come''* to
him for succor from pain and suffering. He is
imbued with that deep humanitarian sympathy
which transcends mere emotion to become an
actuating motive, and thus his work as a physi-
cian is certain to be the more potent and far-
reaching. The location of Epiphany is well
chosen, being on the height of ground between
the Big Sioux and James rivers, while from the
town the land slopes gently in all directions,
making the site an ideal one both in matter of
beauty and sanitary conditions. The town is
known as Kroeger and is situated ten miles
from Canova, which is on the Chicago & North-
western Railroad, and twelve miles from Spen-
cer, on the Omaha division of the same road.
Dr. Kroeger started the town without funds and

has today an investment representing fully two
hundred and fifty thnusaml dollars. The popu-
lation at the time of this writing is about one
hundred and fifty people, and the town has be-
sides its large and finely equipped sanitarium,
two good hotels, a drug store, two general stores,
hardware establishment, grocery, livery, lumber
yard, etc., all being under the direct superintend-
ence of Dr. Kroeger. The village ■ is supplied
with electric lights, water-works and artificial
ice plant, while in April, 1903, the Doctor es-
tablished a weekly newspaper, the Kroeger Echo,
installing a fine modern plant for the purpose.
In 1900 he established the Bank of Kroeger, of
which he is president, cashier and sole owner,
while in 1904 he also put into operation a plant
for the manufacture of paper boxes, which he
utilizes in connection with his medical prepar-
ations, this being the only factory of the sort
in the state. He has made two trips abroad in
recent years and took post-graduate courses in
leading medical institutions on the continent.
The Doctor is a man of gracious and genial per-
sonalit}', winning and retaining strong friend-
ships and having the high regard of all who
know him. He has great power of initiative,
much administrative ability and high intellectual
attainments, so that he is stanchly fortified for
the great work which he has undertaken, even
as he was for that which he accomplished in his
sacred office as a priest of the great mother
church. It is a pleasure to the publishers of this
history to include in the same this brief tribute
to his labors and his noble character as a man
and citizen. He has a great many employes and
if it were not for him the people would have
starved as he has always been willing to assist
them in need.

KOl'ISE :\I. MEXTELE.— Dr. Kroeger
has a very able assistant in the person of Miss
Mentele, concerning whose life we are permitted
to incorporate the following data. She was born
in Kaltbrunn, Baden, Germany, in the famous
Black Forest district, on the 13th of May, 1873,
being a daughter of .\nton and .\ntonia (Heitz-

1858

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

mann) Mentele. She received her early edu-
cation in the excellent national schools of her
native land and when she was nine years of age
accompanied her parents on their immigration to
America. The family first located in Halstead,
Kansas, where she attended the English schools
for some time, and in 188 1 removed with her par-
ents to Dubuque, Iowa, where she continued her
educational work in the Academy of the Sacred
Heart. In 1883 the family came to South Da-
kota and took up their abode near Howard,
Miner county, and here Miss Alentele continued
to attend school until she had attained the age
of sixteen years. In August, 1894, she came to
Epiphany, where she became housekeeper for
Rev. William Kroeger, M. D., being housekeeper
for the three pastors previous for a short time,
while through his kindly care and guidance she
has since been advanced to a position of marked
responsibility. She served for a time as his
bookkeeper and stenographer, and under his di-
rection then took up the study of medicine and
anatomy, devoting special attention to cancerous
and exterior tmuors, or any diseases of that na-
ture, and she is now the main and the only part-
ner in the institution, hospital and business, to
which work she gives her special time and at-
tention, being an expert in the operation and
therapeutic utilization of the X-ray machine. She
has the symjjathy and capability which makes
her a most grateful companion, doctor and nurse,
and is held in affectionate regard by all who
have come under her kindly ministrations and
she has received her diploma with great honors
from Rev. Dr. William Kroeger. She is a com-
municant of the Catholic church and deeply in-
terested in its work in the local parish of
Epiphany, South Dakota, and is always ready to
give a helping hand and always fulfills the dv.ties
of the church.

BEXJAMIN RIPPERDA is associated in
an intimate way with Rev. William Kroeger, M.
D., whose career is briefly narrated in a preced-
ing sketch, and it is but consistent that he be
accorded recognition in this connection. Mr.

Ripperda was born in Jamestown, Wisconsin, on
the 13th of Feliruary. 1872, and is a son of
Bernard and Caroline (Lager) Ripperda. He
received his early educational training in the
public schools of Lewisburg, that state, and then
entered St. Joseph's College, at Dubuque, Iowa,
where he was graduated as a member of the class
of 1890, while three years later he was graduated
in Baylies" Business College, in the same city,
having there completed a thorough commercial
course. After leaving this institution he was
employed in a clerical capacity in a general mer-
chandise establishment in Dubucjuc for one year,
at the expiration of which he went to the city of
St. Louis, Missouri, where he remained for four-
teen months in the employ of the Plant Seed
Company. The climate made such inroads on
his health that he then rttflrned to Wisconsin,
locating in Cuba, where he had charge of the
implement department of the hardware estab-
lishment of M. Hendricks & Company until the
autumn of 1897, when he came to South Da-
kota. Here he was for one year engaged in
teaching school for Father Kroeger, in the parish
of the Epiphany, and then took charge of hi?
office afifairs. in the capacity of secretary to the
Doctor. In 1898 he took up the study of 'medi-
cine under the able preceptorship of the Doctor,
and is now the consulting physician of the sani-
tarium and has charge of the office afl'airs. He
is %ne of the graduated pupils of the sanitarium
and has proved an able co-ad jutor to Dr. Kroe-
ger. He is a Democrat in politics and his re-
ligious faith is that of the Catholic church. He
is a young man of much force and individuality
and is held in high esteem in the cnmnnmity with
which he has cast his lot.

JACOB BRITZINS is a native of Ohio and
was born in the county of Tuscarawas. He spent
an uneventful childhood at the place of his birth,
and when nine years old removed with his par-
ents to Minnesota, where he grew to maturity
on a farm and received a practical education in
the district schools of the locality in which the
family lived. Reared a tiller of the soil and early

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

i8S9

becoming inured to the rugged duties of the
farmer, he very naturally took to this kind of
life, and ever since starting in the world for him-
self he has devoted his time and energies to the
same, meeting with the success which industry
and good management inevitably bring to their
possessor. After living in Minnesota for a pe-
riod of thirteen years, Mr. Britzins decided to
seek more favorable opportunities further west;
accordingly he came to South Dal'cota and took
up a tree claim at Watertown, Codington coun-
ty, and the year following entered the land on
which that city now stands, also made some im-
provements at Big Stone, where his brother was
then living. In the spring of 1880 he came to
Brown county and located a pre-emption claim
about two miles east of the site of Aberdeen,
after which he hauled material from Watertown
with which to erect a small, though comfortable
habitation. Later he built a dwelling on the land
now occupied by the flourishing city of Aber-
deen which was the first improvement of any
kind in that place, as he was the first actual set-
tler. It was not long until settlers began to ar-
rive. Until within the course of three or four
years the country was pretty well taken up by an
energetic class of people. It was in 1884 that Mr.
Britzins entered the homestead on which he still
lives, and his career from that time to the present
demonstrates what a man of industry and thrift
can accomplish when proceeding on the rjght
plan, and which enabled him to take advantage
of circumstances. By judicious management he
added to his real estate at intervals until he is
now the fortunate owner of four hundred and
eighty acres of as fine land as the state afifords,
and on this farms quite extensively. ^Ir. Brit-
zins cultivates the soil according to modern
methods, uses the best implements and machinery
obtainable and employs a number of hands to
whom he pays liberal wages. His farm is well
improved and in value compares favorably with
the best cultivated land in the northeastern part
of the state.

Mr. Britzins has been an ardent supporter
of the Repuljlican party ever since old enough
to cast a ballot, and he has been a delegate to a

number of township and county conventions. He
is a firm believer in revealed religion, and with
his wife belongs to the Evangelical church at
.\berdeen. Mrs. Britzins was formerly Miss
Marv Mertar, and thcv have two children.

REV. W. A. CAVE is a native of the Buck-
eye state, having been born in Circleville, Ohio.
He was reared to manhood in Circleville, where
he received his preliminary educational discipline
in the public schools, being graduated in the high
school. He was soon afterward matriculated as
a student in Wooster University at Wooster,
Ohio, having in the meanwhile determined to
prepare himself for the ministry of the Methodist
Episcopal church, .^fter leaving college he de-
voted one and one-half years to preaching,
though he had not yet been formally ordained,
and thereafter he was for two years engaged in
designing furniture and other products in wood.
He entered a theological seminary, where he con-
tinued his technical studies, after which he was
in turn a student in the University of London,
England, and that at Berlin, Germany. After
leaving school he passed fourteen months in
traveling through Europe, Palestine and Egypt.
At the expiration of this period he returned to
Ohio, where he was ordained to the ministry.
He was assigned to the pastorate of the church
at Albany, that state, where he remained until
he came to South Dakota, and was admitted to
the conference of this state, being placed in
charge of the church at Springfield, where he
continued to do eiTective service until he was ap-
pointed to the charge at Howard, but three
months later he was given the pastoral charge
of the church in Brookings, having since con-
tinued here. His work has been successful in
both a spiritual and temporal way in each field
of labor, and the church in Brookings has at-
tained signal vitality through his earnest and de-
voted endeavors. He is a forceful and eloquent
speaker and his every utterance bears the impress
of conviction and sincerity, so that he maintains
a strong hold upon the attention of those whom
he addresses. Mr. Cave speaks both the French

HISTORY OB" SOUTH DAKOTA.

and German languages in addition to his native
tongue, and is a consistent and appreciative stu-
dent of the best religious and secular literature,
while he has gained a high reputation upon the
lecture platform. He has one of the best pri-
vate libraries in the state, and is fully apprecia-
tive of the value of his friends, the books. Mr.
Cave was married to Miss Delia A. Wise, of
Nelsonville, Ohio, and thev have three children.

J- L. INGALLS, one of the large land own-
ers and successful farmers and stock raisers of
Minnehaha county, is a native of New York,
born on a farm in Allegany county. When he
was a mere child his parents emigrated to Kane
county, Illinois, where he remained until about
seventeen years old. Later he removed with his
parents to Howard county, Iowa, and after
spending about nine years there changed his
abode to the county of Butler, in the same state,
where he continued to make his home until his
removal to South Dakota. Meanwhile he en-
jo}-ed such educational advantages as the schools
of the different places in which he lived afforded,
and having been reared to agricultural pursuits
he selected that honorable calling for his life
work, and ever since young manhood has prose-
cuted the same with varied success, his career
since coming to South Dakota fully meeting the
high expectations he may have previously enter-
tained.

Mr. Ingalls made a judicious selection in the
matter of locating a home, choosing for the same
a beautiful and highly fertile tract of land in Ma-
pleton township, which is one of the most pro-
ductive agricultural districts in the county of
Minnehaha. By a series of improvements, as
well as by systematic tillage, he has made his
place one of the finest and most valuable farms
in the county. Only a portion of the farm is
under cultivation, the rest being devoted to live
stock, for which the land appears peculiarly
adapted. Mr. Ingalls pays considerable atten-
tion to the latter branch of farming, raising large
numbers of fine cattle and excellent breeds of
shec]) and other domestic animals of high grade,

which, with the abundant yield from his fields,
bring him a very liberal income.

Mr. Ingalls was married in Elgin, Illinois,
to Miss Elizabeth Nichols, a native of Essex
county. New York, and they become the parents
of thirteen children.

O. J. COONS, one of the leading citizens of
Bowdle, South Dakota, and cashier of the Bank
of Bowdle, was born in Iowa county, Iowa. He
was reared from the age of nine to twenty-two
years in Missouri, where he attended the public
schools. At the age of twenty-two years he be-
gan traveling as a salesman, continuing four
years. He next clerked in a clothing store at
Sac City, Iowa, for about eleven years, and then
engaged in the real-estate and abstract business
at that place for eleven years. He came to Bow-
dle in 1899, and bought out the Bowdle Bank,
becoming cashier of the same, in which position
he has since continued. He and his partner are
also interested in a large cattle ranch in Ed-
munds county, where they have a ranch of nine
sections of land.

Mr. Coons married Miss M. Jennie Traner,
who was born in Grant county, Wisconsin. Mr.
Coons is a member of the Masonic fraternity and
of the Knights of Pvthias.

JOSEPH NIKODIN was born in Bohemia,
March 12, 1833, and was educated in his native
country, but left school at the age of twelve years
in order to learn the weaver's trade, serving an
apprenticeship of three years. He afterward be-
gan learning the trade of house building, which
he followed for three years and when a young
man of twenty years he joined the army of his
native country, spending eight years in military
service. On returning to civil life Mr. Nikodin
was married to Miss Annie Holly, also a native
of Bohemia, and of this union two children were
born in Bohemia, and two in the United States.
It was in 1869 that Mr. Nikodin sailed for Amer-
ica, and with his family went to Iowa, where he
lived for about six months. Not being particu-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1861

larly pleased with that state he then removed to
South Dakota and took advantage of the oppor-
tunity which the government offered for the se-
curing of farms. He entered one hundred and
sixty acres near Utica, Yankton county, and he
still lives upon the old homestead, which became
his place of residence in 1870. He also pur-
chased an additional tract, but since that time he
has given part of the tract to his sons.

ALONZO E. CLOUGH, M. D., was born in
St. Lawrence county, New Y'ork, and received
his rudimentary educational discipline in the
public schools of his native state. After the fam-
ily removal to the west, he continued his studies
in the comiuon schools and at Cresco Academy,
while later he was matriculated in the Upper
Iowa University, at Fayette. Subsequently he
entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons
at Keokuk, Iowa, where he completed his tech-
nical course, being graduated and receiving his
coveted degree of Doctor of Medicine. Later
he took a special course in the New York Poly-
clinic, and he has also taken several special post-
graduate courses in the leading medical schools
of the city of Chicago.

Shortly after receiving his degree Dr.
Clough came to South Dakota and located in
Madison, Lake county, where he has ever since
maintained his home and where he has built up
a large and representative practice, and he is to
be noted as one of the pioneer physicians of the
state. The Doctor is a stanch Republican in his
political proclivities, and has been one of the
leaders in the party councils in the state, having
had the distinction of serving as chairman of the
state central committee in 1892-3, though he has
never sought official preferment of a personal na-
ture. He is affiliated with the Masonic frater-
nity and also with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows. He and his family are communi-
cants of the Protestant Episcopal church.

Dr. Clough was united in marriage to Miss
Mary P. Matheny, who was born and reared in
Wauseon, Ohio, and of this union have been
born three children.

J. E. McLANE is a native of Wabasha coun-
ty, Minnesota, and passed his boyhood days on
the pioneer homestead. Owing to the exigencies
and conditions of time and place his educational
advantages were somewhat limited in his youth.
He was about nineteen years of age at the time
of his parents' removal to South Dakota, but in-
stead of remaining with them on the new farm
in Bon Homme county he came to Fort Pierre,
Stanley county, where he entered the employ of
wood and beef contractors engaged in supplying
the military post. In 1880 he located on a
ranch in Sully county, where he was engaged in
the raising of stock until 1892, when he again
came to Stanley county and located at Fort Ben-
nett, near the mouth of the Cheyenne river and
about forty miles distant from Fort Pierre, where
he now has a well-improved ranch, and where
he is successfully engaged in the raising of cat-
tle and other stock upon a large scale.

J. C. McCarthy is a native of the city of
Boston, Massachusetts, both of his parents dy-
ing before the subject had attained the age of
seven years. The latter was thereafter cared
for by his brother until he was fourteen years of
age, having in the meanwhile availed himself of
tlie advantages afforded by the public schools of
Cambridge, Massachusetts. At die early age
noted he became dependent upon his own re-
sources, and personally earned the money with
which to defray the expenses of his maintenance
and education. He followed various vocations
in the east for a number of years and then came
to South Dakota, where he has since maintained
his home. In 1901, convinced of the great possi-
bilities in store in connection with the develop-
ment of the mining industry in the state and rec-
ognizing the attractions of the Black Hills' won-
derful mineral zone, he identified himself with
the mining interests of this section, associating
himself with the promoters of the Hidden For-
tune and Columbus Consolidated Gold Mining
Companies, of Lead, Lawrence county, and
forthwith entered the field in placing the stock
of tlie two concerns, being successful in dispos-

i862

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ing of large blocks of the same to leading capital-
ists of the east and thus insuring the steady prog-
ress of the work of developing the valuable
properties controlled. Mr. McCarthy is a typi-
cal "hustler," is genial and of pleasing address,
and has won the stanchest of friends in all circles
of society. In politics he is an ardent Republi-
can and his religious faith is that of the Protest-
ant Episcopal church, of which he is a communi-
cant, while fraternally he is identified with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He makes
his home and headquarters in Lead.

D. C. THOMAS is a native of Waukesha,
U'isconsin, where he received such educational
advantages as were afforded in the common
schools, and he was reared to the sturdy disci-
pline of the farm. His quickened ambition and
natural predilection prompted him to spare no
effort in securing a broader education, and by
teaching and doing such other work as came to
hand he succeeded in defraying the expenses of
his collegiate course. He was matriculated in
the law department of the celebrated University
of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he was grad-
uated. He initiated the practice of his profession
in Buena Vista county, Iowa, in which state he
continued in practice until 1879, when he came
to what was then the territory of Dakota and lo-
cated in Watertown, as one of the first represent-
atives of his profession in the town and county.
Here he became associated in practice with his
brother, W. R. Thomas, and they succeeded in
building up a large and lucrative practice and in
gaining marked precedence at the bar of the ter-
ritory and the state.

The subject has been most intimately identi-
fied with the growth and development of Water-
town. He has been a member of the directorate
of the City National Bank from the time of its
organization, served for several years as presi-
dent of the board of education, was incumbent of
the office of mayor of the city, and has been
shown other gratifying and unmistakable evi-
dences of popular confidence and regard. He is
at the present time president of the state board

of charities and corrections, and the executive
duties of this important office demand a very
considerable portion of his time and attention.
He has been an ardent and uncompromising ad-
vocate of the principles of the Republican party
from the time of attaining his majority, and has
been one of its most prominent leaders in this
state. He effected the organization of the party
in Codington county, and was chairman of its
first central committee, while upon him devolved
the duty of conveying to the governor the peti-
tion for the organization of the county. In 1880
he made a trip to Washington, where he pre-
vailed upon the authorities to change the loca-
tion of the United States land office from Spring-
field to Watertown. Mr. Thomas is an apprecia-
tive member of the time-honored order of Free-
masons. He and his wife are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church of Watertown. of
which he has been a trustee from the time of its
organization.

Mr. Thomas was married to Miss Mary Lo-
gan, who was born in Pennsylvania, and they
have one child.

T. J. THOMPSON was born and reared in
Wlnterport, Maine, where he received his educa-
tional training in the common school. As a
youth he sailed before the mast for one year,
and then served an apprenticeship at the art of
telegraphing, becoming an expert operator. Fin-
ally he came to the west and located in Iowa,
where he was engaged as operatcir and station
agent at various points for a number of years.
He then moved to Hastings, Nebraska, in which
city he established himself in the hardware busi-
ness, there continuing to be successfully identified
with this line of enterprise for about fifteen
years, at the expiration of which he came to
South Dakota, and took up his residence in the
thriving and progressive little town of Fairfax,
where he engaged in the same line of business,
having the only hardware establishment in the
town, and having built up a large and prosperous
business. He still retains the ownership of a val-
uable tract of land in Sheridan countv. Nebraska.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

For one year the subject also conducted a branch
hardware store in Bonesteel, but he now centers
his interests in Fairfax. In politics he is a
stanch advocate of the principles of the Repub-
lican party, and fraternally he is identified with
the Masonic fraternity.

Mr. Thompson was married to Miss Mary
Abbott, who was born and reared in the same
town as was himself, and they have three chil-
dren.

CHARLES F. TURNEY, one of the highly
esteemed residents of Gregory' county, was born
on a farm in Illinois. He passed his youthful
days amid the scenes and labors of the home-
stead farm, while his educational training was
received in the public schools of Illinois, Mis-
souri and Kansas, in each of which states his
parents resided during his youthful years. He
continued to be identified with farming for some
time as a young man. but it should be noted that
he also attained marked popularity and success
as a teacher in the common schools, having de-
voted eighteen years to this line of work, prin-
cipally in Arkansas, and for a time in Nebraska
and South Dakota. In 1891 Mr. Turney came to
Gregory county and became one of the first set-
tlers in Fairfax. He also took up governrnent
land and is now the owner of six hundred acres
in this county, about two hundred and twenty-
five acres of the same being under effective cul-
tivation, while he also gives special attention to
the raising of cattle, swine and horses, ever aim-
ing to bring his stock up to the highest standard.
Mr. Turney is thoroughly progressive and pub-
lic-spirited and has taken an active part in local
affairs. He is a stanch advocate of the princi-
ples of the Republican party, and served for four
years as county treasurer, maintaining his resi-
dence in Fairfax, the county seat, where he is
the owner of valuable property. He has served
as a member of the official board of the school
district and has exerted his influence at all times
for the advancement of the best interests of the
county. He and his wife are members of the
Congregational church, and fratcrnalh' he is

identified with the Modern Woodmen of Amer-
ica and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
Mr. Turney wedded Miss Mary Turner,
daughter of John and Margaret Turner, and of
this union have been born four children.

JOHX M. PORTER, who is now living
practically retired in the village of Fairfax, was
born in Pickaway county, Ohio. He was reared
on the old pioneer homestead, and such were the
exigencies of time and place that his early edu-
cational advantages were extremely meager. He
continued to be identified with the agricultural
industry in Ohio for many years, having assist-
ed in the clearing of much land and in the de-
velopment of the resources of the old Buckeye
commonwealth. In 1882 he disposed of his in-
terests in his native state and removed to Ne-
braska, where he took up government land, im-
proving the property and there engaging in gen-
eral farming and stock-growing until 1894, when
he sold out and came to Gregory count}-. South
Dakota, where he took up a homestead claim.
This property has been placed under an ex-
cellent state of cultivation and equipped with
good improvements. Air. Porter there continued
to be actively engaged in farming and stock
raising until the spring of 1901, when he came
to Fairfax, where he has since lived in the home
of his son. The subject is a stalwart Republican
but has never sought or held public office, and
he has long been a zealous member of the Meth-
odist Episcopal church.

Mr. Porter was united in marriage to Miss
Martha Kirkpatrick, who was likewise born and
reared in Pickaway county, Ohio, and they are
the parents of seven children.

J. A. MILBURN, M. D., is a native of the
province of Ontario, having been born in the
attractive little city of Peterborough. After
completing the curriculum of the common
schools Dr. Milburn continued his studies in a
collegiate institute, and later was a student in the
U]iper Canada College. He then was matricu-

i864

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

lated in the well-known McGill Medical College,
in the city of Montreal, in which well-equipped
institution he completed his technical course and
was graduated, receiving the degree of Doctor of
Medicine. Shortly after his graduation the Doc-
tor located in the city of Grand Rapids, Michi-
gan, where he was engaged in the practice of his
profession until he came to Wessington, South
Dakota, where he has since remained, and where
he has built up an excellent practice and where
he enjoys marked popularity in professional,
business and social circles. Shortly after coming
to Wessington he here purchased a well-estab-
lished drug business, which he has since con-
ducted in connection with his professional work.
In politics the Doctor gives his allegiance to the
Republican party.

JAMES COiNZETT is a native son of the
old Keystone state, having been born at New
Castle, Pennsylvania. He was afforded the ad-
vantage of attendance at the public schools until
1864, when his father took him to Switzerland
and placed him in a college there. Becoming dis-
satisfied, however, he almost immediately quit the
institution and returned to America, reaching
here ver>' soon after the return of his father. He
spent the subsequent winter in school at New
Castle, and then decided to take a trip through
the west. He went to Ohio, but, his father dy-
ing, he returned to New Castle the same year
and took charge of his father's business. Subse-
quently he went to Princeton, Indiana, where he
remained a year and then went to St. Louis,
where he remained another year. From tliere
he went to Kansas City, Missouri, where he re-
mained about a year and a half, going thence td
Utah, where he was engaged in mining, in con-
nection with which he was also in the produce
business. In 1876 he decided to locate in the
Black Hills, going first to Cheyenne, and from
there going up the trail with teams, arriving
in Deadwood about the middle of September.
Shortly afterward he went to Galena and built
one of the first log cabins in that locality. He
was activelv engaged in mining until 1897, when

he located and developed tlie Emma group of
claims, which subsequently became the property
of the Galena Mining and Smelting Company.
He also became owner of the original Alexander
property, later adding to it by location. He sub-
sequently disposed of all his holdings to the Ga-
lena Mining and Smelting Company and re-
moved to Deadwood. He retained a property on
Ruby gulch and organized a company known as
the Ruby Gold Mining and Milling Company,
and the property is now being developed and
there is in sight a large body of ore, sufficiently
rich to justify the expenditure of large sums in
the erection of the mill.

Mr. Conzett is a member of the Pioneer So-
ciety of the Black Hills and has been honored
by being four times elected to the office of pres-
ident of the society. He is also a member of the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and
a member of the Business Men's Club and the
Olympic Club.

Mr. Conzett was married to Miss Netta
Maxam. The subject has for many years taken
a keen interest in the trend of public events, and
during the candidacy of William Jennings
Bryan for the presidency Mr. Conzett partici-
pated actively in the campaign and delivered
many eft'ective speeches in favor of Mr. Bryan
and the principles for which he stood.

HENRY O. ORSTAD, one of the success-
ful farmers of Lincoln county, is a native of
Norway. His parents emigrated to the United
States in 1866, locating in Iowa, whence they
came through to what is now South Dakota in
1869, making the trip with ox-teams. The sub-
ject was nine years of age at the time and his
educational advantages were such as were af-
forded in the pioneer schools. When he was a
lad of fifteen his father met with an accident
which permanently crippled him, and Henry
thereupon took charge of the farm under the di-
rection of his father and has ever since lived on
the same, now having three hundred and twenty
acres, well-improved and under effective culti-
vation, while he also raises an excellent grade

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1865

of live stock, including cattle and swine. His
comfortable and attractive residence was erected
in 1883 and remodeled in 1901, while his barn
affords accommodation for one hundred tons of
hay and other produce. His political support
is given to the Populist party, and he has held
varous township offices, while he has also taken
a deep interest in educational affairs. He and
his wife are members of the Lutheran church.

member of the board of county commissioners
and has also held the various township offices,
while he is well known and greatly esteemed in
the communitv.

HENRY HOATTUM, one of the represent-
ative farmers of Lincoln county, was born in
Clinton township, this county, and received the
best educational advantages afforded in this sec-
tion. He has always been associated with his
father in farming and stock raising, and is now
the owner of three hundred and forty acres
while his brother Edward has two hundred and
sixty acres, the two being associated in their op-
erations. The subject is a member of the Luth-
eran church and in politics supports the Repub-
lican party. He has been a memb'er of the school
board and is identified with the Knights of Py-
thias and is one of the successful and highly es-
teemed citizens of his native county.

A. L. ARNESON, one of the prosperous
and highly esteemed farmers of Lincoln county,
was born in Rock county, Wisconsin. Thence
he accompanied his parents to Iowa in 1852, and
in 1868 he came with the family to what is now
the state of South Dakota, making the trip with
ox-teams. He took up a homestead claim in
Lincoln county, while the original dwelling was
a sod house of the most primitive type. The
subject has improved his place, adding to its
area until he now has a fine farm of three hun-
dred acres.

The subject was united in marriage to Miss
Julia Anderson, of Iowa, and their wedding tour
was the trip to South Dakota in a "prairie
schooner." To them were born eight children.
Mr. and Mrs. Arneson are members of the Luth-
eran church, and in politics the subject main-
tains an mdependent attitude. He has served as a

J. A. HAWKINS, one of the interested prin-
cipals in the Bank of Pierpont, Day county, is a
native of the state of Minnesota, having been
born in the village of Frankfort, Mower county.
He received his preliminary educational disci-
pline in the public schools of his native town,
and thereafter completed a course of study in the
Minnesota State High School, at Spring Valley.
In 1892 he came west with a carload of horses,
intending to return to Minnesota. He visited
Montana, Idaho and North and South Dakota,
and became impressed with the attractions of-
fered to a young man in the new commonwealth
last mentioned, and finally decided to cast in his
lot with its people. He first located in Waubay,
Day county, where he maintained his home for
five years, being engaged in various pursuits, in-
cluding teaching, surveying and the operation of
a meat market. He then removed to Pierpont,
where he was employed as a teacher in the vil-
lage schools for a short interval, at the expira-
tion of which he established himself in the grain
business, becoming associated with the late C. C.
Dart, under the firm name of Dart & Hawkins.
They built up a prosperous and important enter-
prise in the line and continued operations until
the death of Mr. Dart, when it devolved upon the
surviving partner to settle up the business, and
he became associated with Mrs. W. M. Hart,
in establishing the Bank of Pierpont, in the own-
ership of which institution they have since con-
tinued, the bank now controlling an excellent
business and being one of the solid financial con-
cerns of this section of the state.

In politics the subject gives an uncompromis-
ing allegiance to the Republican party, and
served for many years as treasurer of the village
and also as treasurer of the school district. He
and his wife are active and valued members of
the Baptist church, and fraternally he is identi-
fied with the Masonic order, while he is also af-

i866

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

filiated with the Order of the Eastern Star, the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and its aux-
iliary, the Daughters of Rebekah; the Ancient
Order of United Workmen and its Degree of
Honor; the Modern Woodmen of America, the
Royal Neighbors and the Knights of the Macca-
bees.

Mr. Hawkins was married to Miss Ethel M.
Dart, who was born in the state of Illinois, and
thev have three children.

United States. The\- remained for a short time
in the state of Ohio and then removed to Wis-
consin, in each of which states Mr. Goodwin was
able to attend school for a time, thus supplement-
ing the training which he had previously se-
cured in England.

Mr. Goodwin was reared to maturity in
Grant county, Wisconsin, where he devoted his
attention to agricultural pursuits until the out-
break of the war of the Rebellion, when he gave
prompt evidence of his loyalty to the land of his
adoption by tendering his services in defense of
the Union. After a gallant and meritorious serv-
ice of over three years he received his honorable
discharge, but he thereafter continued in the
service until the close of the war, having re-en-
listed, his record having been that of a loyal and
valiant son of the republic.

After the close of the war Mr. Goodwin re-
turned to his farm in Wisconsin, later disposing
of the property and removing to Minnesota,
where he was engaged in farming about six
years, when he returned to Wisconsin, where he
passed the ensuing two years. He then removed
to Kansas, where he was engaged in the raising
of and dealing in cattle, being later similarly en-
gaged in Nebraska. In 1883 he came to Charles
Mix county, .Soutli Dakota, where he took up a

JAMES GOODWIN, one of the prominent
farmers and stock growers of Charles Mix
county, was born in Portsmouth, England, on
the 1 6th of March, 1838. He received his pre-
liminary education in his native land and after
his father's death he and his sister accompanied
their widowed mother on her emigration to the |

homestead claim near the Missouri river. Since
that time he has here added materially to his
landed estate, and the family now own jointly
five hundred and sixty acres of as fine land as is
to be found in the entire state, the same being
located in the rich bottoms of the Missouri val-
ley and practically all being available for culti-
vation, though the greater portion is utilized for
grazing purposes, while the subject has person-
ally under cultivation one hundred and sixty-five
acres, while in addition to his own holdings he
also rents one hundred and sixty acres. He
raises cattle and has also given attention to the
breeding of hogs, being one of the extensive
breeders of swine in this section, while in all his
operations he is progressive, bringing to bear a
marked executive ability and mature judgment.
In politics he is an uncompromising Republican
and his interests in the cause of education has
led him to consent to serve as a member of the
school board, and at the time of this writing he
is chairman of the board of his district. Frater-
nally he affiliates with the Grand Army of the
Republic, at Geddes.

Mr. Goodwin was married to Miss Martha
Potts, of Grant county, Wisconsin, and they be-
came the parents of seven children.

EUGENE HOLCOMB was born at Car-
thage, Jefferson county, New York, and when he
was eight years old the family moved to Du-
buque county, Iowa, where his father engaged in
farming, and where he was reared and educated.
When he was twenty years of age he crossed the
plains to Los Angeles, California, where he
passed the summer. In the fall of that year he
returned east as far as Abilene, Kansas, and was
occupied in the stock industry there. The next
year was passed at his Iowa home, and he then
came back to Kansas and renewed his enterprise
in the cattle business. Later he sold his inter-
ests in Kansas and went to Iowa again for the
winter, after which he came to the Black Hills,
bringing a large herd of cattle with him which
he placed on the Cheyenne river. These were
the first cattle placed there, the whole country

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1867

at the time of his arrival being new and vinde-
veloped. Starting on a small scale, he gradually
enlarged his herds until he became one of the
largest stockmen in this section. Of late years
he has become possessed of extensive tracts on
the Cheyenne and elsewhere, and has also con-
siderable pasture land leased. From the time of
his arrival in the Hills he has made his home at
Rapid City, and he now has there an elegant
modern residence. Of the fraternal orders he
has united with but one, the Masonic order,
which he joined soon after reaching the age of
twenty-one. He was married in Dubuque coun-
ty, Iowa, to Miss Laura Jewett, a native of that
state, and thev have one child.

EDWARD L.\DICK, one of Uic successful
farmers and stock raisers of Charles Mix coun-
ty, was born in the city of Rochester, New York,
in 1852, and when he was four years of age his
parents removed to Michigan, and in that state
they passed the remainder of their lives. The
subject attended the public schools of Michigan,
while he learned the trade of blacksmith under
the direction of his father, but was principally
engaged in farm work until he had attained his
legal majority. At the age of twenty-two years
he went to Franklin, Pennsylvania, where he
served an apprenticeship at the trade of boiler
making, to which he devoted his attention for
five years. In 1874 he was married to a Miss
Campbell, who was born and reared in Pennsyl-
vania, and they became the parents of one child.
Mrs. LaDick was summoned into eternal rest
and Mr. LaDick contracted a second marriage,
being then united to Miss Lizzie Volland, of
Yankton county, this state, and of this marriage
were born three children.

Mr. LaDick came to South Dakota in 1884
and entered claim to a homestead in Charles Mix
county, near the Missouri river, and here he has
ever since maintained his home, having made
excellent improvements on his farm, which is
principally devoted to the raising of live stock,
though a portion of the tract is maintained un-
der a high state of cultivation, the land being

particularly fertile. In politics Mr. LaDick is
a stalwart advocate of the principles and politics
of the Republican party, and his religious faith
is that of the Catholic church, of which both he
and his wife are communicants.

VEUCEL MACH was born in Bohemia
on the 8th of June, 1850, and was only three
years of age when brought by his parents to the
United States and upon the home farm in Wis-
consin he spent his youth, pursuing his education
in the public schools of that locality. At the age
of twenty-one years he came to Dakota, settling
in Yankton county, where he secured a home-
stead claim and in order to have a home here
he was married to Miss Annie Stepanck, whose
birth occurred in Jackson county, Iowa. The
home of Mr. and Mrs. Mach has been blessed
with four children.

Mr. Mach is now the owner of four hundred
and eighty acres of valuable land near Utica.
He became one of the first settlers in this county,
locating here thirty-two years ago when this sec-
tion of the country was almost an unbroken wil-
derness. Taking advantage of the opportunities
afforded here for the successful conduct of agri-
cultural pursuits Mr. Mach has become prosper-
ous. In all matters pertaining to the general
good he has been active and helpful and his co-
operation for public improvement has been of
marked benefit to his locality. He was a mem-
ber of the school board for several years, having
been elected for three consecutive terms. He
gave his political support at an early day to the
Democracy, but in more recent years has affili-
ated with the Republican party and is a member
of the Roman Catholic church.

T. W. TAUBMAN. of Plankinton, Aurora
count}-, is a native of the state of Iowa, having
been born in Cedar Falls, on the i8th of xA.pril,
1865. He received his early educational disci-
pline in the public schools of his native town,
where he later continued his studies in the State
Normal School. After leaving school at the age

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

of eighteen years, he came to Plankinton, Au-
rora county, South Dakota, where he secured
employment in a lumber yard, remaining thus
engaged until 1885, in the autumn of which year
he became an employe in the office of the Aurora
County Standard, where he received his train-
ing in newspaper work. In the fall of 1888 he
established the Plankinton Herald, which he has
since successfully conducted. It has the largest
circulation of all papers in the county, and its in-
fluence is indicated in this fact. The office of the
Herald is well equipped, including a good job
department. Mr. Taubman is a stanch supporter
of the principles and policies of the Democratic
party, and during the second administration of
President Cleveland he served four years as
postmaster at Plankinton. He was also a member
of the village council for a period of four years.
He was one of the eight delegates of the Demo-
cratic party who represented South Dakota in the
national Democratic convention in Kansas City,
1896, and was a member of the committee which
notified Mr. Bryan of his nomination. Frater-
nally he is identified with the Ancient ( )rder of
United Workmen and the Knights of the ]\Iac-
cabees.

Mr. Taubman was united in marriage to ]\Iiss
Muriel G. Samuels, of jMount Vernon, this state,
and of this union was born one child, who died
in infanc\'.

CHARLES T. OLDHAM, one of the hon-
ored pioneers of Charles Mix county, was born
in Lawrence county, Illinois, on the 22d of De-
cember, 1849, «i"d was about five years of age at
the time of his parents' removal to Iowa, and as
the state was at the time but slightly settled his
educational advantages in his youth were limited.
There he learned the trade of cabinet-making,
to which he devoted his attention in that local-
ity until 1868, when he made a tour through
Kansas and Missouri, working at his trade in
various places until he came to what is now
Charles Mix county. South Dakota, where he
secured land, under homestead, pre-emption and
timber culture entries. Subsequently he pur-

chased an entire section of land in the county.
He owns at the present time about twelve hun-
dred acres of rich bottom land on the Missouri
river, and has the greater portion of his land un-
der cultivation, and is also one of the successful
cattle raisers of this section, having been ener-
getic and progressive and having been successful
in both departments of his farming enterprise.
In politics Mr. Oldham was formerly a Demo-
crat, but he is now a stanch advocate of the so-
cialistic principles of the high type represented
in the modern movement. In 1878 he was
elected sheriff of the county, but failed to qualify,.
the population of the county being so small that
all officers followed the same course, the object
being to keep down the rate of taxation.

Mr. Oldham was united in marriage to Miss
Archambean, who died, leaving three children.
Mr. Oldham subsequently married I\Irs. Victoria
Montaug. widow of Adolphus Montaug.

JAMES J. MILLER, of Yankton county,
was born in .Schleswig, which was formerly un-
der the control of Denmark but since the war of
1864 the property on which the subject was born
has come into possession of German}-. His natal
day was the ist of October, 1832, and his edu-
cation was acquired in the Danish schools, which
he attended until sixteen years of age. On leav-
ing school he began working upon a farm for his
uncle, J. L. Jacobson, in whose employ he re-
mained for several years. When twenty-two
years of age he was called upon to serve in the
army of his country and remained in its service
for eighteen months.

Mr. iMiller was united in marriage to Miss
Ann Maria Nickelson, the wedding taking place
in their native land, and unto them three children
were born. The mother of these children passed
away in her native land and ]\Ir. Miller was
again married, his second union being with Ma-
ria Kcstma. Eight children have been born of
this union.

Shortly after his second marriage Mr. ^Miller
and his wife sailed for the new world, reaching
Yankton, South Dakota, in 1871. That day left

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1869

an indelible impression upon their minds as they
had to travel from Sioux City on a sleigh
through one of the worst snowstorms witnessed
in the west in many years. Mr. Miller secured
a homestead in Yankton county and still resides
thereon. He has made all of the improvements
upon his property and has developed it into one
of the most attractive farms in Yankton county.
He served as school director for several years
and was also road supervisor. In politics he has
€ver been a stanch Republican and he and his
family are members of the Lutheran church.

FRANK LVATOS, now deceased, was born
in Bohemia and there he was educated. He aft-
erward followed farming in his native country
and he was there married to Miss Annie Steskal,
also a native of that land. When about thirty
years of age he bade adieu to friends and native
country and with his little family crossed the
ocean to the United States. He did not tarry
long, liowever, in the east, but made his way at
once into the interior of the country and on
reaching Yankton county. South Dakota, he se-
cured land, which he entered from the govern-
ment in accordance with the homestead act. This
did not, however, represent his total possessions
for as the years passed and his financial resources
increased he added to his property until he be-
came the owner of a valuable tract of four hun-
dred and eighty acres, which he possessed at the
time of his demise.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Lvatos were born ten chil-
dren. Mr. Lvatos passed away in 1885, respected
by all who knew him and leaving to his family
the priceless heritage of an untarnished name,
for he was highly esteemed as an upright man
and as a devoted and loyal member of the Cath-
olic church. His widow still resides upon the
old homestead.

Joseph Lvatos was born in Yankton county
and was educated in the district schools, wherein
he pursued his studies until he reached the age
of sixteen years. He then began to work on
his father's farm, where he was employed contin-
uously until twenty-three years of age. He mar-

ried Miss Clara Kudrna, and the marriage of the
young couple was blessed with three children.
Joseph Lvatos now engages in the cultivation
of land near Lakeport.

PATRICK CUNNINGHAM is a native of
Canada, his birth having occurred in the province
of Ontario, and to the public school system of
his native country he is indebted for the educa-
tional privileges he enjoyed. He left school at
an early age and began to earn his own living
by working in the lumber woods. He soon re-
alized that there is no royal road to wealth and
that no excellence can be accomplished without
labor, so he set himself resolutely to the task of
building up his fortune through energy and un-
faltering perseverance. In the fall of 1869 he
came to South Dakota with his brother William
and togetlier they cut down trees which they
floated down the river to Yankton, where they
were converted in the sawmill into marketable
lumber. Mr. Cunningham also assisted in making
governmental surveys. The state was then upon
the wild western frontier and pioneer conditions
existed on every hand. With the progress that
has since been made he has been actively iden-
tiiied, taking a deep and helpful interest in ev-
erything pertaining to the public good and to
the general improvement of his adopted state.

Mr. Cumiingham was united in marriage to
Miss Slowey, and they became the parents of two
children. j\Ir. Cunningham owns two hundred
and eighty acres of excellent land. He is now
extensively engaged in raising and shipping
stock, which he sends to the Chicago markets,
there finding a ready sale. In his political views
he is a stalwart Democrat and he and his family
are devoted communicants of the Roman Catholic
church.

FRANK KOZAK was born in Bohemia, and
there his bo}-hood and youth were passed and his
education was also there acquired. He continued
to reside in the old world until thirty-two years
of age, when he crossed the Atlantic to Amer-

1870

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ica and made his way to Decatur. Here he se-
cured land and has since devoted his energies to
its cultivation and improvement, making it a val-
uable farm. He has placed excellent buildings
upon his land and has carried on stock raising on
an extensive scale. He is an excellent judge of
stock and on the market has received very grati-
fying prices for the stock which has been shipped
from his farm.

Ere leaving his native land Mr. Kozak was
united in marriage to Miss Josie Jinbor and unto
them have been born three children. ]\Ir. Kozak
and his family are members of the Roman Cath-
olic church.

SAMUEL KAUCHER was born in German-
town, Ohio, and was reared under the parental
roof and in the public schools of Ohio he ac-
quired his education. On putting aside his text-
books he started out in life on his own account,
and, having learned the business of constructing
mills under the direction of his father, he began
work for himself as a builder of flour mills and
distilleries. He followed that pursuit in Ohio
and Indiana until he removed to Colorado, where
he again took contracts in the same line, remain-
ing in that state several years. He next located
at Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he resided for two
years and there he engaged in mill building.
Subsequently he came to South Dakota, where
he resumed his labors in the same line, following
that pursuit continuously until about six years
ago. A number of years before, however, he had
purchased land pleasantly located two and, a half
miles from Yankton. Of this he sold part to a
cement company, having accidentally discovered
that this land contained splendid clay beds, the
clay being well adapted for the manufacture of
cement. On ceasing his building operations Mr.
Kaucher located upon his farm. Fifteen or six-
teen years ago he began planting cherry, apple
and plum trees and he now has forty acres of his
land in orchards. In addition to the fruits men-
tioned he also raises peaches. He was one of the
first rnen to try the experiment of raising fruit in
Dakota. Success has attended his efforts and he

has realized handsome profits from the fruit trees
in his orchards. All the fruit which he produces
is of splendid quality, size and flavor and he is
very hopeful for South Dakota's future as a fruit-
producing state. His own work has demon-
strated the possibilities in this direction and he
certainly deserves recognition from the public
for what he has accomplished.

Mr. Kaucher was united in marriage to Miss
Elizabeth Rohrer, a member of the Lutheran
church, in which faith she was reared.

THOMAS GARVEY, of Yankton county.
South Dakota, was born in Ottawa, Canada, and
came with his family to South Dakota in 1875
and has since been identified with the agricul-
tural interests of Yankton county. He is now
the owner of a good farm, on which he has lived
for a number of years. He had the misfortune
once to be burned out, but has since erected a
modern substantial residence and good barn and
other outbuildings. His crops were seriously af-
fected by the grasshoppers at one time and the
Missouri river floods ruined his crops at another
time, but he has generally prospered and is now
quite well-to-do.

Mr. Garvey led to the marriage ahar Miss
Mary Dinneen and they have seven children.
The family are communicants of the Catholic
church and Mr. Garvey is also a member of the
Modern Woodmen camp at Gayville. He uses
his right of franchise in support of the Demo-
cratic party and for twelve years he has been an
efficient member of the school board.

JANS P. PETERSON, one of the highly
honored citizens of Vermillion, is a native of
Denmark, and he secured his early education in
the excellent schools of his fatherland. He
finally left the parental home and set forth to
seek his fortunes in America, relying upon his
own labors to make his way in the world. He
located in Wisconsin, where he was engaged in
farm work, after which he went to Illinois,
where he showed his lovaltv to the land of his

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1871

adoption by tendering his services in defense of
the Union. He continued in active service until
victory had crowned the Union arms, having
made a record as a vaHant and faithful soldier.

After the close of his military service Mr.
Peterson returned to Wisconsin, while the next
year he went into Illinois, where he was employed
about a year, at the expiration of which he lo-
cated in Muskegon, Michigan, where he found
employment in lumber yards for the ensuing
two jears. He then went to Illinois, where his
marriage was solemnized, and shortly afterward
he removed with his bride to Iowa, where he re-
mained six months. In the spring of 1869 he
came to what is now Clay county, South Da-
kota, making the trip with team and wagon, and
thus transporting his small stock of household
goods as well as his family, and upon his arrival
in the county his cash capital was represented
in the sum of one dollar and twenty-five cents.
He took up government land and the original
residence was a dugout, which he constructed
as soon as possible after his arrival, and he then
began the work of bringing the wild land under
cultivation. He was energetic, persevering and
endowed with good judgment, so that prosperity
finally smiled upon him in no uncertain way.
He has gained a competence and still owns his
original farm, which is now improved with high-
grade buildings and under a high state of culti-
vation, the place being managed by his son, who
rents the same. A few years ago Mr. Peterson
purchased a choice lot in Vermillion, and upon
the same erected an attractive and com;modious
modem residence, and here he and his devoted
wife have since lived retired. They are zeal-
ous and valued members of the Congregational
church and have long taken an active part in
religious work. In politics Mr. Peterson votes
according to the dictates of his judgment, not
being constrained by partisan dictates. He
served as a member of the territorial legislature
in 1872-3, and has held the entire number of
township offices, having been clerk of the town-
ship for many years, while he served for several
years as justice of the peace, and as a member
of the school board of his township. .\t the

present time he is a valued and loyal member
of the board of aldermen of his home city. He
retains a lively interest in his old comrades of the
Civil war by his affiliation with the Grand Army
of the Republic.

Mr. Peterson was married to Miss Christine
Hanson, and they became the parents of eight
children.

EDWIN M. RADWAY. who is now living
retired in Springfield, Bon Homme county, is a
native of the old Empire state, born in Cortland
county. New York. He received his educational
training in the schools of his native state, and
was twenty years of age at the time of his par-
ents' removal to Wisconsin, where he assisted
in the development of the pioneer farm, remain-
ing at the parental home until he had attained
the age of thirty years, though in the meanwhile
he had been absent two years or more, since in
1852 he joined the throng of argonauts making
their way to the gold fields of California. He
remained in the Golden state about two years,
and then returned to his home in Wisconsin,
making the trip by way of the Nicarauga route.
In 1864 he again went to California, and after
remaining a short time he returned by way of
the isthmus of Panama. After his second return
to Wisconsin Mr. Radway was engaged in farm-
ing, but he disposed of his interests there and
came to South Dakota and took up government
land in Bon Homme county, where he has thus
made his home for thirty years. There were but
few settlers in the county at the timie and the
land was practically all in its primitive condition.
He began the development of his claim, and to
his original claim Mr. Radway added from time
to time until he had accumulated three hundred
and twenty acres, while he made the best of
improvements on the place, including the erec-
tion of a fine residence, good barns, etc., while
he set out an orchard and planted many trees,
so that the place is now one of the best in the
county. Mr. Radway rented the farm and re-
moved to Springfield, in order to afford his chil-
dren better educational advantages, and in 1901

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

he disposed of the home ranch and purchased a
large and handsome residence in Springfield,
where he is now living retired, also owning other
town property. In politics he maintains an inde-
pendent attitude, and has ever been a liberal and
public-spirited citizen.

Mr. Radway was united in marriage to Miss
Christine I. Fellows, and thev have two children.

ROBERT B. FISK merits recognition in
this history as one of the representative mem-
bers of the bar of the state and as one of the
honored and influential citizens of Gettysburg,
Potter county, in which county he has main-
tained his residence since 1886.

Robert Brown Fisk is a native of the beau-
tiful old Bluegrass state, having been born in
Covington, Kentucky, on the 2d of March, 1852,
and being a son of John F. and Elizabeth S.
(Johnson) Fisk. His father was one of the
influential citizens and prominent public men of
Kentucky, having been a leading member of the
bar of the state and having been lieutenant gov-
ernor of Kentucky in 1862. He was loyal to
the federal government during the great Civil
war and was known during that climacteric per-
iod as the "war governor," while his was tlie
distinction and honor of having introduced in
the Kentucky legislature the resolution under
which the state remained in the Union. He was
born in Genesee county. New York, on the 14th
of December, 1815, and his death occurred at
Covington, Kentucky, on the 21st of February,
igo2, in the fullness of years and well earned
honors. Elizabeth S. (Johnson) Fisk, the
mother of the subject, was born in the city of
Cincinnati, Ohio, on the ist of January, 1822,
and died in Washington City, D. C, while on
a visit to her daughter, Belle Fisk Andrews, wife
of Byron Andrews, on April 18, 1904. It may
be noted in this connection that the Fisk geneal-
ogy is traced back to Fisk, lord of the manor of
Stradhaugh, Wales, while in America have been
many distinguished representatives in the line.
among the number having been James Fisk, the
well-known financier and railroad man. nsuallv

designated as "Ji"i Fisk;" also Professor John
Fiske, the well-known historian ; Clinton B. Fisk
and others, Honorable Stephen A. Douglaa hav-
ing been a representative of the line on the ma-
ternal side.

Robert B. Fisk passed his youth in his native
city and had the advantages of a cultured and
refined home and the fostering care of kind and

' indulgent parents. He early manifested a dis-
tinctive predilection for study and also a fond-
ness for mechanics, in which latter connection it

I may be stated that while absent from school by
reason of impaired health he devoted about a

j year to learning, as far as possible, the carpen-

I ter's trade, this action being taken without the
knowledge of his parents, and he became eligible
for the rank of journeyman, but never followed
his trade as a vocation. His early educational
discipline was secured in the public schools of
his native city, where he completed the full high-
school course and also, by special arrangement,
the first three years of a Yale collegiate course.

I He v,'as thus graduated in the Covington high
school as a member of the class of 1870, and
forthwith began the reading of law in the office
of the firm of J. F. and C. H. Fisk, the princi-
pals in the same being his father and his elder
brother. Thereafter he completed the full
course in the law school of the Cincinnati Col-
lege, in the city of Cincinnati, and in 1872 he
was admitted to practice in all the courts of the
state of Kentucky, when less than twenty years
of age. It has been claimed by other members
of the bar that he was the first minor ever thus
admitted to full professional practice in Ken-
tucky. He spared no pains to thoroughly fortify
himself for the work of his profession, and in
this connection devoted no little attention to the
study of medicine and surgery, as necessary ad-
juncts to a proper legal education. He was en-
gaged in the ]>ractice of his profession in Ken-
tucky until the spring of 1884, in April of which
year he made his advent in what is now the state
of South Dakota, taking up his residence in
Pierre on the ist of May, and there remairing
until 1886, when he removed to Potter county
and located on a homestead near Gettysburg, re-

ROBERT B. FISK.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1873

siding on the place until 1890, since which time
he has made his home in the attractive capital
city of the county, while he has been from the
start actively and prominently engaged in the
practice of his profession in this county. He has
lieen concerned in much important litigation, and
amongst the most notable cases in which he has
appeared as counsel and advocate may be men-
tioned the Forest City ferry case, the mandamus
cases of Potter and Sully counties, the Patterson
bastardy case and the Glover murder case. He
is recognized as an able trial lawyer and is a
close student, giving careful preparation to all
causes and never failing to show the utmost loy-
alty to the interests of his clients. Mr. Fisk has
mining interests in Colorado, Idaho and Mon-
tana, is the owner of a half-interest in the town-
site of Gettysburg, and has a well-improved and I
valuable farm and stock ranch of one thousand
acres, near that town.

In politics the subject has ever been a stanch
adv(icate of the principles and policies of the
Republican party and has shown a deep interest
in the forwarding of the party cause. He was
supervisor of the census of the territory, taken
in 1S85, under United States laws, for that por-
tion of Dakota territory now comprising the
state of South Dakota. This census of the ter-
ritory is the only one ever taken by a state or
territory that has been recognized by the federa/
government as correct, and for that reason paid
for by the government. Hon. A. W. Edwards,
of Fargo, North Dakota, was the supervisor for
the northern half of the territory. This census
proved a powerful leverage in securing the di-
vision of the territory and the admission of the
states of North and South Dakota to the Union.

In 1894 Mr. Fisk was elected county judge
of Potter county, serving on the bench for one
term and declining a renomination. Fraternallv
he is a member of the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, and is a member of the Christian
church. It may be stated that in 1862 he enlisted 1
as a drummer boy in the Union army, but was [
rejected because of his youth.

Just after attaining his majority, he became

engaged to a schoolmate during his last years at
school, ]Miss Julia C. Green. An estrangement
took place between the two, however, and Miss
Green was married to another. She became a
widow with one child, a boy. On October 30,
1883, was solemnized the marriage of Judge
Fisk to his schoolmate sweetheart, at Greenwood,
the country place of her mother, near Logans-
port, Indiana. Mrs. Fisk is a great-grand-
daughter of Samuel Meredith, the first treasurer
of the United States, who contributed one hun-
dred and forty thousand dollars of his private
fortune to the infant republic, that contribution
being practically the nucleus of the fund in the
national treasury. Mrs. Fisk was born at Day-
ton, Ohio, on June 16, 1854, and is a daughter
of Richard and Margaret J. Green, the former
having been a merchant by vocation, and, for
several terms, a member of the Ohio legisla-
ture.

Upon the marriage of his mother to Judge
Fisk, the boy, of his own choice, although then
but eight years of age, took the name of Fisk,
retaining his given names, Olin Meredith. The
warmest cordiality and love have always pre-
vailed between Judge Fisk and the boy, the rela-
tions between the two being fully those of father
and son.

Upon the breaking out of hostilities between
the United States and Spain, Olin M. Fisk en-
listed in the First South Dakota Regiment, and
was made first lieutenant of Company G. He
served the full term of his enlistment, going to
the Philippine islands, where, with his regiment,
he served upon the firing line for one hundred
and twenty-two consecutive days, a length of ac-
tual firing-line service said to have never been
equaled in the annals of war. Judge Fisk is ver\
proud of his son, and the two are now partners,
under the name of Fisk & Son, in the jioultry
business, at Gettysburg, where they are erecting
a poultry plant which they intend shall be the
best equipped and largest plant of the sort in the
state. Judge Fisk is still enjoying a large and
lucrative practice at his home town and in the
surroundins: countrv.

1874

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

JOSEPH HACESKY was born in Bohemia
and was a youth of seventeen years at the time
of the arrival of the family in this state and was
about six years of age when they came to the
new world. His educational privileges were ob-
tained in the schools of Cleveland and he gained
a good knowledge of the English language and
of the branches of learning taught in our public
institutions. He was united in marriage to Miss
Rosy R. Lenger, who was also born in Bohemia,
and their union has been blessed with five chil-
dren.

In 1877 Mr. Hacesky took up his alx)de upon
the farm where he is yet living and subsequently
he purchased an additional tract of land, which
he also operates. He is a successful farmer,
having gained a ven,- comfortable competence
because of his continued labors, which are di-
rected by sound judgment and good business
ability. He was treasurer of the school board
for several years and has always been deeply in-
terested in the cause of education. He and his
family are communicants of the Catholic church
and socially he is connected with the Modern
Woodmen of America and also with the Y. C. B.
J., a Bohemian society.

M. C. FELKER, M. D., residing in Cham-
l>erlain, Brule county, is a native of Maine. His
parents removed thence to Chicago, IlHnois, and
there the Doctor received his early educational
training in the common schools, after which he
entered Wheaton College, in the village of
Wheaton, Illinois, where he continued his studies
for a period of three years, later becoming a stu-
dent in a private school. Having determined to
prepare himself for the medical profession. Dr.
Felker bent himself diligently and earnestly to
the work of technical preparation. He not only
completed the prescribed course in Rush Medical
College, of Chicago, but he was likewise gradu-
ated in the Chicago Medical College, holding
diplomas from each of these institutions. Dr.
Felker was sent as. a volunteer assistant surgeon
to Dr. Daniel Brainard, who occupied the chair
of surgery in Rush College, and served in this

capacity during the major portion of the war of
the Rebellion. After the close of the war the
subject was actively engaged in the practice of
his profession in Chicago for three years, at the
expiration of which he removed to Iowa,
where he was engaged in practice about four
years, at the expiration of which he came to
Kimball, Brule county, South Dakota, and es-
tablished himself in practice, being one of tlie
pioneer physicians and surgeons in the county.
He is now a resident of Lyman county, where
he is the owner of a large and valuable stock
ranch, and he has to a large extent retired from
the active practice of his profession.

Upon the organization of Lyman county Dr.
Felker was chosen as its first assessor, and there-
after he served for two years as county treas-
urer. In politics he is an uncompromising
Democrat, and he has long been an active and
zealous worker in the party ranks.

CHRISTIAN BAADE, of Yankton county,
was born in German}- and remained there until
twenty-four )'ears of age and' in the meantime
he acquired a fair common-school education. He
came to the United States, determined to work
his way upward if it could be done through en-
ergy and perseverance. He was a young man
of twenty-four when he reached America and
took up his abode in Minnesota. There he
worked until he came to Yankton county. South
Dakota. He secured a homestead claim, but
found that wealth was not to be won for the ask-
ing even in this favored section of the country.
On one occasion the grasshoppers descended
upon his crops, destroying every particle of vege-
tation on his farm. He persevered, however, in
his work and all of the excellent improvements
seen upon his place stand as monuments of his
enterprise and thrift. He has planted an apple
orchard, has erected good buildings and now has
a well-developed property. In connection with
general farming he raises hogs and cattle and
his annual sales of stcick add continually to his
income.

Mr. Baade was united in marriage to Miss

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1875

Clara Havell, and they have three interesting
children. The parents hold membership in the
Lutheran church and Air. Baade gives his polit-
ical support to the Republican party.

FRANK CHAP, of Yankton county, was
born in Bohemia, his parents being also natives of
Bohemia. When they came to America they es-
tablished their home in Yankton county, Soutli
Dakota, where the father purchased land, and in
the course of years made it a very productive
property. Frank Chap was twelve years of age
when he came with his parents to South Dakota
and he here began work in the fields. Subse-
quently he purchased one hundred and sixty
acres of land and began agricultural work on his
own account.

Mr. Chap wedded Miss Mary Bahensky, of
Yankton county, who was born in Bohemia, and
the}' have become the parents of five children.
The farm of Mr. Chap is well improved and by
the careful conduct of his business affairs he is
providing a comfortable living for -his family.
He is a member of the Catholic church and his
familv also attend its services.

EDGAR B. PETTERSON was born in Swe-
den on the 26th of September, 1829. He spent his
childhood and youth in Sweden and received
only a limited education, his time being required
at home as soon as he was old enough to labor to
advantage. At the age of seventeen he went to
sea, but after sailing for two years with his fa-
ther he left the vessel and came to the United
States, where he followed the same kind of life
from 1850 to 1853 inclusive, plying on the waters
between the cities of New York and Philadelphia.
In the latter year he went to California and dur-
ing the ten years following devoted his attention
to mining in various parts of the wiest, finally
making his way to Nevada, where he mined for a
period of seven years.

At the expiration of the time noted Mr. Pet-
terson revisited his native land, but after spend-
ing six months there returned to California and

until the year 1871 lived in the city of San Fran-
cisco. From there he came to Lincoln county.
South Dakota, and taking up a claim of one hun-
dred and sixty acres in Dayton township settled
down to a life of agriculture, which calling he has
since pursued with encouraging success, the
meanwhile adding to his real estate and making
many substantial improvements on his farm. Po-
litically he votes the People's ticket, manifests
an abiding interest in public affairs and has filled
various local offices, having served for a number
of years as a member of the school board.

In the year 1873 Mr. Petterson took to himself
a wife and helpmeet in the person of Miss Mar--
garet Boynstad, of Norway, the daughter of Ole
and Sarah Boynstad. Mr. and Mrs. Petterson
have a family of eight children, namely : Hioebe,
one of the successful and popular teachers of
Lincoln county: George B.. Hilda S., Olive, Ed-
win, Emma E. and Clara May, all at home.

HENRY I-REIDEL was born in Yankton
county and in the public schools of tliis county
obtained his education. He spent his boyhood
days in the usual manner of farmer lads of the
period, assisting in the labors of field and meadow
and as the years went by gaining valuable ex-
perience as a preparation for his own business
career. He is now engaged in general farming
on his own account and has one hundred and
sixty acres of land under cultivation. He is also
engaged in the raising of hogs and cattle and is a
farmer of enterprise, following progressive
methods and carrying on his work along prac-
tical lines so that his efforts are bringing to him
desirable returns.

Mr. Freidel was united in marriage to Miss
Abbie Hacesky and they have one son. In poli-
tics Mr. Freidel is independent.

JOSEPH PAPIK, now deceased, was born
in Bohemia, and was a lad of seven summers
when brought by his parents to the new world.
He was educated in the public schools of this
country, manifested special aptitude in his stud-

1876

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ies and he was a linguist of superior ability,
speaking the English, Bohemian and German
tongues fluently.

jMr. Papik was united in marriage to ]\Iiss
Josie Urban, who was born in Bohemia and unto
them were born three children. In order to pro-
vide for his family Mr. Papik followed the occu-
pation of farming and as the years went by he
was enabled to add annually to his income. He
owned and operated three hundred and twenty
acres of land and was a man not only successful,
but who was also honorable and enjoyed the un-
qualified regard and confidence of those with
whom he was associated. His death was not
only deeply regretted by his widow and their
children, but also by many friends, who had en-
tertained for him the most kindly feeling because
of his excellent traits of character and his own
geniality and consideration for others. In his
political views j\'Ir. Papik was an earnest Repub-
lican and on its ticket he was elected to represent
his district in the house of delegates of South
Dakota, where he served for eight years. He
gave careful thought and earnest consideration to
every question which came up for settlement and
he left the impress of his individuality upon the
legislation enacted during his term.

market because of its excellent quality and the
honorable dealing of our subject. Socially Mr.
Mattison is connected with the Masonic frater-
nity, belonging to a lodge in Dixon county, Ne-
l braska. He belongs to that class of citizens
whose deep interest in the public welfare has
caused them to become active factors in the work
of general progress and improvement. While
successfully carrying on his individual business
interests he has at the same time labored for the
welfare of his adopted county and state and his
efl'orts in its behalf have been far-reaching and
beneficial.

FAY MATTISON was born in Shaftsbury,
Bennington county, Vermont, and when but four
years of age was taken by his parents to Wis-
consin and there he was reared, obtaining his
education in the public schools. After arriving
at years of maturity he married Miss Emma E.
Tillison, of Iowa, and they have become the par-
ents of four children.

Mr. Mattison's residence in South Dakota
dates from 1865, when he secured a homestead
claim in Union county, occupying it for a year,
but he lost the property because of having been
away from the farm for one night only. He
now engages in the sawmill business and is also
the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of
land, his time and attention, however, being
largely given to the manufacture of lumber and
the product of his mill finds a ready sale on the

JOHN \'ENECEK, of Yankton county, was
born in Bohemia. His parents came to the new
world, establishing their home in Yankton
county. South Dakota, on land not far from
Tabor, the father securing a tract of land from
the government. The subject of this review was
thirteen years of age when he came to the
United States with his parents. His education
was acquired in Bohemia, but after arriving in
this country he had little opportunity for attend-
ing school. He married Miss Rosalia Kocowiek,
who was born in Bohemia and who by her mar-
riage has become the mother of seven children.

The home farm of Mr. Venecek comprises
four hundred acres of land, and in addition to
the cultivation of the soil he is engaged in the
raising of stock. His fields are devoted to the
production of grain, oats and wheat and he us-
ually harvests good crops, which find a ready
sale on the market. He is a member of a Bo-
hemian society, Z. C. B. J., and enjoys the high
regard of his fellow countr\'men and of other
residents of this communitv.

JOSEPH WEGENER, one of the leading
business men of Hecla, Brown county, is a na-
tive of the Hawkeye state, having been born in
the city of Dubuque, Towa. He was educated in
private schools in Dubuque and then entered a
local drug store, where he learned the science of
pharmacy in a most practical way. When twenty

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

years of age he came to South Dakota and lo-
cated in Cokunbia, Brown county, while in the
following year he took up a claim of government
land. He resided on this claim until he had per-
fected his title to the same, and then came to
Hecla and opened a drug store, gaining a rep-
resentative support from the start and now hav-
ing one of the most popular and attractive busi-
ness places in the town. He has ever shown him-
self ready to give his aid and influence in sup-
port of all measures for the general good of the
community, being essentially public-spirited and
lirogressive. Fraternally he has attained to the
thirty-second degree in the Ancient Accepted
Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, being thus
crowned a Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret
and standing high in the circles of this time-
honored fraternity. He is a member of the con-
sistor}' at Aberdeen, and a charter member of
Humanity Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons, in Hecla, while he is also affiliated with
the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the
Mystic Shrine and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen.

^Ir. \\'egener was married to Miss Jemiie A.
M\ra. and tliev have five children.

METHIAS LARSON was born in Norway
and there he spent the days of his childhood and
youth, remaining in his early life with his par-
ents, also natives of Norway. In 1850 the par-
ents left that country and became residents of
Dane county, Wisconsin, and after coming to
America he assisted his father in the ardous task
of developing a new farm. When the country
became involved in civil war he espoused the
cause of the Union and became a valiant soldier.
He arrived in Dakota in 1862 and entered one
hundred and sixty acres of government land and
soon afterward he planted seven acres to timber.
All the improvements upon the place have been
made by him and he now has a valuable prop-
erty. He raises cattle, most of which is of com-
mon grades, but he also has some full-blooded
shorthorn and good Hereford cattle. He like-
wise raises Poland-China and Berkshire hogs.

Mr. Larson was united in marriage to Miss
Lena Hoesgard, and unto them were born four
children. The family are identified with the
Lutheran church and Mr. Larson votes with the
Republican party.

PETER W. JOHNSON was born Januar.v 6,
1829, in \"assenwangen province, Norway, in
which country his parents, John B. and Qiristi
(Olson) Johnson, spent their entire lives as farm-
ing people. The subject passed the days of his
boyhood and youth in his native land and there
worked at the shoemaker's trade. At the age
of eighteen years he decided to try his fortune
in America and on reaching this country first lo-
cated in Chicago, where he worked in a lumber
yard for six years, remaining there until 1859.
The following two years were spent in Dane
county, Wisconsin, and in 1861 he came to South
Dakota and took up a tract of one hundred and
sixt\- acres of land in Yankton county, for which
he paid the government price of one dollar and a
quarter per acre, and is today the owner of a
fine farm of three hundred acres and has sold a
tract of eighty acres for sixty-five dollars per
acre. Although he carries on general farming
j he gives considerable attention to the raising of
I stock, being a breeder of cattle, and he also keeps
good horses and hogs.

FRANK NIKODY^N was born in Bohemia
on the 15th of ]\lay, 1865, and is a son of Joseph
Nikodyn. He was reared in his parents' home
and educated in the public schools. In December,
1892, he was married to Miss Mary Feefar, and
four children were born unto them, namely :
Tiny, Mary, Lillie and Frank, all of whom are
yet living, but the mother passed away on the
loth of March, 1901. On the 17th of June, 1902,
Mr. Nikodyn was again married, his second
union being with Miss Mary Nedved, who was
born in Bohemia. This marriage has been blessed
witli one child, Othilia.

The landed possessions of Mr. Nikodyn com-
prise two hundred and twenty acres, all within

1878

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

the boundaries of his home farm, located near
Lesterville. He operates all of his land and each
year harvests good crops, and also raises consid-
erable stock, making a specialty of the raising of
hogs and each year he places a large number of
these animals upon the market. He belongs to
the Farmers' Fire Insurance Company, a Bohem-
ian society, insuring against loss by fire or light-
ning. He also has membership relations with
the Z. C. B. J. Society, likewise having as its
members the native sons of Bohemia. His relig-
ious connection is with the Presbyterian church
and his life is in harmony with his professions in
this regard.

ROBERT L. McINTOSH was born in Dela-
ware county, Iowa, May 16, 1855, grew to ma-
turity on a farm and received a practical educa-
tion in the public schools. He remained in his
native state until 1887, at which time he disposed
of his interests there and moved to Springfield,
South Dakota, where he spent some time dealing
in horses, later purchasing one hundred and sixty
acres of land in section 6, Homer township, Bon
Homme county.

Air. jMcIntosh has succeeded well as a farmer
and at the present time owns a fine homestead of
two hundred and eighty acres, two hundred of
which are in cultivation, and in addition thereto
he rents three hundred and sixty acres in the vi-
cinity, devoting the greater part of the latter to
live stock, in the raising of which he has
achieved a wide and enviable reputation. He
served two terms as county commissioner, one
of the most important local ofifices within the
gift of the people. Politically he is a zealous
supporter of the Republican party.

PATRICK MARTIN, who resides near Run-
ning Waters, is one of eight children born to
Patrick and Anna Martin, and dates his birth
from March 17, 1835, having first seen the light
of day near the city of Quebec, Canada.

The early life of Patrick Martin was spent
in Canada, and, being reared to agricultural pur-

suits, has followed the same nearly ever since.
In the year 1865 he was united in marriage with
Miss Man,' Malone, a native of -Kilkenny, Ire-
land, and the daughter of William and Mary
(Roach) j\Ialone. After his marriage Air. Mar-
tin engaged in farming and continued to live in
Canada until the spring of 1881, when he moved
to Bon Homme county. South Dakota, and set-
tling at Running Water, entered the employ of
the Chicago, Minneapolis & St. Paul Railroad,
with which he was engaged during the ensuing
nine years. Meanwhile he purchased one hun-
dred and seventy-one acres of land near the
above town and on severing his connection with
the road at the expiration of the time noted,
moved to the same and began the work of its
improvement. He has succeeded well as a farmer
and now owns seven hundred acres of fine real
estate, all but one hundred cleared and in a high
state of cultivation, his imiprovements of all
kinds being among the best in the county.

Politically Mr. Martin is a Democrat, and re-
ligiously belongs to the Catholic church, his wife
being a member of that communion also.

C. A. JOHNSON was born in Spring-
ville, Erie county. New York, and is a
scion of sturdy Puritan stock, the name which he
bears having been identified with the annals of
American history from the early colonial epoch.
The subject was a lad of about nine years at the
time of the family removal to Wisconsin, and
there he was reared to the sturdy discipline of
the homestead farm, while he received such edu-
cational advantages as were afforded in the com-
mon schools of the locality and period. At the
age of seventeen years, Mr. Johnson entered the
Elroy Seminary, at Elroy, Wisconsin, where he
completed a three-years course of study. His
financial resources were limited and in order to
accomplish his ambition to thus further prosecute
his educational work, he entered the office of one
of the leading physicians of Elroy, and by his
services in the connection defrayed the expenses
of his board in the home of the doctor. He was
compelled to borrow money to pay his tuition in

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1879

tlie seminary, and this kindly loan he promptly
repaid with his first earnings. For a number of
I years after leaving school Mr. Johnson was suc-

*■ ' cessfully engaged in teaching in the public schools
of Wisconsin, and his ability and judgment led
him to make a number of excellent investments
in land ; in the connection it is a significant fact
that practically every real-estate venture in which
he has embarked has been brought to a successful
issue. In 1884 he moved to Wood Lake, Ne-
braska. At that time there was nothing located
at that station on the Elkhorn Railroad except a
section house and a claim shanty. Air. Johnson
rented the claim shanty and started a general
store, established a postoffice, and became the
first postmaster of Wood Lake. In 1886' he es-
tablished the Wood Lake Bank. In 1892,
through the efforts of Orion Porter, Mr. John-
son made a visit to Fairfax, South Dakota, and
the resources of Gregory county so impressed
him that he located several business enterprises.
Those at Fairfax were dealing in general mer-
chandise and lumber. On the Missouri river, at
Porter's Landing, he established the Johnson
Lumber and Grain Company, which he operated
t(-ir five years and which made necessary the re-
establishing of the boat line between that point
and Running Water. In 1893 he established the
Fairfax State Bank, which is the strongest bank-
ing institution in Gregory county. Mr. John-
son's business transactions in Gregory county
since starting business here aggregate over a mil-
lion dollars. He has always been a successful
investor in real estate and his dealings in that di-
rection have become so numerous that the C. A.
Johnson Realty Company was formed to con-
duct that branch of the business. The company
owns the most desirable of the additions to the
towns of Fairfax and Bonesteel, as well as much
other of the most desirable realty in the county.
Mr. Johnson is the owner of large tracts of land
in this county, the same being utilized principally
for grazing purposes. He is president of the
Fairfax State Bank and also of the Citizens'
Bank of Bonesteel. In politics he gives a stanch
allegiance to the Republican party, and is iden-
tified with the Masonic fraternity, the Independ-

ent Order of (^dd Fellows, and the r.enevolent
and Protective Order of Elks.

Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss
Martha Chandler, and thev have two children.

P. L. PIERCE, one of the sterling pioneers
of Campbell county, is a native of the great Em-
pire state of the Union, having been born in
Sparta, Livingston county. New York. When
he was a lad of six years he accompanied his
parents on their removal to Columbia county,
Wisconsin, where he was reared to manhood un-
der the conditions of the pioneer days in that
state, his father there being engaged in farming.
The subject received a common-school education,
and continued to reside in Wisconsin until 1868,
when he removed to loWa, where he was engaged
in fanning for the ensuing eight years, at the
expiration of which he took up his abode in Min-
nesota, where he was engaged in the hotel busi-
ness until 1882, in which year he came to what is
now the city of Aberdeen, South Dakota. Here
he was engaged in the liver\' business for two
years and then came to Campbell county, enter-
ing a homestead claim of government land. This
homestead he still retains, the same being located
three miles distant from the Missouri river and
two miles from the line of North Dakota. In
this favorite locality Mr. Pierce now owns a half
section of land, and his place is well improved,
being one of the best in this locality. Mr. Pierce
has been at all times progressive and has taken
advantage of opportunities which others would
not have discerned, and he has labored in season
and out to gain the goal of independence and
success. For fourteen seasons he operated a
threshing machine, and his services in the con-
nection have been demanded in past years far
and wide through this section, as is evident when
we recall the fact that he has assisted in the har-
vesting and threshing of grain at points fully
three hundred miles distant from his home place.

Mr. Pierce was united in marriage to Miss Re-
becca Briggs, who was born in Indiana, and they
became the parents of four children. Mr. Pierce
is a stanch Republican.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

CARL UECKER was born in Anklam, Ger-
many, and was reared and educated in the father-
land, where he learned in his youth the trade of
ship carpenter, to which he there continued to
devote his attention until he emigrated thence to
America, believing that here were afforded su-
perior opportunities for the gaining of independ-
ence through personal effort. In the following
year he came to South Dakota and took up a
tract of government land in Clark county, where
he turned his attention to farming, this original
homestead being a portion of his present estate.
He was not conversant with the language of the
country, was not experienced in agricultural pur-
suits and had to contend with the many hard-
ships and privations which ever fall to the lot
of the pioneer, but he pressed steadily forward,
never flagging in courage and detennination,
and in the course of time prosperity crowned his
efforts and he came into his just deserts. He
was married to Carlina Nuske, who was born in
(Ireifsvalt, German\-. and thev have five children.

I. ]\1. GEYER was born in Ogle county, Illi-
nois, and was reared in Whiteside county, Illinois,
whither his parents removed from Ogle county
when he was a mere child, and his educational
advantages were such as were afforded in the
common schools of the locality. He continued to
be identified with agricultural pursuits in Illinois
until he camie to what is now the state of South
Dakota, arriving in Watertown, Codington
countv', in the spring of that year. He then pro-
ceeded on foot to Faulk county, and there took
up government land. Mr. Geyer forthwith set
himself to the task of breaking his land and mak-
ing it ready for cultivation. The very day that
he finished harvesting his first crop the stacks
were struck by lightning and the grain entirely
destroyed. His second crop, covering two hun-
dred and fifty acres, was destroyed by hail, and
the third crop secured to him only a half yield, as
he met with an accident which confined him to
the hospital for some time, so that he was unable
to give the necessary attention. These successive
misfortunes would have daunted the courage of

one less self-reliant and determined, but the sub-
ject did not waver in his loyalty to the state and
has lived to see his confidence in the same amply
justified. He remained in Favdk countv two
years and then removed to Clark county, where
he became the owner of land, to which he de-
voted his attention until 1894, engaged in both
farming and stock raising. In 1894 ^Ir. Geyer
came to Stanley county and took up land on the
Cheyenne river, at a point forty-five miles north-
west of Fort l^ierrc, and here turned his atten-
tion more specially to the raising of stock, in
which he has been very successful. He raises
sheep on an extensive scale, usually having a
large band and that of high-grade type, while he
also raises horses.

Mr. Geyer was united in marriage to iMiss
Winifred Doughty, and of this union have been
born two children.

JOSEPH WERTHERER, one of the most
successful and popular business men of Potter
county, claims the "right little, tight little isle"^
of England as the place of his nativity and comes
of stanch old English lineage. He was born in
Staffordshire, and was reared to maturity in his
native county and received a common-school edu-
cation. At the age of twenty-one years
he severed the home ties and came to Amer-
ica, locating in the city of Pittsburg, Pennsyl-
vania. Six months later he moved to the Hock-
ing valley of Ohio, where he was employed in
connection with the mining of coal in that famous
district about three years. He then went to the
Indian territory, where he devoted three years to
prospecting and mining and met with fair
success. In the spring of 1888 he came to South
Dakota, making Lebanon his destination, and
forthwith engaged in farming and stock growing
in this vicinity. In 1890-91, leaving his family
at the home in this county, he was in Wyoming,
passing the two years at Cambria, near New-
castle, where he was foreman in the coal mines,
having one thousand workmen under his super-
vision. On his return to Lebanon he established
himself in the general merchandise business, in

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

which he has since successfully continued, having
a large and well-equipped store and controlling
an extensive trade. He has accumulated a large
amount of real estate in the town and county, his
fine ranch being devoted to diversified agricul-
ture and to the raising of live stock of excellent
grade. In politics he is an ardent Populist and is
one of the influential men in its local contingent,
having been chairman of the county central com-
mittee of the party for the past ten years and
having shown much skill in the maneuvering of
his forces in the various campaigns. Fraternally
the subject is identified with the Ancient Order
of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen
of America.

Mr. Wertherer was united in nuarriage to
Miss Emily Dudley, who, like himself, was born
and reared in Staffordshire, England, and of this
union have been born seven children.

JUDGE EDWIN PARLIMAN, deceased,
who during his lifetime was considered a leader
of the bar of Minnehaha county, was born in
Stark county, Ohio, December 21, 1832. He was
given the advantages of a common-school educa-
tion, which v.-as supplemented by attendance at
Allegheny College, at Meadville, Pennsylvania,
from which he graduated in 1850. Upon attain-
ing his majority, he removed to Decorah, Iowa,
where he learned the watchmaker's trade and
where he later engaged in the jeweler's business
on his own account. In 1857 he went to Austin,
Minnesota, and shortly aftervrards located in
Hastings, the same state. He took up the study
of law and in September, i860, was admitted to
the bar and practiced law at Hastings until his
enlistment in the United States military service.
He enlisted in the Second Minnesota Cavalry
Regiment and the following year received a com-
mission as first lieutenant of his company, being
promoted to a captaincy in 1865 and at the time
of his discharge, in December, 1865, he was bre-
vetted major. Upon the completion of his mili-
tary services he returned to Hastings and re-
newed his law practice, continuing so engaged
tmtil coming to Sioux Falls in 1867. While still

a resident of Minnesota, he held the ofiice of dis-
trict attorney of Dakota county two tenns. He
was the first village attorney of the village of
Sioux Falls and was appointed county attorney
by the county board, holding this position tliree
years. At the first election after South Dako-
ta's admission as a state, he was elected county
judge and held his position until 1897, seven
consecutive years, to the great satisfaction of liti-
gants and lawyers. After leaving the bench he
resumed the practice of law, at first in partner-
ship with Harry R. Carlten, and later continuing
the practice alone. He was appointed referee in
bankruptcy, being the first appointee to this posi-
tion after the bankruptcy law went into effect,
holding the position until ill health compelled
him to resign, when his son Ralph was appointed
to the position. On March i, 1899, he formed a
partnership with his son Ralph, under the firm
name of Parliman & Parliman, this association
continuing until his death.

Judge Parliman was a good lawyer and a
good citizen. His judicial integrity was beyond
criticism and his death was deemed an irrepar-
able loss by the members of the bar with which
he had been so long associated.

Judge Parliman was twice married. In 1852
he wedded Miss Jerusha North and to them
were born four children : Emma B., wife of C.
S. Donaldson, of Lakeville, Minnesota ; Percy M.,
wife of Jessie Scofield, of Lakeville, Minnesota;
Ralph, of Sioux Falls; and Maty, wife of E. G.
Brickner, of St. Paul, Minnesota. By mutual
consent Judge Parliman and his wife separated
and were divorced in 1880. Mrs. Parliman still
lives at St. Paul, Minnesota. On February i,
1881, the Judge was united in marriage to Miss
Mary Cunningham, to which union has been born
one child, Arthur C. Mrs. Parliman survives her
husband and makes her home in Sioux Falls.

In Judge Parliman we find united many of the
rare qualities which go to make up the successful
lawyer and jurist. He possessed perhaps few of
those brilliant, dazzling meteoric qualities which
have sometimes flashed along the legal horizon,
riveting the gaze and blinding the vision for the
moment, then disappearing, leaving little or no

i882

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

trace behind, but rather liad those sohd and more
substantial quaHties which shone with a constant
luster, shedding light in the dark places with
steadiness and continuit\-.

RALPH W. PARLIMAN, one of the prom-
inent and leading attorneys of Sioux Falls, is a
native of the old Buckeye state, having been born
at Newton Falls, Ohio, January 25, 1861, the son
of Edwin and Jerusha I. (North) Parliman. He
obtained a good common-school education, which
was supplemented by attending the high scliool
in Hastings, Minnesota. In 1885 he commenced
the study of law with his father, Judge Edwin
Parliman, and was admitted to practice June 24,
1887. He first came to South Dakota May 10,
1878, and located at Sioux Falls and commenced
the active practice of his profession at Britton,
South Dakota, in 1887. In 1891 he moved to
Webster, this state, where he continued his busi-
ness association with James Wells, under the
firm name of Wells & Parliman, taking personal
charge of the ofifice. March i, 1899, he located
at Sioux Falls, where he formed a partnership
with his father under the firm name of Parliman
& Parliman, vvhich enjoyed marked success and
was continued up to the time of Judge Parli-
man's death, June 5, 1899. He then remained
alone in the practice until, in December, 1903,
he became associated with C. P. Bates, as Bates
& Parliman, and they have since remained asso-
ciated, commanding one of the largest law prac-
tices at the Minnehaha bar. As a lawyer Mr.
Parliman evinces a familiarity with legal princi-
ples and a ready perception of facts, together with
ability to apply the one to the other, which has
won him a reputation as a sound and safe prac-
titioner. Years of conscientious work have
brought with them an equal increase of practice
and reputation and also growth in legal knowl-
edge and wide and careful judgment. In discus-
sion of the principles of law he is noted for clear-
ness of statement and candor. His zeal for a
client never leads him to urge an argument which
in his judgment is not in harmony with the law,
and in all the important litigation with which he

has been connected no one has ever charged him
with anything calculated to bring discredit upon
himself or cast a reflection upon his profession.
By a straightfor^vard, honorable course he has
built up a large and lucrative legal business and
financially has been successful far beyond the
average of his calling, as he stands today among
the first at the bar of his county. In politics, Mr.
Parliman was reared a Democrat and remained
faithful, to the traditions of his party until the
campaign of 1896 when, feeling that he could not
conscientiously endorse his party's course, he af-
filiated with the Republicans. In 1888 he was
elected state's attorney of Marshall county, and
on May 10, 1894, President Cleveland appointed
him postmaster of Webster, which position he
held until June 5, 1898. While a resident of that
place he was a member of the school board for
nine years. May 14, 1898, he was commissioned
first lieutenant and quartermaster of the Third
Regiment United States Volunteer Cavalry and
on June 21, 1898, he was appointed quartermas-
ter of the First Cavalry Brigade, being detached
from his own company. May 20, 1899, he was
appointed referee in bankruptcy and retained this
position for two years. Fraternally he is affiliated
with Minnehaha Lodge, No. 5, Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons ; Sioux Falls Lodge, No.
62, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Web-
ster.

On March 16, 1888, Mr. Parliman was united
in marriage to Miss Mattie A. Qiamberlain and
they have five children : Ralph W., Marie,
James C, John E. and Beatrice I.

FRANK HUSS, a leading stockman of Pen-
nington county. South Dakota, making his head-
quarters at Pedro, is a native of Tiffin, Ohio,
where he was born on the 5th of February, 1863.
On the paternal side, he is of German ancestors
and on the maternal, German and English. His
paternal grandfather, Jacob Huss, was a native
of Pennsylvania and at the age of eight years
was left an orphan. Subsequently he moved to
Frederick county, Maryland, and later to Seneca

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

county, Ohio, where he married Mrs. Sarah
Hunter (nee Robinson), widow of John Hunter.
She was a native of iNIartinsburg, Virginia, and
the fruits of her union with Mr. Huss were six
children. Jacob Huss died at Tiffin, Ohio, at the
age of forty-six years, while his widow passed
away also at Tiffin, aged eighty years. The sub-
ject's father, George R. Huss, is the only mem-
ber of this family now living. He was born at
Tiffin, Ohio, January 5, 1828, and married Mary
A. Tomb, January 8, 1851. To this union were
born eight children, namely: Qiarles, deceased;
Benjamin J., of Logan, Ohio; Dr. John R., of
Pierre, South Dakota ; Bell, deceased ; Harry, of
Toledo, Ohio; Frank C, the subject of this
sketch; Emma, now Mrs. H. L. Wenner, of Tif-
fin, Ohio; Nellie, now Mrs. W. G. Nichols, of
Tiffin. The subject's maternal grandfather, Ben-
jan'in Tomb, was a native of Pennsylvania and
moved to Ohio some time in the 'forties. Prior
to his removal he married in Pennsylvania and
became the father of nine children. He was en-
gaged in the banking business at Tiffin, Ohio,
for thirty years. His wife, Mary A., was born
at Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, in November,
1854-

Frank C: Huss received his education in the
public schools of Tiffin, Ohio, and at the age of
eighteen years started out in life upon his own
responsibility. He first went to Ogallala, Ne-
braska, where he remained three years in the em-
ploy of the Sheidley Cattle Company. In 1884
he went to Cisco, Texas, but one year later came
to Hot Springs, South Dakota, and was employed
on a ranch for several years. In 1892 he came
to Pennington county and engaged in the stock
business with Thomas B. Tomb, under the firm
name of F. C. Huss & Company, but in 1896
bought his partners out and since this time has
been in the business alone, meeting with pro-
nounced success in the enterprise.

On the 2d of September, 1890, Mr. Huss was
married to Mrs. Harriett L. Chapman, who was
born in Illinois, March 3, 1870, the daughter of
James E. and Mary Chapman. To the subject
and his wife were born two children, George F.
and Nellie E. Mrs. Huss died March 27, 1895.

and on August 22, 1900, Mr. Huss married Miss
Minnie M. Calfee, who was born in Magnolia,
Iowa, January 16, 1866, the daughter of William
and l\Iary .S. Calfee, and to this last union of the
subject was born two children, Mercy .S. and
Mary T.

Politically the subject is an ardent Repub-
lican and takes an active interest in the welfare
of his party, though precluded from participating
actively in campaign work because of business
demands. Fraternally he is a member of the
Ancient (Irder of United Workmen, while re-
ligiously he supports the Methodist Episcopal
church at Pierre, in which he has been trustee
for four years and member of the board of stew-
ards for two years. The subject has taken a deep
interest in the welfare of the community in which
he resides and has done all within his power to
advance its varied interests and today holds a
high place in the esteem of his fellow citizens.

ISAAC MURPHY, a successful contractor
of Sioux Falls, was born July 15, 1863, at Qiat-
field, Minnesota. His father, who was engaged
in agricultural pursuits, died when the subject
was but two years old, while his mother is still
living. The subject attained his early education
in the schools of Chatfield, but at the early age
of seventeen years was compelled to start out
on his own responsibility-. He first engaged in
cutting timber in Minnesota, but after three
years he came to Dakota territory and located on
a farm six miles northeast of Sioux Falls where
he remained for one year.. He then engaged in
railroad contracting work and a short time later
he located in Sioux Falls and engaged in his
present business, house raising and moving. He
rapidly acquired a reputation for thorough work-
manship and has handled some very large con-
tracts in this state, being thoroughly well
equipped and competent in every way to handle
any contract in his line. He raises and moves
brick, stone and frame buildingS" and gives spe-
cial attention to shoring up fronts. Politically
Mr. Murphy is a Republican, though business
demands have precluded his giving any special

1 884

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

attention to politics. He started in life without
a dollar and has made all he possesses by his own
resources and stands today one of the representa-
tive men of his section of the state. Mr. Murphy
has been twice married. On October 21, 1885,
he wedded Miss Eva Marsden, the fruits of
which union were two children, Marsden A. and
Lila E. Mrs. Murphy died May 11, 1896, and
on October 17, i8g8, Mr. Murphy was married
to Miss Agnes C. Wright and they have one
child, Clifford I. Their home is a center of gra-
cious hospitality and their friends are legion.

SIOUX FALLS BREWING AND MALT-
ING COMPANY. — MORIZ LEVINGER
stands as chief executive of one of the most im-
portant industrial concerns in the city of Sioux
Falls, being president and general manager of the
Sioux Falls Brewing and Malting Company,
while he has been identified with the enterprise
since 1886 and has been the leading factor in
building up one of the greatest breweries in the
west. He is a thorough, discriminating and reli-
able business man and is one of the representative
citizens of the city.

Concerning the inception and rise of the Sioux
Falls Brewery we can not do better than to quote
somewhat freely from a previously published ar-
ticle concerning the same: "The Sioux Falls
Pantagraph in its issue of October 7, 1873, stated
that John McClellan had sold four lots on the side
hill to Messrs. Krudnig and Foerster, of Yank-
ton, on which they would commence the erection
of a brewery as soon as material could be pro-
cured for the purpose. These lots were located
near by, if not the same, lots now occupied by
Heynsohn Brothers, but no attempt was made to
build a brewery upon them. In an issue of the
same paper of August 29, 1874, we find the fol-
lowing item : 'Parties are now engaged in build-
ing a brewery and will have it completed so far
as to offer the genuine lager by Christmas,' and
that 'Knott and Nelson are the names of the gen-
tlemen building it.' The boiler reached Sioux
Falls October 27, 1S74. About January 20, 1875,
the firm of Knott & Nelson was dissolved bv mu-

tual consent, S. S. Nelson retiring; and C. K.
Howard became associated with Mr. Knott, first
under the firm name of George A. Knott & Com-
pany, and later the interested parties incorporated
as the Sioux Falls Brewing Company. The busi-
ness was conducted for several years by this firm,
with a capital stock of forty thousand dollars,
George A. Knott taking fifteen thousand dollars
of the stock, C. K. Howard fifteen thousand, and
the officers of the First National Bank of Sioux
Falls the balance. Mr. Knott was the general
manager of the business until the affairs of the
company became involved in litigation, in i886.'"

Without entering into detail in the connec-
tion, it may be said that it was at this juncture
that Mr. Levinger became identified with the
institution, and much difficulty was experienced
by him in sustaining his claims and protecting
his capitalistic interests. A long and tedious ser-
ies of litigations ensued and the case became a
somewhat celebrated one, being finall}- brought
before the supreme court of the territory at its
February term in 1888, at which time the de-
cision was adverse to Mr. Levinger, while in the
rehearing at the May term the decision was sus-
tained. Finally a second rehearing was asked
and denied and the case was then appealed to
the supreme court of the United States. This
action caused the defending parties to assume
a different attitude and within a short time a
settlement of the matter was consummated by the
litigating parties, much to the satisfaction of Mr.
Levinger and his associate, Moses Kaufmann,
the secretary and treasurer of the present com-
pany. Not yet was the way to be made clear for_
those interested in the success of the enterprise,
for further litigation followed, on various
grounds, terminating finally as late as 1894, since
which time the business has been unhampered
and has grown steadily in scope and importance.

In the first year after the operation of the
brewery was inaugurated two hundred and fifty
barrels of beer were manufactured, the second
year showing an output of twice that quantity,
while the third year fifteen hundred barrels were
turned out. Since the brewery came under the
control of Messrs. Levinger and Kaufmann ex-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1885

tensive improvements have been made in the
plant, making it one of the largest and best
equipped in the west. In 1900 the company
erected a new granite stock house and made
other improvements, involving a total expendi-
ture of one hundred and sixty-four thousand dol-
lars. In 1901 was erected the present fine malt
house, which is controlled by a separate com-
pany, of which Mr. Levinger is president, the
concern having a paid-in capital of two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars, while the capacity of
the malt house is one thousand bushels a day.
The personnel of the official corps of this com-
pany is as follows : M. Levinger, president ; C.
N. Voss, of Davenport, Iowa, vice-president;
C. J. Longfellow, secretary; and C. E. McKin-
ney, treasurer. The brewing company is incor-
porated with a capital of one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars, and its officers are Moriz Lev-
inger, president and general manager, and M.
Kaufmann, secretary and treasurer. In 1903 an
addition to the brewery was made, in the erec-
tion of a modern grain elevator, at a cost of one
hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars, and
through this provision the capacity of the plant
has been doubled. The products of the brewery
have attained a wide reputation for their superior
excellence, and the trade of the concern extends
over a wide radius of country, while the annual
output now reaches an average of thirty-five
thousand barrels. The interested principals are
men of sterling character and command the confi-
dence and esteem of all with whom they have
dealings, while both are numbered among the
loval and valued citizens of .Sioux Falls.

MARTIN G. SINON, one of the representa-
tive members of the bar of South Dakota, being
established in the practice of his profession in
Fort Pierre, was born in Addison county, Ver-
mont. He received his preliminarv' educational
discipline in the public schools of his native state,
having been graduated in the high school at
Vergennes, Vermont, and having thereafter con-
tinued his studies in an excellent classical school
in the same town. He then began reading law

under the effective direction of a leading mem-
ber of the bar of that place, and under these con-
ditions continued his technical studies for three
years. In 1875 he came to the west and located
in the city of Des Moines, Iowa, being duly ad-
mitted to the bar of the state, and being there
engaged in practice until he located in High-
more, the county seat of Hyde county. South
Dakota, where he continued to be successfully
engaged in the work of his profession until 1889,
when he located in Pierre, where he remained
one year, at the expiration of which he established
his home and professional headquarters in Fort
Pierre, where he has since continued in general
practice and where he has built up a large and
representative business. Mr. Sinon is a stanch
adherent of the Democratic party, and has been
an active worker in its cause, while he has been
prominent in jts local councils. He was elected
register of deeds of Hyde county, and was elected
as his own successor two years later, thus serv-
ing four consecutive years. He was also elected
state's attorney of Stanley county, making a most
excellent record as public prosecutor and being
chosen to succeed himself, while later he was
appointed to the same office, to fill a vacancy.

Mr. Sinon was married to Miss Mary Scott,
of Polk county, Iowa, who is now deceased, she
being survived by four childreii.

WILLIAM JONES, deceased, bore a promi-
nent part in the upbuilding of South Dakota dur-
ing its territorial days and deserves special men-
tion in a work of this kind. He was a native of
the old Buckeye state, born in 1831, and acquired
a common-school education in his native state.
Concluding that the west had better opportuni-
ties for advancement, he came to this section and
engaged in railroad contracting, having aided
in the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad.
He operated and owned the first stage line from
Denver, Colorado, to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Later he went to Colorado and engaged in mer-
chandising at Georgia Gulch, also giving some
attention to mining interests which he had ac-
quired. He made money and used it to good

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

purpose. During the war of the RebelHon, he
equipped and paid the entire expenses of a regi-
ment of Colorado troops which were sent to the
front and during the first two years of the strug-
gle he acted as quartermaster. After the close
of the war he engaged in freighting from St.
Joseph, Missouri, west, and in 1872 he went to
Utah where he remained four years, coming to
Black Hills, Dakota territory, in 1876. Here
he engaged in farming and stock raising, which
he followed up to the time of his death, which
occurred at Spearfish, February 16, 1886. A Re-
publican in politics, he always took an active
part in the interests of his party and did much
to strengthen party lines in his section of the
state.

Mr. Jones was married in Denver, Colorado,
in 1863, to Ellen Keliher, who survives him,
now living at Sioux Falls at the age of seventy-
three years. Their children are Linnie B., widow
of Bernard McCrossan, of Sioux Falls; Henry
M., of Sioux Falls ; Nellie, wife of O. R. LaMon-
tague, of Lead, South Dakota. Mr. Jones pos-
sessed a character which won for him universal
esteem. A man of strong convictions, he had
the courage to express and maintain his opinions
at all times. Possessed of indomitable energ)%
he was always at the front in everything tliat
obtained to uplift his fellow man and advance the
community in which he lived. He won for him-
self a reputation that kept him to the forefront
among his fellow citizens throughout his active
days. In his family he was a generous provider,
a kind husband and indulgent and kind father
and possessed the attributes of character that un-
consciously win respect and admiration.

FREDERICK A. JONES, of ■Minnehaha
county, his finely improved and valuable farm
being located in Sioux Falls township, comes of
stanch old New England stock, and is himself
a native of the Green Mountain state, having
been born in Stamford, Bennington county, Ver-
mont. He secured his rudimentary education in
the public schools of his native city, and was a
lad of seven years at the time of his parents' re-

moval to Illinois, where he continued to attend
school at intervals, after which he was employed
on various farms in Illinois until he came to
what is now the state of South Dakota and be-
came numbered among the pioneers of Minne-
haha county, purchasing a farm and having ever
since continued to make his home on the same,
while he has brought the land under a high state
of cultivation and improved it with substantial
buildings, including an attractive and commodi-
ous residence. He has planted a nice grove of
trees, now well-matured, and everything about
his farm betokens thrift and prosperity. In poli-
tics he has ever accorded an uncompromising al-
legiance to the Democratic party, and has been
an active worker in its cause, though he has
never sought official preferment.

Mr. Jones was married to Miss Cora J. Stod-
dard, and they have seven children.

CHARLES A. STEPHENS, one of the
prominent and successful young farmers and
stock growers of Beadle county, was born in
Grant county, Wisconsin. His parents were
numbered among the early pioneers of Wiscon-
sin, and there the father attained prominence as
a farmer and a raiser of and dealer in live stock,
especially horses. He came to the territory of
Dakota, in company with the subject of this
sketch, in 1886, and the subject has since visited
the state each successive year, he and his father
having been engaged in shipping horses from
Wisconsin to South Dakota during the interven-
ing years, and in the connection they accumu-
lated a large tract of land in Beadle county, the
development and improvement of the same lead-
ing the entire family to remove to the county
and take up a permanent residence, while the sub-
ject has continued to be actively associated with
his father in the management of the fine property
here. The subject secured his educational train-
ing in the public schools of his native county and
has had most excellent business discipline
through his intimate association with his hon-
ored father from his youth up. In politics he
is a stanch Republican, as is also his father, and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

T887

both are known as progressive and public-spir-
ited citizens.

Mr. Stephens was united in marriage to Miss
Ellen Ziegler, who was likewise born and reared
in Grant county, Wisconsin, and they have two
children.

T. B. LONG, one of the representative mem-
ber of the bar of Brule county, is a native of
Iowa, and secured his early educational discipline
in the public schools of Mason City, Iowa, being
graduated in the high school, and later he was
for one year a student in the law department of
the Iowa State University, at Iowa City, having
previously prosecuted his technical reading un-
der an able preceptor, and was admitted to the
bar. In 1880 Judge Long came to what is now
the state of South Dakota and located in Mitchell,
where he was engaged in the practice of his pro-
fession about two years, while he also took up a
pre-emption claim adjoining the town site of
Mount Vernon, in the same county. Later he
came to Brule county and took up his residence
in Kimball, where he has ever since maintained
his home and where he has gained prestige in
his profession and distinguished precedence as a
citizen. He is an uncompromising Republican in
his political proclivities and was elected state's
attorney of Brule county. He was also elected
to the probate bench, and he acceptably adminis-
tered the affairs of this important office for one
term. LInder the administration of President
Harrison, Judge Long was appointed postmaster
at Kimball, and held the office four years. Since
retiring from office he has given his attention to
the active work of his profession. Fraternally
he is identified with the JNIasonic order and also
the Knights of Pythias. Judge Long was united
in marriage to Miss Minnie Egloff, and they
have one child.

I
though he has passed practically his entire life
in America. He was born in County Sligo, Ire-
land, and his parents emigrated to the United
States when he was a child of four years. They
located in the city of New York, in the parish
of historic old St. Michael's church, and there
the subject passed his youthful days. He se-
cured his preliminary educational discipline in
the parish school of St. Michael's church, and
after completing the prescribed curriculum he en-
tered St. Francis Xavier College, in the city of
New York, in which he was graduated as a
member of the class of 1883. He then com-
pleted his philosophical and theological courses
in Dominican colleges in Kentucky and Ohio,

j and then was ordained to the priesthood. After

I his reception of holy orders Father Higgins initi-

I ated the active work of his sacred calling by
serving as a missionary priest in Kentucky, Ten-
nessee and Minnesota. While residing in the
last mentioned state he made a lecture tour
through South Dakota, and incidentally he be-
came favorably impressed with the state as a de-
sirable field for his work, and he determined to

I locate here providing the necessary permission
could be secured from' the church authorities.

; He was granted his desire, and became a member
of this diocese, being first assigned to pastoral
work in Bon Homme county, where he labored
until 1903, when he was assigned to his present
charge as rector of St. Rose church, in Montrose,
where he has gained the affectionate regard and

j hearty co-operation of the members of his par-
ish, into whose work he is infusing zeal and vi-
tality, while his gracious personality and toler-

j ance have gained to him distinctive popularity
in his new field of labor.

REV. J. R. HIGGINS, the able and popular
priest in charge of St. Rose church and parish in
the attractive village of Montrose, McCook
county, is a native of the fair Emerald Isle,

i JAMES DOUGLASS, the present postmas-

[ ter of Carthage, was born in New York, and at

the country schools of his native place received

the elementary education usually allotted to the

children of that day. The western fever was

then raging strongly in the eastern states, and

j James Douglass did not escape this universal in-

i fection and so, when twenty-one years of age.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

we find him on his way to Wisconsin, where in
due time he found a "local habitation." This
first settlement, however, was but temporary, be-
ing disturbed by the outbreak of the great Civil
war which interrupted the vocations of millions
of men in every part of this vast country. James
Douglass enlisted and was sent with his com-
mand to Missouri. He remained in the service
until November, 1865, when he received his hon-
orable discharge and immediately thereafter re-
turned to Wisconsin. He purchased a farm near
Madison, the state capital, and lived there six
years, after which he removed to Lake Mills,
from which "point he was engaged for several
years in carrying the mails. In 1880 Mr. Doug-
lass decided on a still farther immigration into
the western territories, and purchased land in
Miner county. South Dakota, which at that time
was but sparsely populated. In fact, he was one
of the first settlers and has since been largely in-
strumental in developing and building up that
part of the new state. He was elected county
commissioner, and served one term to the entire
satisfaction of his constituency. Further honors
were soon conferred upon him in the shape of an
election to the legislature, and the satisfaction
with his services was so great 'as to lead to his
re-election. In addition to the public offices
above mentioned, Mr. Douglass served accept-
ably as chairman of the board of supervisors of
Redstone township. In politics he has been a
lifelong Republican, firmly impressed with the
correctness and soundness of the principles of
his party and always a strong supporter of its
policies and candidates. In 1899 he was ap-
pointed postmaster of Carthage by President Mc-
Kinley and has held this office continually since
that time. Mr. Douglass was married to Miss
Rachael Doolittle and they have three children.

the ■ territor\- of Dakota, which was then abso-
lutely on the frontier of civilization. He located
in Yankton, and made that place his headquar-
ters until he took up his residence on his present
farm, where he has ever since maintained his
home. He was one of the very first permanent
settlers in Charles Mix county, and the county
seat, Wheeler, was named in his honor. Upon
coming to the county Mr. Wheeler took up gov-
ernment land, and this has ever since been his
home and the scene of his labors. He has made
excellent improvements on his ranch, having a
nice residence, surrounded by trees of his own
planting, while on the place he has one of the
best artesian wells in the state. In politics Mr.
.Wheeler has given a stanch allegiance to the Re-
publican party from the time of its organization,
and he has wielded much influence in public af-
fairs of a local nature, while he has served as a
member of the board of county commissioners, as
a school officer and in other positions of trust.
He was also elected probate judge of the county.
Mr. Wheeler is married and is the father of two
children.

FOSTER F. WHEELER is a native of the
old Granite state, having been born in Amherst,
Hillsboro county. New Hampshire, and passed
his boyhood days in his native town, where he
availed himself of the advantages of the local
schools. After attaining manhood he came to

THOMAS JONES, one of the extensive
farmers and stock growers of Hand county, is a
native of the Emerald Isle, having been born in
County Fermanagh, Ireland. The father of the
subject passed his entire life in Ireland, and
after his death his widow emigrated with her
children to America, the subject of this sketch
being about ten years of age at the time. She
settled in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, as a pio-
neer, and there purchased a farm, upon which
she continued to reside until her death, her sons
ably co-operating in the work of carrying on the
farming operations. The subject received his
rudimentary education in his native land and
after coming to America continued his studies
as opportunity offered. The major portion of
his educational discipline was secured in night
schools, as his services were demanded in con-
nection with the work of the farm during the
daytime. He continued to attend school until
he had attained the age of twenty years. Even-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1889

tiially he removed to Pottawattamie county, Iowa,
where he was engaged in fanning until he came
to his present location in Hand county, taking
up a homestead claim, in Florence township, and
on this land his present substantial residence is
located. To his original claim he has added until
he now owns a valuable ranch. He is one of the
successful and extensive raisers of high-grade
cattle in this section, and also devotes special at-
tention to the raising of horses. His home place
is equipped with modern improvements and is
one of the attractive rural domains of the county.

In politics Mr. Jones has ever been a stanch
advocate of the principles of the Republican
party, and he was elected to the office of town-
ship clerk, of which he has ever since remained
incumbent. At the time of this writing he is also
chairman of the board of township trustees.

Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss
Sarah Reed, and of this union have been born
five children.

E. S. WILSON, editor and publisher of the
Miller Gazette, was born in the town of Easton,
Massachusetts. He received his educational
training in the common schools of the old Bay
state, and there continued until he had attained
the age of twenty-three years, when he severed
the home ties and set forth to seek his fortune
in the west. He came to Iowa, where he was
united in marriage.

Mr. Wilson was engaged in Iowa until 1872,
when he came to the territory of Dakota and lo-
cated in Hand county, as one of the first perman-
ent settlers, while he and his wife encountered
their full quota of the trials and vicissitudes inci-
dent to pioneer life on the frontier. He took up
government land, improving the same and adding
to it from time to time until he is now the owner
of a model landed estate. He is peculiarly suc-
cessful as a farmer, while in this line he has done
much to raise the standard of agriculture in this
section, since others have not failed to profit by
his example. On his fine ranch he has a large
lierd of high-'grade cattle, as well as horses of
standard breeding and the best type of swine.

Mr. Wilson effected the purchase of tlje plant
and business of the Miller Gazette, of which he
assumed control on the ist of October, 1903, and
which he will continue as an exemplar of the
principles and policies of the Republican party
and as an exponent of local interests. He has
ever been a stalwart adherent of the "grand old
party," and has been prominent in its councils
since coming to South Dakota. He is identified
with the Masonic fraternitv.

S. R. \A'ALLIS, M. D., who is established in
the practice of his profession in the village of
Miller, is a native of the state of Maryland, hav-
ing been born in Hartford county. In the pub-
lic schools of his native state Dr. Wallis secured
his preliminary educational discipline and there-
after continued his studies in the Belleaire Acad-
emy, in i\Iar\-land, and in a boarding school at
Falkston, that state. Later he entered George-
town College and then was matriculated in the
College of Physicians and Surgeons, in Balti-
more, in which celebrated institution he com-
pleted his technical professional course, being
graduated and receiving his degree of Doctor of
Medicine. He passed his vacations in hospital
work, being an attache of the Boston city hos-
pital for the first vacation, of the Long Island
hospital for the second, the Tewksbury hospital,
in ^lasaschusctts. for the third, while during his
final vacation period he had charge of the North
End Hospital dispensary in the city of Boston.
Dr. Wallis came to Miller, .South Dakota, where
he has since been established in the active prac-
tice of his profession and where he has met with
most gratifying success. Dr. Wallis was united
in marriage to Miss Ella Stritehoff, and they are
the parents of one child.

CHARLES H. ERASER, of Gann Valley,
r)uffaIo county, is a native of the state of Iowa,
and was reared on the homestead farm and early
began to assist in its work and management,
while he continued to attend the public schools
of his native county at varying intervals until he

1890

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

had attained the age of seventeen years. He
then engaged in farming on his own responsi-
biHty, continuing operations along this Hne for
the ensuing several years and then engaged in
the grain and live-stock business, with which he
continued to be actively identified for five years,
at the expiration of which he came to South Da-
kota and purchased a ranch in Buffalo county.
He was there engaged in farming and stock
raising until he disposed of the property and took
up his residence in Gann Valley, where he has
been since established in business as noted in the
opening paragraph of this sketch. Shortly after
locating in the village Mr. Fraser purchased the
general merchandise business of J. W. Johnson,
and has since successfully conducted the same,
increasing the stock in the various departments
and making the establishment one of the leading
mercantile co'ncerns of the sort in this section.
He also buys and ships cattle upon a large scale,
and is one of the reliable and progressive busi-
ness men and popular citizens of the county. In
politics he gives allegiance to the Republican
party.

E. D. COWEN, D. D., was born in Pennsyl-
vania and during his earlier years attended school
in the neighborhood of his place of nativity. At
:i late period he became a student at the Northern
Illinois College, located at Fulton, after which
he took up the study of medicine and eventually
completed his education in the Bennett Medical
College, of Qiicago. After he secured his
diploma he lost no time in seeking an eligible lo-
cation for a young doctor and found employment
for some years at various points in Iowa and
Illinois. Finally he decided to cast in his lot with
the rising young state beyond the Missouri which
but a few years before had been admitted into
the Union. Arriving in South Dakota, he se-
lected McCook county as the theater for his fu-
ture operations and without loss of time was soon
practicing his profession among the people of
this prosperous section of the great northwest.
Making liis headquarters at Canastota, his en-
ergy and affability soon brought him business

and during his five-years residence in this place
he has done a good and growing business. Dr.
Cowen is a Republican in politics and as a can-
didate of that party was elected coroner of Mc-
Cook county at the last election for a term of
two years.

Dr. Cowen was united in marriage with Miss
Elizabeth Gage. He is a member of the church
of God and has fraternal connections with the
Masonic fraternity, Modern Woodmen, the Yeo-
men and Home Guardians.

W. C. BOORMAN, one of the important
business men of Miner county, was born at Wa-
terloo, Wisconsin, his only education being ob-
tained in the public schools of his native place.
He was brought up to work and during his entire
life has been a busy man. His first venture was
in the milling business and this afforded him his
sole occupation for many years after reaching his
majority. He achieved reasonable success and
accumulated some means as the result of unflag-
ging industry and clo.se attention to duty. His
attention had for some time been attracted by the
advantages offered in various pursuits by the
young states beyond the Missouri and in 1898 he
carried out a resolve long before arrived at to
cast his fortunes with South Dakota. He de-
cided on Miner county as his place of abode and
lost no time in establishing an elevator at How-
ard. He began dealing in grains, coal and other
cominodities incident to the trade of that locality
and has given his close attention to this enter-
prise ever since his arrival in the state.

Mr. Boorman was united in marriage with
Miss Kate Lum, by whom he has four children.
He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and
his religious affiliations are with the Episcopal
church.

R. F. LYONS, of Carthage, was born at
Poughkeepsie, New York, and was still a child
when his parents removed to the Illinois metrop-
olis. He was educated in the Chicago schools
antl remained in that city about eighteen years.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

at the end of which time he removed to Winne-
shiek county, Iowa, where he embarked in the
farm and live-stock business. He continued in
this line with fair success until he decided to go
farther west and eventually became a resident of
Lake county, South Dakota. In the spring of
1883 he settled in Miner county and built the
first grain elevator and general merchandise
store at Carthage, with which enterprises he has
ever since been connected. ]\Ir. Lyons was
elected as a member of the constitutional con-
vention which met at Sioux City in 1889. In
fact he was quite active in politics as a Demo-
crat and lent his best efTorts in establishing his
party in power, always being ready for neces-
sary work of organization and campaigning.
After the great Democratic triumph of 1892,
which led to the election of Mr. Cleveland to
the presidency, Mr. Lyons was appointed post-
master of Carthage.

;\rr. Lyons was united in marriage with Miss
Jennie Shea, who died, leaving two daughters,
and subsequently he married Miss Sara A. Don-
lay, of Winneshiek county, Iowa, and by this
union there have been born eleven children.

C. J. ANDERSON, of Plankinton, the capi-
tal of Aurora county, was born in the city of
Zanesville, JMuskingum county, Ohio. He se-
cured his early educational discipline in the com-
mon schools and supplemented this by a course
of study in the Ohio State Normal School, where
he continued his discipline until he had attained
the age of twenty-one years. In 1861 he enlisted
as a private in the Nineteenth Ohio \'oluntecr In-
fantry, which was assigned to the Western Army
and with which he continued in active service
for four years and three months, representing
practically the entire period of the war. He re-
ceived his honorable discharge and then returned
to his home in Zanesville, where he remained un-
til he removed to Delavan, Illinois, where he
maintained his home for a number of years, hav-
ing been engaged in the hardware business for
the major portion of the time. He then came to
South Dakota, and located in 'Aurora county,

taking up a homestead claim adjoining the site '
of the present city of Plankinton, and becoming
one of the founders of the town, while he was
also concerned in the organization of the county.
Soon after his arrival he established the first
mercantile business in the town, having a small
building in which he installed a stock of general
merchandise, while later he gave his attention
entirely to the hardware business, in which he
was engaged until he disposed of his interests
in the line and established his present enterprise,
having a well-appointed establishment, in which
he carries a fine assortment of clothing and fur-
nishing goods, while he controls a large and rep-,
resentative trade.

In politics Mr. Anderson has ever given a
stanch support to the Republican party, taking an
active part in the promotion of its cause, while
he has been called upon to serve in various posi-
tions of public trust. He received from the
board of county commissioners the appointment
to the office of register of deeds, and became ex-
officio county clerk, the two offices having been
jointly administered for a number of years. He
held the dual office under this appointment for a
period, and then was elected to fill the same, and
was chosen as his own successor at the expira-
tion of his first regular tenn. Fraternally he is
affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic,
and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Mr.
Anderson was united in marriage to Miss Eliza-
beth Gates, of Delavan. Wisconsin, and they
have three children.

L. H. MARTIN, proprietor of the Sunny
side stock ranch, located in Davison county,
about four and one-half miles from Mitchell,
was born on a farm in Jackson county, Iowa.
He received his early educational training in the
common schools of the various localities where
his parents resided, and he has made his home
in South Dakota for the major portion of the
time since 1888. He was engaged in farming
in Clay county during the period when the grass-
hopper plague worked such havoc, and after his
crops had been destroyed for three successive

1892

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

seasons he removed to Iowa, where he was on-
gaged in farming. He has never lost faith in
South Dakota, however, and has now located
here for the purpose of making it a permanent
home. His farm is one of the model places of
Davison county, heing improved with modern
and attractive buildings and having the best of
facilities for the raising of stock, besides agri-
cultural products if so desired. On his farm are
found the best types of horses, cattle and swine,
and he makes large shipments each year to the
eastern markets. In politics he gives a stanch
allegiance to the Republican party. Mr. Martin
was united in marriage to Miss Annie Johnson,
and they have had eight children.

]\riCHAEL FEENEY is numbered among
the representative stock growers of Stanley
county. He was born in Ireland and obtained a
common-school education in this country. On
his present ranch he has made excellent improve-
luents, is one of the highly esteemed citizens of
this section of the state and has been very suc-
cessful in the raising of cattle. In politics he is
a stalwart advocate of the principles of the Demo-
cratic party, and his religious views are in har-
monv with the faith of the Catholic church.

WILLIAM I. MURRAY, of Hanson county,
is a native of the Empire state of the Union, hav-
ing been born in Erie county. New York. He
was reared on the homestead farm and received
a common-school education, and he continued to
be identified with agricultural pursuits in his na-
tive state until 1880, when he came to what is
now the state of South Dakota and took up a
homestead claim in Hanson county, where he has
ever since resided, now having a valuable and
attractive landed estate, the major portion of
which is under a high state of cultivation, yield-
ing large returns for the labors contributed. Mr.
Murray also raises an excellent grade of cattle
and other live stock, and his efforts have been di-
rected with such discrimination and good judg-
ment that he has been verv successful in both

departments of his farming enterprise. He is
the oldest member of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen in the state, having affiliated
with this fraternity in 1876, and is also a member
of the Free and Accepted Masons, and of the
Grand Army of the Republic. From his retain-
ing membership in the Grand Army it will be un-
derstood that he was one of the brave "boys in
blue" who aided in the preservation of the Union.
He enlisted as a member of the Seventy-fourth
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and with which he
saw much active and arduous service, having
participated in many important battles and in
the Atlanta campaign, while he was three times
wounded in action.

Mr. Murray was united in marriage to Miss
Sarah Plunket, and she passed away, being sur-
vived by two children. Mr. Murray consum-
mated a second union, by which he has become
the father of four children.

F. D. TYLER, one of the well-known and
honored farmers of Davison county, was born in
Jefferson county, Wisconsin. When he was but
five years of age his father was killed by acci-
dent, and he was but nine years of age when his
mother likewise passed away. His educational
advantages were meager, but he availed himself
of school privileges whenever his self-sustaining
labors permitted him to attend school for even a
short interval, and this limited training has been
effectively supplemented by the lessons gained
in the broad school of experience. Mr. Tyler left
Wisconsin when a lad of fourteen years and went
to Iowa, where he grew to manhood and where
he remained until coming to Dakota territory.
He settled in Davison county, where he took up
a tree claim and forthwith set about to improve
the same and bring it under cultivation. He de-
veloped a good farm and mad$ excellent im-
provements on the same, and has here maintained
his home during the intervening years, the place
being devoted to diversified agriculture and to
the raising of live stock of excellent grade. In
politics he maintains an independent attitude, but
takes a proper interest in local affairs and has

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

been called upon to serve in positions of public
trust and responsibility. He is at the time of this
writing a member of the board of township trus-
tees and also of the school board of his district.
He is identified with the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, and both he and his wife hold
membership in the Congregational church.

E. F. STEVENS, who has a fine farm north
of the town of Woonsocket, Sanborn county, is
a native of the Badger state, having been born in
Rock county, Wisconsin. He was reared on the
homestead farm in Wisconsin, where he received
a good common-school education, having been a
successful teacher for one year while a young-
man. He continued to assist in, the work and
management of the home farm until he had at-
tained his legal majority, and thereafter was en-
gaged in farming on his own responsibility in
Wisconsin until he took up his residence in San-
born county, South Dakota, locating upon a farm
which is an integral portion of his present fine
place. He has made excellent improvements of a
permanent nature, having good buildings, wind-
mills, fences, etc. He rasises a fine grade of cat-
tle and feeds each year a great many sheep and
hogs, his dealings in live stock being quite ex-
tensive. He is one of the leaders of the Repub-
lican party in his county, being a member of the
county central committee and having served for
eight years as clerk of his township. ' He is a
member of the Masonic fraternity and also of
the Modern Woodmen of America.

Mr. Stevens was united in marriage to Miss
Amanda E. Hopkins, and they have two chil-
dren.

JAMES A. OAKES, one of the honored pio-
neers and influential citizens of Moody county,
was born in Pennsylvania, and received his rudi-
mentary education in his native place. He was
about eleven years of age at the time of his par-
ents' removal to Illinois, where he continued his
scholastic training in the common schools, in the
meanwhile assisting in the reclamation and culti-

vation of the pioneer homestead. At the age of
seventeen he signalized his loyalty by tendering
his services in defense of the Union, enlisting as
a private in the Ninety-second Illinois Volunteer
Infantry, with which he proceeded to the front,
and he continued in active service for a period
of two years. After the close of the war Mr.
Cakes returned to Illinois, and there engaged in
the work of the painters' trade, to which he con-
tinued to devote his attention at irregular inter-
vals. Subsequently he came to what is now the
state of South Dakota and entered claim to gov-
ernment land in Moody county, and in the spring
of the following year he brought his family here
and located on the new farm. To this original
claim he has added until he now has a fine ranch,
while he also owns and operates a farm in the
adjoining county of McPherson, his substantial
and attractive residence being located on the
homestead claim which he secured when he first
came to the state. He carries on diversified farm-
ing and raises live stock of excellent type, while
he devotes no little attention to dairying. He
also owns an interest in a lumber yard and a
grain elevator. He is a stanch advocate of the
principles of the Republican party, while frater-
nally he is identified with the Grand Army of
the Republic.

Mr. Oakes wedded Miss Malinda S. Sater-
lee, and they became the parents of four chil-
dren. Mrs. Oakes was summoned into eternal
rest and the subject wedded Miss Hannah S.
Johnson, who was borii in Iowa. Of the second
union have been born two children.

H. HOLMGREN, M. D., of Canton, Lincoln
county, was born in the picturesque old city of
Stockholm, Sweden, and was there reared to ma-
turity, having received liberal educational ad-
vantages in the fair land of his birth. At the age
of twenty-six years he came to America and lo-
cated in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, where
he at once began a course of study in the Beau-
mont Hospital Medical College, completing the
prescribed curriculum and being graduated with
the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Soon after-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ward he located in the city of Ishpeming, in the
upper peninsula of the state of Michigan, where
he was actively engaged in practice until he came
to South Dakota and established himself in prac-
tice at Alcester, Union county. He remained
there only a short interval and then came to
Canton, where he has since resided, having here
built up a large and representative practice. He
established the Canton hospital, which he has
since successfully managed, the institution being
specially well equipped and exercising most be-
neficent functions. He is popular in all classes of
society, is a man of high intellectual and profes-
sional attainments, and is an acquisition to the
medical fraternity and citizenship of the state.

A. C. ROBERTS, one of the prominent citi-
zens of Day county, is a native of the old Buck-
eye state, having been born in the city of Ober-
lin, Ohio. When the subject was a child his par-
ents removed to Livingston county, Illinois,
where he was reared to maturity, having grown
up on a farm and having duly availed himself of
the advantages of the public schools, including
the completion of a high-school course. After
leaving school he devoted two years to the study
of law, and was admitted to practice in all of the
courts of the state of Illinois, and he has a license
to practice in all the courts of South Dakota.

In 1876 Mr. Roberts engaged in the active
practice of law in Illinois, continuing to follow
the work of his profession for two years, and
thereafter being engaged in farming in that state,
while he was later engaged in the mercantile
business for one year. Later he came to South
Dakota and took up land in Homer township,
Day county, which he improved and placed un-
der effective cultivation, having one of the valu-
able landed estates of the county. He continued
to be actively and successfully engaged in farm-
ing and stock growing until 1900, when he took
up his residence in Pierpont. where he has since
carried on a prosperous enterprise in the hand-
ling of grain, coal and lumber. In politics Mr.
Roberts maintains an independent attitude. In
1893 he was a member of the state senate, having

been elected on the ticket of the People's party.
Pie and his wife are valued and zealous members
of the Presbyterian church in Pierpont, and he is
an elder in the same at the present time. Fra-
ternally he is affiliated with the Masonic order,
the Modern Woodmen of America and the An-
cient Order of United Workmen.

Mr. Roberts was married to Miss Rachel
Frances Chambers, who was born in Lowell. La-
salle countv, Illinois, and thev have three chil-
dren.

JOHN Z. REED, of near Rapid City, is a
native of Scottsville, Monroe county. New York.
He was reared and educated in his native county,
and after leaving school was engaged in teaching
for a number of years and later in farming. Sub-
sequently he came to South Dakota and after a
short residence there located a ranch on the Chey-
enne river east of the town, on which he started
an enterprise in raising stock, a line of industry
in which he has been continuously engaged since
that time. He continued to live on this ranch
until 1900, when he bought the one he now occu-
pies on Rapid creek, eight miles from Rapid City.
He has greatly improved this and built a com-
modious dwelling and other necessary buildings
on it, and has brought the land to a high state
of cultivation. In politics he is a Republican and
an ardent supporter of the party.

H. J. ROCK, M. D., a well-known physician
and surgeon of Aberdeen, South Dakota, was
born on a farin near North English, Iowa. He
was reared on the farm and attended first the •
country schools, then graduated from the North
English high school. He next graduated from
the college at Valparaiso, Indiana, taking the
course in teaching, business and science. He
came to South Dakota and took charge of the
high school at Big Stone City for two years.
Following this he was principal of the Webster
high school for four years. He was graduated
from the medical department of the University of
Illinois, in 1900, and began the practice of his

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1895

profession in Aberdeen the same year. He is a
member of the Aberdeen District ]\ledical Soci-
ety, the South Dakota iMedical Society and the
American Medical Society.

HENRY STRQNK was born in WestphaHa,
Germany, in 1830, and is a son of Frederick and
Minnie (Otto) Strunk. Germany remained his
place of residence until 1852, when he crossed
the Atlantic to the United States, settling first in
Bufifalo, New York. He soon afterward re-
moved to Cincinnati and several years later went
to Iowa, ^where he resided until 1862, the year
of his arrival in South Dakota. He entered one
hundred and sixty acres of land from the gov-
ernment and as his financial resources increased
he added to this until he now has seven hundred
acres, one-half of which is devoted to pasturage
purposes. He raises hay on a very extensive
scale and he has set out a large number of trees
and also greatly improved his property by the
erection of substantial buildings.

IRVING R. .SKILLING is a native of the
state of Wisconsin, having been born in Green
county, on the 2d of March, i860, and being a
son of Ransom and Nancy (Hills) Skilling. The
subject remained in Iowa until 1884, when he
came to what is now the state of South Dakota
and located on his present homestead, taking up
one hundred and sixty acres of government land,
in the rich bottom lands of the Missouri river
valley, while later he purchased an adjoining
eighty acres. He has since been successfully en-
gaged in farming and stock raising and is one
of the substantial and highly respected citizens
of the county which has been his home for so
many years.

FREDERICK TYSON, of Hecla. Brown
count\-, claims New Jersey as the place of his na-
ti\ily, having been born in the beautiful little
pnrt city of Hoboken, opposite from the national
metropolis. A few years after his birth the fam-

ily rciiinved to WisCdUsiii, and he was reared on
tlie homestead farm, being afforded the atlvan-
tages of the excellent public schools. When
twenty years of age he decided to follow the ad-
vice of Horace Greeley by coming west and
growing up with the country, having previously
served an apprenticeship in the drug business.
He came to Brown county and took up land
near Frederick, where he was engaged in farm-
ing until he located in Hecla, as one of the first
settlers of the town, and here engaged in the
drug business, in which line he successfully con-
ducted operations until he sold out. Before sell-
ing, he had added to his drug stock a line of gen-
eral merchandise, and this department he re-
tained, the same being the nucleus of the present
fine establishment of which he is the head. In
1902 he admitted to partnership his brother-in-
law and they have since continued the business.
Mr. Tyson is a loyal and public-spirited citizen
and is popular in both business and social cir-
cles. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Or-
der of United Workmen and the Modern Wood-
men of America.

Mr. Tyson led to the marriage altar Miss
^latilda Wilmsen. who was born and reared in
Portage county, Wisconsin, and they have one
child.'

J. E. B(1UNDEY, of Brown county, was
born in Waukesha county, Wisconsin, and
passed his youthful days on the homestead farm,
receiving a common-school education. In 1871
he entered the employ of the Chicago, Milwaukee
& St. Paul Railroad Company, with which he
was engaged for the ensuing four years, at the
expiration of which he went to California, where
he became identified with the lumber business.
Subsequently he came to South Dakota and lo-
cated on a tract of government land in Liberty
township. Brown county, his being the only fam-
ily in the township during the first winter. He
perfected his title to his original claims and still
retains the same, to which he has added until he
now has a fine landed estate, well-improved and

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

under a liigh state of cultivation. He secures
large yields of grain from his ranch and also
gives considerable attention to the raising of cat-
tle, while he also breeds fine horses. On the
place is a fine artesian well, which furnishes an
abundant supply of pure, sparkling water for all
purposes. Mr. Boundey continued to reside on
his farm until 1894, when he removed to Hecla
and engaged in the buying and shipping of grain
and also in dealing in all kinds of farming im-
plements and machinery of the best type. He car-
ries a stock of the leading makes of harvesters,
threshers and other machines, besides the smaller
implements, and controls a large and constantly
increasing business. Fraternally he is identified
with the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

Mr. Boundey was married to Miss Alice
Bradner, who was born and reared in Wisconsin
and who was summoned into eternal rest, leaving
one son. Mr. Boundey later consummated a sec-
ond marriage, being then united to Miss Gene-
vieve Shattuck, who was born and reared in
Michigan. They have a pleasant home in Hecla
and the same is a center of cordial hospitality.

or social way and is one of the popular and pub-
lic-spirited citizens of his county and town. In
politics he is a stanch advocate of the principles
and policies of the Republican party and frater-
nally is identified with the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias.
Mr. Hayward was married to Miss Alice Armi-
tage, who was born in Pennsylvania.

CLARENCE E. HAYWARD, of Raymond,
Clark county, comes of old colonial stock, of
English origin, and is himself a native of the old
Pine Tree state, having been born in ^Vinthrop,
Kennebec county, Maine, on the 4th of August,
1858. He completed the curriculum of the pub-
lic schools of his native town and thereafter con-
tinued there his studies in Towle Academy, while
later he attended the well-known and ably-con-
ducted academy at Monmouth, iMaine. At the
age of sixteen years he engaged in teaching, con-
tinuing to follow the pedagogic profession in
Maine until he came to the west, while later he
took up his abode in Raymond, South Dakota,
with whose development and progress he has
been intimately identified, while he has built up
an excellent business as a dealer in real estate,
personally owning twelve hundred acres of im-
proved farming land in Clark county, while he
retains the confidence and good will of all with
whom he has come in contact in either a business

JOSEPH A. .McKIBBEX, a retired farmer
and extensive landholder of Day county, is a na-
tive of Edwards county, Illinois. While still a
youth, his father died and the widowed mother
removed with her family to Minnesota, where
they remained until 1881, when all came to South
Dakota, locating five miles southwest of Web-
ster, Day county, where they took up govern-
ment land. Here the subject now has a finely
improved landed estate, over which he still main-
tains a personal supervision. The tract under
cultivation is devoted principally to the propaga-
tion of wheat, oats and barley, and Mr. McKib-
ben also gives much attention to the raising of
cattle, sheep and horses. Fraternally he is iden-
tified with the Ancient Order of United Work-
men. He was married to Miss Louisa Butler,
who was born in Indiana, and they have five chil-
dren.

BERNS JOHNSON SOLEM was born in
Norway, and was reared and educated in his na-
aive place and there continued to give his atten-
tion to business until his immigration to America.
He landed in Quebec, Canada, and thence made
his way to Wisconsin, and thence went to Min-
nesota, where he was engaged in railroad work
for the ensuing two^ years, at the expiration of
which he went to Mason City, Iowa, and in that
locality devoted three years to grading work on
a railroad. Subsequently he came as a pioneer
to what is now Lincoln county. South Dakota,
and took up a homestead claim in Norway town-
ship. On his land he proceeded to erect a shanty,
and hired men to break some of the land, while
he soon returned to Mason Citv. Iowa, where he

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1897

purchased a yoke of oxen and transported his
Httle stock of household goods to his primitive
house. He energetically set himself to the task
of developing his farm and placing it under cul-
tivation, and with the passing of the years marked
success came to reward his eiiforts. He became
the owner of a finely improved ranch, and there
continued to reside until he disposed of the prop-
erty and removed to the village of Canton, where
he has since lived practically retired. In politics
he gives his support to the men whom he consid-
ers best qualified, and both he and his wife are
devoted members of the Lutheran church.

Mr. Solem was united in marriage to Miss
Ellen Johnson, who was born and reared in Nor-
way and who has proved to him a devoted wife
and helpmeet, and of this union were born two
children.

JOSEPH WALTERS CATLETT. cashier
of the Bank of Estelline, Hamlin county, was
born in Monroe county, Missouri. He was reared
on the home farm and assisted in its work during
the summer seasons, while during three or four
months each winter he pursued his studies in the
public schools, so continuing until he had attained
years of maturity, after which he taught one term
of district school and then attended the normal
school at Kirksville, Missouri. Thereafter he
returned to the homestead farm, and for the fol-
lowing five years taught during the winter terms
in the country schools, while for the major por-
tion of the intervening period he was employed
as bookkeeper in the office of a lumber firm at
Centralia, Missouri. He then obtained a state
certificate to teach and applied for the principal-
ship of a city school, but was defeated by one
vote, the only objection entered being that he
was not a married man. He then came to the
territory of Dakota and arrived in Estelline on
his birthday anniversary. Here he established
himself in the lumber business, becoming one of
the pioneers of the towni, and later added a hard-
ware department to his enterprise, which he suc-
cessfully conducted for a number of years, while
he is still the owner of the lumber business which
60—

he established more than a score of vears agci.
having disposed of his hardware business. Upon
the organization and incorporation of the Bank
of Estelline. Mr. Catlett was elected its president,
in Avhich capacity he continued to serve until the
stockholders felt that the prestige and success
of the enterprise would be furthered if he were
placed in active charge of its affairs, and he was
accordingly elected cashier and has since re-
mained incumbent of this position, while under
his direct management the bank has gained a
place among the most popular and substantial
financial institutions in this section of the state.
He is a stalwart advocate of the principles and
policies for which the Democratic party stands
sponsor, and was prominent in effecting the party
organization in Hamlin county, while for the
past twelve years he has represented said county
as a member of the South Dakota delegation to
the national convention of the party in 1900, at
Kansas City. He is a member of the Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons, and he was reared in
the faith of the Giristian church, but is not for-
mally identified with any religious body, Mrs.
Catlett being a member of the Baptist church.

Mr. Catlett was united in marriage to Miss
Elizabeth Bland, who was born in Paris, and
thev have three children.

P. S. JOHN.SON, one of the prosperous
farmers and stock growers of Deuel count}', was
born in Norway, and was there reared and edu-
cated. In 1 87 1 he severed the ties which bound
him to home and native land and set forth to
seek his fortunes in America. He located in
Iowa, where he was engaged in farming. Dis-
posing of his interests there, he came to what
is now the state of South Dakota, first settling in
Brookings county, where he continued to devote
his energies to agricultural pursuits. He then
came to Deuel county, where he took up a home-
stead claim, while later he effected the purchase
of an additional tract, placing the major por-
tion under effective cultivation. He has dis-
posed of a portion of his landed estate, but still
retains a fine ranch, nearlv all of which is avail-

1898

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

able for cultivation, while he also gives no little
attention to the raising of high-grade cattle and
hogs. He continued to give his entire attention
to his farm until 1901, when he purchased an at-
tractive and modern residence property in the
village of Toronto, where he has since resided.

In politics Mr. Johnson is a stanch advocate
of the principles of the Republican party, and he
has been a prominent figure in public aiifairs of a
local nature. He has served seven years as a
member of the board of county commissioners,
of which important office he is incumbent at the
time of this writing, while for twelve years he
was an official of his school district, and for five
years supervisor of his township. He and his
wife are valued and zealous members of the
Lutheran church.

Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Ingeborg
Eggen, who was likewise born in Norway, whence
she came with her parents to America when a
girl. The subject and his wife have no children
of their own, but have adopted a son.

N. M. WADE, M. D.. is a native of \'irginia
and springs from one of the old families of that
historic commonwealth, his ancestors for three
generations having been American in all the term
implies. He attended the common schools and
when a young man took up the study of medi-
cine, which he prosecuted with great assiduity,
first under private instruction and later in the
I'hicago Medical College. He was graduated
therefrom in 1880, and three years later came to
South Dakota and engaged actively in the prac-
tice of his profession. Subsequently he sought a
wider field in the Black Hills and since 1895 has
been located at Lead City, where he enjoys a
large and lucrative practice. For a while he was
connected with the medical department of the
United States army in the department of the
Platte and at this time he is official physician of
Lead City, besides holding the position of grand
medical examiner for the Ancient Order of
United Workmen of South Dakota. Dr. Wade
has read and studied extensively and kept him-
self fullv alircast the times in all matters relating

to his profession. He is a politician of consider-
able prominence, a leader of the Democratic
party in Lead City and Lawrence county, and at
the present time is chairman of the county cen-
tral committee. He is identified with several
secret fraternal organizations, being a Knight
Templar in the Masonic order, a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Be-
nevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Dr.
Wade married Miss Anna Stanley, who was born
in Wisconsin, and they are the parents of three
children.

C. P. WARREN, of Kingsbury county, was
born on a farm in Olmsted county, Minnesota.
He received his rudimentary educational disci-
pline in the district schools of his native county,
and was nine years of age at the time of the
family removal from Minnesota to South Dakota.
Here he continued to attend the public schools.
He began teaching in the district schools of the
county, and taught during the winter terms and
worked on the farm during the summer seasons.
Later he entered Western Normal College, in
Lincoln, Nebraska, where he continued his stud-
ies for one school year, after which he was again
engaged in teaching. He then attended the State
University of South Dakota, after which he again
engaged in teaching for one season and then re-
sumed his studies in the university, where he
remained another year. He entered the law de-
partment of the Minnesota State University, be-
ing graduated and being simultaneously admitted
to the bar. Shortly after his graduation Mr.
Warren located in DeSmet, and here he has since
built up a most gratifying practice, gaining rec-
ognition as an able advocate and counsel. He
was elected state's attorney of the county, and
has proved a most capable public prosecutor,
while he is also serving as city attorney. He is
a stanch advocate of the principles and policies
for which the Republican party stands sponsor,
and takes an active part in local political aflfairs.
He is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Ac-
cepted Masons and the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows.

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

1899

CAPT. CHARLES S. FASSETT, of Beadle
county, ;in honored veteran of the Civil war, is a
native of the Wolverine state, having been born
on a farm in Sandstone township, Jackson
county, Michigan. He was reared on the home-
stead farm, early beginning to assist in its work
and securing his early educational training in
the district schools. He continued on the farm
until he was about sixteen years of age, and
thereafter alternated his time between attending
college and teaching. He was a student in Al-
bion College, Michigan, when the firing of rebel
guns on Fort Sumter announced the beginning
of the long fratricidal conflict, and in that term
he completed the course of preparatorj' work
which entitled him to admission to the University
of IMichigan, at Ann Arbor. A few days before
the close of the term' he was elected second lieu-
tenant of a volunteer company, was mustered
into the service as such and was sent to Fort
Wayne. Soon afterward he was mustered into
the United States service, as a member of the
Sixth IMichigan Volunteer Infantry, of which
he was commissioned second lieutenant. He bore
an honorable and gallant part in the long strug-
gle, rising by meritorious service to the rank of
captain, and was mustered put in August, 1865,
with a record of w^hich any man might well be
proud. After the war Captain Fassett returned
to i\Iichigan. where he resumed his educational j
work. He was matriculated in Hillsdale Col-
lege, that state, where he completed the classical
course and was graduated as a member of the
class of 1868, with the degree of Bachelor of
Arts. He devoted the next several years to
teaching in the public schools of his native state,
while for a period of four years he rendered ef-
fective service as county superintendent of
schools in Ottawa county, that state. In 1875
he removed to Carson City. Nevada, and later to
A'^irginia City, that state, devoting his attention
during these years principally to the furniture
and upholstering business. In 1881 he returned
to Michigan, where he remained about ten
months, at the expiration of which he came to
what is now the state of South Dakota. In 1882
he filed entry to a claim in Spink county, eight

miles north of Frankfort, while at the same time
he secured a soldier's declaratory claim, north of
Hitchcock, of which village he became a resident
soon after its founding, while he has ever since
maintained his home here. He established the
Hitchcock News, of which he was editor and
publisher for several years, while in the mean-
while he continued the improvement of his ranch
property and was otherwise prominently identi-
fied with business and industrial interests. He
was state engineer of irrigation, and in the con-
nection made a special investigation and study in
connection with the artesian-well system of the
state. At the time of President Harrison's ad-
ministration he was appointed postmaster at
Hitchcock, continuing incumbent of this office
until the election of President Cleveland, while
he was reappointed to the office by President Mc-
Kinley and has ever since served in the same.
He again became the publisher and editor of the
Hitchcock News, which he owns at the present
time. In politics he is a stanch Republican and
has been an active worker in its cause since com-
ing to South Dakota, while he also served as a
member of the board of commissioners of Beadle
county. He is one of the charter members of
T. O. Howe Post, No. 33, Grand Army of the
Republic, while he is also identified with the local
lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Captain Fassett was married to Miss Louise
M. Bickford, who was born in the state of New
York, and they became the parents of two sons.

SAMUEL W. OVIATT, one of the ven-
erable and honored pioneer citizens of Beadle
county, is a native of the old Buckeye state, hav-
ing been born on the old homestead farm in
Trumbull county, Ohio, and being a representa-
tive of one of the sterling pioneer families of that
state. He was reared to the sturdy discipline
of the farm and his educational advantages were
such as were afforded in the common schools of
the locality and period. About the time of the
outbreak of the war of the Rebellion he re-
moved with his family to Afinnesota, where he
continued to be engaged actively in farming until

1900

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

his change of residence to South Dakota. He
changed his allegiance from the Whig to the Re-
publican party, and is a stanch advocate of the
principles of the latter. Wliile a resident of
Minnesota he served with marked ability in the
office of justice of the peace. He and his fam-
ily are members of the Baptist church, whose
faith he has held from early youth, and he has
long been identified with the Independent Order
of Good Templars, being a stanch friend of the
temperance cause.

Air. Oviatt was united in marriage to Miss
Julia Salisbury, who, like himself, was born and
reared in Ohio, and they have had six children.

J. W. BOYCE, senior member of the firm of
Boyce & Warren, which controls an excellent
and important legal business at Sioux Falls, was
born in the town of Oregon, Dane county, Wis-
consin. He remained on the homestead farm
until he had attained the age of fifteen years, hav-
ing in the meanwhile attended the public schools
of the locality, and then his parents removed to
Madison, the capital of the state, where he com-
pleted a course in the high school and then en-
tered the University of Wisconsin, where he
completed courses in both the literary and law
departments. He then came to Sioux Falls and
engaged in the practice of his profession, entering
into partnership with his brother, the late F. L.
I')Oyce, under the firm name of Boyce & Boyce.
In order to still farther fortify himself for the
broader work of his profession he entered the law
school of Boston University, being graduated
with high honors. He then returned to Sioux
Falls, where he continued in practice.

E. B. SOPER, Jr., cashier of the Citizens'
National Bank of Woonsocket, was born in Es-
terville, Iowa. He secured his early educational
discipline in the public schools and was matricu-
lated in Cornell College, at Mount A'ernon, Iowa,
where he was graduated. In the autumn of the
following year he entered Columbia College, in
the citv of New York, and in this celebrated in-

stitution he secured the degree of Bachelor of
Arts. He remained one year in the law depart-
ment of tlie same institution, and then entered
the law department of the University of Iowa,
where he was graduated in the spring of the fol-
lowing year, being duly admitted to the bar of
the state. In the following June he was united
in marriage to Mrs. Clarissa (Robbins) Jackson,
of Emmettsburg, where soon after his gradua-
tion he became a member of the law firm of
Soper, Allen & Alexander, and there he continued
in the active practice of his profession until the
present Citizens' National Bank of Woonsocket,
South Dakota, was organized, and he was called
here to accept the position of cashier and general
executive manager, in which capacity he has
since served. Mr. Soper is a stanch Republican
in his political proclivities and is a comm.unicant
of the Protestant Episcopal church, being at the
present time junior warden of St. Luke's mission
at Woonsocket. He is a member of the Sigma
Nu college fraternity, and is also identified with
the Loyal Legion.

W. L. MONTGOMERY, cashier of the
Bank of Iowa and Dakota, at Chamberlain, and
a member of the present state senate, is a native
of the state of Illinois, having been born in Rock
Island county. He was reared on the home farm
and after completing the curriculum of the pub-
lic schools continued his studies in the Geneseo
Academy, at Geneseo, Illinois. Soon after leav-
ing school he came west to Nebraska, where he
established himself in the real-estate, loan and
live-stock business, having his headquarters at
Fullerton, Nance county. He removed to north-
western Iowa, where he remained about one
year, at the expiration of which he came to
Chamberlain, South Dakota, where he engaged
in the banking and live-stock business, purchas-
ing an interest in the Bank of Iowa and Dakota.
Later he and his father purchased the interests
of all other stockholders in the institution, of
which they have since maintained control. Mr.
Montgomery has ever given an unqualified alle-
giance to the Republican party, and was elected

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

to represent his district in the state senate. He
is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons
and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks.

Mr. Montgomery was united in marriage to
Miss Leone King, of Chamberlain, and they have
one child.

OLE S. MERAGER, M. D., one of the rep-
resentative members of the medical fraternity in
the city of Sioux Falls, is a native of Nor-
way. He secured his early educational train-
ing in the excellent schools of his native place,
and then set forth to seek his fortunes in Amer-
ica. He secured employment as interpreter on
a Mississippi river steamboat, in which capacity
he served several months. He removed to Good-
hue county, Minnesota, and for the next decade
he divided his time between labor of various sorts
and attending school, having gained his technical
education entirely through his own exertions.
He began the study of medicine under able pre-
ceptorage, and also studied veterinary surgery.
He devoted his attention to the practice of this
profession for fifteen years, or until the time of
entering the medical college. In 1877 the Doctor
came to South Dakota and located in Lake
county, where he made his home and headquar-
ters until he matriculated in the Sioux City Col-
lege of Medicine, Iowa, and there completed the
prescribed course. Subsequently he took a spe-
cial post-graduate course in the medical depart-
ment of Hamlin L^^niversity, in Minnesota. After
his graduation the Doctor located in Oldham,
Kingsbury county, where he was engaged in
practice for a few months and then came to
Sioux Falls, where he has built up a good prac-
tice and where he is held in high regard in both
professional and business circles. He is a stanch
Republican in his political proclivities and has
licen active as a worker in the party ranks, hav-
ing on several occasions been a delegate to state
and county conventions, while he has been called
upon to serve in various minor offices of public
trust. He is identified with the American Medi-
cal Association and the Medical Society of East-

ern South Dakota, while fraternally he is affili-
ated with several secret orders. Dr. Merager
was united in marriage to Miss Florence E.
Lowe, of Sioux Falls.

HENRY A. MULLER, engaged in the prac-
tice of law in the city of Sioux Falls as senior
member of the well-known firm of Muller &
Conway, is a native of the Badger state, having
been born in Cassville, Grant county, Wisconsin.
He secured his early educational discipline in the
district schools, having continued his studies in
the schools at Fort Randall and later attended
for a time the State Agricultural College, at
Brookings, and the academy at Scotland, Bon
Homme county, while he was also a student in
the University of South Dakota, at Vermillion.
He came to Sioux Falls and began reading law
under the preceptorship of Powers & Conway,
being admitted to the bar of the state in 1892,
since which time he has been engaged in practice
in Sioux Falls. He entered into a professional
partnership with Daniel J. Conway, and they are
still associated in their labors.

Mr. Muller was united in marriage to Miss
Alice E. Bassett, who was born in Fond du Lac,
Wisconsin. She was graduated in the normal
school at Aurora, Illinois, and prior to her mar-
riage she had been a successful and popular
teacher. She read law and was admitted to the
bar of the state, since which time she has been
engaged in the active work of her profession in
Sioux Falls, having attained success and prestige
in her ,profession.

FRED A. SPAFFORD, M. D., of Flan-
dreau, is a native of the old Green Alountain
state, having been born in Ludlow, Vermont. He
passed his boyhood days in his native town, in
whose public schools he secured his preliminary
educational training, while he thereafter con-
tinued his studies for some time in Black River
Academy, in \'ermont. He then took a course
in medicine, receiving the degree of Doctor of
Medicine. Shortly after his graduation the Doc-

I902

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

tor accepted the position of instructor in Latin in
a college in North Carolina, and later he was
made a member of the faculty of the Leonard
Medical College. Subsequently the Doctor came
to the west and located in Flandreau, South Da-
kota, where he has since been engaged in the ac-
tive practice of his profession. In politics he is
a stanch advocate of the principles and policies
of the Democratic party and has been an active
worker in its cause. He is also prominent in the
Masonic fraternity, and is also affiliated with the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern
Woodmen of America and the Ancient Order of
United Workmen. The Doctor is a member of
the Baptist church, while his wife clings to the
faith in which she was reared, that of the Con-
gregational church.

Dr. Spafford was united in marriage to Miss
Hattie Davis, of Boston, Massachusetts, and of
this union has been born one child.

BARNEY TRAVERSE was born in Sioux
City, Iowa, and was educated in the public
schools. He was employed in freighting to the
Black Hills and also from Yankton to Fort
Pierre, experiencing many hardships and se-
vere experiences. In 1900 he was appointed in-
structor of farming to the Indians, and since that
time has been engaged in stock raising, being
quite successful in that line. His ranch is lo-
cated at Moreau, while his home is across the
river from Evarts.

CORNELIUS TRYGSTAD, of Brookings,
was born in Norway, and attended the national
schools of his native land. At the age of twenty -
one years he accompanied his parents on their
immigration to America. They landed in the
citv of Quebec, Canada, and thence removed to
Rochester, Minnesota, from whence they came to
the territory' of Dakota and took up their abode
in what is now Brookings county, Mr. Tryg-
stad took up the homestead claim upon which he
still maintains his residence, and on his claim he

erected a log house, and bent his best energies to
the improvement and cultivation of his ranch.
That success has attended his indefatigable ef-
forts is clearly evidenced in the appearance of his
home place today. He now has four hundred
and eighty acres in the home ranch and one hun-
dred and sixty acres in Madeira township, while
in Moody county he owns two hundred acres,
his entire landed estate being conservatively esti-
mated at a valuation of forty thousand dollars.
In politics Mr. Trygstad has been a stanch
supporter of the Republican party from the time
of attaining the right of franchise, and he has
been influential in public affairs of a local nature.
He was married to Miss Julia Dastad, who like-
wise was born in Norway, and they have five
children.

GOTTHILF DOERING, of Tripp, Hutch-
inson county, was born in the southern part of
Russia, and was reared and educated in his na-
tive land, being seventeen years of age at the
time of the family emigration to the United
States. He remained on the homestead farm
until the death of his father, after which he went
to Edmunds county, where he continued to re-
side one year, thereafter securing a clerkship in
a mercantile establishment at Ipswich. Soon
after the founding of the village of Tripp, Mr.
Doering came here and engaged in the general
merchandise business until 1901, when he re-
moved to Harvey, North Dakota, where he en-
gaged in business until 1902, when he returned
to Tripp and purchased a general merchandise
business, in which he has since continued.

C. H. BARROW was born in Schuylkill
county, Pennsylvania, and received his educa-
after which he attended an academy, graduatmg
tion in the public schools and the high school,
therefrom. He went to Redwing, Minnesota,
and read law, being in due time admitted to the
bar. He began practice at ^Minneapolis, but soon
afterwards located at Ipswich, South Dakota,
where he has since been engaged, meeting with

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

distinct and gratifyin.g- success. He has been
honored by election to the state legislature and
has served as state's attorney several terms. Fra-
ternally he belongs to the Masons, Odd Fellows,
Maccabees and United Workmen.

Mr. Barrow was married to Effie L. Haw-
kins, and thev have two children.

EPHRAIM MINER was born in Oswego,
New York, and until eighteen years old re-
mained with his parents, enjoying the mean-
time the best educational advantages his native
city afforded. At the age noted' he severed home
ties and gave his attention to teaching. After
teaching for three successive winter seasons in
that state, he taught two terms in Illinois and
Minnesota respectively, then returned home and
a little later accompanied his widowed mother
to Wisconsin, where he clerked for a short time
in a store. From the latter place Mr. Miner
went to Minnesota and engaged in merchandis-
ing, but later returned to Wisconsin and held a
clerkship in a business house at Geneva Lake.
Resigning his position, he and two companions
drove overland to Pike's Peak and devoted his
time to prospecting in Colorado. Returning to
Wisconsin he entered the employ of the Amer-
ican Express Company and -was located at St.
Joseph Mission, being transferred from that
place to the Chicago division, which he' ran one
year as messenger. At the expiration of that

time he was promoted to an important and re-
sponsible office, which he held until he severed
his connection with the company and came to
Yankton, Dakota, where for three years hi;
clerked for a hardware firm.

Subsequently Mr. Miner was appointed cen-
sus taker of Dakota and in the discharge of his
duties as such traveled over nearly the entire ter-
ritory. He was elected to the state legislature,
in which capacity he served two terms, and la-
ter he was returned to the same body two suc-
cessive terms, serving on a number of important
committees, besides taking an active part in tho
general deliberations and taking his proper placi-
as one of the leading Republicans on the floor.
IMeantime he formed a partnership in the hard-
ware business at Yankton, but later he disposed
of his interests to his associates, and in the fall
of 1876 was 'elected register of deeds. He later
engaged in the cattle business, to which he de-
voted considerable attention for a number of
years, and became interested in other enterprises,
notably among which was the Yankton Pressed
Brick Company. Later this business was dis-
continued and a flouring mill erected on the site
of the works. This mill has since been one of
the leading enterprises of Yankton and under
the efficient management of Miner & Walker,
present proprietors, the business has steadih
grown in magnitude and importance until the
demand for their brand of flour now exceeds the
supply.

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